View Full Version : Pueblan milksnake question
DragnDrop
01-27-05, 05:16 PM
Just how long does a typical Pueblan milksnake get? I've read several care sheets, a few 'field guide' type websites, the "Kingsnake and Milksnakes" book by Markel & Bartlett, not to mention reading dozens of posts about them. The lengths I've seen vary from 24 inches all the way to 40+. I've got an opportunity to get 2 Pueblans, but have to consider the length restriction set by my house insurance. Any snake I have can't be longer than 36" as the 'accepted average for the species'. This means I won't have problems if my specimen happens to end up being a record breaker as long as the accepted length for the species is no longer than 3 feet.
And one more question - a 10 gallon tank or shoebox is often recommended for them since they are apparently happier in smaller enclosures. Is this really the way to go? Would an adult be happier (feel more secure) in a smaller space than say a 20 gallon size enclosure? I prefer to give my snakes some room to move around, and find the Ruthvens and hognoses take advantage of it regularly, even climb some branches I have in with them. If Pueblans would rather have a smaller enclosure, it's okay with me (would also mean I'd have room for one or two more :) )
I'm really hoping their size fits the restrictions....
Thanks :)
The Pueblan I had DEFINITLY appreciated a tiny enclosure. He used a shoebox (still a huge space for him) since he was a hatchling to about a year of age, and still had room to spare.
I am not sure 100% but I don't think many get over 3 feet.
Marisa
Stockwell
01-27-05, 05:32 PM
Hilde, I have some over a decade old...I'll measure them tonight.
Here's a pic of some in the Zellers trays I use.. It's the blanket box size. I think they're 3 foot and change but two of these I bought off Lance last year, and they are the biggest campbelli I've ever seen...
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1801pueblansgroup04-med.jpg
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1801pueblanapricot04.jpg
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1801Blk0007-med.jpg
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/509/18012pueblans-med.jpg
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/509/1801pueblans-med.jpg
Manitoban Herps
01-27-05, 05:32 PM
i don't think that most get over 36 inches, a ten gallon would be fine for an adult for sure.
Get them for sure, and make sure to post pics :D
DragnDrop
01-27-05, 05:51 PM
Just great! Gee Roy.... your pictures make me want to get them even if they get to 3 meters! :) Wonder if the insurance would buy that --- "I thought your limit was 3 METERS" ??? LOL
SnakeyeZ
01-27-05, 06:06 PM
Beautiful snakes.
Stockwell
01-27-05, 08:45 PM
Ok, the biggest is a female at 45 inches, which I would call a giant. My other bloodline are males and they are 35 and 38... , so yeah they are 3 foot snakes..
You know Hilde, the females don't have their reproductive organs in their tail unlike males.
You could always cut their tails off to make them legal..., but then how would they hold hands while courting or taking long walks on the beach :)
(just kidding of course)
bighillreptiles
01-27-05, 08:56 PM
beautiful Roy I have to get a few more now that i lost my one male and female
Stockwell
01-27-05, 09:07 PM
Thanks Paul.. Sorry to hear about your devastating freeze out.
I hope to produce babies from that group this season, so there should be some available.
DragnDrop
01-27-05, 09:08 PM
Originally posted by Stockwell
Ok, the biggest is a female at 45 inches, which I would call a giant. My other bloodline are males and they are 35 and 38... , so yeah they are 3 foot snakes..
Thanks, Roy :)
Isn't it fairly common for females to be bigger, so they could be the exception to the size rule by my interpretation :)
It looks like I'm getting some Pueblans very soon then.
Woohooo !!! !!
bighillreptiles
01-27-05, 09:14 PM
dragon drop you will be hooked lol i am
bighillreptiles
01-27-05, 09:20 PM
Thanks Roy all I can do is take my time and rebuild can't replace what i hade but can't quit eather It's in the blood you know how it is
Manitoban Herps
01-28-05, 07:58 AM
What are your plans now Paul? Are you still going be collecting cali's and hondos?
bighillreptiles
01-28-05, 08:19 AM
All the floridas i can whitesided and hypos and of corse my hondo dreams are only on hold not dead I still have 1.2 red hypo floridas and 1.4 hondos .No where what i had but it is a start better than losing them all and atro of realy nice bci's that im going to get tonight From DR Mo out west cant quit just have to rebuild. Over the next few years Thanks Kevin
DragnDrop
02-01-05, 02:54 PM
Yessss!!! I'm picking up two of the pueblans this Saturday!
One is female, the other unsexed, both from different bloodlines 'just in case' I decide to breed sometime down the road. I'll even be getting their current enclosures, which makes one thing less for them to stress out about. Moving is bad enough, at least they'l have their old rooms to sulk in until they get used to the new home.
If there are any tips and tricks you think I should know about them, let me know. I've read up on them for about 6 months now, and I've got some kingsnake and a wee bit of corn and hognose experience, but any and all tips are welcome.
repticfreak7
02-02-05, 02:24 PM
They don't get any bigger than 40" unless you have a giant like Stockwell. ;) ;)
Stockwell
02-04-05, 02:27 AM
Hilde, one comment I will make is that campbelli, while one of the most beautiful milks, are also the most spastic, especially as neonates. You might find this a little disconcerting at first.
Adults do calm down with lots of handling, but baby campbelli, are like hot potatoes.. Not the easiest things to hold.
Also I must say, out of all the snakes I have kept, I have had more escapes with campbelli than anything else period.
I only ever lost one snake back when I had a small collection of 50 in an apartment eons ago.. That snake was a male campbells. I found it, and when it came to the house, it also escaped a couple times.
Once I ended up digging the damn thing out of my furnace after hearing a rubbing sound through the registers. Lucily it was summer, and I dismantled the ducting and found it on the heat exchanger.
I grabbed it, and it grabbed me. My herp room registers and cold air returns are screened now, as are those in surrounding rooms.
A couple years later, it also went missing and was found under the fridge in the kitchen. My bride screamed, grabbed it, and it grabbed her(not necessarily in that order)...
Um, enough said.... I would rate pueblans right on par with corn snakes for likelyhood to escape, so beware!! Rubbermaid shoeboxes can be trusted for neonates. Adults will need tight fitting racks or good strong "gap free" lids
Manitoban Herps
02-04-05, 12:05 PM
Yes, neonates are little crazy. Mine never did bite me but it did musk me on several occasions :D
We want pics for when they arrive!
DragnDrop
02-04-05, 12:34 PM
Thanks for the escape info, Roy. Now I'm paranoid :)
I've checked the tanks and lids, decided if a snake can escape these models, it deserves its' freedom (well... not quite, but it deserves a medal). I'm using those old lids that look like they're made of angle iron. The frame sits over the tank, not inside the molding. It's about an inch wide and somewhat heavy. The snake would have to lift it straight up for about an inch or a bit more and then manage to crawl out. ... just watch mine be the ones that manage it. LOL
How did the snake manage to survive in the furnace, even in summer? It's got to be the luckiest snake around.
Bet your wife was happy she found the snake for you, huh? LOL
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