Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I'm new here, and I have recently acquired a Black Pine Snake(Pituophis melanoleucus lodingi) at a local reptile show.

No problems with the snake, in fact it's pretty well-tempered(some hissing, no biting) and has a good appetite.

Aside from some Garter snakes a long time ago, this is my first foray into snake-keeping. I have found plenty of information(much of it thanks to this site) on care, feeding and habitat.

However, I have a question about the growth rate of these animals... I know it will get to be about 4-6 feet long(it is quite young now, and is only about 2 ft.)
but how quickly will it get there?

If anyone has raised these things from a young'un to adult, a ballpark figure or estimate would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Pics of "Alger Hiss":


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0.0.1 Black Pine Snake (Alger Hiss)

In our experience with black pines they shoot up to 3 1/2' - 4 1/2' pretty quickly usually by the second year and then slow down. Thereafter they start adding major girth and a little length each year till max. size.

Good luck with the black, they are very impressive snakes and will make a great pet.

John Cherry
Cherryville Farms

That thing is awesome, very nice. I agree with the previous post, just wanted to say from the pic it appears to be a female.

My fiancee and I got our black pine two years ago. (or it will be two years as of December) She was 18" long then, and now is at almost exactly 5'.

Gorgeous snake, enjoy!!

Thanks for the advice. Everyone here seems to be quite knowledgeable... I have the feeling I'll be getting more snakes, so it's good to have a large user community around.
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0.0.1 Black Pine Snake (Alger Hiss)

I had a pair of black pines years ago and miss them everyday as I
had to get rid of them (that's a whole other post) I got them as
yearlings (from different breeders at a show) one had been fed
the standard 1 mouse/week and the female a little more. The female
was a little thicker than the male but both were about 21/2-3 ft.
Both, like most pits, had ravenous appetites and when I got them home
I started them on big mouse-sized rats. When I had to get rid of them
a year1/2 later they were each 5-6ft long and a girth of a man's
wrist. I did not power feed them and they did not show any signs
of obesity. Some will argue with this, but I believe pits should
be started on rats as soon as possible. The mouse vs rat debate
will rage forever but I think pits being muscular, heavy-bodied and active
snakes need the extra minerals and nutrients that rats provide over
mice. If you feed your pine an appropriate sized rat on a sensible
schedule it will grow at a faster yet healthy rate vs being fed mice.
Good luck with your pine, I envy you and all of you that have black
pines. My wife HHHAAATTTEEESSS black snakes for some reason and
won't let them in the house. Maybe I can talk her into white sided bull.