Soo...i'm getting a snake...

[Journer]

Originally posted by: Kaido
When I lived in Florida I had a bunch of friends who had ball pythons. They were all the rage back in the day. Now it's a huge problem because people just let them go, I guess, and now there are huge pythons running around in the Everglades:

http://www.newszap.com/articles/2006/07/27/fl/immokalee/ib04.txt

http://www.criticalmiami.com/index.php?id=236
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/12820947.htm

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/02/0203_050203_everglades.html

"As babies, Burmese pythons may be cute. But they grow into 15-foot-long (5-meter-long) beasts, prompting some owners to get rid of the snakes by dumping them into the forests of South Florida.

Now the giant pythons are breeding in the Everglades, threatening to overrun the national park. They may be preying on native mangrove fox squirrels and wood storks, and they could be competing with the threatened eastern indigo snake for both prey and space. Stunned parkgoers have even spotted the pythons in epic battles with native alligators.

From the mid-1990s through 2003, park officials removed 52 Burmese pythons from the park. In 2004 alone, 61 animals were taken out. Fifteen snakes were captured last month."

Note the "capable of eating deer and endangered Florida panthers" line in the first article. Glad I moved :Q

holy sh!t...what a greedy snake...ate somethine so huge it litterally popped...lol

anywho...i dont see myself getting something large like a buremese...a red tail boa is about as big as i think i could handle..the breeder i've been talking too says his males usually stay under 7 feet...still...i might get a ball python instead...i dunno

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: BoomerD
albino monocled cobra

Just can't see why anyone would want one of those for a pet...nor someone living next to me with one either...

wow it looks nice. but i agree i wouldn't own a poisonous snake either.

i have had a few ball pythons and a red tail boa and a few Gardner snakes.


i enjoyed the ball pythons. they make great pets. easy to care for and cheap to feed. the red tail took a little more effort.

though the best was the Gardner snakes. i had 5 of them in a small cage. i would just have to put in a few goldfish every week. they were great snakes. they would go around the cage all the time. only trouble was when cleaning out the cage they would try to bite me. heh

They don't do gardening. "Garter snakes" is the proper spelling and pronunciation.

Originally posted by: Kaido
When I lived in Florida I had a bunch of friends who had ball pythons. They were all the rage back in the day. Now it's a huge problem because people just let them go, I guess, and now there are huge pythons running around in the Everglades:

http://www.newszap.com/articles/2006/07/27/fl/immokalee/ib04.txt

http://www.criticalmiami.com/index.php?id=236
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/12820947.htm

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/02/0203_050203_everglades.html

"As babies, Burmese pythons may be cute. But they grow into 15-foot-long (5-meter-long) beasts, prompting some owners to get rid of the snakes by dumping them into the forests of South Florida.

Now the giant pythons are breeding in the Everglades, threatening to overrun the national park. They may be preying on native mangrove fox squirrels and wood storks, and they could be competing with the threatened eastern indigo snake for both prey and space. Stunned parkgoers have even spotted the pythons in epic battles with native alligators.

From the mid-1990s through 2003, park officials removed 52 Burmese pythons from the park. In 2004 alone, 61 animals were taken out. Fifteen snakes were captured last month."

Note the "capable of eating deer and endangered Florida panthers" line in the first article. Glad I moved :Q

Ball python != burmese python
A really big ball python will be 6 feet long at the most, but average 4 feet.
That said, any introduced species can be a problem.
The problem too lies in a growing threat: Morons. Once introduced into an area, they breed like crazy, and eventually degrade the condition of the surrounding environment to suit their own level of stupidity. Morons will not properly research a potential pet before obtaining it, and have an amazing ability to forget the fact that babies of any animal tend to grow into a larger form.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I've always found it really bizarre that it's possible to legally buy, ship, and own venomous snakes. I have lived with many snakes (my college roommate was aspiring to being a herpetologist), and they are strong and really really inclined to escape, plus they have essentially no loyalty or regard for their keepers. Keeping venomous snakes seems really really dangerous to me. It was bad enough when I was bitten, and my arm wrapped up by my roommate's 9' Burmese python.

 

[promposive]

I have a ball python, but it hasn't eaten in over a month... I read it is ok it will eat soon, but I hate feeding the neighborhood cats with these damn mice trying to get it to eat... Anyone know a trick that actually works?

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: C0BRA99
I have a ball python, but it hasn't eaten in over a month... I read it is ok it will eat soon, but I hate feeding the neighborhood cats with these damn mice trying to get it to eat... Anyone know a trick that actually works?

Royals can be very picky eaters. Unless it is ill, it will eat when it's damn good and ready, unfortunately. My Royal didn't eat for almost 6 months. It lost weight and everything. Temps in the cage were fine. Day/night cycle was fine. Plenty of fresh water. Two different hiding places; one on the cool side, one on the hot side of the tank, etc. Can you tell I had all the bases covered?

They are just picky. Offer food once every 7-10 days. Sure; it sucks throwing the mice away. Keep it up though.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: C0BRA99
I have a ball python, but it hasn't eaten in over a month... I read it is ok it will eat soon, but I hate feeding the neighborhood cats with these damn mice trying to get it to eat... Anyone know a trick that actually works?

Royals can be very picky eaters. Unless it is ill, it will eat when it's damn good and ready, unfortunately. My Royal didn't eat for almost 6 months. It lost weight and everything. Temps in the cage were fine. Day/night cycle was fine. Plenty of fresh water. Two different hiding places; one on the cool side, one on the hot side of the tank, etc. Can you tell I had all the bases covered?

They are just picky. Offer food once every 7-10 days. Sure; it sucks throwing the mice away. Keep it up though.

I guess it depends on the snake. I finally discovered the miracle of frozen mice, and my ball python took to them right away. He hardly even constricts them anymore. Nice, easy food and he knows it.
This critter lets us know when he's hungry - he normally will just crawl around the base of the enclosure, but when he's hungry, he starts trying to get out.

Originally posted by: C0BRA99
I have a ball python, but it hasn't eaten in over a month... I read it is ok it will eat soon, but I hate feeding the neighborhood cats with these damn mice trying to get it to eat... Anyone know a trick that actually works?

Frozen mice. I warm them up under the heat lamp, and offer one in with tongs. Once he catches one whiff of mice he just strikes right away. After the first one's down, he's beserk, following any movement outside the enclosure, tongue flicking like crazy just waiting for the next one.