Snake Owners - Share your pics and passion

[ScaredOfShadows]

I didn't see an active thread on snakes or reptiles - only two I come across on search were over a year old - SO why not make a new one? If there is a recent one - by all means post it and we can use it.

I am hoping we can help atleast one BYC who is not a herp fan - to appreciate snakes and be acceptable to their presence as a pet in our societies and as a creature to co-exist with and not kill.

My DD's baby - Neo. My DD is 5 - going on 6 soon. This WAS my snake I got my for birthday as a surprise from a friend of mine but DD quickly claimed as HERS. - lol.

Three of the snakes I used to own at one time - need to get new pictures of my old man Kiara.
Pictured above (Largest grey - Columbian Redtail box X Suriname Cross) Suri (Tan and black - Ball python) - Kenya. Littlest one (Burmese) - Zimba


Anyone else on here have snakes, pictures, stories, information they'd like to share?

(Topics I'd like to hear about)

What snake do you not own you'd like to own?
What snake would you never own?Why not?
Have you ever 'lost' a snake? - if so tell us about it

Do you take your snakes out anywhere? If so - whats your favorite or least favorite reaction?

 

[dntd]

I have 3 snakes, 2 corns and a male ball python. My male ball, is a real picky eater, we have found the only true feeders he likes are rabbit kits! Good thing we breed rabbits. He has went on a few strikes that last 3+ months and he is just hitting a year! The corns eat well, they have managed to escape a few times giving me reason to tear apart my room

 

[WisconsinChickenWhisperer]

That's a very nice ball python! I have had my male now for 17 years (or will be in December). Not sure if I have any pics to upload, guess I'll have to take some..........I have always wanted a green tree python, but for the cage I would like to build, I need a house with a basement, or an upstairs, or both. I would like to have a cage that I could have a real tree growing in , and have it coming up through the floors in the center of the house. I don't know, I just always thought that would be cool, and big enough for more than one snake. Although I really think the larger snakes are cool, I guess I just would never own one myself. They're just too darn big and aggressive for me. I'll stick to the smaller pythons.

 

[TanithT]

My high orange phase Malaysian king cobra breeding project, and a few others: http://s282.photobucket.com/albums/kk271/danceswthcobras/snakes/

My general website, mostly aimed at veterinary and husbandry care of venomous and zoo species, but there's some pretty eye candy on it - http://www.snakegetters.com

I'll see if I can dig up my Bungarus flaviceps pics (red-headed blue Malaysian krait) as she was a truly spectacular animal that I had for some years before she passed. Currently I'm rehabbing a green mamba, and after that my pair of albino monocled cobras can come home.

 

[TanithT]

Quote:
1. Some of the Asian coral snakes are utterly spectacular, but impossible to come by, alas. I'd love some more kraits also, especially the Malaysian ones. I don't have any at present. Wouldn't mind some of those Chinese giant tree vipers, or a breeding group of Australian red-bellied black snakes and tiger snakes. This could turn into a long list. LOL

2. Anacondas are horrid to clean up after and a general PITA. I cared for a 330-pounder in a zoo setting for years, and they're just too demanding and unwieldy to work with. Really all the giants are. Do not want.

3. No. Given the species I work with, professionally locking cages are a must. I've had a startled cobra dart between my legs and hit the other side of the lab when my boss lost control of it during a milking session.

4. In the general public, absolutely not, though I was legally licensed and bonded to exhibit venomous species when I lived in Florida. Occasionally I do educational workshops or demonstrations. Wildlife officers are fine to work with, but some of the responses I've gotten from police officers in my classes have been seriously annoying. I don't care how big and macho you are, you're not proving it on my snakes.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

DNTD - Kiara my old man who is 14 - he went 6 months without eating once - you want to talk about being worried sick - I knew they could go long periods had read the longest a ball python had went without eating (healthy full sized adult mind you) was over a year somewhere around 15 months and still survived. But still my snakes are pets - and Kiara has always held a special place as he was my first snake. He also has ALWAYS had a preference to light colored food as opposed to dark colored - very strange snake. lol.


Quote:
Thank you! I will have to get some pictures of Kiara - he's a handsome fellow. I love the idea of a tree in the middle of the house - I had talked about the possibility of building a house around a tree and make a garden in the middle of the house, the house being probably being pentagon or hexagon in shape, two stories with the middle build around a dwarf tree of some sort and have it be open or skylighted inside the house. It would be very interesting - that or doing it like you see in movies - house one story, and three sides surround a garden with a front or back wall and have the garden and trees be open and natural. Either way would be a very peaceful environment - and lovely.

Green tree pythons are pretty to look at but thats really why people get them - to look at and not handle. - I like touching snakes and interacting with them.

TanithT I am very fascinated by the venomous, but I would never own any. Absolutely stunning though. I used to live by a guy who owned a few venomous - and I'd been over the check them out - he had horrible set ups for venomous, and after I was living there a year I heard he albino monacled had gotten aloose!!!! - long story short me and a neighbor called around to every place we could think of and I finally found out - he didn't have a permit for the snakes - and he had them all removed, and last I heard he was pulling some serious jail time for owning them, endangerment - for the monacled getting loose (they did catch it), and drug charges. *rolls eyes* See idiots like him give other herpers bad names.

Snake escape story :
When I was thirteen, I had two ball pythons - Kiara and Kenya, well they were kept in a I think 40 breeder, and one day apparently I didn't latch one side of the cage correctly, and didn't realize it. Don't know how long he was loose (no more than a day), but he'd wound up across the room...I go to get something out of the chest of drawers and get scared the crap out of because of Kiara moving - in the top drawer of the dresser. I so wasn't expecting to have something move in the drawer - much less see my snake sitting there.

Snakes I want:

I would love to have another redtail - preferably a suriname. http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=8&de=788675#
I love the ball python color morphs - theres just so many of them! My favorite has always been the Piebald though, for some reason - I just love the oddness of them

http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=32&de=785284

It simply amazes me how the price of ball python morphs has dropped. when I first got into drooling over the Piebalds - they were 14,000+ dollars now they cost around 900$ but its simple because more are out there now and many more 'new hip' color morphs out there.

Thank you guys for sharing! I can't wait to see more pictures and hear stories!

 

[texasgal]

I'll just hang out here for a while .. Love love love snakes .. DH says no ..

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

So sorry texas.

Snakes are awesome - build you a little shed to store stuff in and have you a couple snakes out there - have shed heated for them

- like the chickens *snickers* tell him they aren't in the house, he doesn't have to go out there and see or mess with them - so he can't say nothing - lol.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

What snake do you not own you'd like to own?
What snake would you never own?Why not?
Have you ever 'lost' a snake? - if so tell us about it
Do you take your snakes out anywhere? If so - whats your favorite or least favorite reaction?

I have owned the following;
Kingsnakes
Longnose snakes
Ball Pythons
Red Racers
Gopher Snakes
Red Tailed Boas
Burmese Python
California Racers
Gardner Snakes

Probably others I forgot...

I would like to own Red Tails again, they were just so awesome and beautiful!!!

The one snake I would never own again is a Burmese, WAY too big and snappish. When they get over a certain size they are just too much to take care of. My Red Tails were perfect size. (6-9') Also any deadly poisonous snakes- I wouldn't want to take the risks.

I lost my Ball Python once for three days in my bedroom, he was just a little guy at about a foot and a half, I found him three days later scaling up my curtains, lol.

I used to be big into snakes when I was in high school. I was always in charge of running our towns yearly petting zoo because I had so many animals.

I loved the reaction from the public, most thought they were super cool...

 

[ShrekDawg]

I've never had a snake before but I think theyre kinda cool. they have (baby) ball pythons at our pet store, they have other snakes too, reptile section, im sure many other pet stores do (the ones we have around here are Petsmart and Petco), they have so many cool animals, I love animals, but anyways, they have so many babies in the reptile section, they're tiny (compared to those snakes, prob a foot or so, maybe more, maybe less not too sure) but theyre so small, I didnt realize they got so big! beautiful snakes by the way. but I always thought itd be kinda cool to have one but my mom doesnt like snakes, not sure about my dad though, but maybe i could get one when im older, i dont know, i just always though they were kinda cool, corn/milk snakes are kinda cool too (sorry if theyre not the same species, the non poisonus ones that look similar to poisonous ones, king snakes?), i like most (pet) snakes, i just dont like the super fast, kinda scary, probably poisonus wild ones although i do think snakes are cool, i just probably wouldnt want to encounter one up close in the wild. but are there any snakes that are kinda on the smaller side and fairly friendly for snake newbies? thanks.