Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am thinking about getting a bullsnake. What is the tempermant like on these guys. I have been hearing mixed reviews on the subject as of late.

Thanks

Before we start as an avid herper for over 35 years let me say I have kept a large number of snakes in my time in this hobby. Pituophis are the bunch that has caught and kept my attention for much of that time.

You probally ask and why is that. Fairly simple really: large size, heavy bodied for the most part, ease of keeping and an alert attentive awareness of their surroundings. All pits are very alert of the surroundings that exist in period. In that alertness comes the reputation for aggressiveness. They don't lay relaxed in any cage for an extended period of time. They are constantly checking the air and watching any movement around the cage etc. If they are startled or see something they don't like they go into a defensive mode that includes hissing and striking at that object till they decide the danger is past.

With that said though the animals we use in the programs we sometimes give to scout and 4-H groups etc. is a large albino bull snake and a normal normal colored animal. They are the most trustworthy of all the animals we keep and the kids love them. Big, colorful and impressive to anyone that sees them.

Realize that most of the hissing etc. is noisy but when picked up they normally calm down immediately. Bulls as a pet in my opinion are one of the hardiest and best pets there are. Will they hiss etc at times yes, but with a little handling they tame readily and are much more interesting than so many of the other normally kept corns, kings, rat snakes, pythons and boas.

Good Luck & Merry Christmas,

John Cherry
Cherryville Farms

Cherryville Farms - Reptiles

I have a large black pine about 4 feet now - Pituophis m. lodingi. When I first saw him in a pet shop, he looked like crap. He was a dull muddy brown with irregular black blotching. Nearly a year later, I went into the shop and the same snake was there. But he had grown. He wasn't ugly anymore. He was nearly a solid glossy black - real beautiful. The shop had dropped the price. So I bought him. The store employees were afraid of him, but I pulled him out o.k. and he has been perfectly tame since and is my favorite animal. More than any other of my snakes he is truly a pet.

One time he had trouble shedding, so I put him in a plastic barrel of water. He REALLY didn't like it. He actually got angry at me. He deliberately coiled around my arm when I took him out and squeezed HARD - several times. Then he extended his head and neck out about a foot and a half and body slammed my arm!! He was DEFINITELY communicating to me - DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!!!

The next day he was back to normal - no grudge. That's what I like about him - personality.

If I could choose one kind of reptile to breed it would be pines and bull snakes of the genus Pituophis. They are really great.

I got a baby albino-whitesided (snow) from John Cherry about 6 months ago and couldn't be happier. All my kids handle her (ages 3-9) and I just took her to a get together where just about everyone held her. The comments were how "active" she was but also how sweet she was. She did try occasionally to race away from us when we first got her but that stopped within the first couple of weeks. Of note: she has struck toward me one time when I reached in to move a live prey item (fuzzy) during feeding (stupid mistake from a first time snake owner but now that I've learned I'm considering buying a Naja) but she seemed to realize her mistake quickly as she stopped in mid strike to let my hand move. In short, I would not hesitate, based on my experience, to strongly recommend a bull snake.
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Ron

"What we do is but a shadow of what we want to do..." Peter Weiss

I must qualify my support for this species based on the notion that our baby is handled almost daily for an hour or so, is cared for meticulously, and is treated with the utmost respect (no teasing or rough handling). She is a part of our family and has been an excellent "pet." I do not however know what the temperment of a "showpiece" bull snake might end up being.
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Ron

"What we do is but a shadow of what we want to do..." Peter Weiss

I have a 2003 Kingsville, TX bullsnake from John Ginter. I never know exactly how he is going to react when I go to pick him up. The vast majority of the time he's pretty mellow (maybe a little tail shaking) but once in a while he will coil and strike and hiss like crazy. His strikes have all been a bluff because he has never bitten me, but it is startling. Even when he's in a bad mood, he'll calm down fast after I pick him up. I wouldn't trade him for any snake in the world.
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Tim

Everyone here who has responded has hit the nail on the head! Pits, bulls especially have worked out to be great pets for me. The south Tx bull I have pictured below is so calm and sweet once I pick her up. I can hold her for hours, which I have as I watched movies, etc. My Stillwater pictured below as well has been the nicest snake I have ever owned. The bull I own that gave me the most attitude was my hypo white sided. Now, he is nothing but a big almost 6 foot dope.

Cherry also pointed out that pits are more aware of their surroundings, which is totally correct. I have seen my biggest northern pine raise his body very high off the ground level of his cage and thoroughly scope out the room when I have taken the lid off. What a cool sight!

When I first heard about bulls years ago, I had so much info that really wasn't true as well about them. I was actually kind of scared to own one. The topic of a hissy attitude was blown WAY out of proportion.

When I have seen bulls or any pits for that matter hiss, it always goes away once they are picked up. Also, some might keep their pits at higher temps than I would, and may see more attitude and hissing, since a higher temp could produce that. I keep all my pits and other snakes at 78-80 at the very most.

Get a bull and it is all over from there. You will get more pits. It's not a choice. It overtakes you! LOL!

Billy
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Genesis 1:1

I own a two year old male White-sided Bullsnake that I purchased from John Cherry and he is an excellent animal. VERY calm and docile. Loves to hiss and rattle his tail ferociously but that doesn't mean a thing. Has never been known to pass up a meal either!