Future snake owner here! - Page 2

bladeblaster · 07-09-10, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

hello and welcome

nafuns pretty much covered it.re carpets they can also be a tad unstable as adults too.most are ok but you do get the odd exception.like my jungle who's the devil in person
cheers shaun

All jungles are evil

kayleegrace · 07-17-10, 12:39 PM

i got my carpet and he is a year old. he is my 5th snake.....however if i did it over i would get a carpet. he is very nippy. he has calmed down but he still strikes quite often. i personally would not recommend them. however i have two ball python a pastel and a regular. i absolutely love them. they are super super docile.... i can put them around my neck or waist and go about my daily activities...=)

C.Phillips · 07-17-10, 01:00 PM

I had a red tail for five years as a family pet something happend and it died. Now that I am on my own and able to get snakes a again I got 2 balls a male and female the male has had to eating issues he is absolutly awsome the female on the other hand has had proboloms eating but this is usual in balls after rehomeing takes place. Compared to my former red tail these balls have been less agressive and more active with me (more so at night) I wouldent trade my balls for nothing. However I look forward to getting a breeding pair of red tails and maybe a pair of Garters, and Corns all species are intriging to me I just have a UNDIEING LOVE for snakes

Will0W783 · 07-17-10, 02:14 PM

Not all carpets are nippy as babies. And for a first-time snake owner, I would NOT recommend getting a baby anything. I would not be even considering anything younger than a yearling. Baby snakes are just too delicate and have a higher incidence of eating/shedding issues.

I would like to throw out Irian Jaya carpet python. They do not get larger than a female ball python for the most part. Some may get a bit longer, but they top out at 5-6 feet, same as a ball python and they are much more slender-bodied. They do not require as much humidity and tolerate a wider range of temps than do balls. Jungle carpets also tend to stay small. If you get a male carpet it will not get all that large, unless you go with a coastal, which can reach 8 feet.
I would NOT recommend a rainbow boa as a first snake. They are much too delicate and require very high humidity. They cannot tolerate high temperatures and they regurgitate readily if the temperatures are not just right. They are beautiful but not a beginner species.

Another python I think you would really enjoy is one from the genus Antaresia- Children's pythons, Stimson's pythons, Spotted pythons and Anthill pythons. The Children's and Spotteds only get about 3 feet, Stimson's can reach 3-4 and Anthill pythons do not get larger than 2 feet. They are all known for being docile and curious snakes, and require higher temperatures than a lot of tropical pythons but are dry climate species so have no strict humidity requirements.

I have a trio of Stimson's pythons and they have become some of my favorites. They are very friendly, plump and curious little buggers....very much a python, but very small as well. They are a creamy tan background with brown splotches and very iridescent. They also have some of the coolest python eyes- goldish-silver.

shaunyboy · 07-18-10, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bladeblaster

All jungles are evil

ive came to the same conclusion mate.keeping carpets into double figures and its all my jungles that are the nasty ones.i had 5 and everyone of them was nuts...!! im down to one shes a good looking snake but a complete psyco.....!!!

got to love em though

cheers shaun

Nafun · 07-18-10, 01:09 PM

I own 11 snakes. My Jungle is the only one I won't pick up with a bare hand.

Will0W783 · 07-18-10, 02:20 PM

Huh, my jungle girl and my jungle/jag male and my diamond/jungle girl are all fine. My diamond/jungle will strike if you corner her, but the others are perfectly tame. I had a few coastal hatchlings for a while that were nasty buggers and would start bouncing off the glass the moment you walked into the room.

percey39 · 07-20-10, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nafun

I own 11 snakes. My Jungle is the only one I won't pick up with a bare hand.

Ah come on jungle bites dont hurt, they just catch you off gaurd. Bites are the fun part of owning young angry jungles. If you dont like a bite off a little jungle have fun with scrubbies mate. They are 10 times worse than jungles and love drawing blood from hatchling size right through to adults for some haha you will be in for some fun if you get your scrubby!!!

Nafun · 07-20-10, 08:07 PM

I wear a glove (a thin black leather driving glove) because she bites, not because it hurts. If I don't, I'll involuntarily flinch when she strikes, and that will just reinforce the striking behavior.

percey39 · 07-20-10, 08:15 PM

Ah fair enough i have been bitten far too many times to even count now, mostly by scrubs. I dont have the flinch reaction for most snakes except adult scrubs ( good luck doing damage to them by flinching )
I have found if you continue to handle or clean when they bite you whilst they are young, they soon learn that biting doesnt hurt you and is a waste of time. I have done this with all the pythons i have owned and it works well except for the odd couple who just love biting.

BrandyMom2aFew · 07-20-10, 08:29 PM

Welcome! We got our first snake three months ago and he was a 3 month old BP, the only problem I have had with feeding is he will only eat live rats he acts like he is scared of the dead ones.

infernalis · 07-20-10, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrandyMom2aFew

Welcome! We got our first snake three months ago and he was a 3 month old BP, the only problem I have had with feeding is he will only eat live rats he acts like he is scared of the dead ones.

Try this, works with ours.....

When you thaw out the rat, put it in a heavy plastic bag (like a ziplock storage bag) and set it in hot water.

the idea is to heat the rat up a little, it should feel warm to you in your hands.

Then grasp it in a set of tongs and ease it on up to the snakes face.

keep your hands way back out of the way, even though BP are slow snakes, that feeding strike is so fast you cannot react quick enough to get out of the way.

BrandyMom2aFew · 07-21-10, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

Try this, works with ours.....

When you thaw out the rat, put it in a heavy plastic bag (like a ziplock storage bag) and set it in hot water.

the idea is to heat the rat up a little, it should feel warm to you in your hands.

Then grasp it in a set of tongs and ease it on up to the snakes face.

keep your hands way back out of the way, even though BP are slow snakes, that feeding strike is so fast you cannot react quick enough to get out of the way.

I will have to try that, we got it thawed and warm to the touch but he was coiled in the corner for two hours and didn't move until we took the mouse out of the tub....

percey39 · 07-21-10, 06:49 PM

Try leaving it with him over night. Also when you are trying to feed chuck a towel or a cover his cage so he will safe and hidden. I have had a few fussy feeders that this has worked on. Some times they are just shy eaters.

BrandyMom2aFew · 07-21-10, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by percey39

Try leaving it with him over night. Also when you are trying to feed chuck a towel or a cover his cage so he will safe and hidden. I have had a few fussy feeders that this has worked on. Some times they are just shy eaters.

Not that I doubt that but Benny isn't shy at all, when we put him the tub where the rat is he 9/10 has it in his grasps and has it down in 10 minutes. I will try the over night thing though maybe being secluded may help thanks though!