^^ Yes i know they are display snakes which i dont mind, i just mentioned that the Red eyed skink is niether a display lizard or one to be handled so that is why i didnt get one.
Regarding Rainbow Boas i would love one but as you stated maintaining there enclosure and there humidity requirements is putting me off due to having to work away for a day or 2 every now and then.
I can see myself getting a Red Tail again the previous one i had was a rescue that was mistreated, previous owner used to pin her head down with a plastic tub lid and she was infested with mites, got her to calm down a lot to the point she loved coming out of her viv and been handled and got rid of her mite problem but then i had to get rid of my collection as stated.
Going to have a look at some crawl cay Boas on sunday as i already have a 4ft viv spare so one of them would be ideal due to been dwarfs.
How come the landlord decided you could not have snakes ? Of all things they cause no damage to the property say like a dog or cat does. It's like saying you cant keep fish.. Was the landlord just not a reptile fan and being a pain ? I rent and my landlord is very cool with me (even though the contract says no pets),I have a giant Ragdoll cat and the Royal Python and a large sea water aquarium at my property and have my Burmese at my mums in my old bedroom and if I had the space in the place I rent now I would have got her over here too and sure the landlord wouldn't mind as he knows I look after the property and do a lot of maintenance and keeping the place really nice and he loves my cat and the aquarium, he's not a huge fan of snakes but he thinks the colouring and patterns are really pretty on them but of course wouldn't keep one as a pet (you know that stereotype that we all grow up with they are dangerous and all venomous blaa blaa.. i'm sure you know what I mean as a keeper).
Want to hear something funny ? My first snake was a Burmese Python I got her 1993 and still have her at my mums in my old bedroom in a custom made enclosure that takes up most of the room. I got her and didn't know if she was a boy or girl at the time (didn't care), because I feared snakes and hated the fact I did as I love all animals and they were the only animal that scared me but of course I thought they looked pretty but terrified of them.
My brother at the time (1992 before I got the Burmese) got some Garter snakes little young ones that were wriggly pains in the rear and bite at you all the time at that age and they would escape all the time from their little viv and of course I liked them but really didn't want to deal with them, but one day they got out and my brother was no where to be found and of course I was worried they would get hurt or lost in the house and get sucked up in the vac or the cats would get them, so got the winter gloves and picked them up and stuck them back in their viv and made it escape proof. I was fascinated by them and in the end I ended up taking care of them as my brother lost interest in them
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In the end I took the Garters to a reptile shop and they took them as part of a part exchange for my Burmese Python
. I liked larger snakes than smaller ones at the time as they didn't creep me out when they moved so quick. I never planned on keeping my Burmese to full size, but at the time they were classed as pretty docile (I did a lot of reading and spent more on books than the cost of the snake, even before I decided to get it) for a snake and that's what attracted them to me and I loved their natural colours (normal's), so I said to my mum at the time I was getting one as she is terrified by snakes too and she said no ...
.. so many days I kept saying I got it and she said she would not come in the house if I did.. so for 2 weeks that went on and in the end I got her and set her up when my parents were out shopping. They came home and I said hey I got the snake (she was a 8-10 week old still tiny but extremely beautiful), my mum said sure sure.. I said I will get her and bring her down, so got her and showed her to my mum and she of course jumped back two feet and then calmed down and realised she was really pretty, she wouldn't touch her but liked the look of her and said wow she seems really nice compared to the Garters, I said yup but bad news is she becomes huge... Showed her full grown pics and she was like omg wow never realised there was even snakes that large in the world, I said yes but I don't plan on keeping her till fully grown and just want to take care of her till she becomes maybe a concern for me.
Today my mum still has the snake in my old bedroom because I love her to bits and would never get rid of her, she was the snake that got rid of all my fears and even my mum started to love her too and my mum changes her water everyday and cleans any poop if she can easily get to it as she does not handle the snake inside or outside of the viv unless I am there, I feed her and do the full clean of the viv and no one is allowed to take her out apart from me as she is now 18 feet and 2 inches long after measuring her last March, her weight I have no idea as I don't have scales that could measure her. From a tiny 150-200-ish grams to a giant. That's why I don't recommend any giant snake larger than a Common boa/red tail in a home environment, yes the girls become huge compared to the males but again the males are still large.
I made a very bad decision when I got her as I didn't really plan on keeping her to full size but after many years with her I couldn't get rid of her, she was my baby (sounds soppy I know) . That's why I only now keep snakes that get no larger than a common Boa/Red tail. They become very expensive to keep the large ones as you need custom enclosures built, more sophisticated thermostats with more channels and able to run heat cable (under belly heat) and heat lamps (heat from above) and lighting and a humidifier and keeping the room at a steady temp too so a room heater too. This is how it has to be done for such a large snake to keep them healthy. I hate seeing people not keeping them right and clearly see they have URI, bad sheds (want to remove eye caps from a 18 foot snake with a head larger than your hands, because humidity is all wrong..(that gets very scary but has to be done)) ? as the conditions are not correct for the large enclosures as they use single channel thermostats and the temps are all wrong in the other parts of the viv and ambient temps are way off as they only measure the heat area. Larger the enclosure the more headaches, people never realise this till they get to that stage, from a 4-6 foot viv to a room sized viv is a very different ball game and ends up very expensive very quickly. The hidden costs to keeping reptiles or warm/sea water fish is the enclosures and controlling the conditions. Also how do you like the idea of an inside pond as a water bowl/full soak area in an enclosure and then all the measures needed to make it very safe for a large snake and 100% escape proof, just the special hardened thick glass cost a fortune? Then always making sure to lock the enclosure and the room doors and windows. I even have a note on the back of the room door as I go out or my mum to double check everything before locking the room.
So the moral of the story is if you get a reptile and is cute and tiny when you see them check how large they get as adults and can you really keep it and take care of it and can you make sure you will be safe and others that may come into contact with the reptile (large snake bites child or escaped snake makes great headlines and destroys the hobby for us all, so really think). I'm sure many are reading this thread thinking wow they are so cool I want one and never kept a reptile before, do your homework first and if you are happy with the animal you decide on, make sure you setup their enclosures a week before getting them to make sure all works well and troubleshooting any problems, so after a full week all works well go get your reptile and enjoy, also do a lot of reading on them before and after
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If you are new to this and love the idea of a snake, get a king snake,milk snake (a type of king snake too) or corn snake first, they come in many beautiful forms and colours, keep that for a 1-2 years with no problems and if you later want something larger and feel brave and comfortable, the Ball/Royal Python make a great chunky medium snake and again comes in many morphs (colours and patterns) and again keep 1-2 years with no problems and still want something larger common boa / red tail or something with that care level and size as adults.
I know some are thinking Brazilian or Colombian Rainbow Boa are nice medium sized snakes but they require special care to keep them alive and healthy, they can die in 3-4 days if not kept right (so read and can you deal with that level of care ?), I have been doing this since 1993 and only now feel comfortable in looking after one or a pair of Rainbow Boas, I have kept many types of snakes in that time, most were rescues and I re-home them in time or bad buys like the Green Tree Pythons I purchased as they were very pretty but required a lot of care and always bite and never tame out, they are 100% display snakes and only handled when really necessary. Same applies to Tree Boas here for care and handling issues, so be aware, as I did think about changing the tree pythons for tree boas thinking they maybe easier to tame but heard same horror stories too, they again are 100% display snakes. I like to handle my pets from time to time so I can inspect them easily and make sure they are doing well and no problems are occurring.
Now the big question some are asking ... do they bite .... yes there are two common types of bites from a snake.. :-
1- the bite and release is a keep away warning and in most cases not a food response (unless you smell like your furry pets in the house and the snake realises oops not food and lets go quickly). Keep trying to pick up the snake so it realises its not getting away with that, basically conditioning it to bite you if you give up, use a snake hook if required, once they are out of the enclosure they normally calm right down, some are just protective of their home space, once out they calm right down.
2- the bite and hold on and wrapping round you is they are hungry and smell food and you either got in the way of the food you were offering them or smell of the food you maybe was preparing for them to give them and didn't wash your hands before putting hands into the enclosure (snake is thinking hey smells like food and warm .. so you get the idea). So always wash hands before and after handling a snake, a food response bite is the worst bite as they really try to latch on and not let their "food" get away, I normally let them realise i'm not food at this point and give them a few minutes to realise and they normally let go on their own. I try not to pull them off unless I have to as you can damage their teeth sometimes or end up with teeth in your skin. A trick I use when they really are stubborn and don't let go is to try spraying water on their mouth and head with a spray bottle, if that fails get some mouth wash if you have some and add that to a spray bottle and spray in their mouth, the taste normally makes them let go. No mouth wash try some lemon juice in water. If all this fails run a sink/ bathtub (depending on size of snake) with at first luke warm not hot water and dunk the snake fully in the water, keep your hand in the water for 30 secs first see if it lets go, if not let the snake up for air and try again increasing by 15 secs every time, but no more than 1 minute (you don't want to drown your pet). Normally these above tricks they would have let go, if not try the cold water shock trick, stick them under a running cold tap and run water on their head and try not to get the cold water all over their body, this normally works 100% I hate doing it as I don't want to make my snake cold, but better than it loosing teeth sometimes. Now if all this fails, gently open the snakes mouth easier from the bottom and get a ice lolly stick and slide that in the lower mouth as you are pulling on the lower jaw then, after that and lower is feeling loose push the top jaw forward (remember curved inward teeth) to release the top teeth and pull up to get the snake off.
3-Now the Third type of bite is again like the first they normally strike and release and hiss and even rub their scales together to make a sound and tail whip you, if your snake is normally calm and this has come out of the blue it could be they are coming into season or if a female protecting her eggs or live born.
The other reason if they are normally calm is the enclosure conditions maybe wrong , check temps and humidity and the enclosure is clean, sometimes snakes burn them selves on the heating provided if the thermostat or heating device used has gone wrong or you are using heat mats or some heating device without a thermostat and causing the snake to burn (a sign of this is they lay a little on their sides and in a bad case on their backs), so everyday check the temps at least twice in the day and before bed.
The other reason is they just dont feel well or maybe going into shed (don't handle a snake when they have cloudy eyes, they can't see well and can panic in defense, wait till they shed).
Now if you have a snake that has always been a bit of a striker and bites and doesn't tame over 6-12 months of handling, it may never do and just be a nervous snake and you may have to live with that and handle it with a snake hook and if this is not acceptable, then sell the snake to a keeper that understands the problem you are having with the snake, many keepers are happy to take a snake that has an attitude and can deal with them. Sometimes you just get a bad apple, but make sure not to buy a snake that is known not to tame down or can have an attitude, normally most snakes even the gentle known species can get the odd one that never wants to be handled and bites all the time and then you get the ones in the middle that are biting when you try get them out but calm right down when handling, then you get the real gentle ones they love your attention and never strike and bite when picked up and even when handled in a rough manner say by a child.
All animals bite .. but like any animal handle it enough and make it realise you wouldn't hurt it and feed it right and keep the enclosure clean and correct temps (for day time and night time), humidity, water, hides and light for day/night. You will have a buddy for life and I really mean life in some cases they can live a long time, so make sure you understand how long they can live for too.
Also very important if you get a snake make sure they feed on frozen thawed and not live in the case of a snake that eats rodents or rabbits. Insect eating reptiles types are all live eaters or dried food or fresh fruit and veg. SO do make sure how they are fed too and if unsure make sure they show you how they feed them before you buy or adopt a snake. Also make sure in the case of a snake that eats live only, it is dangerous for a snake sometimes as the prey animal can attack the snake and even kill the snake or cut it wide open or blind the snake, never buy or adopt a snake that eats live is my advice, you risk the snakes life too if you don't know what you are doing. Also it is unpleasant to watch live prey as food. All my snakes have always eaten frozen thawed, my Burmese eats 2 jumbo rabbits now in one feeding maybe even 3 sometimes, depends on how she looks to me and that's done every 2 weeks sometimes more or less, again you watch and know with experience. General rule for any young snake once a week of the correct size food is enough as they get older some are still fine on a once a week and some will be once every 10-14 days. DO read as they get older what they require as some feeding times change with age.
