new pair of bullsnakes

[Zincubus]

I've been offered 2015 pair of Hypo Ghost bull snakes at a bargain price as the guy is emigrating ..
I had a young Pine snake for a while a few years ago so I presume they're similar ...
They're both under 2' at the moment but I've just read that they grow incredibly fast !?!

Does that mean they're gonna be over 4' in 12 months time ??

[John1982]

I've been offered 2015 pair of Hypo Ghost bull snakes at a bargain price as the guy is emigrating ..
I had a young Pine snake for a while a few years ago so I presume they're similar ...
They're both under 2' at the moment but I've just read that they grow incredibly fast !?!

Does that mean they're gonna be over 4' in 12 months time ??

Mine are usually right around 3 feet as yearlings and 4-5 feet by their second year. Can go slower, can go faster - a lot depends on genetics and food availability.

[EL-Ziggy]

John's right, snakes can grow at different rates. Both of my bulls were right around 4ft and 1000g by their 1st birthday.

[Zincubus]

I've read that Bull snakes tend to top out at 6' with the odd one reaching 7' but if some yearlings can be 4' is that figure way off and they'll be nearer 7' or 8' or do they slow down after two years or something ??
They're both 2015 apparently - female is under 24" and weighs 100g - the male is smaller . Sounds like they're not going to be monster -sized especially as I don't believe in power feeding .

[Zincubus]

I can have them at a 1/4 of the price he paid last year so it's a bargain So another big decision to make ..

[MarkS]

depends on how much you feed them. One thing I have noticed about bulls when compared to my other snakes is that they do need more food and need to eat more often, which is what makes them such great 'garbage can' snakes. I once got to handle a bulllsnake that was over 8 feet long.

[Gio]

They are very pretty and on this herp trip, we saw an approximately 7 foot specimen hidden in a log hollow.



Their pattern reminded me of something between a rattler and a some species of wild carpet python.



They handle pretty well in the wild, and seem like they'd be very interesting to keep.

[Gio]

depends on how much you feed them. One thing I have noticed about bulls when compared to my other snakes is that they do need more food and need to eat more often, which is what makes them such great 'garbage can' snakes. I once got to handle a bulllsnake that was over 8 feet long.

MarkS,

These were located on some private land owned by the U of M in the northern part of the metro. A friend of mine has access to the land.

Not wanting to take away from the O/Ps original post as his captive bred bulls look amazing. Seeing a true 8 footer will be a goal of mine this spring.

They don't seem to have a lot of fear as they are out in the open. This is their natural habitat.



Although they do do some controlled burns here so the cover is usually a bit thicker.

[EL-Ziggy]

My female is a little over 2 y/o and she's about 6.5 ft. My male will be 2 in July and he's about 5.5 ft. He's not nearly as thick as the female though. He's about 1300g and she's at least 2300g. I haven't weighed the female since last May when she was 2100g. I last weighed the male in Nov. and he was 1200g at the time.

[Gio]

WOW! Very nice Zig!