Curious Behavior

[Shayne]

It really depends on what you want from the animals you keep. Me, I like to interact with them. I love snakes that are watching me back & fun to hold.

I used to keep & breed bull & gopher snakes: they are active & need a good-sized cage...they're diurnal too. Adult size is about 6', very slow growth after
that, & 7-8' would be exceptional for sure. All snakes grow their whole life, but it slows way down. For me, 6' is a nice size, & though it seems huge when
you're new & thinking about a future snake, they grow slowly. Also, a 6' rat or bull snake is MUCH lighter than a 6' boa. Rat snakes have a more slender
build than a bull snake, but either one is nothing like a 6' boa. BTW, there are also some smaller versions of gopher snakes, about 4' I think...I never dealt
with them though.

Yesss, that's what I like about them. I wanted one that would kinda look at me (at least in my direction...lol). Looks like I may have gotten lucky, which is the main reason I wanted to wait for an expo. I wanted to actually interact and hold them before making a decision. I figured 3 weeks before the expo. would've been plenty of time, but nope. Thankfully the only problems I ran into after getting him home were low humidity (I misted multiple times a day with Zilla - Tropical Mist) and his hides are too large. Paper towels solved that issue until my new hides arrive tomorrow. My oldest daughter also went home with an albino. She's in love.

6 ft. is really about the size I'd prefer, which is the main reason I was wanting a female, however, a certain male yellow pastel had different plans for me. Can't wait to get him eating. Gonna feed on Monday. I want to get him eating at least 3 consecutive meals before handling him regularly. Fingers crossed.

Part of it for me is almost nostalgia. Kings were the snakes that got me into snakes about a hundred years ago. Ok, more like twenty, but you get the point... It was a classic black and white Cal King that I fell in love with and that was my first snake. My current boy is a brown and cream colored classic Cal King. I'm a sucker for the classics I guess

Anyway, I love their size, food response and handleability. They are very easy and firgiving woth husbandry and are absolute garbage disposals whwn it comes to feeding. I often joke that Django would eat a slice of pizza if I dangled in his enclosure, as long as it's meat livers!!! Hahahaha!
They can be nippy when young, but usually outgrow it pretty quickly. Once they have a little size on them they're much more confident and far less defensive. If you've ever gotten a paper cut, a cat scratch or a new sting those all hurt far worse than a bite from an adult King.

Django is about 52" and a little over 800 grams and is in a 4x2x2 enclosure and uses every inch. He's active, alert and ALWAYS eats.

Kings are fun snakes and super easy to keep. After starting with a BP a King would be simple and stress free for you.

Funny you'd mention nostalgia and how we reverberate back to the classics. When I was a kid I was running across the yard and stepped on a 4 ft. Black Runner. It was laying, curled up right next to my bike which was propped up on a kick stand. I CLEARED that bike like an olympic hurdler. Was terrified of snakes from that day on. Now, I want one. lol

Django sounds amazing. So, what about ball python bites? I've heard a cat scratch hurts worse. If that's the case then I'm okay with it.

Nope, they have different ranges, but are very similar & could interbreed (though I would never do that & don't recommend it...there's no reason to).
Plus, bull snakes get a little bigger. Both are close cousins with pine snakes too, but again, different range. When I lived in So Calif. we had native gopher snakes,
but no bull snakes. The ones (bull snakes) I had came from c/b sources, but my gopher snakes were locals.

Ahh ok...makes sense. Which do you prefer?

The thing is, take your time to research (including all the good questions you've been asking) to be sure of what you want, because most of these snakes
can live to 20 years or more. Try to see & meet some in person if you can. (good luck not falling in love with each one though, haha!)

Well, I've read 3 books in the past month, which is when I was "bitten"...pun intended. Was asking lots of questions from a "local" source but I'm learning his/her ways may not be the direction I wanna go. I'm just glad I stumbled up on y'all before my old brain got too cloudy. lol And I know I've lost all chances of living with just one snake. It's a sickness but I'm okay with that. Thanks for all the help!