Help me decide on a new snake! :)

[Danya]

Alright thanks! My family likes to go camping a lot so thats where my concern is coming from. I wouldn't want to leave a young snake alone for over a week, and I don't trust anyone to take care of it. I have left for a week once, and my BP was fine, but I'm afraid that if I were to be gone longer their water would go bad/evaporate.

[Toad37]

Great information!

I'm really leaning towards the carpet pythons honestly. How sturdy are they as juveniles? Same with the bull/gopher snakes. Will they be fine if I have to leave for a week?

Those are some really nice pics pretends2bnormal! Thanks for sharing them. (Love your Blood Python)

I have a juvenile bredli carpet python and if you want feisty, carpets are the way to go lol. She's slowly starting to calm down but very active and very curious. She's tagged me a couple times but only because I moved my hand too quick and startled her. Other than that she's a gorgeous animal and I love her!

[Danya]

So far, carpets are winning me over. Are they by any means fragile as juveniles?

[Toad37]

So far, carpets are winning me over. Are they by any means fragile as juveniles?

Well all snakes are fragile when young. They start out thinner like a colubrid but as adults they don't get much girthier than an adult bp. And jungles don't even get that big. As long as u handle it with care and do your research fragility shouldn't be an issue.

[Danya]

Well, I just got my first snake bite. I was feeding my BP two adult breeder mice(FT). I was feeding him with my tongs, but he totally missed and wrapped around my finger, tearing up all my skin. He let go in a few seconds, but he still drew a lot more blood than expected. My whole finger is now bloodied up. He started chasing me out of his tub once he realized that he didn't get his food so I had to quickly feed him the second mouse with one hand, while I was panicking and trying to wipe all the blood off. He has never missed the mouse before, and this came like a total surprise. I find it ironic how as soon as I start talking about getting more of a "mean" snake I get bit for the first time. Good thing is, the bite didn't hurt at all. I was just very surprised at the speed and strength that he used to chomp on my finger.

[Bogertophis]

Welcome to the "Bleeders Circle"! Feeding bites aren't so funny, especially when a big snake doesn't let go. Stay focused when feeding snakes...& use
tongs that are long enough. You can even get 18" & 24" tongs for larger snakes. If you have any part of this bite that doesn't seem to heal up, you might have
one or more snake teeth embedded like tiny translucent splinters. Try not to pull away when tagged, it's better for the snake too when we don't break off their
teeth in our skin, and there are ways to get snakes to loosen their grip...like a quick dunk in their water bowl, etc.

[Danya]

Thanks for the information! My tongs are definitely long enough, I guess my fingers just smelled like a mouse to him. It was so fast that I didn't have any time to react other than to yell. I'll keep in mind that I shouldn't pull back.
Thanks!

[Bogertophis]

It is rather ironic timing...do you still want a "meaner" snake? Now that you have more respect for the "mellow" ones? Snakes can really fool you into
complacency...no joke, really. That's how people end up in the hospital when underestimating "hots". Most bites are avoidable, & should be avoided.

Also, you mentioned that you were feeding him "2 adult breeder mice"....that's not the best long-term diet, older rats or mice are higher in fat. With such an
appetite, have you ever tried offering a rat of comparable size (one rat that's roughly equal to the size of the 2 mice you've been feeding)? That's a healthier
way to go, if he'll accept the different smell of a rat.

[Danya]

I definitely have more respect for him now and I still absolutely want a "meaner" snake. This is his last package of mice. I'm feeding two because mice are simply not big enough anymore for him. Once he eats all of them I will be ordering rats. Hope he switches to them with ease. Thanks!

[Bogertophis]

I definitely have more respect for him now and I still absolutely want a "meaner" snake. This is his last package of mice. I'm feeding two because mice are simply not big enough anymore for him. Once he eats all of them I will be ordering rats. Hope he switches to them with ease. Thanks!

You would be wise to hang onto at least one mouse to switch him to rats. They don't all want to switch, you know...and you might need to "scent" the rat with a mouse.*
Best idea is to try one rat first (before you run out of mice), just to gauge his interest. He may not care, but then again (knowing BPs ) he may turn up his cute little nose.

*Another technique is to first give the usual prey item (one mouse), then follow that with a f/t rat (while the snake is still pumped up "in feed mode"). Just make
sure that the rat is the same size as the mice he's been eating...you don't want the "combo meal" to exceed the room in his stomach. When you order rats, you'd mostly want the "right" size (ie. one item per meal) but if you can get a few smaller ones too, you may find them helpful to switch him over.