New Snake - What is it? Not BP, right? [pics]

I was looking for a Ball Python as my first snake. Someone on CraigsList said he had one. I went to see it. When I saw him I was pretty sure he was not a BP, but I had to take him home. For $20 I couldn't resist. They were nice enough people, but obviously knew nothing (even less than I do) about snakes. He was in an unheated, tiny (6-inch square) fish tank with rocks.
I have only researched Ball Pythons, so I am not sure what he is. First the guy told me he was a Ball Python, and when I got there he said he was a young Burmese.
He is about 3 feet long and slender. He seems active and alert.
Please look at my pictures and tell me what kind of snake he is. Thanks.
P.S. I wasn't expecting to get a snake immediately, so I had to toss together a habitat for him. That's why he has a Kleenex box hide.


http://i.imgur.com/nsAwHmh.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/8EHC925.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/uy8sf2i.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/auwI59U.jpg?1

Not a ball. No way on earth that's a burm either.

Cornsnake maybe? Milksnake? Kingsnake of some kind? Not sure. But good for you for helping the baby.

Gale

That there is a bull snake. A colubrid. Pretty cool snake. My friend has one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by angllady2

Not a ball. No way on earth that's a burm either.

Cornsnake maybe? Milksnake? Kingsnake of some kind? Not sure. But good for you for helping the baby.

Gale

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Haven't you ever heard of bull snakes? ;)

Maybe your new pet is a WC and he was just trying to make a quick buck? Wouldn't surprise me considering how cheap it was.




And how stupid the seller is.

Sure I have heard of bullsnakes, but my ID knowledge consists of ball pythons, RTB, Retics, Burms and that's about it. lol

Gale

Pituophis catenifer sayi AKA Bullsnake. I've have several of them myself, they make a great pet. They can get fairly large and have great personalities. They're more active then a ball python and have a faster metabolism so they'll need to be fed (and cleaned up after) more often. They can be fairly messy, I've had some before that seemed to like smearing their crap all over the cage so it's best to keep the substrate and cage furnishings fairly simple.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FlagrantWolf

I was looking for a Ball Python as my first snake. Someone on CraigsList said he had one. I went to see it. When I saw him I was pretty sure he was not a BP, but I had to take him home. For $20 I couldn't resist. They were nice enough people, but obviously knew nothing (even less than I do) about snakes. He was in an unheated, tiny (6-inch square) fish tank with rocks.
I have only researched Ball Pythons, so I am not sure what he is. First the guy told me he was a Ball Python, and when I got there he said he was a young Burmese.
He is about 3 feet long and slender. He seems active and alert.
Please look at my pictures and tell me what kind of snake he is. Thanks.
P.S. I wasn't expecting to get a snake immediately, so I had to toss together a habitat for him. That's why he has a Kleenex box hide.


http://i.imgur.com/nsAwHmh.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/8EHC925.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/uy8sf2i.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/auwI59U.jpg?1

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That is a bull snake. A colubrid(SP?). They make great snakes. I wonder if its a wild caught thougb, seems a bit roughed up. Calm enough though, as you are not bleeding in the pic LOL

I found that bull snakes are native to my area (Eastern Washington). Would he be alright if I release him into the wild?
I really had wanted to get a BP and I'm not sure I have the extra money to make a second habitat with heater and all so that I could keep two snakes.
If you advise against releasing him, I'll keep him. I'm not sure if I will release him, but I would like to know if it would be OK for him if I did. I would still like to get a Ball Python. Either way, at least he wouldn't have to live in those bad conditions.
Thanks again.

Edit: Any idea how old this snake is? Is he an adult? How often should I feed him? I have no idea when he last ate.

Actually I would never recommend releasing any captive into the wild. First off, you don't know where it originally came from. Releasing a non-native animal into a native population can have dire consequences (and when I say non-native, I mean that even though bullsnakes are 'native' to your area, you don't know the specific population it may have come from) If the animal actually survives, it may live long enough to breed and pass on genes that are not conducive to survival in that particular local climate and so it's genes may degrade the local population. Second (and possibly more importantly) you don't know what kinds of diseases or parasites it may have been exposed to while in captivity and you do NOT want to expose a native population which may not have a natural immunity to whatever this snake may have been exposed to.

So I would say, either keep the snake and enjoy it for the amazingly unique animal that it is (you won't be disappointed). Or sell it to someone who would enjoy keeping a bullsnake as a pet. Frankly 20 bucks for a well mannered bullsnake is a steal for anyone who knows anything about these animals.


P.S. I'm also going to move this thread to the colubrid section...

Thank you for the information! I definitely will not release him out into the wild then. At the moment I'm thinking I will probably end up getting a BP also. So my first snake will become my first snakes. :D