Rats, Ferrets, Snakes, other exotic animals.

[AnanoKimi]

finally made the Nebulizer Box, a lot harder then you would think

the box kept cracking and I had to get a new one, and start over every time

oh and the little ***s kept fighting me to get out during the treatment, but after they were happy to sit in there on their own, once the lid was off

its sitting in their area of the room right now, in the hope that they wont fight me next time

Whats a nebulizer box?

[InugamiZERO]

Whats a nebulizer box?

its a box with holes cut in it so rats and other small animals can use medicine from a nebulizer

[AnanoKimi]

its a box with holes cut in it so rats and other small animals can use medicine from a nebulizer

Ah. Okay. Why did your box keep breaking? I'm glad you finally got one to work though :3 What did your rats have that required said box if you don't mind me asking?

[InugamiZERO]

Ah. Okay. Why did your box keep breaking? I'm glad you finally got one to work though :3 What did your rats have that required said box if you don't mind me asking?

like most rats respiratory issues, they are doing a lot better after a week of injections, so the vet wants to try them on the Nebulizer with gentamycin

the box is made of plastic and every time I cut in to it, it would crack and brake open

[AnanoKimi]

like most rats respiratory issues, they are doing a lot better after a week of injections, so the vet wants to try them on the Nebulizer with gentamycin

the box is made of plastic and every time I cut in to it, it would crack and brake open

Why didn't you use something like a styrofoam cutter or a cutting torch? Something that would instead kind of melt the plastic for easy shaping/cutting?

[InugamiZERO]

Why didn't you use something like a styrofoam cutter or a cutting torch? Something that would instead kind of melt the plastic for easy shaping/cutting?

I don't have either of those and I don't think I know anyone with one

I was going to heat up a Screwdriver and just melt holes in the plastic but our new store is electric not gas

[AnanoKimi]

I don't have either of those and I don't think I know anyone with one

I was going to heat up a Screwdriver and just melt holes in the plastic but our new store is electric not gas

Lol maybe with a lighter? I'm glad you finally got it to work.

[Omen]

InugamiZERO:

 

A soldering iron is great for melting holes into plastics. Any one will work, even one from a discount store (should only set you back around $10 from discount stores or around $20 from places like Bunnings and Masters ((for the cheap ones)) if you're in Australia). When melting the plastic, be sure to be outside or in an area with plenty of ventilation as the soldering iron will smoke. I'd recommend wearing a face mask too, or holding a bit of fabric over your mouth (e.g pulling up your shirt collar) while you melt the holes. Imagine cigarette smoke, but thicker and brown. If you're asthmatic, it might be a good idea to see if someone else could help you out with it.

 

The first step is to plug the soldering iron in and heat it up on a non-flammable surface. If you want, you can mark out where you want the holes to go with a marker and or ruler for more uniform holes. The next step is to poke holes into the plastic with the tip of the iron. Wipe the melted plastic off the iron with paper towel and try not to linger for too long when melting the holes. For a smoother finish, melt from inside the box to the outside, and only for as long as it takes to put a hole into it. When you've melted enough holes into the plastic, let it cool down to set and then wash the container thoroughly with warm soapy water (or whatever you use to wash your rats' dishes out with). When finished with the soldering iron, turn it off and set it down in a safe place to cool off. I'm not sure if it'd be any good for soldering anymore, but if you ever need more holes melted in plastic, it's a great tool.

 

I used a soldering iron to melt holes into plastic tubs that I once kept snakes in (people call them "click clacks" in the reptile community), before moving them to a larger sized tub, and eventually their adult enclosures. The plastic would melt nicely and leave a smooth finish, so any time the snakes rubbed their heads along the tub, they wouldn't damage their scales. Excuse my shoddy job on this tub, but this is what the holes will probably come out looking like: image

 

If you do try this, good luck!

Edited November 7, 2015 by VampiricOmen

[AnanoKimi]

I was actually gonna recoment a soldering iron but when I mentioned it to my boyfriend he made a mention how that ruins the tool and how its meant for soldering bits of metal together and instead gave me possible alternatives. I agree though a soldering iron is also very good for making holes though it will make the tool unusable for actual soldering.

 

A reptile breeder who sold me the two females I plan to use this breeding season also made a mention of using soldering iron for cutting a plastic bucket into a hide for our snakes so they had somewhere to hide wile in their tubs.

 

I need to update my post on the fact that I now have 3 ball pythons and am also working on a feeder rat/mice project.

Edited November 7, 2015 by AnanoKimi

[Omen]

Thanks for sharing that information, I've never used them for actual soldering before, so knowing that the current soldering irons I've used for it won't be usable for it in future is a good thing. I should probably replace my stepfather's soldering iron in the event he ever needs it. The tools I used were both budget ones, but better to be safe than sorry for actual soldering.

 

For hides, I used a saw to cut a plastic plumbing tube in half and sanded the edges smooth (an alternative is a toilet roll cut in half down the length, replace whenever it gets soiled). Using a soldering iron to modify a bucket or even a plastic bowl sounds like a whole lot less work in comparison to the plastic tube... and you don't need a saw to cut it, or clamps to hold the item in place! Given that snakes can lay a lot of eggs in a clutch, having enclosure furnishings that are easy to replicate makes setting up hatchling tubs less tedious.

 

Ball pythons have some beautiful colour morphs, it's amazing how much variety they have!

[AnanoKimi]

Thanks for sharing that information, I've never used them for actual soldering before, so knowing that the current soldering irons I've used for it won't be usable for it in future is a good thing. I should probably replace my stepfather's soldering iron in the event he ever needs it. The tools I used were both budget ones, but better to be safe than sorry for actual soldering.

 

For hides, I used a saw to cut a plastic plumbing tube in half and sanded the edges smooth (an alternative is a toilet roll cut in half down the length, replace whenever it gets soiled). Using a soldering iron to modify a bucket or even a plastic bowl sounds like a whole lot less work in comparison to the plastic tube... and you don't need a saw to cut it, or clamps to hold the item in place! Given that snakes can lay a lot of eggs in a clutch, having enclosure furnishings that are easy to replicate makes setting up hatchling tubs less tedious.

 

Ball pythons have some beautiful colour morphs, it's amazing how much variety they have!

Well my ball snoots are pretty big so a toilet paper tube is a no go unless they have fat snake jumbo

 

Oh I know!! A friend and I want to try and get into breeding an axanthic line of pastels and bumblebees but for now we're settling for something small and simple and breeding my pastel male to a normal female and another pastel female. :3 I'm super excited to do this project. Its why I also started a feeder mice/rat project because with so many big snakes between me and my friend, its cheaper to start producing our own feeders as opposed to constantly buying them from a shop. Especially when it comes to rats.

[Omen]

Well my ball snoots are pretty big so a toilet paper tube is a no go unless they have fat snake jumbo

 

Oh I know!! A friend and I want to try and get into breeding an axanthic line of pastels and bumblebees but for now we're settling for something small and simple and breeding my pastel male to a normal female and another pastel female. :3 I'm super excited to do this project. Its why I also started a feeder mice/rat project because with so many big snakes between me and my friend, its cheaper to start producing our own feeders as opposed to constantly buying them from a shop. Especially when it comes to rats.

Toilet paper tubes wouldn't work for my carpets now either, though it's hard to imagine they were ever tiny enough to coil up in them! I still have a ramekin dish that I would use as a water dish for one of my jungle carpet pythons. At one stage, recently after getting him he had coiled up into the dish in such a way that only his nose poked out of the water. He only ever did that once though, and I'm glad I took a picture. That dish is 9cm/3.5 inches in diameter. I know submerging themselves in water can be a sign of mites, so I cleaned his tub out thoroughly and kept an eye on him to see if he ever did it again.

 

The axanthic pastel morph looks amazing, as does the bumblebee. Those yellows are so bright, just looking at some pictures on Google. Also, looking at a ball python morph list is mind boggling. I don't know much about their morphs, but watching vids from YouTube channels like SnakeBytesTV just to see how much variety they have is awesome. Snakes (and lizards) here don't have quite as much variety in terms of morph, but are nonetheless still beautiful. I was at one stage keen on breeding hypermelanistic eastern blue tongue skinks, but when my het-hypermelanistic girl developed cataracts last year I shelved that idea. Other than her eyes she is healthy, though I didn't want to risk it being a genetic problem, and the vet recommended against breeding them for the same reason (she was 2y/o when she developed cataracts). She is such a great skink though, readily takes food from tongs and even if she's a bit messier than the boys with food, she's very calm when being handled. I trust her more with my fingers when feeding than I do the boys (even when using tongs), she doesn't lunge for it like they do!

 

Reptiles are such rewarding animals to have, I wish you and your friend the best with your breeding project!

 

I get my rats from a breeder in bulk, and even though I only have three snakes, 15 feeds worth is costly; but cheaper than buying from pet stores (frozen rats, not live, just to clarify!). I buy in bulk because shipping is cheaper for larger orders; less shipments means less money spent on shipping. I'd likely never be able to breed my own as my family rents, and my family aren't too keen on rats (plus we have cats too). Nonetheless, starting your own breeder feeder project sounds like a very good idea if you plan to breed your own snakes down the track. I wish you the best with that project too!

[AnanoKimi]

The only one I got as a tiny noodle was my king snake. She is so fat now like not obese but she is rather chunky and quite long now compared to when I first got her. Its amazing everything I've been through with her. Shes escaped on me twice and its been one hell of a roller coaster with that and shes been an absolute doll. Its been so much fun to get her used to handling and having her crawl into my hair. Shes my adorable feisty little noodle.

 

My ball pythons are all older snakes. My boy which I first got is about 3 years old and he is a sweet heart. He was head shy but hes slowly getting over that and hes ust so much fun to handle and cuddle. He occasionally does this thing where he crawls over my shoulder and and just lets his head hang and he just stays there and I carry him around like a baby on my shoulder. I'll stroke his back and gently pat his tail and he just stays there until he wants to move again.

 

The two females are a blast. The big normal girl Lucy is the sweetest snake. She moves slow and is so friendly, hardly ever gets scared or shy and just loves to be held and explore. Her friend Connie the pastel is a little smaller but she is so shy and skittish. She is super shy and scares her self by reacting to your movement and then bumping her nose on something and getting scared of that and bumping into another thing and then getting scared of that. Shes quick too, thankfully shes not as big as her friend so its easier to handle her and keep her close. Shes been taming out nicely.

 

I really hope this breeding project works out too. I'm so excited at the thought of little babies hatching out of eggs and giving them their first meal and looking at their cute little faces. It melts my heart

 

Aw I've seen some skinks and I am so curious to own one and handle one but the shows I've been too don't really carry any. I watch SnakeBytesTV too and watching Bryan freak out over them is so much fun. Its good to hear that despite her cataracts your girl is doing wonderfully. I have thankfully not had an issue with any health problems or scares with any of my reptiles and I knock on wood that for as long as I have them and they live that I don't.

 

Well the snakes my friend and I have we feed live so buying in bulk is not an option. Its kind of why I've opted for starting my on feeder project to save on costs, especially on the rats. I tried frozen once and I really didnt feel okay about giving it to my animal. Even mice/rats I buy live and end up having to kill and freeze my self kind of weird me out.

[Sinion Kabe]

I once owned a Terrapin. Called it Terry lol. My brother had a huge cage which was filed with rats. Maybe about 12 or so of them

[InugamiZERO]

Thanx for the Tips VampiricOmen & AnanoKimi, I'll keep them in mind for my next boys, might make them a playpen or something

my boys are over 2 years old, so they are not interested in much over than Sleeping and annoying me (I don't really mind other then when they are nipping my feet)

[Omen]

@InugamiZERO:

 

No worries, I don't have much experience with rats but the rats my sister had as pets in her apartment were such characters. They were only a few months old before they rehoused them as they moved interstate, but the guy who has them now updates her with their progress. Best wishes with the nebulizer treatment!

 

 

@AnanoKimi:

 

You also have a king snake? What type is she? Having a fiesty snake sounds like it'd be an adventure! When I got the Jungles, a lot of the information I researched said that they were among the most aggressive carpet python species. Some testimonials from other keepers on a snake forum I used to frequent cemented that notion; perhaps fortunately neither of the Jungles in this house have anything resembling a fiesty, spirited or aggressive personality.

 

If ever I end up living in the US and decide to keep reptiles, I'd strongly consider keeping a Mexican black king snake. The glossy black scales are beautiful! That colouration is the main reason why I fell in love with hypermelanistic blue tongue skinks. There's something about a jet black animal that screams dangerous to me... that's likely because we have Red Belly Blacks and Inland Taipans here. With the hypermelanistic skinks, they have reddish bellies, a vivid blue tongue and jet black scales. In the dark, the only thing visible on my hypermelanisitc skink is his nostrils and the tip of his mouth where the scales are lighter than black. He is rather aptly named Ninja.

 

I was devastated when I took her in to the vet. I'd noticed odd behaviour up to a month in advance, but put it down to her being quirky. Under certain lighting, I could see a grey film across her pupils, but when I looked closer (under fluorescent light) nothing was visible. It wasn't until I took some pictures with flash that the cataracts showed up, so I took her into the vet for an informed opinion. The vet assured me that her cataracts weren't a result of bad husbandry (my husbandry was the same for each skink, but only one has cataracts); but I still felt horrible about it. He'd never seen a bluey with cataracts before, but he had seen a python that had cataracts and something else eye related that was painful for the snake.

 

Had she been an animal that feeds by sight only (like a bearded dragon), I would be in far more trouble than with an animal that uses sight and scent to hunt food. Her eyes were the most beautiful to look at compared to Gizmo's and Ninja's, they had this fiery orange look to them, like a red dwarf star. They're still gorgeous, but that beauty is tempered by the knowledge that her sight is almost nonexistent. Cataracts look the same in lizards as they do in just about every other animal, like this: Cataracts. Compare with a skink that has no cataracts, to see the difference. Nothing could be done to treat them, other than to take extra care when handling her and to be careful when feeding her live critters like roaches and crickets as she can't track them.

 

 

I think my lot started out at 30cm11/8.11" for the Jungles and 40-50cm/1'3"-1'7" for the Darwin, we got them all around four months old. They're three this December, the Darwin's nearly 2m/6'6" long and the Jungles are nearly 1.6m/5'2" long. Length wise they're doing great, weight wise; they're getting heavy (probably not as heavy as your ball pythons though, those snakes get solid )! We went for young snakes as we'd never had them before. In getting small noodles (I like your word for them!), they could grow as our experience with them grew. In hindsight, I am very glad that we went for hatchlings. I only had one to begin with, although my sister and her boyfriend had one each too that were on my license.

 

I named my snake Caine, as he had this C shape on his side and was also very, very defensive. It rhymed with pain, something I imagined him to inflict every time he bit me as he got bigger. When I first started handling Caine he would be so terrified that I was going to eat him that I counted up to twenty tags in one session. At his size then, those tags were relatively painless and barely bled. At his size now, I'm not sure I could take twenty tags in one session without looking like I dropped my hand into a vat full of needles. Though their bites are far less painful (and dare I say more predictable) than cat bites, they just bleed enthusiastically. They're all docile now, so much so that my Nanna who was once terrified of all snakes has actually grown somewhat fascinated with them, even if she won't touch them. Funnily enough, Caine is more docile than the Darwin and other Jungle combined. When they bite me now, I know 100% that I deserve it, as their behaviour changes when they are feeling more defensive (when in shed, or after a feed). Only one of mine is head shy, Link the Jungle, but he's pretty good with everything else.

 

Your snakes sound quirky! The other Jungle, Link does what your snake Connie does, scares himself when bumping into things. Jancsi the Darwin will freak out if his tail isn't being fully supported, and by freak out I mean coil around my hands multiple times. I haven't had health problems with my snakes either, just with my skinks Astro and Ninja. Ninja had some minor ulceration on his eye a few months back when he got some substrate that must have rubbed against it. He was on a round of topical cream and injections, which has treated the issue. I changed their substrate to avoid a repeat instance, and now it's actually easier to find the presents they leave behind. Knock on wood that I don't have any more health problems with them, it's hard to find reptile knowledgeable vets. The one I prefer to go to is 3hrs away from where I live at the moment, but he's one of the best in Australia. He even let me look at a stool sample from Astro once, to show what worm eggs look like. I'd given them garden snails once (that had been kept for weeks to ensure they weren't baited), which is where I imagine they got the worms from.

 

I absolutely understand why you cannot purchase your feeder rats in bulk, it'd be impractical to house them if you're not already planning to breed your own feeders. I also understand why you're hesitant to feed your snakes frozen thawed prey, it's the breeders word on how they were euthanised (humane or not) and unless you're able to look at, or hear reviews from other customers, the breeder might be dodgy. Likewise I personally wouldn't be able to breed, euthanise and freeze or feed. I'm too much of a softie for that, I'd get attached to the rats before long. I only feed frozen thawed, but there's regulations in place here where live feeding is heavily discouraged (though not illegal). We're allowed to live feed if the animal is at risk of starvation, but otherwise it's encouraged to get the animals to feed on freshly euthanised or frozen thawed meals. I'm sure you take care when feeding your snakes. :3

 

Outside of Australia and New Zealand you'll likely come across Northern, Merauke, Halmahera and Irian Jaya blue tongue skinks. Other Aussie species are hard to come across as export of them is banned, and with the Northern which is another Aussie species, there are quite a few US breeders. I love my skinks, they're not quite as active as I imagine bearded dragons to be, but they have great personalities. One of mine will come up to the doors every time I go near his enclosure, another will guardedly watch me until I show signs of having food, then he'll approach, and Astro (the one with cataracts) will usually climb out if I open the door when she's near the edges of it. They're pretty solid at 600g/1.3pounds minimum and are about 50cm/19inches long. Gizmo is three this December and the other two will be three in March next year. They have little tiny claws on their feet that scratch really well, leaves marks all over my skin sometimes, and are also very good tickle tools when brought near my neck. Gizmo loves to climb up to my shoulder and do that. >_>

 

Sorry for going off on such a tangent, I can talk about my animals all day. >_<

[AnanoKimi]

Oh my Luna noodle is a high white banana california king snake and oh my god I love her personality. She is so cute! Shes a little feisty but not so much so that it becomes aggressive. She takes a defensive pose and does these little hisses to try and scare me off when I go to pick her up but once I'm touching her she mellows out a bit. She becomes puppy dog tame once shes being held. She'll just cruise around and flick her tongue at everything. Shes quite the fatty too. I'll feed her a small or medium mouse with a hopper chaser and she'll still search her feeding container for more. I got her at a few months old, not really sure the precise age since I got her from a pet store but she was about a third of the size she is now. Shes two feet now and a little chunky. Its been such a fun trip raising her up and learning more and more about reptiles by owning her. Its opened up this wonderful world and I'm so excited.

 

Now that you mention your carpets, something similar happened to my friend with a purchase I made. I got my ball python boy along with a western hognose and we are loving both of them to death but the little hognose is what has us the most entertained. So hognoses are notoriously feisty, not aggressive or bitey but just feisty and hissy. The will puff up or flatten out to look dangerous and hiss when you try to handle them, and they are aggressive eaters, goin at their food like they haven't eaten in weeks even if they ate a week prior. Well his hognose is the most mellow and dainty little snake you will ever meet. She has no reaction to being touched or picked up, moves so slow and lazy, and when she eats we place the pinkies down for her in a little pile (she eats about 3-4 pinkies a week) and she will shove her nose into the wigglin pinkies and scent each one out before very gently grabbing one with her mouth, pulling it out of the pile, and eating it off to the side. And when she eats she takes it slow and moves little by little, which is amazingly dainty compared to like my king snake who will kill and eat a mouse in the time it takes that hog nose to eat one and decide on her second. Its amazing how sweet, docile, and dainty that little hognose is when her species is notorious for being feisty, hissy, and piggy eaters.

 

Oh my god no lie owning a Mex. Black King snake is one of my goals. It is a gorgeous animal and I just want one so bad. My luna is all white with like bits of black on her and everything and I one day want an all white king snake and a Mex. Black king snake and have my yin and yang and just jegus the thought makes me happy because they are absolutely gorgeous. Axanthic Ball pythons are absolutely pretty animals and I just really cant wait to jump into such a project once my friend and I (mostly me becuse I'm housing the breeders basically) have a few clutches born and raised under our belts. When we started looking into a breeding project we got a lot of advice but the ones that stuck the most were from a breeder from a places called Layne Laboratories, inc. and the guy that sold us our two proven breeder females.

 

The Layne Laboratories guy basically told us to buy cheap morph animals, nothing too crazy, nothing super expensive, and breed those. He told us to learn to make an incubator and work on breeding those animals. That if we get a clutch to incubate them and learn with that clutch what it takes to properly incubate reptile eggs. That way if we messed up and lost a few eggs that it wouldn't be that bad. That we could still try again and if we did get some healthy hatchlings that we could sell those. He said that it was a much better way to learn than to buy an expensive breeding pair, get eggs from those and possibly kill half or all of a clutch which contained babies that were really expensive. He said this way when we decided to get into more complex and expensive project that we had the experience of incubating and rearing a clutch and use that knowledge to raise a healthy clutch of well priced animal. It was the most sound advice I had heard the whole day of talking with other BP breeders. Others kept saying like buy multigene males and normal females to cheaply produce nice animals that could sell for a bit, others said to try and jump into breeding stuff that was not too expensive but really popular, but this guy gave us such good advice, and he really sounded like he meant the best for us. The guy who sold us our breeder females has also been really awesome, giving us tips and giving us advice as well as answering our questions about random things we don't understand or know. Hes been super patient and really nice and its so encouraging having awesome people in the hobby looking out for us and helping us out.

 

Oh I definitely take care of my snakes when I feed them I always to by best to either stun or prekill which is not easy for me to do because you know I may not like rats but I'm still an animal lover. I personally just feel that live is more natural and healthier as opposed to frozen which as you mentioned I don't know how long its been frozen, how it was euthanized, etc. Its more of a personal choice though I don't agree with places or even hobbyists themselves trying to make live feeding a bad thing. Though I know most snakes that are sold and kept are captive bred, I feel its best to keep a little wild instinct in them mainly for the hunt because you never know what can happen and if that snake doesn't know what live prey looks like then... I want my reptiles to have a fighting chance.

 

Oh my snakes are definitely girthy. My female normal ball python is a fatty. Shes not only long but shes fat, I always call her big momma because of it. I love handling her and cuddling her because shes such a sweetie. Only ever got tagged by her once and thats when I first got her, I think she hadnt been fed that week and so she was hungry. At first she sort of opened her mouth and tried to bite the back of my hand which she failed at, then saw my finnger as I went to move her about and she nommed that. I had to struggle a little to keep her from coiling onto my hand and after so many failed attempts at coiling on my hand she finally let go. I didn't get mad at her or anything and simply put her back, gently and carefully, then went to clean and disinfect my finger. Never had that happen again. Shes been nothing but a sweetheart with me. My boy tagged me once too, he had just finished pilishing off a small rat which I knew was not enough for him at the moment but I had nothing bigger to give him and as I was taking him back to his tank while he rested on a plastic lid, he saw the chunky part of my palm by my thumb sticking over the edge of the plastic lid and though it was food so he struck at it. He quickly let go after realizing and just stared at me like "Oh... Oh my bad." and I couldnt help but just laugh. I've gotten tagged by my king snake too in a random moment when she was trying to eat a mouse she had just killed and she was looking around and almost got out. So I reached in her container to grab the mouse to coax her back into her container with and she saw the movement of my hand so as I touched the mouse she struck and got the side of my finger between two joints. She didn't hold on but I quickly pulled away since it was my first time getting tagged and well she then made quick work of her mouse. Finally my friend's baby ball python gave me a nice tag too when we were trying to feed her a rat pup and she keep looking everywhere but at the pup and as we tried to distract her so I could grab the pup she coincidentally turned towards me and saw my hand and went for it. She let go after a few seconds but it was a mission to get the pup out of her little container and by her face so she could get it. So that's about 5 tags I've had? All my fault so I never took it out on the animal because I knew I did something stupid. It was kinda fun though and while I wouldn't go looking to get bit, I don't entirely hate it either.

 

In terms of names the only one I am dorkishly proud of is my pastel ball python boy named cake. Really its a stupid play on words. I'm latina so I speak spanish and well pastel in english means like soft colors, but the same spelling in spanish means cake. So I was like "Hes a pastel ball python, pastel in spanish is cake, his name is cake now." It took me a whole month to work that out but I did. And I feel both ashamed for being such a dork but proud because HAHAHA play on words.

 

I would personally love to own a blue tongue skink but I doubt I could afford it right now and the morphs and numbers I feel are still a little small to really be something wide spread and affordable here in the US yet.

Edited November 8, 2015 by AnanoKimi

[Omen]

Luna is gorgeous, as is her personality! Those hisses snakes do when you go to pick them up are adorable. I know they do it to more or less say "leave me alone", mine don't usually escalate above that. If I'm prodding the Darwin (usually to adjust the thermostat probe), he'll hiss and sometimes move into a defensive striking position. He's rarely acted on that strike though, I see that as a warning and slow my movements a lot, being albino his eyes aren't as good as the Jungle's, but he's a big softie. Just imagining a leetle snake cruising around whislt flicking her tongue is amusing; some of them have a heap of curiosity about other things when you're handling them. Getting a snake is certainly worth the experience, isn't it? I used to be quite scared of snakes, growing up in a house that backed onto scrubland had a way of instilling fear into the average kid. Being in a country with some of the world's most venomous snakes doesn't help, but with the experience I've gained from having snakes, I'm more aware that they're just as, if not more, afraid of us as we are of them.

 

I recall it being mentioned on one of the SnakeBytesTV episodes that hognoses are feisty. It's hard not to like an animal that's a little bit more spirited than the others! Just reading that they puff up and flatten out when they feel like their being threatened reminds me of my blueys. Sometimes I'll look into their enclosures and see one of them puffed up and tilting their body to the side a little (I'm not the quietest person when I walk around, so the noise probably sets them into a defensive posture if I startled them from sleep). It makes them look a bit bigger and scarier, but they've never actually displayed their tongue. Not even the wild ones we had through our yard displayed at me. I guess I should consider that a good thing as they display when threatened. They hissed though, plenty of hissing (even my lot hiss when being picked up sometimes), it sounds like a snake hiss, it's just not a sound I'd expect a lizard to make.

 

No reaction when being touched or picked up? Wow! I guess even among snakes there's going to be an exception to the rule. I have a hard time picturing a snake as docile as your hognose sounds, but she sounds like an absolute gem to keep and handle. Being a sedate eater at least means your fingers won't be on the menu any time soon! I use tongs to feed my lot, because I've had close calls with my hand when holding their meals by the tail. None of my snakes are any decent at aiming their strikes, one of them even tries launching himself off his perch. Luckily I've caught him every time he's actually fallen off it, and I've since moved him to a different perch each time I feed him to avoid repeat instances.

 

I hope you're eventually able to get one, the idea of having being able to have a yin snake and a yang snake sounds awesome too! The guy from Layne Laboratories, hands down sounds like a very, very good person to have in your network of informative people. There seems to be a divide in the community between the experienced, yet helpful members and the experienced, yet holier than thou members. The former will welcome new enthusiast and guide them, the latter will berate any mistake the newbie makes. Having someone who will be able to guide you along and offer gold advice is great! I've never been to or spoken to any breeders working on big projects, only ones who are hobbyists. Starting with animals that aren't top of the range is good advice (this coming from someone who won't be breeding ). I mean that you're more likely to be able to find homes for the young and like you mentioned, any losses won't be as catastrophic to the project. It really sounds like he means well too, and should you have any problems, he'll likely be one of the first people to help you out!

 

I feed frozen thawed as I find it more convenient, both because that's what my snakes were raised with, and because it's a matter of defrosting the food and bringing it a warm temperature. Between the convenience of being able to keep bulk amounts of frozen thawed food and the possibility of prosecution if I feed live, I go with the less risky option for me. It is absolutely the owner's choice on what they feed their animal, and your reasoning for feeding live is a very understandable one. I didn't intend to imply which method was better, apologies if I came across in that way. I'm all for education, and if people can approach the matter with an informed choice, there's hopefully less inclination for people to berate each other for choosing otherwise.

 

Snakes and fingers... Caine was quite adamant he wanted nothing to do with my thumb when I first started handling him. He'd be sorta okay with my fingers, but the moment I moved my thumb it was going to eat him so he would tag it. I think with snakes a lot of it is how the person handling them acts. If you're tense and stressed, the snake might react to that and be equally defensive. My sister would be a bit scared of taking her snake out of his enclosure, so he'd be a bit flighty to begin with after I handed him to her (since I would remove him from his enclosure). Your snakes sound great with how they've only tagged you a few times! I can agree that all of my tags were my fault, most of the time they just want to be left alone, and when being fed, their minds are on food, not hurting us. Just being in the way can get a tag! I don't hate being bitten either, it comes with owning an animal that has teeth.

 

Cake is a great name for a snake, especially when it's a play on words. You know why you named him Cake, and if given the story, I'm sure other people would appreciate the name too! Dorkish as it is Cake is up there with the best pet names I've ever heard. I'm horrible with names, and as such, I don't usually name my animals. I had a cat named Tiger, a budgie (parakeet) named Budgie, and another budgie (this time a yellow/lutino one) named Tweety as a kid. None of those names have any story behind them, so for me calling a skink that's very good at hiding in the dark Ninja is an improvement.

 

Yep, I can understand that! Compared to ball pythons, corn snakes etc, the morph variation is very small. They aren't a niche animal as such, but they're not as popular as some of the other reptile species around, and might take up more room compared to snakes which are often able to be kept in racks. Skinks can be kept in racks too, they just need a bit more room. I'm not too familiar with pricing of skinks in the US, but I imagine with less overall exposure, they'll cost more than the more per animal than some of the snake species. Just after a quick look at some corn snake selling websites, an albino bluey fetches something along the lines of $1000AUD here, whereas an albino cornsnake is along the lines of $30USD. Affordability comes with widespread breeding, so I can understand where you're coming from.

[Predat0rs]

A snake. I love snakes!

[MessengerDragon]

I would personally love to own a blue tongue skink but I doubt I could afford it right now and the morphs and numbers I feel are still a little small to really be something wide spread and affordable here in the US yet.

I don't own any blue-tongue skinks, (only guinea pigs. ) but wild ones seem to like our backyard, so I often get to see some. (I live in Australia)

 

And your snakes sound like great fun!

I probably couldn't own one though, I'm too much of an animal lover to keep anything carnivorous. =/ Snakes are cool though. And cats. (And I think I'll stop now, before I start listing every single carnivorous creature that I like.)

 

I've never seen any snakes in the wild, but I've seen some tame ones. (mainly these were either quite small ones, or carpet pythons). Their skin is so smooth!

 

Edit: just googled hognosed snakes. They look cute. What colour was your friend's hognose?

Edited January 18, 2016 by MessengerDragon

[0wolfmoon0]

Just wondering, do any of you think snakes feel affection for their human companions? Cuz if I have a pet, I want it to love me back so unusually prefer cats or dogs. But snakes are really cool, and if they enjoy your company too than I might get one.

[Switch]

There's some debate but I think the general consensus is the snakes can feel a kind of trust or familiarity to their owner but they're not really affectionate, at least not in the same way as dogs or cats. It also depends on the snake. Some are much better with people than others. Feel free to add onto this tho.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Switch

[Clya]

Personally I think it depends on the breed, bond and characteristics of the snake.

My snake I've had since it was young, is a red-sided garter snake, he will hang out with me and sit on my arm (sometimes my shoulder) and just chill. He doesn't bite me or anything, but doesn't like new people trying to touch him. He also knows when I'm coming (hides when anyone else shows up) and pops up looking all adorable.

 

Then again just depends on the snake. They aren't affectionate in the same way, but sometimes they can just sit on your arm or act all cute (if you think snakes are cute) when you show up.

[AppleMango]

We had a rat once. He died because something was wrong with his leg

His name was Ratty, hahaha. Also my sister's dad got a snake called Snakey, and we got her a bit before Ratty died, and I have been wondering if he was fed to her, but maybe she was too small then.

[0wolfmoon0]

Thanks for the advice. If snakes can show individuality As well as trust, thats good enough for me. I'll have to get one some time.