First bull snake

[OoohShiny]

I currently have two ball pythons, both female and still young (roughly 3 months and 8 months), and I'm loving having snakes. I'm getting a bull snake in a few weeks (one of Snake Discovery's false ghost clutch that just hatched, I'm very excited!) and it's going to be very different from what I'm used to!

I've read up on the best environment and basic behavior for bull snakes and I believe I'm mostly prepared for a snake that's going to be a lot sassier and have different needs than my girls, but what I'm looking for is any information that you don't get off the "standard" care sheets on bull snakes. Anything I should know about them before my boy arrives?

[Craiga 01453]

I don't keep bulls, so can't comment on specifics there.

I just wanted to drop a friendly reminder to follow proper quarantine.

[Bogertophis]

Welcome to the joy of colubrids in general, and bull snakes specifically. They're awesome snakes...more active (& diurnal), easy to feed, & if yours is a hatchling, just
be patient...some are much sassier (ie. defensive & nippy) than others, but mostly all calm down with respectful handling. They make great pets, IMO. I've bred & kept
them in the past....I don't currently have any though, so I shall enjoy hearing about yours. Bull snakes need spacious caging...I recommend keeping yours in a large glass tank with a very securely fastened screen top, since they are NOT shy about pushing hard (& some are prone to rostral scale damage, so watch for that, you might need to make modifications). They do best with good air-flow and much lower temperatures than your BPs. I recommend using UTH in one end of the tank for your bull snake's digestion, & unless your house is unusually hot or cold, the rest of the tank can be room temperature.

[EL-Ziggy]

Congratulations on your new Pit. They're very different from BPs and a lot more fun if you ask me. I have 2 bulls and they're both awesome! My female is 7 and my male is 6. They are fairly active snakes so I agree that large enclosures are good for them. Mine are often out in the open so they make good display snakes too. I keep them a little bit cooler than my boas and pythons. I like a hot spot of 84-86 but mine rarely use their hot spots even when digesting a meal. If you're getting a baby I'd suggest feeding every 5-7 days for the first year since they have pretty fast metabolisms. Their poop stinks worse than any of my other snakes by far. Mine are both good feeders but my male will go off food during the winter and breeding season. I hope you really enjoy your new critter and please share pictures. 🙂

[OoohShiny]

Oh, I definitely will! I'm not too worried, considering where they're coming from, but I'm not going to risk anyone's health just because I trust the breeder

[OoohShiny]

Welcome to the joy of colubrids in general, and bull snakes specifically. They're awesome snakes...more active (& diurnal), easy to feed, & if yours is a hatchling, just
be patient...some are much sassier (ie. defensive & nippy) than others, but mostly all calm down with respectful handling. They make great pets, IMO. I've bred & kept
them in the past....I don't currently have any though, so I shall enjoy hearing about yours. Bull snakes need spacious caging...I recommend keeping yours in a large glass tank with a very securely fastened screen top, since they are NOT shy about pushing hard (& some are prone to rostral scale damage, so watch for that, you might need to make modifications). They do best with good air-flow and much lower temperatures than your BPs. I recommend using UTH in one end of the tank for your bull snake's digestion, & unless your house is unusually hot or cold, the rest of the tank can be room temperature.

Thank you! I'm definitely anticipating a much more feisty baby than my BPs were - even little Tonks, who still needs some hand-taming, is more likely to just pull away quickly than hiss and strike. At first the new bullsnake will live in Tonks' glass tank (with UTH and heat lamp) while Tonks is graduating to a bigger tub, but I have plans for the future for a nice big tub once he grows a bit. I do keep my place a bit cool so I'll have to do more heating like I do for the BPs, but that's not a problem.

[OoohShiny]

Congratulations on your new Pit. They're very different from BPs and a lot more fun if you ask me. I have 2 bulls and they're both awesome! My female is 7 and my male is 6. They are fairly active snakes so I agree that large enclosures are good for them. Mine are often out in the open so they make good display snakes too. I keep them a little bit cooler than my boas and pythons. I like a hot spot of 84-86 but mine rarely use their hot spots even when digesting a meal. If you're getting a baby I'd suggest feeding every 5-7 days for the first year since they have pretty fast metabolisms. Their poop stinks worse than any of my other snakes by far. Mine are both good feeders but my male will go off food during the winter and breeding season. I hope you really enjoy your new critter and please share pictures. 🙂

I'm looking forward to the "active"part. I love my balls, but they aren't that interesting while in their tubs, lol. I'm going to fix the bullsnake's enclosure up with some more "pretty" stuff than the BPs have, just because yeah, he's going to be more of a "display" snake, especially with his pretty coloring (false ghost, plus he's one of the lighter ones from the clutch). I'll definitely post some pics when he arrives!

[Craiga 01453]

Oh, I definitely will! I'm not too worried, considering where they're coming from, but I'm not going to risk anyone's health just because I trust the breeder

Excellent!!! Its always an important practice, regardless of how reputable the breeder.

Good luck! I love bulls, they're awesome snakes. VERY different from your BPs. I love my BPs to death, but there are so many more "fun" species.

[Caitlin]

Oh, congratulations! I am thrilled for you. I've seen their bullsnakes (I watch their videos regularly) and they are really beautiful - and well cared for.

I adore bullsnakes. They were one of my first pet snakes when I was a kid, and my father and I herped endlessly for them - we'd cruise around at night to move them safely off the roads and had an informal competition for years to see who could catch, photograph, and release the (a) biggest and (b) most hissy specimens.

They are bold, active, typically gentle (for many, all that hissing is just 'talk'), and fun to watch. I love my ball python, but I agree that you'll likely really enjoy the opportunity to have a snake that is more active and visible.

Cleaning up after a big colubrid is another issue entirely, but hey - we pay a price to have these guys in our lives, lol. Enjoy, and please do update with photos when the time comes.

[Bogertophis]

You haven't heard hissing until you've heard a good bull snake HISSSSSSSSSSSsssssss! But like Caitlin said, often just bluff. They seem pretty smart to me, in that
they "change gears easily" (ie. I could "handle & feed & handle one" without being eaten & without putting them OFF eating.)