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I have a quick question on my new northern pine. As I said previously, she's three and close to four feet long. She has a beautiful orange/red hue to her, all the way through her body. My question is this...most Northern pines that I've seen are nearly all white and black. Is this something that they grow into? Does locality factor into it?

Also, could someone please explain to me the difference in appearance between northern and southern pines? Thanks.

Kevin

Southerns tend to have more faded patterns and their blotches can range from liver color to blackish to gray. There is so much variance in southerns. Also, southerns a lot of the times have no or almost no patterns on the neck.

The orange/red hue is awesome on northerns, and if she is appr. four feet, then that may be the color she has settled into. Northerns can change very much from babies to adults. I purchased a red northern male into 2004. He was THE most red northern I have ever seen in person. Now, the red is all but gone! lol......here is a somewhat recent pic of him. He did the opposite of what yours sounds like.

To my knowledge, locality does not play a factor in the red.

Referring to your post below about feeding....yours sounds a lot like my two 2004 northerns that are now 4 feet as well. You had mentioned that you are feeding her medium rats? Where I purchase my rodents, a medium rat would be way to big to feed to my biggest pits that are over 6 feet long, so what you are calling " medium rats " could very well be different than what I would be able to get. Just be careful my friend about feeding food items that are too big that could potentially cause regurge. My two northerns I mentioned are eating medium adult mice on the larger side.

Here is my " red " male northern.

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Genesis 1:1

Nice snake Billy. I really like the pure white Northerns.
This one is still red.
Kevin

Kevin

That Red that your holding was a black and cream baby. It made the opposite colour change going from white to red. Now that it is a mature adult, it will retain that red you see now.

Andy

can i ask what the parents looked like-how red was either or both of them?incredible looking snake.
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"with head raised regally,and gazing at me with lidless eyes,he seemed to question with flicks of his long forked tongue my right to trespass on his territory" Carl Kauffeld

Thanks! your snake is smooooking!!!
I love it!! That is about how my male pictured in my last post was born looking like.

Awesome specimen there my friend!
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Genesis 1:1

That is a BEAUTIFUL red pine! Mine's not quite that red, she's got more orange and yellow to her than red. I'd be interested in trying to acquire an even redder male to breed to her to see what kind of offspring I get. I'd also really like to find a pair of the snow-white and black northerns, I've always really liked those guys.

In response to the rat question, I believe that was a mistype on my part. It was a small rat that I fed to her, she had no problem with it whatsoever. It was smaller than the thickest part of her body, and she swallowed it down in about five minutes, so I don't think it was a problem. Thanks for the pointer though, I'm pretty careful about the size of food I feed my snakes generally.

If anyone has more pictures of red pines, I'd love to see them. Thanks!

Kevin

Thanks for that pick. That's a killer animal!

Sooo nice! I want some red northerns now. Any babies due? Trade for white and black babies?

Hey tortlemon,

Unfortunately her breeding days are over. She was one of Andy Beleny's breeders but she became egg-bound.

Odd thing is that she used to look like yours. It was not untill after she had bred and was 4 years of age that she turned red like that. Andy tells me that none of her offspring ever turned out red.
.

She laid 11 good eggs one year and had one remaining. Normally I would drain the egg and then let the shell pass. I have had really good luck with all my Pituophis not becoming egg bound in the past. Even when they have in the past the egg usually passes within the next shed or two.
With this big girl it was a different story. I kept a very close eye on her in the next few months waiting for that egg to pass. She was eating and passing fecies with no problems at all. Then it happened, she was eating, but not passing fecies. That was when I had made up my mind to take her in and have the egg surgically removed. Unfortunately as a result of the operation she had to be spayed. So Kevin now has a big Red Pine that will never breed, but will remain a great pet for the rest of her life.
The operation was very costly and stressful, but if this ever happened to another snake of mine, I would do it all over again. The way I look at it is this. We choose to keep these animals, they don't choose to be kept, so as long as they are in our possesion we must look after them the best we can. I say this because alot of people said "just put her in the freezer". That answer doesn't fly with this snake lover.
I rest easy knowing that Red Pine has the best retirement home and care that a snake could ask for at Kevin's place. Better than a freezer (idiots).

Andy

did either of her parents display those colors,what about her siblings/clutchmates?

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"with head raised regally,and gazing at me with lidless eyes,he seemed to question with flicks of his long forked tongue my right to trespass on his territory" Carl Kauffeld

Thanks for the history, it's always interesting and informative. Freezing is a little harsh; thanks for keeping her around.
Are there other red northerns out there? That is one incredible snake and the moment I saw it I needed two(like I really need more pines).

"The way I look at it is this. We choose to keep these animals, they don't choose to be kept, so as long as they are in our possesion we must look after them the best we can. I say this because alot of people said "just put her in the freezer". That answer doesn't fly with this snake lover.
I rest easy knowing that Red Pine has the best retirement home and care that a snake could ask for at Kevin's place. Better than a freezer (idiots). "

I agree 1000%! We owe it to these animals to be responsible and care for them no matter what. Tom Stevens
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TomsSnakes.com

" We choose to keep these animals, they don't choose to be kept, so as long as they are in our possesion we must look after them the best we can. I say this because alot of people said "just put her in the freezer".

So putting her in the freezer makes sense because..........??? Andy, thank you for not complying with selfish and cold requests such as that.
So she couldn't breed? So what?!!! That has nothing to do with her life being not worth keeping around?

She is a sweet snake and thank you for having the compassion for animals that we as keepers of pets should always have!!!!

Good post my friend!
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Genesis 1:1

Her father showed a tiny bit of red, but none on mom. All of siblings were black and white. I have never heard back from anyone who has any of her offspring and what they turned out like, so I don't know.
It's nice to see that we all as snakes lovers agree with my decision for big red, thanks. This was owed to a great pet who bred for a few years before this happened.

Andy

Oh by the way there are a few Reds around Canada, but not quite as nice.

some n.pines

very dark n.pine

black and white n.pine

2 s.pines and a n.pine

Ok, my new pine looks almost EXACTLY like the one in this photo.

http://www.kingsnake.com/pituophis/images/northern_pine_greg.jpg

I'm wondering if she's what you'd call a red pine, or if she's just got some red in her...

Kevin

Yeah, I've seen Pines like that being sold as "Red Pines".
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