Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[krakilin]

good day everyone.
i've been keeping snakes for a year. i now have 16 of them.
i know this is not many compared to a lot of you, but it is for me. hehe.
i have some questions regarding husbandry so that i can improve my routines.
1.) do you feed them in a different enclosure? if not, how do you feed them? do you use some kind of plate to avoid the snake's eating of the substrate?
2.) what substrate do you use?
3.) do you hold every snake regularly? how long and how often?
4.) are all your snakes tame?
5.) if the snake is not tame, do you try to tame it? or just use a snake hook in moving them?
6.) if the snake is very hard to tame, do you try and try or you just give up because taming isn't really a necessity in snake keeping?

i will write my answers to each so that you can help me improve. thanks.=)
1.) i use a separate enclosure. in rare cases, i use a small cup to place the feeders in the enclosure.
2.) i use paper towel. i found out that it looks cleaner and are easier to clean than wood shavings. i don't use newspaper because nobody reads them at home.
3.) i currently can't hold them unless i have to move them due to a busy schedule. but someone told me that 5 min/ day is good enough. is this true?
4.) i really want them to be tame. i have a pair of leucistic texas rat snakes that won't tame down.>_<
5.) i am considering in getting a snake hook. is this a requirement in snake keeping?
6.) my gtp used to be tame. but due to a busy schedule, i am not sure if he/she is still as tame as before.

i know this thread is pretty weird. i just want opinions from other people regarding feeding and taming. thanks.=)

[Lynne]

hiya.
1/those on aspen i give the food on a square of kitchen roll, although the hoggy did have an accident and ate the kitchen roll along with his mouse last week.
2/the ones in vivs are on aspen, the ones in tubs are on newspaper with kitchen roll on top.
3/all mine are handled and given cuddles regularly. although i cant take them all out everyday. the royals not eating arent handled till they are eating every week.
4/they are all tame, but one ot two are antisocial, they get handled when they chose to be handled.
5/i tame them. they have to be handleable in case of emergencies, i find with gentle handling and slow movements around them they normally come to sort of trust you. i only use the snake hook to lift the boa out her viv, as soon as she clears the door my hand goes under her and i then lift her.
6/i would not give up, i would not be happy keeping a snake i couldnt handle. they all have to come out vivs and tubs at some point, and have to be handled by vet etc.
hope this is off help.
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[Lynne]

actually its a ratsnake that one of my antisocial ones. he chooses when he wants out, by signaling wi a tail rattle. if he rattles it i leave him alone. i find thats the best way as he can be quite vicious.
5 mins a day will be fine, but you dont have to handle them everyday.
i only use the hook with the boa as she is food orientated and tends to think everything moving in her viv is food. the hook is purely to lift her out the door.
if you havent handled your gtp for a while and it was tame before, i would imagine it may be skittish at first but would settle again, but i have never had one of these so dont take my word for that one.
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[krakilin]

oh yes very big help. i am actually into corns, kings, milks, and one gtp. my oldest is a yearling albino brook's king snake and for me is a bit big (because everyone else is small. all are hatchlings. hehe.) he is about 4 ft at least.
and the brook's bit me last month. it didn't hurt but i am a bit scared and i don't know why. hehe. i was actually laughing while it bit me maybe due to fascination. it was the first real bite felt. but then again, i still feel a bit scared. but i know this won't stop me from taming them. being bitten comes with the hobby anyway.
thanks for the help.=)
and i really admire your great love for your pets, lynne.

[krakilin]

oh thanks thanks. that's how my brooks is. everything = food.
all my snakes won't bite when fed except for the brooks because she never feels full.

[Lynne]

aw thankyou. a tip i got from someone when handling a bitey one, was to wear rubber gloves. they dont like the taste of the rubber, and it puts them off biting again. so rubber gloves and long sleeves may help.
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[krakilin]

ah... these rubber gloves are the ones used when cleaning the house? or are these the surgical gloves? or nitrile gloves? thank you for that tip.=) but won't their teeth still penetrate the gloves?

[Lynne]

the marigold ones. yes they will still get through, but you could put a thicker glove under them, but the taste will put them off. after the hoggy bit me and i was not well, i decided to wear one while getting him out. but i discovered he loves rubber and will happily climb on your hand if you are wearing one,

he always has a flick with his tongue to see if i have the glove on, and if i dont he slithers off into his hide.
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[krakilin]

hahaha. so is this the same hoggy that ate the kitchen roll? you have really unique snakes there.

[Lynne]

yes thats him, he is a wee character. but he seems to have gotten over the kitchen roll episode ok.
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