Reptile & Amphibian Forums

does any body have expirience with these snakes? if so are they good begginer pits?

I have had a pair for not quite a year now. They are definately the miniatures of the Pit world. They are also pretty high strung. Not so much aggressive, but very flighty. Kind of coachwhipish but not quite to that level. My female will be 2 and is around 16-17 inches long. I feed them on the same schedule as all of my other animals. They are just small. It is bizarre to look at what is obviously a Pit and they are tiny! All in all I would say that they would be a good beginner snake if you don't want to handle a snake too much. I'm affraid with their personality it might stress the animal a little much. Maybe someone with more experience with them than myself will chime in. Thats just my two cents. I love my pair. Very different. Good luck and take care!

Jeremy

are there any other small pits other than these and dwarf bulls? where did you aquire yours? how expensive were they? how big will they eventually get? how big an enclosure are they in? how often do you feed them? what are their water/humidity/temp require ments? also do you have any expirience with northern mexican pinesnakes (Pituophis deppei jani) it's another pit that interests me. thank you for the info.

If your looking for a smaller pit, San Diego Gopher snakes are an excellent choice. I believe they are simular in size to cornsnakes, maybe a little more stout. They are on the top of my list for my next Pit.

Steve
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"I never had any luck with women. One girl told me to come on over, there's nobody home. I went over, there was nobody home."
Rodney Dangerfield.

San Diegos make great pets. Eat like pigs. I have 2 that I've kept. This is my smaller ('06?) Bnedict Cyn female.

reako45

are there any other small pits other than these and dwarf bulls? where did you aquire yours? how expensive were they? how big will they eventually get? how big an enclosure are they in? how often do you feed them? what are their water/humidity/temp require ments? also do you have any expirience with northern mexican pinesnakes (Pituophis deppei jani) it's another pit that interests me. thank you for the info.

San Diego's are a great choice. They stay in the 3-4 foot range. My pumilus are from John Ginter. They are pricey just because they are hard to find. I believe I paid $400 for the pair or around that. From what I've read 24-30 inches is the size for them. I keep them just like my other pits with temps in the 75-80 degree range. A 10 gallon aquarium will house one for a long time if not for good. I feed them one to two times per week. They will eat pinkies and fuzzies for a good while. Always keep water in with them of course.

I keep jani as well. They are a little more delicate than the north american pits. High temps are a no no (anything over 80) and prey items generally should be on the smaller side. They are prone to regurgitation syndrome which once started is next to impossible to stop. They do get large so if your looking for a smaller pit this might not be the one for you.

Hope all of this helps! Take care.

Jeremy

what are san diego gopher snakes personalities like? i was told the santa cruz island dwarfs were high strung. was your pair captive bred or wild caught?

They are captive bred. You can't get wild caught pumilus. That is why they are pricey. San Diego's are nice animals, and generally laid back. One of my favorites. Here is a pic of one of my girls. Take care.

Jeremy

I posted a response to one of your earlier posts regarding this ssp., Santa Cruze Island Gophers (Pituophis catenifer pumilus), but it must have been percieved as too commercial because they pulled the post. Here goes I will attempt a post that seems less like something that should be over in the classifieds.

This group is not particularly expensive and not terribly rare to aquire. They are not too flashy in coloration and look somewhat like a muted, olive greenish version of their mainland cousins. Because of this, they are more often kept by pit collectors for their intrinsic value as a totally cool biologic entity....."a classic island dwarfism" representative.

My experience is that they remain very small, (none of my 12 year old adults exceed 36 inches). They are a bit more flighty than some other pits but I would not put them in the "coachwhip" catagory as they never bite. Mine rarely even hiss but will thrash around some in hand. I have often speculated that this my be an evolved response to smaller avain preditors on the island??????

They eat well, brumate as would a mainland catenifer and really no special care.

If you want a pit but do not want to deal with the large size that some members of the Genus can achieve any of the western forms of Pituophis catenifer ssp. will remain relatively small including bimaris, annectans, vertebralis, the nominate, and even deserticola. Keep in mind that there are large individuals noted in all these groups but they are generally not massive "pine, bull, or deppei" sized animals. ( That last statement will generate a flood of posts regarding huge annectans, verts, and affinis!)

Anyway don't get talked out of pumilus for fear that they are too expensive, too hard to get or don't make good captives.

Good luck!

JG

Here is a piture of one of my "really big" female pumilus

"Anyway don't get talked out of pumilus for fear that they are too expensive, too hard to get or don't make good captives.

Hello John,
I hope you don't feel like I was trying to talk him out of the pumilus. Far from it. As stated in my first post, I love my pair. The coachwhip comparison was not in regards to temperament, but the flight aspect. My little male is a complete spaz! In regards to price, compared to a normal affinis, annectans, deserticola, etc... pumilus are a little more expensive. Just giving the facts as I have come across them. Thanks for my pair and take care!

Jeremy

I did not mean to step on anyones toes, just wanted to paint a somewhat less bleek picture... sorry

No worries at all John. No toe stepping here. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't think I was trying to disuade anyone. I value your opinion and respect your thoughts a great deal. I appreciate you wanting to expand pumilus popularity. I am right there with you. Take care.

Jeremy

i would love to but a pair of these dwarf gopher snakes to add to my pit collection,who has these for sale? thanks robert

last week I posted regarding where these guys could be purchased and the post got pulled I assume for being too much like an ad so I will be less specific this time.

You could find them by searching some of the big herp guys in Florida who live along the SunCoast.

Also it may be of benifit to take out a want ad in the classifieds