les taureaux :)

[EL-Ziggy]

The feeding response on these guys is nuts. I tried to take my male out a day after feeding day and it seemed like he was still in feeding mode tried to eat my hand a few times lol but I love them

They are pretty voracious feeders B. Fortunately neither of mine have ever attempted to strike at me once they settled in after a few days and had a good meal or two. They do seem to have a faster metabolism and eat a bit more than my other colubrids though. How much and how often are you feeding yours?

[BumbleB]

I feed once a week a rat pup about the width of their widest part. It leaves a slight barely noticeable lump in their body. I feel like they could take more because they're still hunting after just one, also they are June 2013 babies in the upper 200 gram range with a good length to them I'd say at least 2.5 feet. Breeder said he grew them slowly since he had no plans to breed them. What do you think?

[Albert Clark]

Still looking good EL! They are getting big.

[BCS]

That slurps BCS. What part of the country are you in? Are all of the Pituophis breeds illegal to keep there? Pine, Bull and Gopher snakes?

In AB CAN we cannot legally own native species (to a degree). We can own Garter snakes AS LONG as they are not the wild morph. Any morph found in the wild is considered illegal to own. But that does not seem to be the same here about bull snakes. It just simply says illegal to own in pet trade. It also say it is illegal to kill these snakes as well (which I am glad) and it is illegal to capture them. It does not say anything about imports though. It is also illegal to own Western Hog Nose Snakes. I never even knew they were native here until I started looking it up. Unless I am reading these acts wrong.

[EL-Ziggy]

Still looking good EL! They are getting big.

Thanks Al. Your collection is looking great and growing impressively.

[Albert Clark]

Thanks Al. Your collection is looking great and growing impressively.

Thanks man! I'm trying.

[EL-Ziggy]

I feed once a week a rat pup about the width of their widest part. It leaves a slight barely noticeable lump in their body. I feel like they could take more because they're still hunting after just one, also they are June 2013 babies in the upper 200 gram range with a good length to them I'd say at least 2.5 feet. Breeder said he grew them slowly since he had no plans to breed them. What do you think?

It sounds like you're giving them good sized meals B. You could offer a second prey item every 2nd or 3rd feeding if they still seem hungry. Looking back through my records I was feeding 2 rat fuzzys, or 1 rat pup, per feeding when mine were 200g. I think yours are a little undersized for their ages but they'll grow fast! Sometimes breeders have them on more of a maintenance feeding regiment as opposed to one that's more growth oriented. I probably feed my snakes a little more generously than some of the other keepers but I don't power feed them at all. My younger snakes (all colubrids) eat 10-20% of their body weight every 5 days until they turn 1. After that they eat closer to 8-12% of their body weight every 7 days on average. I like to vary my feeding amounts and frequencies but they're usually within those parameters. For example Apollo was hatched in July 2014. He's a little over 600g. He gets either 2 rat weaners or a weaner and a chick every 5-6 days. That's 60-80g per meal. She-ra was hatched in Sep. 2013 and she's about 1850g. She usually eats 2 small rats and a chick every 7 days on average. That's about 150-180g per meal. She's ready for mediums but I still have a few smalls to finish off.

[BumbleB]

Yeah they're definitely small but I don't want to power feed them just to catch up, I've heard so many things of them being over fed easily so I'm trying to take it easy no matter how hungry they look. i think they do look really long for their width but Im sure it'll all even out with some decent feedings over time. Thanks for the advice man I could use it dealing with a completely new species I appreciate it

[EL-Ziggy]

Got 2 quick pics today.

[EL-Ziggy]

Yeah they're definitely small but I don't want to power feed them just to catch up, I've heard so many things of them being over fed easily so I'm trying to take it easy no matter how hungry they look. i think they do look really long for their width but Im sure it'll all even out with some decent feedings over time. Thanks for the advice man I could use it dealing with a completely new species I appreciate it

You've got it right B. You definitely can't feed these guys whenever they seem hungry. They'll eat every 3 days if you let them . I'm new to the world of Pituophis too and it took me a minute to adjust to them. One minute I thought I wasn't feeding them enough, then I thought I was feeding them too much. I kept in touch with the breeder, Jason Nelson at Envy Reptiles, and he was a great source of helpful information. I look forward to hearing more about your critters and us both Iearning more about the species.