First snake! Meet my Bull snake Ragnar
First off, Ill just say right off the bat this is a wild caught individual. He literally slithered up to me and allowed me to gently pick him up without even attempting to flee. I've never had a wild snake do anything but go the opposite direction from me and try to escape so I decided it was a strange enough occurrence to keep him, lol.
I've been keeping herps (all lizards) for over a decade but never had a snake, though I've always wanted to get one eventually. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally become a snake owner.
Any how, this guy is awesome. He's a juvenile that is about 13 inches in total length. I assume he was probably hatched this last spring. He took a frozen/thawed pinkie just two hours after being caught and is currently doing very well adjusting to his new environment. I set him up in a 20gallon terrarium with sterilized substrate collected from the place I captured him, along with a hide made from a Tupperware container mostly buried in the substrate with the exception of the entrance (although he has chosen to bury the entrance I intended him to use and has made it own hole to get in and out about 2 inches under and 3 or 4 inches away from the container, lol). He's extremely active; drinking and taking frozen/thawed appropriately sized pinkies with no problems.
Anyway, I'm totally stoked to have this guy as my new pet! Here's two videos of the first two feedings with him (about 4 days apart from each other).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUp_R7KYqms
This is the feeding 2 hours after his capture
What do you all think?
- - - Updated - - -
I guess I have to wait for a few replies before I can embed the second video, but here is the direct link to the second video if you are interested
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OsItZjpDC4
This video was obviously shot before he decided to do his little redecorating project with his hide, lol
Re: First snake! Meet my Bull snake Ragnar
Quote:
Originally Posted by
PorcelainxDoll
Thats pretty cool!
I would just suggest looking up a care sheet on bull snakes so you can set him up with proper husbandry.
You may wanna visit a vet, wild caught snakes can carry lots of parasites.
Also keep him away from your already established herps incase he could have anything.
Congrats on your lil guy! Glad hes eating for you!
Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2
Thanks for the reply! And yes, my first move after catching him was to search out many different care guides on this species. Their husbandry seems extremely simple compared to the lizards I've raised over the years, lemme tell ya! Also I fully understand his current accommodations will only suit him for a few more inches of growth. No worries, tho - my favorite part of keeping reptiles is setting up awesome enclosures that have more than enough space to keep the herp active and thriving. I just have to save some coin for the proper materials and the 20 gal will be enough space for a few months at least.
I've taken him to my reptile vet already and he appears to be in perfect health. The stool sample came back clean and his activity level and awesome feeding response all point to one healthy little snake!
And finally, I make a habit out of not mixing reptiles with each other, even if they are capable of cohabitation with another species. They always seem to do better with their own kind health and stress-level wise in my experience.
I'm pretty stoked he's eating for me too!
Re: First snake! Meet my Bull snake Ragnar
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Capray
Cool! Sounds like you'll be able to tame him up cause hes a little baby. X 2 on the vet check, in a few days you should have a fecal float or something taken on him to check for parasites. If he is not being quarantined do it now!
- - - Updated - - -
Oops! I was too slow
Yea, Ive been letting him adjust to his new environment with minimal handling, but I will attempt to get him tamed soon! I'm not entirely sure if snakes need the time lizards do to adjust to new surroundings, but I don't see any harm in leaving him be for another week.
And yea, lol, luckily I'm not new to properly caring for herps so I took him to the vet a few days after I caught him. There's no use in captivating a wild snake if he's sickly IMO. I'd rather let him live his days in the wild and let nature take her course than keep him in captivity to die or spend a few hundred bones in prolonging the inevitable. A captive bred and born is a different story, though. I feel we are responsible for a CBB's health if we support the pet trade.
Re: First snake! Meet my Bull snake Ragnar
Quote:
Originally Posted by
PorcelainxDoll
Glad you already have all your bases covered! Its nice to see people being proactive with there animals. Kudos!
Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2
Thanks! I actually used to run the largest leopard gecko care website and forum on the net a few years back (now defunct) and designed the very first version of BP.net for the original owner/creator :) So I definitely like to ensure the proper care of herps, mine and everyone else's!
It'll be fun to get familiar with all the new faces here! This website has really become an impressive thing!
