Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there! Today while purchasing a new milksnake, my friend who works at the breeder said he wanted to show some of the less commonly kept snakes that he liked and kept a lot of. He showed me twenty or so bullsnakes and northern pinesnake babies. I instantly took a liking to them, and spent the next half hour handling them and asking questions about their care. I have a couple questions for you seasoned pit keepers. They keep their adults in cages or tubs on a rack system roughly 3' long and about 18-24" wide. What kind of caging do you use? I got to see and handle one of their adult pairs of northern pine snake. Their adults top out at around 7', is this normal size? Their bullsnakes topped out 1 or 2 feet shorter. All I can say is, it was a heartbreaking choice between the milksnake and one of the baby northern pines. I really like these snakes, and I hope to get one in a month or two. Which would you say is better for a first time pit keeper, northern pinesnake or bullsnake? Sorry for the long post, I'm just really excited about discovering this new group of snakes. Thanks for any replies!
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1.0 Hypo Tang Leopard Gecko
0.1 Normal Leopard Gecko
0.1 SHTCT Baldy Leopard Gecko
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko
0.0.3 Hypo Leopard Geckos
1.1 African Fat Tailed Geckos
1.1 Crested Geckos
1.1 Cornsnakes
1.0 Ball Python

Bulls and Northern Pines are both excellent choices as a beginner Pit. I would just get whichever you like. I have had 3 Northern Pines and they all were wonderful pet snakes. As far as size, Northern Pines typically reach 5'6" to 6'6" with the biggest ones topping out at 7' to almost 8'. Bullsnake size can vary depending on the locale or particular bloodlines that it comes from, with the South Texas Bulls being some of the biggest. I keep mine in 3' wide x 2' deep Vision cages, although a rack would be fine if the individual tubs are at least 18" x 36".

Jim Burke