To want a little snake?

[CarbyDiem]

I met one last week , a python, and fell in love. She was just lovely. And now I want one.

Where do I start? Where can I learn more? Where does one purchase a snake?

I have a name lined up ready.

I have two royal pythons - one is 9 and one is 16 this year. They can live 50+ years - average is about 35 - so they really are for life.

Much as I adore my two, royals are not really beginner snakes as they have their issues (feeding strikes etc) and getting the set-up right can be a bit tricky at the beginning.

I have a 36" long x 24" high x 18" deep tank for my two, with a climbing bar, shelf and lots of hiding places. I use a reptile radiator on the roof of the viv with a secure guard and that seems to get the temp gradients right. They also have a huge shallow water dish to keep humidity up and I use orchid bark on the floor for the same reason. They normally live in burrows, so need a hide small enough that they can touch all the sides when coiled up and feel safe and that nothing can get behind them - so you need to buy them bigger ones as they grow.

I generally advise beginners to get a corn snake as they're pretty problem free, but if you want a python then royals are pretty amazing. They're also slower than a corn so easier to catch when they escape (all snakes are houdinis).

They do all have their own personalities - my male is very friendly, very laid back, happy to be handled and generally quite interested in what is going on beyond the tank. My female probably wouldn't care if I never did more than chuck a mouse at her. She's very tame, but just curls up on your knee and has a snooze - doesn't set off exploring or anything and has zero interest in looking to see what is going on outside her home. Babies can be a bit nippy but they calm down very fast and in my experience they are very predictable (unlike boas who can't ever be completely trusted)... I've kept snakes for about 25 years now and have only been bitten by a slow worm, which is really a lizard and a bit like being attacked by an aggressive clothes peg!

Nowadays almost all royals are captive bred so you are not taking them from the wild (sadly many wild ones are killed for the meat trade and shipped to China), and there are some incredible colour morphs - and some very scary prices associated with them!

A 'wild type' baby plus a complete set-up will probably cost you £250-350 depending on how fancy a viv you want. I keep my two together, but generally they are solitary creatures - my female seems very happy with her current friend, but was not that keen on the male I had previously and would go on feeding strikes, so if you have more than one then you need to be prepared to possibly end up with two vivs not one. You always need to provide enough hides that each snake can have it's own in different temp areas.

I clicked on this thread thinking "wanting a little snake" was the twee-est yet at the same time creepiest euphemism for sex, ever.

Me too and the thread is still great if you read it believing that actually that's what people are talking about with all this 'I wouldn't dream of releasing my big fat python into the wild' business.
Ahem. As you were indeed.

If you are based near London, Crystal Palace Reptiles have lovely animals and all the kit. King's Reptiles in Mornington Crescent are also good.

You can have frozen mice and rats shipped or buy from the big pet stores (you have to ask but they normally have them).

Reptile vets are v hard to find and also expensive, but there is lots of advice online and I've used human doctors when I've needed advice. On the whole royals are very hardy if you keep them properly.

I've just googled 'cute baby snake' on the back of this thread.

😍😍

As you were.

Also, just to add as I'm sure others will agree that snake shit absolutely fucking stinks! All shit stinks but there is nothing quite like snake plop

Do your research, royal pythons are not a beginner's snake, find a reputable dealer or breeder and not one who will sell you any old snake and set up.
Corns are a great beginner snake and come in a great range of colour morphs
But remember they can live up to 20 years
And some of the bigger pythons and boas will live 30.
I love my snakes I find them easy and fascinating but they really shouldn't be bought on a whim

YABU.

Snakes belong in the wild, not in a g;ass tank.

What lovely knowledgable snake people there are on this thread!
They are definitely not a pet to take on without full and thorough research and a lot of thought. Care and appropriate housing? Vet? Holiday provision? They obviously live a loooong time too.

Lovely. I knew you lot would know stuff.
The snake I met was a royal python. But reading up the feeding /eating disorders are a concern.
I wouldn’t dream of just buying one off gumtree and want to find someone local who knows their stuff and I can learn and then decide. So I’m going to ask around. And look into vets and stuff too.

Obviously I plan to call him/her Monty.

And I’ve had cats. They get run over. Never again.

It's always worth getting a seperate tub for feeding too. I used a long pair of tweezers and strike fed them which is more natural. I never ever fed in viv. Didn't want them thinking that when I stuck my hand in to pick up poo/change water etc that they could have a munch on my hand.
If you get a royal they are prone to being buggers about feeding so you'll need to be prepared to do gross shit. I became rather too accustomed to warming and braining mice. I'll await people telling me how cruel that is too

Mama. I think I love you.

I sooooo want one.

Stupid idea alert!
Are there any specialist reptile rescue places? Could you volunteer and get some actual experience (and free advice!)

Aww shucks
Honestly they are bloody wonderful. Once you've got the set up right, and it's easy to sort your temps etc then it's a piece of piss. Defrost a mouse every week, dangle it by it's tail and that's it. They are amazing to watch, and beautiful.

On the feeding issues, it's mainly a case of keeping calm and not panicking.

I get annoyed with how fussy mine are - they decide they ONLY want completely white female mice. Even a tiny patch of colour means it gets rejected. Then when I have stocked up, they decide actually they'd rather have male ones, or piebald ones. I now have an entire draw in the freezer set aside for frozen rodents!

With feeding strikes, it tends to happen in the second year and in the winter months. There are various techniques one can use to encourage them to eat, but it's really not easy or pleasant and you have to be both firm (they are very strong) and gentle, and not freak them out.

I've had my female go best part of a year and not eat a thing, which would have totally freaked me if she had been only a couple of years old - but she was 8 and had done a few non-eating winters already by then. One day she looked a bit hungry and has been eating well ever since. She did lose a fair bit of weight, but put it back on again fairly quickly. We use 90%+ of our energy to keep warm, they don't do that, so their energy requirements are actually quite small.

It's very annoying having to throw away rejected mice, both cost, effort and feeling sorry for the poor dead and now not even eaten mouse/rat - nowadays I leave them out for the local fox, but in the past I often wished I had a corn or a burmese or similar dustbin-type snake that would gobble up all Mr and Mrs Fussy's leftovers.

I've never had a snake but a friend is a big fan.

Please don't underestimate just how expensive a vet's bills can be. He had to take his snake to a specialist (he said that most vets aren't very good at reptiles) and it was ruinous.

My ds got a corn snake when he was 2... Still going strong at 7 now. We have had a few other breeds but corn snakes are easier for a novice!!

Mama i have to ask...when you say 'braining' a mouse, do you literally mean removing it's brain 😱 I've luckily never had any feeding issues with mine, he is pretty regular & feeds really well. I do have to warm his dinner up for him tho 😂

Would a snake reptile rescue rehome to a novice?

I think it means getting a live mouse and bashing it over the head. My understanding (second hand) is that feeding live rodents to snakes is illegal in the UK.

Definitely a separate tank for feeding (they come in useful as travelling boxes). I use a pair of forceps and dangle so they strike feed. They don't have great eyesight so tend to not find it if it's just chucked in. Oh and watching a python try and eat a mouse tail first is very funny - they get in a total mess.

I tend to buy 10 rodents at a time, separate them into pairs in cheapy sandwich bags and bung them in the freezer. To defrost, I soak them in a bowl of warm water (don't use boiling or very hot, it has very unpleasant consequences - and NEVER put them in the microwave as they explode with revolting results) until fully thawed and warmed to the kind of temperature a live mouse would be.

Pythons have heat sensing pits and a very good sense of smell, so anything that is warm and smells of mouse is considered potential food, so always make sure that you wash your hands really well before moving them into the feeding tank. They don't appear to consider cat or dog or horse type smells edible.

As long as you have a good heating system and someone who can top their water up regularly, you can go away on holiday and they will be fine for a week or so. A lot of the specialist reptile shops also run holiday sitting services with a cosy viv and a mouse a week at very reasonable cost.

Sorry - could talk snakes for hours... have been fascinated since I was about 7.

I used to warm them with a hairdryer and then stick a pin in its head and give it a bit of a squeeze like it was a zit you could hear a pop and it was pretty damn grim the first time but we had an albino male who was dropping weight too much and it worked. One time I think I warmed it too much and as he grabbed it 'juices' came out. My god the stench was like nothing I have ever smelt nor do I want to again! He on the other hand, seemed to rather enjoy himself.

Never a live mouse. A dead, warmed up one.

Braining is hitting an already dead mouse to enable the snake to smell blood and make it interested in your offering!!
Feeding live food is illegal and your snake is likely to be injured anyway!! Snakes smuggled with live food are inevitably injured by a lively toothy mouse!!