Snakes & Lizards Enthusiasts Thread

[Garjzla]

I have been a reptile fan all my life, but my parents (or, to be more specific, my Dad) hated them all with a burning passion so I just stuck with more simple animals such as birds, which is why I ended up with three parrots and too many chickens to count.

This year I have been more bold with my animal loving habits and started to go herping (searching for reptiles) rather frequently, and so I'd always come up to the house with handfuls of lizards and little rat snakes and garter snakes that I had found sunbathing in the driveway.

My Mom had never disliked snakes, and had said that she wouldn't mind me having one, so eventually when my birthday came up she told me to ask my Dad for a snake.

Long story short, I asked for the biggest one I was willing to have and somehow got permission to spend hundreds of dollars on a ball python.

His name is Thomas, and I've had him for a few weeks so far. He's a champagne ball with a distinct stripe down his back and a slight wobble due to his morph. He seems pretty calm around people, though he has tried to bite me when he was hungry (he eats every 5-6 days).

He already shed for the first time about a week ago, so now he's pretty bright in coloration.

(When I very first got him I accidentally left his sack open.)


Does anybody else here on BYC have pet snakes, or really any reptile they'd like to talk about?

 

[jwyles]

Very pretty snake!

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

I don't have any reptiles right now, but I think they're awesome! Yours is beautiful!

@CP Chicken has a snake.

 

[CP Chicken]

Heyo! I've been summoned.

Brilliant snake! His coloration is overwhelmingly gorgeous!!
How big is he? Correct me if I'm wrong but does he have the genetic stripe morph?



When I got my snake, neither of my parents were pleased but my mom was a little more open to it. Eventually my mother agreed to a smaller snake that was less likely to bite since I have so many little cousins. I finally found the western Hognose snake, they are waaay less likey to bite, they are more likely to hiss at you or play dead rather than bite you. I wanted a boa constictor but knew that would never happen. So I searched and searched until I finally found a website with some beautiful hognose snakes, I was only allowed $50 to spend and so, lucky me, the same day I found the website they were having a one day sale on normal western hognoses!! We bought a snake ASAP and she arrived only a day after. I thought she was dead when she arrived *insert mini heart attack*, but lucky I was wrong.


I'll post picture later, I don't have access to my phone and I have no pictures on my IPad. also, I can't hold her right now because I just fed her. -_-

 

[CP Chicken]

 

[Garjzla]

Very pretty snake!

Thank you! I really loved his morph, and honestly thought the wobble was cute.

 

[Garjzla]

View attachment 1091300

Wow, that is adorable. I was seriously considering a hognose snake, but they were always so expensive. Maybe I'll try to find one later and get one more animal to hoard.

 

[Garjzla]

Heyo! I've been summoned.

Brilliant snake! His coloration is overwhelmingly gorgeous!!
How big is he? Correct me if I'm wrong but does he have the genetic stripe morph?



When I got my snake, neither of my parents were pleased but my mom was a little more open to it. Eventually my mother agreed to a smaller snake that was less likely to bite since I have so many little cousins. I finally found the western Hognose snake, they are waaay less likey to bite, they are more likely to hiss at you or play dead rather than bite you. I wanted a boa constictor but knew that would never happen. So I searched and searched until I finally found a website with some beautiful hognose snakes, I was only allowed $50 to spend and so, lucky me, the same day I found the website they were having a one day sale on normal western hognoses!! We bought a snake ASAP and she arrived only a day after. I thought she was dead when she arrived *insert mini heart attack*, but lucky I was wrong.


I'll post picture later, I don't have access to my phone and I have no pictures on my IPad. also, I can't hold her right now because I just fed her. -_-

Yep, he's a genetic stripe morph, and he's about 1-2 feet (haven't measured him). Very very beautiful, too. And I found him for sale only a few days after I decided that the genetic stripe morph was the one morph I wanted the most.

That's really cool! Please for the love of all that is good and holy tell me what website you went to, because I always thought hognose snakes were the absolute cutest (though I didn't like how small they were, but that nose is adorable).

I'm glad she arrived healthy and everything! Does she eat live or frozen? I really didn't want to feed live, but that's what Thomas is used to eating and now I really enjoy the benefits of feeding live, even if that does involve the heartache of putting a live mouse in there and also the annoyance of smelling like a mouse, so Thomas thinks my extremely white hand is a really great meal.

 

[Kevin Magee]

I can also speak up to this post. I have had a number of different reptiles in my life including Savanah Monitors, Iguanas, and a 6 foot Elbino Corn snake. At the moment I have two three foot Pastel Ball Pythons and a three foot Brazilian Rainbow Boa.
Ball pythons will get past their biting but even mine strike at times. Be sure to clean your hands before handling the snake is what I have learned. I feed tree snakes and I have found they will pick up in the scent of any animal you have touched. It is not usually you they are biting at, it’s the smell on your hands.
It seems like they don’t care for the smell of soap and as long as I wash up between each rat they don’t attack.
That is a pretty Ball you have there and snakes can be great pets. Good luck and enjoy your pet.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

i used to have a leopard gecko named blizzard (she was an albino one), she passed away a few years ago. never got any more reptiles after her.