Newbie moments

[Mc.mischievous7]

What was "your" newbie moment as a BP owner?

What was your first snake? (Insert Picture if you like)

~ My newbie moment was thinking I had his enclosure perfect according to my research. Come to find out I have to fix his enclosure little by little.

~ My first snake is a Mojave BP!

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[Jbabycsx]

I’m still a newbie. My actual newbie moment was when someone on here told me that you can’t keep two snakes in one tank. I thought one laying on top of the other meant they enjoyed each other’s company! Lol

First snake was a male axanthic that is growing like a weed and eats anything you put in front of him!


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[Mc.mischievous7]

I’m still a newbie. My actual newbie moment was when someone on here told me that you can’t keep two snakes in one tank. I thought one laying on top of the other meant they enjoyed each other’s company! Lol

First snake was a male axanthic that is growing like a weed and eats anything you put in front of him!


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Wow I didnt know that either. I would have thought the same thing as you. That they love keeping each other company.

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[Craiga 01453]

My biggest mistake was using those horrible heat rocks inside the enclosure. I have no idea how none of my snakes were burned or cooked.

Of course, back then Google and forums like this didn't even exist. So we just kinda read some books and winged it.

Not to break any stones here, but I have no idea how people can "resrarch" animals these days and still not know that cohabbing is a horrible idea (or any number of newbie mistakes, lack of thermostat, feeding pinkies, etc...etc...etc...). I just googled it and found several answers in 2 minutes. All saying it's a bad idea.

[callen727]

OK, I'm going to have a newbie moment here... You mentioned in your thread "feeding pinkies", and it seems you're saying everyone should know thats a bad idea? So... I'm open to a learning moment; is there something wrong with feeding snakes pinkies? I just recently got two young corn snakes and I was pretty excited when they both took their F/T pinkies like champs. If thats wrong, what is the alternative?

-C.

[Sonny1318]

Good old hot rocks, I unfortunately remember them to well myself. Yep, definitely the “Rock Heaters”. I was also very lucky, I never burnt a snake.

[callen727]

I bought my first snake, a normal Ball Python from a local expo. I was nervous about looking like a moron when buying, so I didn't ask to handle the snake before making my purchase. Note: I'd never touched a snake before, at least that I can remember. I'd learned through research that when I got home, I should put my new friend in her enclosure (which I had already set up for her) and leave her be for a week or more. So, my plan was to place her in her enclosure, by putting the whole little plastic dish into the enclosure, let her crawl out on her own, and then figure out exactly how I'd handle her for the first time during the week of her acclimation. She had different plans...
I got home, I placed the little plastic dish containing my new snake into her enclosure and took the top off the dish. And boom! My new friend was up and half way out of the enclosure within what felt like a fraction of a second. So my first time touching a snake was my grabbing her to prevent her escape! Overall event lasted about 4 seconds. My overall heart rate increase was about 70 beats per minute. Apparently I didn't grab her too tight, hurt her, or anything. Her and I have come a long way since then. But that will always be an experience I will never forget.

-C.

[Dianne]

OK, I'm going to have a newbie moment here... You mentioned in your thread "feeding pinkies", and it seems you're saying everyone should know thats a bad idea? So... I'm open to a learning moment; is there something wrong with feeding snakes pinkies? I just recently got two young corn snakes and I was pretty excited when they both took their F/T pinkies like champs. If thats wrong, what is the alternative?

-C.

I think the feeding pinkies is more aimed at bp’s, which start out on hoppers. For corn snakes, pinkies are the standard starter prey until they are big enough for something larger.

[pretends2bnormal]

OK, I'm going to have a newbie moment here... You mentioned in your thread "feeding pinkies", and it seems you're saying everyone should know thats a bad idea? So... I'm open to a learning moment; is there something wrong with feeding snakes pinkies? I just recently got two young corn snakes and I was pretty excited when they both took their F/T pinkies like champs. If thats wrong, what is the alternative?

-C.

I'm pretty sure Craig was referring to feeding baby ball pythons with pinkies, since that is protocol at some/many of the Petsmart/Petco stores and what is often told to buyers there. Ball pythons should be started with hopper mice, not pinkies, since they are much larger as babies and typically eat small adult mice after the first few meals. (Hatch weights are somewhere around 40-70g I think? Something like that.)

Pinkies are definitely needed for baby corn snakes as they're too small for anything larger for a while. Congrats on getting yours to eat!

Dianne, you just beat me!

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[Dianne]

Like Craig, I’ve been keeping since before Google or internet forums. I bought my first boa in 1991, and had him until he passed last year at age 26. As for newbie mistakes, back then I used unregulated heat lamps and then CHEs. No-one I knew or heard of was using thermostats for something like that back then. ‘Regulating’ was tinkering with the wattage until you were using a bulb that didn’t get your hot end over the desired limit - measured by plain old mercury thermometers stuck to the tank or cage wall. Luckily the store I used was not a fan of heat rocks, even though they carried them.