need some gen info(cal king)

[mosammy121]

just left a deposit on a young apprx 13"king snake,i currently have a pair of ball pythons and they are great,i have all the basic info but am looking for some exp advice/opinions.:)

[gunnerslakeshor]

Im no pro but ill take a shot at it.
What do you want to know
( i own 3 Cal Kings) and looking for more .lol
Phil

[AzR@k]

lol.....i one 2 u got me beat by 1 phil....but i do know a fair bit....and if i can get the sick male all fixed up then i will know even more!!!

[mosammy121]

well my questions are 1-will it bite?if so will it eventually stop?2-growth rate,do they grow fast?oh! and being that they eat other snakes can they be housed near each other,in other words will the scent of the other snakes make him more aggressive?that's pretty much all for now.thanx :)

[AzR@k]

well my questions are 1-will it bite?well they can i my self have never been biten, but suposivly it feels like velcrow.
2-growth rate,do they grow fast? well i am not to sure my female is almost 2yrs and she is almost 3 feet.
and about the housing mine are housed side by side and no problems

[mosammy121]

perfect thanx.:cool:

[AzR@k]

:) GLAD I COULD BE OF HELP o>

[gunnerslakeshor]

Moesammy
Will they bite?
Most young snakes bite, its normal and should disappear as it gets older with short handleing sessions. Ive been tagged a couple time's (my fault) nothing serious kinda tickled.lol
Growth rate?
The more you feed them the faster they grow small meals are best and easier to diagest ( dont power feed to much or youll wind up with a fat snake not good )
Houseing ?
I house mine on top of each other in seperate vivariums there fine that way.Never house kings together or youll wind up with only one king (except breeding time after a good cooling off) But if you have other types of snakes wash your hands when going from kings to say corns and vise a versa they can sent each other off your hands .Drives them bolth nuts .lol
Hope this is what your looking for
Phil

[mosammy121]

yeah that's exactly what i'm looking for thanx.could you please explain power feeding?and why someone would do this.

[jason h]

power feeding is giving way more food to them then is nessesary some breeders powerfeed to get there snakes to breeding size faster,IMO this is not a good idea and i believe it will cause problems for the snake in the long run do to organs not growing as fast as others etc,and will cut down there life span mind you this is my opinion not researched facts.:confused:

[mosammy121]

well i fed 2 frozen pinkys to him last noght is that to much?he a lil over 12"s.oh and about how long will it take to reach the 2 ft range?i mean i wanted a really young one but he's so tiny compared to my BP"s,just wondering.

[gunnerslakeshor]

Mosammy
Power feeding is a way of putting weight and length on your snake you just keep giveing food everyday (as Jason has said its not recommended its tough on a snake) but i do stand by what i said previuosly small meals 2-3 pink mice and rats are best for smaller snakes 2 times a week its not over doing it and its easy on diagestion because the hair and bones are much softer than adults, Dont be in a hurry for it to grow up it all takes time and the results are well worth the wait.
By the way when you feed your snakes try not to do it in its encloser itll get used to everytime the door opens foods comeing and CAN make it a nippy snake. (jmo).
Phil

:)

[gunnerslakeshor]

Mosammy
Yep your on track there 2 pinkys is a good belly full thatll keep him happy for about 5 days then he,ll be looking for more .lol
Once he reach's about 24" you can move up to fuzzy or even hopper mice. Its a good idea your feeding frozen thawed prey by the way.
He'll get to 2 ft in about 5 - 7 mnths depends on how much you feed and the temps you keep him at 80 to 85 thru the day and 75 at night is about ideal slightly higher temps over the winter unless your cooling an adult for breeding in which case you gradually drop the temp to close to 50 and keep it there for roughly 3 mnths . but that another story lol.
Hope this helps .
Phil

[mosammy121]

thanx guy's keep it coming,just a couple more things,whats the best way to thaw out a pinky,i just let it sit in some warm water as recommended by a reptile shop owner that i know,but he has a history of NOT KNOWIN SH@# so i'm alil worried i did it wrong,also and i hope i don't sound like a wimp,but what do i do if he bites me?how do i get him off w/out hurting him or myself(not that 13" cal king will kill me)but i do worry i'll hurt him.Any advice?


thanx again guy's



sam

[gunnerslakeshor]

Mosammy
Your doing it right , Useing warm water to thaw out mice is the best way .
Try not to feed them to your snake to hot though warm to the touch is fine.
Bite's not to worry if and when it does dont rip your hand away you can pull his little teeth out , and that can cause infection in the snakes mouth. He,ll let go on his own usually right away.
(it doesnt hurt anyways there just lil guys ) .lol
Hope this helps
Phil

:D :) :D

[mosammy121]

da#@ the guy at the shop where i got him said it bit someone and left it's teeth in the guy's hand,how bad is that?

[gunnerslakeshor]

Mosammy
Bad for who you or the snake?
Its not a big thing for you youll likely not even notice it.
As far as the snake goes how long has it been since he bit this guy?(he's still quit young so i,d not worry about it though)
It likely didnt affect the snake any . adults will loose teeth over a bite simpley because there bite radious is larger and there teeth are bigger and can catch on more skin than babys teeth can .
That MIGHT cause mouth infections but because he's so small i find it hard to believe he could tell there was teeth in his hand .lol
As long as the snake shows no signs of infections( cheesy looking matter along the gum line )
jmo if its not affecting his feeding or attitude dont worry about it. hope this is what you wanted.
Phil

[mosammy121]

i meant bad for him,but he ate the pinkys w/no prob so i guess i shouldn't worry.the petshop guy said they had 2 guys that day get bit,1-was a 6ft burm and the other was my cal king and the guy said the teeth were like lil glass splinters that he had to squeeze out.that sound right?

[AzR@k]

lol how big is ur king???
hell my female didnt even bite hard and she was over 3 feet she bit my friend and he said it tickled.....so it was prolly the burms bite he was describing.....mind u i wouldnt know what a burm bite would feel like!

[mosammy121]

lol i have to luagh at myself too,but hey so what i got a lil sissy in me:p


the burm that bit that guy was a nasty one,they said it caught a vain and he bled ALOT.IDIOTS right after that another guy got bit by my snake and it left a couple of teeth in him.

[RaVeNo888o]

hey guys, hope im not budding in here. I was just wondering what type of king you have mosammy? I just got my first snake. its about 13 inches as well. Its an aberrant desert phase cali king.
And a question to you other guys. If i was to buy frozen pinkies, maybe about 100, and the snake grew larger (double current size) and is ready to go to hoppers, is it alright to just feed him 3 pinks instead of 2 so he gets more? Ive heard that this is somthimes better cause they digest easier

[RaVeNo888o]

oh, about the thawing in water. The water is one of the best ways cause it gets the mouse a little warm plus since the mouse is wet and may have absorbed tiny amounts of water, it helps to keep the snake hydrated and prevent dehydration. I always use the water method. Just a thought.
I hope to have some pics soon, from my dads digital camera

[gunnerslakeshor]

Hey Rave
Yep feeding your snake pinkies is ok as it gets older itll take more to fill it up but they seem to do well on pinkies.
Nutrition wise there is more in pinkies and they are very much easier to digest ( less bone and hair) so they get max benifit with out the wait for digestion like there is in adult feeders.
You can fed hoppers or fuzzys to your young snake but nothing more than a 1/2 size larger than the widest point of your snake (less is better).
Hope this helps
Phil

[RaVeNo888o]

thx...i will eventually move up to fuzzies and hoppers, just that i wanted to order from a website and they sell in hundreds, so i would need to finish those off. Thanks you, that is what i will do then

[Big Mike]

I would suggest that you move your snake up to fuzzies sooner rather than later. The older the mouse, the more the nutritional value (or so they say). Pinkies may be easier to digest but they are mostly fatty. The hair and bones of older mice will provide calcium, which your snake needs. It may not be a problem but over time (100 pinkies) your snake might develop a deficiency.

I would suggest that you hold off on buying 100 pinkies for only one snake and just buy pinkies at a local pet store or breeder until your snake can eat fuzzies. Then buy bulk fuzzies and maybe hoppers.

I have a young Cal. King (under 20") and he has been eating fuzzies for a while now. I have not bought any bulk frozen mice or even switched him to frozen/thawed yet but I will sometime. He can easily eat a fuzzy that is 1 1/2 times bigger than his body (with empty stomach).

One thing you have to watch is that once the mice are bigger the terms become a little loose. I asked for a fuzzy and got a fair sized hopper one time. Make sure to get small fuzzies at first.

Also, there are lots of places that sell mice in bags of only 50 not 100 and some places will give you a split order if you want. You could order 25 pinkies and 25 fuzzies.

Good luck with your snake and don't hesitate to keep asking questions. :thumbsup:

[RaVeNo888o]

thank you. I have switched to fuzzies now. The pet store charges $2 canadian per fuzzie...thats alot compared to the 50 cents that breeders charge. You said that 100 pinkies would be too much, but what about 100 fuzzies, in terms of health/nutrician for the snake? but i will look into the split order idea and look to get some hoppers as well for later. Thanks again, big help everyone.

know any good ontario suppliers?

Damn still waiting on the pics lol

[gunnerslakeshor]

mice4you is a great place

[Big Mike]

100 fuzzies is better than 100 pinkies but maybe still too much. If you feed one every 7 days that's almost 2 years worth of food. Your snake should be big enough to eat a good mouse in 2 years.

I'm not the most experienced person here by a long shot so I don't know what to tell you as far as how much more nutritious the mice get.

Sure it's 25% of the price to buy bulk frozen mice but for only one snake $2 a week is pocket change. I find that the expensive part is going to a pet store once a week. I'm always buying something new for my snake or for the fish tank. Not to mention that I take a good long look at the snakes at the pet store even though I've told myself that I won't buy another snake from a pet store.

Good luck

[reverendsterlin]

I am lucky and live near a feeder dealer. Since I pick up my order instead of getting it shipped the dealer happily gives me any size order I want at whatever mix I ask for. Most restrictions have to due with shipping costs so you might check out if a feeder dealer is located near you.

[RaVeNo888o]

thanks again guys. Ya i think 100 is too much. I was planning on eventually feeding it 2 but i guess it would be better to try and split my order or buy less to start with. Thanks