I Got A New Snake!

[peas_and_corn]

I now have a pet snake. This was a one year anniversary present from Mel who said that if I were to get the enclosure and the accessories, she would buy the snake. I've wanted a snake for a long time, so this was a great thing to be told. So, onwards to the story...

We go to the store on Thursday. The snake we handled on an earlier day was somewhat bitey for our tastes, so we decided to try another. Some of the prices had jumped since last time we had been there, and that was because the more expensive ones were good feeders. He gave me a $10 discount. So we chose one at random and I fell in love with it instantly. He was really active and inquisitive, but not aggressive in any way. So I chose that one.

Putting him back, we get all the equipment in to the car- the enclosure *just* fit into the car, but the boot had to be roped closed. Once it was all in the car, we were off. On the way, I hear a *crash* as the doors fell out of the housing and one of them smashed. Grr. Once home, we got the enclosure inside and assessed the damage.

The blokes at the store, since I got a big enclosure (since I didn't want to replace it as the snake got bigger) gave me a container to put the snake in while in the enclosure so it could be comfortable with it over time. We put him in that (before he was in a bucket with holes in the lid) with some newspaper and his water dish. I called a glazier and dropped off the not broken door to get a new one made.

When we got back, the snake was incredibly cold. So I decided to put the closed container (with newspaper over the clear lid) on some books under the heat lamp to heat it up. Over time I reduced the number of books as he got warmer.

The enclosure was hard to get up the stairs, so we left it downstairs after we got the new bit of glass. We didn't really set it up, but we got the hidey hole in and put his water dish in. We left the lid off the container to see how adventurous he was, and he indeed is very adventurous. A couple hours later, he was already looking to explore the place.

He was left down there for the night. We organised Luke to drop by on Friday to help get the enclosure up the stairs, which was very nice of him. And so, here's a pic of it being installed onto the table, and then Luke installing the guards around the lights.

 

[peas_and_corn]

And so then it was all set up, and the snake put into his enclosure, in the box so that he can get accustomed to the larger surrounding. It only took him a few hours to get used to his surroundings, though, so the next day I removed the container and he seemed to be nonplussed about it.

He's a great handling snake, incredibly placid and easy to handle. That makes everything much better And like I wrote earlier, he's incredibly curious and always wants to explore. He's about the length of my arm, and many times when handling him he likes climbing it. Other times he's sticking his neck out really far, looking at the furniture that's near him, most likely looking to climb on it a little bit.

And of course on Sunday came the fun part- the feeding. I bought a pack of frozen pinkies with the snake, and I took one out the freezer to defrost it. Using tweezers, I took it into the enclosure, and got his interest. It didn't take much convincing to get him to take a jump at it, lazily coil around it, and consume it. Here are some pictures of this. The last picture is of him after swallowing the mouse before quickly going under the log.

I've decided to call him Francis. He has been named after the person (Francis Fukuyama) who, through his work, managed to convince me to take the idea of academia seriously. For those of you who have only read The End of History, I recommend that you read his state building book to see his true writing style

Lastly but not leastly, I would like to thank Mel, for providing the photography, giving me such a wonderful present, and putting up with me for the past year.

 

[Rysa]

How good are they!!! This is my brother in laws, he started with one and now has three!

 

[peas_and_corn]

sweet, what's the breed of the one in the photo?

 

[Rysa]

Diamond i think if my memory serves me right.
He has two of them and a coastal python.
The coastal or whatever it is bites a bit, bugger of a thing.

 

[MSR]

And so then it was all set up, and the snake put into his enclosure, in the box so that he can get accustomed to the larger surrounding. It only took him a few hours to get used to his surroundings, though, so the next day I removed the container and he seemed to be nonplussed about it.

He's a great handling snake, incredibly placid and easy to handle. That makes everything much better And like I wrote earlier, he's incredibly curious and always wants to explore. He's about the length of my arm, and many times when handling him he likes climbing it. Other times he's sticking his neck out really far, looking at the furniture that's near him, most likely looking to climb on it a little bit.

And of course on Sunday came the fun part- the feeding. I bought a pack of frozen pinkies with the snake, and I took one out the freezer to defrost it. Using tweezers, I took it into the enclosure, and got his interest. It didn't take much convincing to get him to take a jump at it, lazily coil around it, and consume it. Here are some pictures of this. The last picture is of him after swallowing the mouse before quickly going under the log.
I've decided to call him Francis. He has been named after the person (Francis Fukuyama) who, through his work, managed to convince me to take the idea of academia seriously. For those of you who have only read The End of History, I recommend that you read his state building book to see his true writing style

Lastly but not leastly, I would like to thank Mel, for providing the photography, giving me such a wonderful present, and putting up with me for the past year.

Awesome!!! how big will he get? what kind of snake is it? I would love to get a snake but reckon I'd be single fairly bloody quickly as the missus just wouldnt cope.

He looks pretty friendly, has he bitten you or tried to? Sorry for all the questions but I am fascinated...

PoMo EDIT: No need to quote all those pics!

 

[Darren]

P&C

Nice looking carpet there. I have a carpet too. Had it for 15 years. Its over 2 metres long now and it bites. I never handle it without gloves these days. It loves to sunbake on the clothes line.

Beware, a snakes curiosity is primarily concerned with finding a way to escape

cheers

Darren

EDIT: Just looked at all of the pics. Your cage will become too small in no time. For future reference you can claim the broken glass on insurance

 

[Darren]

Here is a pic taken about 5 years ago. I am glad it stopped growing.

BTW, its name is Jaws, for obvious reasons

 

[Rysa]

They're awesome pics Darren!!
My bro in laws will get to bout 7 ft i think he said and the coastal (the bugger that bites) will get to 10 to 12 ft i think. I'd better google it.

6.5 to 10 ft on the Diamond, they're great. They don't bite and love to snuggle up ya sleave.
8 to 9ft and have been known to grow up to 14 ft with the Coastal Python.

 

[Darren]

Thanks P@K for the post. Reminds me I had better feed him. Hasn't eaten since february. He will probably take 4-6 full-grown frozen rats.

Snakes are great pets as they require very little attention.

cheers

Darren

 

[warrenlw63]

Looks the goods P&K.

We allowed to post Beardies on this thread? This is my daughter's Juv. Beardie Daisy. She's about 10 months old. Her vivarium is also a good place to stick your bottles on the top to carb them up. :beerbang:

Warren -

 

[therook]

Thanks P@K for the post. Reminds me I had better feed him. Hasn't eaten since february. He will probably take 4-6 full-grown frozen rats.

Snakes are great pets as they require very little attention.

cheers

Darren

How the hell do they survive that long without food?

Rook

 

[therook]

Looks the goods P&K.

We allowed to post Beardies on this thread? This is my daughter's Juv. Beardie Daisy. She's about 10 months old. Her vivarium is also a good place to stick your bottles on the top to carb them up. :beerbang:

Warren -

I'll grab you a couple of Blue Tongues in Summer...

Rook

 

[peas_and_corn]

MSR- it's a Murray Darling python, a type of carpet python It'll get to about 2m, maybe a bit bigger, he's growing fast and is a good feeder. He hasn't had a go at me so far, he's really docile and pretty calm all the time.

Darren- the cage is good for it for life- apparently you need one that's about half its length, and it's 4 foot wide, so unless it grows much longer than it usually will, it won't be a problem.

Therook- the book I got with everything said that the author had a snake that went for 2 years without eating- normally they can go for many months without eating, once they haven't eaten for a while they slow down all processes in their bodies.

I got a second hide (tree stump style) and put it in the warm end, he really appreciated it, spends heaps of time there now!