Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know I'm not exactly a regular 'round these parts; well, more specifically, I read threads daily, but rarely post. Anyway, the few of you that may have seen some of my older threads might remember that I enjoy customizing enclosures to resemble the natural habitats of my snakes as accurately as possible. I have a barn-themed enclosure for a corn snake, a rain forest for a RTB, and a mountainous desert environment for a suboc.

I just acquired a locale-specific bull snake (Kankakee), and, incidentally, I happen to live only an hour south of Kankakee. However, I've never seen a bull in the wild here in Illinois; I have only seen GB gophers (during my days in SLC). I want to customize the handsome fella's enclosure but really have no idea where he'd normally hang out. I've read from various sources that sandy, rocky hillsides are possible habitats, as are areas near agricultural (read: rodent-heavy) developments. Of course, it is requisite that his enclosure have several burrows, but otherwise, I'm at a loss. For the time being, I'm considering a rocky hillside (with burrows built into it) angling down into a faux cornfield.

Anyone have any ideas, suggestions, or guidance? I put a lot of time into my designs and complexity isn't much of a concern, though budget naturally is, to an extent.

Thanks!
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"Arnold Elvis"

1.0 Abbott Okeetee corn snake - "Shane"
0.1 Banded Miami corn snake - "Miami"
1.0 Hypomelanistic red-tailed boa constrictor - "Escobar"
2.1 Wandering garter snakes - "McFly," "Lorraine," "Hunter"
1.0 Kankakee bull snake - Choosing to remain nameless at present

Not trying to be funny here, but if you really want to simulate the habitat of Kankakee, you need roofing tins and garbage piles more than anything. It's very sandy there, but a large amount of human habitation makes it less than pristine. You do find them on dirt roads, sometimes on blacktop, but having been there a number of times I found flipping tins, boards, and assorted other debris to be the most productive.

Bart

Another place is in chicken coops, the more ramshackle the better. Under a pile of debris at an old farm. An old collapsed barn. You could go for humor and recreate a broken down old mobile home with all sorts of junk in the yard! LOL!

I posted this picture above as an example of Kankakee County bull snake habitat:

I'm not sure what's funnier--how accurate this picture is in representing Kankakee, or the fact that I had considered a setup virtually identical to the picture!
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"Arnold Elvis"

1.0 Abbott Okeetee corn snake - "Shane"
0.1 Banded Miami corn snake - "Miami"
1.0 Hypomelanistic red-tailed boa constrictor - "Escobar"
2.1 Wandering garter snakes - "McFly," "Lorraine," "Hunter"
1.0 Kankakee bull snake - Choosing to remain nameless at present

is turn them loose in your house!!! LOL

Dan

my sources tell me that the vast majority of what was Kankakee has been cleaned up. Seems the scrap metal peddlers hit it pretty hard during the recession. Been a few years since I've been there and I haven't seen it with my own eyes but from what I hear the place is no longer the same.

Phil

yea phil thats the problem i have down here in fl.all the tin in my spots is gone.

Well, the rocky hillsides you're talking about do not exist in the sand prairies near Kankakee. It is all sand.

Orange/yellow sand with some black oak leaves as a substrate would be pretty accurate. I would add in a small piece of tin to serve as a place to hide, and point a heat lamp on it for thermoregulation purposes. You could add some chunks of cinder block, and a few corn husks for the full effect.

This is what 99% of the area looks like. This is 100% genuine prime Kankakee County Bull Snake habitat.

Only about a year prior to this shot being taken, the occupant of this trailer shot at me with a shot gun. The place has obvious been vacated since then.

My experience too in some of the best snake microhabitats. Most such trash heaps have been removed from public lands. But a collapsed building or two and lots of associated debris has often resulted in some of the most productive, memorable and unfortunately, well guarded snake hunting to be had these days. Back in the late 1960s, I had such a person threaten me until he saw why I was poking around an old ruin. That day yielded two big eastern kingsnakes. Once "said" individual saw those two snakes and the fact that I was removing them from the premises, he gave me an open invitation to come back as often as I wanted. Within five years, "said" individual had passed away and suburban development wiped that wonderful herp microhabitat off of the map forever...

Some pics of your corn and rtb setups would be nice.

I second that...
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Ike Lightner

2.3 BRB (Dugo, Sultan, Roxy, Brazita, & Lucille)