A few questions on Subocs (Trans-Pecos Rat Snakes)

[Suzanne]

Hello, everyone. I'm fairly new here, and I thought i'd ask a few questions to everybody.
I'm new to the herp world, and i'm interested in getting a suboc as a beginner pet. I'm not planning on breeding snakes for a long time, mostly because I don't feel like i'm capable of doing it at this point. I'd have to do a lot more research on breeding before I began. I've been researching snakes for a little over a year - just lurking on message boards, and reading as much as I can about them. I want to be prepared before I get a snake. I know that they can live a pretty long time, and I want to make sure that i'm committed before I decide to go out and buy one.
Another question I had is this - I live in the Kansas City area, and the only reptile show that I know of that happens around here is the Kansas City Reptile Show which is a bi-monthly show. Does anybody from the area know if it would be likely for me to pick a suboc up from there? I've looked at a lot of the vendor websites, but none of them (from what i've seen) have any mention of subocs. I'd prefer to buy in person rather than online if I have a choice, because i've read a lot of horror stories online about buying a snake online, and either getting ripped off, the snake is/was sick, or is DOA. I'm a very cautious person, I guess.
I've also got a 10 gallon aquarium, and a 29 gallon aquarium that were previously used for fish. I haven't cleaned them yet, but I plan on using the bleach/water solution to clean it - I'm also planning on using a UTH (is ZooMed any good?) and aspen bedding. would it be appropriate to use a 10 gallon for a juvenile, and 29 gallon for an adult?
And for my last question (i'm sorry it's so long! i've got way too many questions in my brain!) - I have 4 cats in my house right now, and I have no idea how they would react to a snake as i've never had one before. I'm not so much worried about a suboc getting a cat, because I know they stay relatively small. I'm more worried about what a cat could do to a suboc - especially a young one. Are there any precautions I could take to prevent anything from happening? I'm planning on keeping the snake in my bedroom, in which there's a single cat that sleeps in there at night with me. During the day, he roams around the house, and all the cats have free roam of my bedroom.
Also, if anybody has any good places to find care sheets online, i'd appreciate it. I've read the one on suboc.com, and it's informative, but it doesn't give me all the information that I feel like I need.
Thank you all very much for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you!

-Suzanne

	Under Tank Heater Under Tank Heater

[morti]

Subocs are not what I usually think of when I think of beginner snakes, but I am sure they would be acceptable rat snakes.

We have a guy here by the name of Telefrag that possesses vast quantities of knowledge about North American colubrids who should notice your post shortly. In reality, I am just long windedly bumping it so he can find it.

[telefrag]

(yawns... wakes up)
suboc's aren't a horrible choice for a first snake.

They are shy, and if they are in a room with your cats, they will most likely be very uncomfortable for some time.
If you get a trans pecos rat, I would keep it in a area that would not get lots of traffic, like a den, living room, or kids bedroom.
But rather if you have a spare room that can be closed off to the cats, and doesn't get the in/out traffic that the others would, then thats a good place to start.

The caging isn't too complicated.
Starting one out in a 10gallon aquarium with a glass lid isn't a bad start, or you could go with something like one of the BARRS (herpcages.com Your source for the best in herp cages) 24x12x12 that is about 55.00 and is an EXCELLENT cage for a suboc that will last it for at least the first 3 years.
The cage would be need to be pretty dry (small water bowl) with several different hide areas, some on warm ends, and some on the cool ends, and a few in between.
a small heat pad under one side that keeps a surface temp around 85 would be perfect, the rest of the cages temps being in the high 70's with a normal night time drop.
They are naturally secretive but as they get older they do get a bit more adventurous and as adults are pretty easy going and hard to scare.

If you find a 6-12month old captive bred/born animal that has been well cared for, then it could be a very rewarding pet.
One of the few "family" snakes i've had in the past was a trans pecos rat.
she was a wild caught animal but had been in captivity for 12 years when she passed away.
But she was very very calm, and good with kids, and was very pleasant.
She was even tolerant of the household pets.

if you have any specific questions, just let me know.

[Suzanne]

Originally Posted by morti

Subocs are not what I usually think of when I think of beginner snakes, but I am sure they would be acceptable rat snakes.

We have a guy here by the name of Telefrag that possesses vast quantities of knowledge about North American colubrids who should notice your post shortly. In reality, I am just long windedly bumping it so he can find it.

Thank you very much. Anything helps, and I appreciate it. I'm thinking that I may go another route to begin with, but i'll always have a suboc or two on my want list.

[Suzanne]

Originally Posted by telefrag

(yawns... wakes up)
suboc's aren't a horrible choice for a first snake.

They are shy, and if they are in a room with your cats, they will most likely be very uncomfortable for some time.
If you get a trans pecos rat, I would keep it in a area that would not get lots of traffic, like a den, living room, or kids bedroom.
But rather if you have a spare room that can be closed off to the cats, and doesn't get the in/out traffic that the others would, then thats a good place to start.

The caging isn't too complicated.
Starting one out in a 10gallon aquarium with a glass lid isn't a bad start, or you could go with something like one of the BARRS (herpcages.com Your source for the best in herp cages) 24x12x12 that is about 55.00 and is an EXCELLENT cage for a suboc that will last it for at least the first 3 years.
The cage would be need to be pretty dry (small water bowl) with several different hide areas, some on warm ends, and some on the cool ends, and a few in between.
a small heat pad under one side that keeps a surface temp around 85 would be perfect, the rest of the cages temps being in the high 70's with a normal night time drop.
They are naturally secretive but as they get older they do get a bit more adventurous and as adults are pretty easy going and hard to scare.

If you find a 6-12month old captive bred/born animal that has been well cared for, then it could be a very rewarding pet.
One of the few "family" snakes i've had in the past was a trans pecos rat.
she was a wild caught animal but had been in captivity for 12 years when she passed away.
But she was very very calm, and good with kids, and was very pleasant.
She was even tolerant of the household pets.

if you have any specific questions, just let me know.

Wow. Well, thank you very much for all of that info. After all of that info, I think i'll wait a little bit on a suboc to begin with. I'd rather find more of a beginner snake (probably a ball, but possibly also a corn) and then when I feel comfortable, i'll get a Suboc. The only spare room i have available gets really cold during winter and really hot in the summer - Plus, it's filled with junk, because it's pretty much our storage room.
I really appreciate your information, and if I think of any questions, should I get a suboc, i'll be sure to either post again, or send you a PM. Thank you again.

[telefrag]

oh, I meant to say screen lid, not glass lid.. DOH!

good luck in what you decide.

but remember any snake species, especially as a baby is going to be nervous around cats.
they will eventually get used to them, but expect any snake to be moderately stressed at first if four cats are camped outside its cage watching.