My New Python

I have a 3.5' Royal Python along with a 2' Corn snake and a Leopard Gecko.

My Python eats small adult rats that I feed him every Wednesday. I take the rat out of the freezer and put it in a plastic bag which I put in the sink containing hot water, I use water that is as hot as I can withstand when I submerge my hand. I leave it in the water for 15 minutes then I re-fill the sink with fresh hot water and leave for another 10-15 mins. You have to make sure that the rodent is properly thawed because if its still slightly frozen inside it can be bad for the snake, just squeeze the rodent in a few places and if you can feel some cold coming through then leave in for another 5-10 mins.

Some people say you have to feed in a seperate container because the snake can associate your hand with being fed so in turn its more likely to bite you. This is BS though because you should have your hands in the cage almost daily, cleaning any mess and changing water so the snake will have lots of experiances with your hand in the cage and not being fed. Having said that, I feed my snakes in a plastic tidy bin because I use wood chips in my vivariums which I dont want him ingesting if any gets stuck to the rodent.

I would leave the snake as much as possible for a week to settle in because moving to a new home can be quite a stressful experiance for a snake.

What sort of Boa do you have? Sorry if I missed it somewhere else in the thread.

Cheers.

Edit: Some pics.

Close up
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Chilling on my arm
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Scoffing down a fat arse rat!
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One of my Gecko just because she is so damned cute...
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Justin said:
The snakes themselves range from £30 - £30,000 for some rare morphs.
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Well let's say one on a cheaper side of the scale, but one that isn't likely to mind being handled. Prefereably slightly bigger than grass snake size.

What would I have to look at buying costs, and also the cost to keep it?
 
A.N.Other said:
I love snakes, they're fascinating animals, though I'm not sure I'd want one. How long can you expect a boa or a python to live?
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A healthy captive bred python will usually live between 20-30 years, about the same for a boa too.
One thing to take into account is to find out if there is a vet that deals with reptiles near you, seen people make that mistake and the only closest vet to them is miles away.
 
badgermonkey said:
Well let's say one on a cheaper side of the scale, but one that isn't likely to mind being handled. Prefereably slightly bigger than grass snake size.

What would I have to look at buying costs, and also the cost to keep it?
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Corn snake would be the best, a healthy female would grow to 6 foot max, and would only cos you about £50 the most for a 'common' corn snake (Anery Corn, in snake terms)

As for housing, just start them of in a plastic tank for maybe a couple of years until it is bigger then move it into a wooden vivarium. The plastic tank would only be about £15, then a heat mat to cover 1/3 of underneath the tank would be about £15, you need a couple of hides, on on the cool side one on the warm side they would only cost around £10 for two, water dish, maybe some artificial leaves ect to hide in.

Would be best to look here for supplies and here for a more detailed care sheet

Overall corn snakes are cheap to keep, once you've got the tank and heating ect, then you will only need to upgrade to something bigger when it has grown.
 
arnt we forgetting the morality of keeping a snake in captivity? I am not basing this on fact this is all IMO, but desert/jungle or a plastic tank? If I am a snake I know what I would prefer.

Not a pet IMO.
 
thepharcyde said:
arnt we forgetting the morality of keeping a snake in captivity? I am not basing this on fact this is all IMO, but desert/jungle or a plastic tank? If I am a snake I know what I would prefer.

Not a pet IMO.
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Well say that about any pet surely?
 
snakes are amazing, but...what do they do all day in the cage, just sit and stare at you all day?

If you were to pick the snake up in the cage would it attack you?
 
Andr3w said:
snakes are amazing, but...what do they do all day in the cage, just sit and stare at you all day?

If you were to pick the snake up in the cage would it attack you?
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Most snakes that are kept as pets tend to be fairly "tame"... they get used to being handled.

I've handled many snakes in my life :)

(noramlyl crap like petting zoos and so forth though :p )
 
Andr3w said:
snakes are amazing, but...what do they do all day in the cage, just sit and stare at you all day?

If you were to pick the snake up in the cage would it attack you?
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They're nocturnal so you don't usually see them during the day, but mine usually come out around 9pm and can be fun to watch.

Depends on the snake, most wouldn't attack you, otherwise pet shops wouldn't sell them. If you are stupid enough to keep an agressive snake that an't really to be handled you would require a DWA licence (dangerous wild animal) which would be very hard to get hold of.

Every snake has it's own personality, some can be aggressive some arn't.

thepharcyde said:
arnt we forgetting the morality of keeping a snake in captivity? I am not basing this on fact this is all IMO, but desert/jungle or a plastic tank? If I am a snake I know what I would prefer.

Not a pet IMO.
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It's the same with fish, surely they'd rather be in the sea or in a river?
 
Andr3w said:
Ahh fair enough, are the snakes happy enough been in a cage all day though?
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Yeah, can't say that they ever look bored or anything, but they can try to excape, but i'm sure that's because of curiosity.

Also i'm sure they would prefer to be housed in a cage rather than in the wild because most snakes are agrophobics (scared of big spaces) and like to be hidden away to feel safe.
 
Ahh fair enough, are they like fish in the way that they will only grow as big as there bowl/pond? (or cage in this instance lol)

How long do snakes live for?
 
Andr3w said:
Ahh fair enough, are they like fish in the way that they will only grow as big as there bowl/pond? (or cage in this instance lol)

How long do snakes live for?
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Nope not at all, it depends on how much you feed them. The more you feed them the longer they grow, but they can become overweight.

Posted a bit further up the page, Boa's and Pythons usually live between 20-30 years, but mature out at around 4 years. Corn snake only usually live to about 20 years.
 
Different types of snake tend to show different levels of hostility. For example, Royal Pythons or Burmese Pythons tend to be very docile and will rarely bite unless your hand smells like a rat and then theres things like Anacondas or Reticulated Pythons that have a reputation for being aggressive.

Also, when buying a snake you have to make sure you are buying a captive bred snake and not a wild caught as the wild caught ones tend to be much more aggressive and probably never calm down.

As for thinking its cruel keeping snakes in cages, I feel that as long as the cage the snake is kept in is large enough for it to roam about and have some exercise then I dont see a problem. Snakes tend to hide and sleep a lot only venturing out at night, they are also agoraphobic, which means they are scared of open spaces, so they'd probably prefer being kept in a decent sized cage. In the wild, snakes are hosts to lots of different parasites like mites, ticks and worms, where as in captivity they generaly have a much healthier life. Here is a pic of my Pythons 4' cage:
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