Trans-Pecos Rat Snakes Arizona

[Mistery510]

I am thankful for this information. I just bought a smaller glass tank to put the male inside last night but haven't set it up yet. This weekend is my cleaning weekend lol.. strip it all down and clean it and put the basics in for now.

I keep getting conflicting info and I'm pretty sure its a personal biased thing but do you put your snakes in other tanks to feed them? Some people say yes you have to or else the snake will always think your hand means food and will bite you.. others says no as long as you feed with tongs and keep your hands clean and don't come at them from above your be ok. I'm asking you because you've had these snakes

[Bogertophis]

I am thankful for this information. I just bought a smaller glass tank to put the male inside last night but haven't set it up yet. This weekend is my cleaning weekend lol.. strip it all down and clean it and put the basics in for now.

I keep getting conflicting info and I'm pretty sure its a personal biased thing but do you put your snakes in other tanks to feed them? Some people say yes you have to or else the snake will always think your hand means food and will bite you.. others says no as long as you feed with tongs and keep your hands clean and don't come at them from above your be ok. I'm asking you because you've had these snakes

For future reference- please never come home with a snake (*unless it's a dire rescue, which you shouldn't be doing yet anyway) until you have their tank (or enclosure) set up and tested for proper temperatures. It can take days or a week+ for temps. to stabilize, & putting a new snake thru all the adjustments adds to their stress & may cause them not to eat. A tank that's furnished will take time to bring everything up in warmth, & you can easily miss it when it gets too hot for the occupant. Excessive heat (& nowhere to get away from it) can cause permanent neurological damage in snakes, & death. All heating devices should be controlled by thermostats, & double checked regularly, especially at first. It takes time to get this right for the safety of your snakes.

For all new snakes- minimize cage changes. They have enough stress already, even if you can't see it.

Never move snakes out of their homes to feed them. Shy snakes will be too stressed to eat, & bold-hungry ones will be nailing you, both coming & going! The bad advice about feeding in another container has been around forever & refuses to die. Another thing- handling a nervous snake that just ate may also cause it to regurgitate the meal it just ate. So don't do that.

Get a 12" giant tweezer- type feeding tongs- they're very handy, & keeps the prey scent off you & on the prey, where it belongs. Snakes go after motion, scent, & warmth (if they have heat-sensing pits). They learn our scent & do NOT wish to bite us- most bites are very avoidable. When my rat snakes are expecting food but it's just me, I often just blow air gently across my hand in their direction so they get my scent. When you do that, you'll see them realize & back off. If not, there's other ways to "change the channel", like a mist of water, or giving them your empty sleeve to sniff.

Sooner or later you'll get a few nips- trust me, you'll survive. Try not to fling the snake- they get far more injured than we do. But mostly, by paying attention to their body language, you can prevent or avoid all bites. Swooping down on any snake like a predator is never a good idea...let them see you coming & identify your self by scent- anything less is just rude & you deserve a bite!

One more thing, while I'm thinking about it: Never keep Trans Pecos rat snakes in "enclosures" (not in tubs or plastic terrariums favored by BP-keepers). They NEED fresh circulating air, so glass tanks & screen tops are perfect- they're desert snakes & need lower humidity for best health. Snakes don't all need the same things-

[Mistery510]

Thats probably my problem, I've had the tanks ready to go for a while, and just felt it was time to actually fill them with snakes.

Yep I have all of that stuff. Heat lamps, Heat pads, Thermostats and such.

Ok good thats what I thought and I have been feeding inside their tanks.

haha yes I have 2 sets of those giant tweezers. 2 straight and 2 with an angle. I like the angled ones better, feels like im more out of the direct path if a snake misses.


O yeah, my TP and my Grey Banded both have these enclosures. And I'm buying another this weekend to split my TP's up. It have slits on the sides and the top is that wire mesh stuff. Plenty of circulation!!

[Bogertophis]

One thing- make sure your skinny little snakes CANNOT fit between the overlapping glass panels- when snakes smell fresh air thru gaps, they will try things they shouldn't.

I literally use & prefer glass aquariums, & build my own wire mesh & wood tops. But that looks like a good option- I've just never used one so I can't say about gaps or potential drawbacks.

[Mistery510]

So far so good. Any gap/hole in these is too small for even a Quarter to fit though. Even the glass doors.

So all your tanks are open from the top? I got these because I've been told you coming from the top makes snakes think your a predator and its always best to be able to come from the side and such.

[Bogertophis]

So far so good. Any gap/hole in these is too small for even a Quarter to fit though. Even the glass doors.

So all your tanks are open from the top? I got these because I've been told you coming from the top makes snakes think your a predator and its always best to be able to come from the side and such.

Good.

Yes, I prefer top-opening tanks, even when I kept rattlesnakes. But I'm not a "swooper" either, lol. I give my scent to my snakes so they know it's me- they're very calm, no fear of me, & no bites. As I said before, signaling your snake is just good manners. Some prefer to use a snake hook to "tap train"- just another method, your choice. Just because snakes are mostly deaf doesn't mean you cannot communicate with them, using their best senses.

[Bogertophis]

Per your pm, yes, TPs "can" brumate in captivity as they must in nature, but I don't recommend brumating any snakes that don't require it for successful (fertile) breeding.

A snake's immune system pretty much turns off when they're cold (brumating) so any little thing they might have been carrying that didn't make them sick, well now it might.

Some snakes do not wake up from brumation, or they wake up sick. Plus, the time spent brumating is time not spent eating & growing. It's a set-back for young snakes.

If you ever brumate a snake, its digestive tract MUST be empty of food for several weeks. Any remaining undigested food will rot & can make them sick or die from brumation.

I have successfully brumated snakes, only those I was breeding, with no problems. I do a gradual temp. reduction & like I said, no food for a while so they're "empty". They don't sleep deeply & need water- they may wake up to drink during brumation. I kept temps. for brumation about 50* or a little above- you don't want it too cold either. (Underground stays pretty constant where snakes brumate, if they're lucky to have a good place.)

[Mistery510]

So I fed them today.

I got Live Fuzzies for each of them.

The Female literally gobbled it up with no problem and didn't even try constricting it so I know I need to go up one or maybe just do two Fuzzies next time.

The Male on the other hand was shy, he wouldn't take the fuzzie so I left it with him and he poked and prodded the fuzzie for about 5 minutes and then finally ate it pretty easily.

What do you lot recommend??

[Bogertophis]

So I fed them today.

I got Live Fuzzies for each of them.

The Female literally gobbled it up with no problem and didn't even try constricting it so I know I need to go up one or maybe just do two Fuzzies next time.

The Male on the other hand was shy, he wouldn't take the fuzzie so I left it with him and he poked and prodded the fuzzie for about 5 minutes and then finally ate it pretty easily.

What do you lot recommend??

So they weren't already switched to dead (f/t) prey? If they were, you just blew it by feeding live. Many snakes naturally prefer live/fresh, so reverting to live after they've learned to accept f/t is likely to be a set-back, where they'll take some convincing again. Anytime you get a new snake, find out what exactly it's eating, when it was hatched/born, how it was kept (size of cage it's used to being in), any issues it has had, what it's been treated for (like mites), & do an overall exam for health. It minimizes their stress if their new home & care is much the same as what they're used to.

Either way, you do want them eating f/t prey so they don't get injured. Eating live, sooner or later, they'll get injured. Injuries can get infected & leave unsightly damage on your beautiful snakes, & can even, rarely, cause death. The treatment with antibiotics for resulting infections can have negative side effects too, so best avoided (not to mention the cost of vet care). Feed pre-killed prey, always, for best results. These snakes will happily eat from tongs. They're normally easy to feed.

Not sure I understand what you're asking, there at the end of your post? Please re-phrase.

It sounds like your male TP hesitated because he's shyer or likely because this fuzzy was a bit larger than he's used to. I'm glad they both ate for you-

Snakes catch on pretty fast that all live pink & fuzzy rats & mice (eyes still closed) are helpless & don't fight back- so they don't bother constricting them. But when you move them up to hopper mice, their eyes are open & they will bite your snake in self defense; you want your snakes accepting f/t before that happens for best results.

[Mistery510]

The store I got them from feeds live or Just unalived larger prey if needed.

Ok I will definitely try to get them switched to f/t mice.

Sorry I was asking about my larger TP. She ate the fuzzie with no problem and quickly. Would you recommend next feeding to get her two fuzzies or one hopper?