Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i am interested in keeping a pine snake mainly because of the impressive size. I am a colubrid guy so im not interested in a python or boa. i would love to have a cool snake in the 7ft range. What can you all tell me about pine snakes (as a keeper not something i already know or can look up) i have kept all kinds of colubrids my whole life.

Here's a few things:

1) They can be moody. I have some pines that will hiss and strike if I walk by the cage and on other days they will allow themselves to be taken out and handled and be as tame as a corn snake.

2) They go on hunger strikes for no apparent reason. Other times they'll want to eat just about every day.

3) Each snake seems to have its own "personalty," unlike the vast majority of corn and milk snakes, which pretty much have the same disposition (although there are certainly some aggressive corns and anti-social milks).

Those would be my main points that set them apart form other commonly kept colubrids (in addition to their size being obviously larger than most kings, corns, milks, etc.). They also seem to be a bit "squirmier" than other commonly kept snakes and less likely to settle down and "enjoy" being handled.

I've always thought that it's cool that a relatively large snake can be so elusive to find in the wild.

I've been keeping and breeding Black Pines and Northern Pines for several years and these have been my findings.

Tim

Third Eye

Thanks Tim, I like how you layed-out your response...very clear and informative and I'm sure the original poster will appreciate it. I'll respond based on my limited experience although I do have a small bunch of pits.

1) They can be moody. I have some pines that will hiss and strike if I walk by the cage and on other days they will allow themselves to be taken out and handled and be as tame as a corn snake.

--So far all the ones I have are pretty much constant in temperment.

2) They go on hunger strikes for no apparent reason. Other times they'll want to eat just about every day.

--So, it's not just me?

3) Each snake seems to have its own "personalty," unlike the vast majority of corn and milk snakes, which pretty much have the same disposition (although there are certainly some aggressive corns and anti-social milks).

--Definitely my experience. I could tell you which of each of my pits you're talking about if you describe their whole personality...no two of the 15 I have show the same combination of behaviors.