Read this before buying a large snake!

[Stormyva]

This is a little something that I wrote to post in another forum... but it fits very well here as well!
Are you ready for a “big snake”?

That is the question that you will need to ask yourself before you go and purchase many of the boids, pythons and boas, that are readily available in pet shops. Many of the snakes are sold to people that don’t know what they are getting themselves into and the snake ends up being neglected or dead because the buyer isn’t into snakes anymore or never researched to find out how to take care of the snake. If the snake is lucky, the owner may have taken it into a rescue facility where the snake may end up being euthanized or, hopefully, put up for adoption.

Here are a few questions that might change your mind about making the “big” purchase:

Q: Do you know what it takes to handle a snake that is 10’ or longer?
Before a large boid is purchased, handle one that is of at least adult size and get a feel for what you are getting your self into. A common boa can get to be anywhere from 7’ to 12’ as an adult. Reticulated Pythons, Burmese Pythons, and Anacondas have the potential of getting much bigger than that! Even a “little” snake like a 6’ Boa has more strength than a lot of people realize. Large snake should only be handled by two or more people, as they can very quickly over power even an adult.

Q: Are you ready to make a commitment of 20-30 years to the animal?
Most boids will live 20 years or longer if they are cared for properly.

Q: Do you have enough room in your home to house a cage that is 5’ wide x 2’ deep or larger cage?
Using the minimum requirements for a snake of 1 square foot of cage space per foot of snake an adult boa at 8’ is going to need 8 square feet of cage space. A cage for that cute little Burmese as an adult is going to take a minimum of 6’ x 3’, 18 square feet, of your precious floor or storage space.

Q: Are you ready to make the monetary investment required to feed and maintain the snake for that long a period?
Properly caring for any reptile can get expensive, but large boids are going to have special needs. Feeding alone can get very expensive, a 6’ Boa Constrictor is going to eat, at a minimum, a jumbo adult rat that will cost approximately $5.00 for a frozen one at the local pet store. That $5.00 every 10 to 14 days can start to add up. Caging is going to be another concern, when that cute little Burmese Python hits 16’ it is going to need a minimum of 16 SF of floor space. Add to the feeding and caging the costs of: veterinary care (minimum $30 to $35 for a quick check up), medications if needed, thermometers, hygrometers, heat lamps ($5.00 to $8.00 each), special bulbs ($5.00-$8.00), substrate, mite treatment, water bowls, cage decorations, the additional electric bill for cage heating, the list goes on and on. Reptiles in general are not as cheap to keep as many would think!

Q: Can you handle looking at, handling, or even killing, mice, rats, guinea pigs, or even small pigs?
Some of the items that you are going to have to feed your snake were once those cute little fuzzy things that people kept as pets. Now they are probably dead and frozen, or you may have to do the killing yourself. For the benefit of your snake you need to feed it frozen/thawed food or at least freshly killed prey items. (Frozen/Thawed is a prey item that has been “put to sleep” most commonly by CO2 gas then packaged and frozen.) Frozen/Thawed is by far the safest way to feed the snake as a live prey item can kill the snake in no time at all. In the rare event that the snake will not eat frozen/thawed putting a cute, fuzzy mouse or rat in a pillow case and whacking it on the wall to stun it is not exactly a pleasant thing to do.

Q: Have you researched and do you understand the husbandry requirements for the snake?
Every type of snake is going to have specific care requirements. You will need to know what your snake needs to thrive. Temperatures and humidity levels are different for different snakes, some types of substrate are good for one snake and not others, some cages are easier to maintain the husbandry requirements than others. DO YOUR RESEARCH and know what your snakes needs are BEFORE you buy the snake! The information is readily available on the internet, the forum in which you are reading this, books, magazines, ask questions, and talk to friends. There is no excuse not to know the needs of your snake.

The above questions and comments may sound like I am trying to dissuade you from buying a snake. I am not, but I do want you as a potential snake owner to understand that there is a lot more to owning a large snake than just tossing it in a cage and letting it be! Something to consider before buying from a pet store or breeder is adoption. There are many snakes that are available for adoption at little or no cost from rescue facilities. These facilities do not have an endless supply of funds or unlimited space so please consider it as an option to buying. Snakes and reptiles can and do make great pets but be responsible, do your research, and think long and hard about the commitment that you are making!


[addsig]

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

No comments huh ?

I think it is nicely written for one though Stormyva...
sticking it to the top also in this thread...
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[herp_chick]

Good job, Stormy [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
[addsig]

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[BWSmith]

Very nice. I must have overlooked this one. Something else to consider:

What if the 12' snake becomes aggressive? Do you have the committment to keep it?

And 'round these parts, a jumbo rat from a pet shop costs about $9! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]
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[telefrag]

something should also be said for checking local laws regarding the keeping of large snakes in some cities and states.

So liability can also be a factor.


[addsig]

[vetstudent82]

Good jod Stormya!

I find myself always being the devil's advocate in this kind of matters. Someone once told me I had talked him out of buying a cat: all I told him were basic cat requirements, and I told him this was a commitment of the cat's lifetime... guess ppl just don't think of that, sometimes.

I'm glad this post is stuck up there [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
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[savannah_babe]

yes..i agree totally. i always knew it was very difficult to handle a large boid, but you never know until you have to deal with it personally. i had to take an 16ft burm home yesterday for a soak in my tub. she is a rescue that i aquired with a bad shed. she wasnt too happy..she never struck until yesterday..but she had also been through a lot yesterday too. not easy, considering i had quite a few people standing by incase i needed help, but it was only my husband and i carrying her. 200lbs of dead weight. he held her head, and about 20lbs of her, while i carried the rest. if i do say so myself, im quite good at handling them, but still am not ready to keep one myself. oh yes and one more thing.. man did she spray me!! yucky smell..he he.. but if man if you are under 140lbs and cant bench 200 your in trouble with a snake that gets that big..roflmfao
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[Reptscue]

>>.she never struck until yesterday..but she had also been through a lot yesterday too.


Yea, I know!!!!!! I'm the one she struck at!!!!! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]
(and I wonder why the pictures that I took where all blury)


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[savannah_babe]

lol yeah kim..she was pretty fiesty with joe..tried to get him several times while we were in the bathroom with her, sitting on her trying to keep her in the tub, and man, she sprayed me, a lot! lol
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[Redtail4Me]

Nice post. I am one of the fortunate ones who always investigates the certain species im going to purchase and becoming a guardian too. Although a majority of the people dont. I have had snakes before corns, milks, ball pyhton, and now I have moved up to the beautiful Redtail. I understand the growth rate, and possibility of great hugeness. I do recommend that people always investigate what they are getting into well before they actually purchase. Taking that post of Stormyva seriously, thats just my opinion. I hate to see this massive yet gentle giants abused because of someones ingorance [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
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[Bell]

where I liveo May I know how about Corn Snakes? How long it may be grow? It's poison?
If got bike from it how?

Thank you

Bell [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
[addsig]

	Corn Snake The Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata) is a species of Rat Snake.

[JuliusSqueezer]

cornsnakes are not venomous. The bite is just a scratch. Males get up to a bit over 6 feet and females get up to about 5 feet.

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[Bell]

Hi again, May I know the CornSnakes...... can eat ppl when it grow5 feet?
Sorry I still need know...because I interest.....to buy but no idea.
Thank you
Bell
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[Ed_r]

Ummm a 5' cornsnake could only probably eat an aborded fetus. There is no way ANY Cornsnake could eat someone.
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[John_White]

Brian,

Well done!

John
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[hisba]

Bell, an adult corn snake will eat a small or med. rat. The only snakes that would
even be large enough to eat a person (child/small adult) would have to be over 15' in
length. Corn snakes are small colubrid snakes and could not physically eat a human.
This is my 3 yr old blizzard corn snake [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[addsig]

	Corn Snake The Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata) is a species of Rat Snake.

[Slithers]

Originally Posted by Stormyva

This is a little something that I wrote to post in another forum... but it fits very well here as well!
Are you ready for a “big snake”?
That is the question that you will need to ask yourself before you go and purchase many of the boids, pythons and boas, that are readily available in pet shops. Many of the snakes are sold to people that don’t know what they are getting themselves into and the snake ends up being neglected or dead because the buyer isn’t into snakes anymore or never researched to find out how to take care of the snake. If the snake is lucky, the owner may have taken it into a rescue facility where the snake may end up being euthanized or, hopefully, put up for adoption.
Here are a few questions that might change your mind about making the “big” purchase:
Q: Do you know what it takes to handle a snake that is 10’ or longer?
Before a large boid is purchased, handle one that is of at least adult size and get a feel for what you are getting your self into. A common boa can get to be anywhere from 7’ to 12’ as an adult. Reticulated Pythons, Burmese Pythons, and Anacondas have the potential of getting much bigger than that! Even a “little” snake like a 6’ Boa has more strength than a lot of people realize. Large snake should only be handled by two or more people, as they can very quickly over power even an adult.
Q: Are you ready to make a commitment of 20-30 years to the animal?
Most boids will live 20 years or longer if they are cared for properly.
Q: Do you have enough room in your home to house a cage that is 5’ wide x 2’ deep or larger cage?
Using the minimum requirements for a snake of 1 square foot of cage space per foot of snake an adult boa at 8’ is going to need 8 square feet of cage space. A cage for that cute little Burmese as an adult is going to take a minimum of 6’ x 3’, 18 square feet, of your precious floor or storage space.
Q: Are you ready to make the monetary investment required to feed and maintain the snake for that long a period?
Properly caring for any reptile can get expensive, but large boids are going to have special needs. Feeding alone can get very expensive, a 6’ Boa Constrictor is going to eat, at a minimum, a jumbo adult rat that will cost approximately $5.00 for a frozen one at the local pet store. That $5.00 every 10 to 14 days can start to add up. Caging is going to be another concern, when that cute little Burmese Python hits 16’ it is going to need a minimum of 16 SF of floor space. Add to the feeding and caging the costs of: veterinary care (minimum $30 to $35 for a quick check up), medications if needed, thermometers, hygrometers, heat lamps ($5.00 to $8.00 each), special bulbs ($5.00-$8.00), substrate, mite treatment, water bowls, cage decorations, the additional electric bill for cage heating, the list goes on and on. Reptiles in general are not as cheap to keep as many would think!
Q: Can you handle looking at, handling, or even killing, mice, rats, guinea pigs, or even small pigs?
Some of the items that you are going to have to feed your snake were once those cute little fuzzy things that people kept as pets. Now they are probably dead and frozen, or you may have to do the killing yourself. For the benefit of your snake you need to feed it frozen/thawed food or at least freshly killed prey items. (Frozen/Thawed is a prey item that has been “put to sleep” most commonly by CO2 gas then packaged and frozen.) Frozen/Thawed is by far the safest way to feed the snake as a live prey item can kill the snake in no time at all. In the rare event that the snake will not eat frozen/thawed putting a cute, fuzzy mouse or rat in a pillow case and whacking it on the wall to stun it is not exactly a pleasant thing to do.
Q: Have you researched and do you understand the husbandry requirements for the snake?
Every type of snake is going to have specific care requirements. You will need to know what your snake needs to thrive. Temperatures and humidity levels are different for different snakes, some types of substrate are good for one snake and not others, some cages are easier to maintain the husbandry requirements than others. DO YOUR RESEARCH and know what your snakes needs are BEFORE you buy the snake! The information is readily available on the internet, the forum in which you are reading this, books, magazines, ask questions, and talk to friends. There is no excuse not to know the needs of your snake.
The above questions and comments may sound like I am trying to dissuade you from buying a snake. I am not, but I do want you as a potential snake owner to understand that there is a lot more to owning a large snake than just tossing it in a cage and letting it be! Something to consider before buying from a pet store or breeder is adoption. There are many snakes that are available for adoption at little or no cost from rescue facilities. These facilities do not have an endless supply of funds or unlimited space so please consider it as an option to buying. Snakes and reptiles can and do make great pets but be responsible, do your research, and think long and hard about the commitment that you are making!
[addsig]

this should be a sticky.

great post.

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[Sleepy_FF]

Originally Posted by Slithers

this should be a sticky.
great post.

i agree completely

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[louise]

Stormya great job! people need to know this.

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[louise]

Stormya please do make it a sticky.

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