Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is there a good fox snake care sheet online? Do they stop feeding in the fall? How do they do if you keep them at room temps (68-75) through the winter? I know they probably won't breed successfully but will they still do well?

Thanks,
Dan

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It doesn't matter. I personally wasn't aware that there was any difference in the care of the 2 subspecies and so would like to know that too.

Thanks,
Dan

Dan:
As far as differences, I’ve read that easterns are known to brumate in large groups in the water of old wells. I’ve heard that some easterns have been known to feed on some odd non-warm-blooded prey from time to time. I’ve read that western foxsnakes are more likely to be found in open fields than easterns are.

That being said, I’ve raised both types (species, subspecies, whatever) and they both seem to have thrived under the same conditions. I’ll tell you what’s worked for me.

Hatchlings feed voraciously first on live pinks then quickly and easily switch over to thawed. They grow rapidly and are pretty feisty. They will tolerate a reasonable amount of handling. I give both the juveniles and adults a deep layer of soft substrate. They will plow through this endlessly and later on it seems to minimize the amount of destructive snout pressing they do. This can seriously damage their heads due to the great pressure they use. So I see a deep substrate layer as a cheap health insurance policy for your foxsnakes’s nose.

Once they have been brumated they become very temperature limited on feeding. In other words snakes that have been brumated won’t eat when it gets too hot. I usually don’t brumate them until they’re 24 months old. So you skip brumating for the first two winters. During this time they will grow very rapidly. When you are no longer able to maintain an ~ 85 / 75 degree gradient in their cage the adults will probably stop eating. This isn’t a bad thing. Just feed them often in the cooler weather and don’t get upset when they start refusing food in the summer. If you manage to trick them into eating anything too big during the hot weather you do run the risk of regurgitation. This is quite dangerous in the long run and could seriously harm or kill your foxsnake if it happens repeatedly. They probably will resume eating for a while in the fall but brumation is getting close so be sure not to go too far into the fall or you may shorten the brumation too much. As is commonly noted in the popular herp husbandry literature you can stop feeding on Halloween, turn off the heat on Thanksgiving and in my treatment of foxsnakes turn the heat back on after St. Patrick’s Day. My basement reaches a low temperature of between 40 - 45 degrees in the winter. I’m really not sure what minimum temperature or duration of cold is necessary for foxsnakes to allow fertility. I have heard from some folks down south that they couldn’t get it cold enough for foxsnakes to breed down there.

The foxsnakes are very agressive breeders and I have observed that male/male combat increases the intensity of male courting response. Needless to say this can definitely work to your advantage if you want to time breeding to fit a schedule or to allow you to witness mating. Once the male is interested in the female he’ll chase her around the cage in an endless ribbon of flying foxsnakes. Once he’s latched onto her neck or body with a love bite he’ll be able to anchor himself to her for the actual copulation. It should probably be a miniseries on the Animal Channel.

Clutch size for me has been around ten. I’ve used room temperature incubation in a perlite or vermiculite medium and hatching occurred in 54 days.

They’re not the tamest ratsnakes and they can be kind of sneaky. A few days ago I was handling one of my female easterns and as she calmly crawled along my forearm she latched on with her mouth open almost 180 degrees. No gratitude for the fine care I’ve given her prospective offspring. Such is gratitude.

They’re not gaudily colorful but they are pleasing to some (me included). The eastern males do get a nice reddish coloration especially during the spring. Maybe it’s a mating display? They don’t get enormous so they don’t take up a huge amount of space.

If you have any questions, please write and I’ll try to point you in the right direction for info.
John

and much appreciated information. I have attached a pic of one of our yearling Eastern Foxsnakes being maintained here.

I like the lighter background. So does my description of my snakes' temperments jibe with your experience or are your foxes a little more mellow? Part of my problem is I haven't had a chance to handle them much in a good long while. Too much hands off time while they were breeding, fattening and egg-laying. They've come to regard me as a myth and have thereby lost fear and respect. I'll have to start re-aquainting them with the hand of their all powerful overlord, the great and powerful me!!
Best regards
John

very mellow. They do become aggresive though when I offer food and remain that way for a day or so afterwards. Seems the scent gets them going and boy does it, they feed well. These do have a very light ground color giving a good contrats with their darker blotches. It had taken me time in finding these but well worth the wait.

Best Regards, Rich Hebron

I see several pituophis behavior characteristics in your information. My pituophis can sound like WWE wrestiling when the male is pursuing the female during breeding times.

Terry Parks

Terry:
I have to say that the mating habits of snakes are some of the most interesting activities that I notice in captivity. After all, other than these few days , snakes don't have the chance to be very social. I've read that the foxsnakes may be the progenitors of the pituophis. But that aside, they're both such neat creatures. I only have a couple of bullsnakes but they are similar in some of their habits. They both can go off feed for months without any apparent problem. Maybe it's the prarie environment they both share.

Best regards
John

I hope to work with them someday also. Great information John.
Have a good one,

Gregg F.

>>Dan:
>>As far as differences, I’ve read that easterns are known to brumate in large groups in the water of old wells. I’ve heard that some easterns have been known to feed on some odd non-warm-blooded prey from time to time. I’ve read that western foxsnakes are more likely to be found in open fields than easterns are.
>>
>>That being said, I’ve raised both types (species, subspecies, whatever) and they both seem to have thrived under the same conditions. I’ll tell you what’s worked for me.
>>
>>Hatchlings feed voraciously first on live pinks then quickly and easily switch over to thawed. They grow rapidly and are pretty feisty. They will tolerate a reasonable amount of handling. I give both the juveniles and adults a deep layer of soft substrate. They will plow through this endlessly and later on it seems to minimize the amount of destructive snout pressing they do. This can seriously damage their heads due to the great pressure they use. So I see a deep substrate layer as a cheap health insurance policy for your foxsnakes’s nose.
>>
>>Once they have been brumated they become very temperature limited on feeding. In other words snakes that have been brumated won’t eat when it gets too hot. I usually don’t brumate them until they’re 24 months old. So you skip brumating for the first two winters. During this time they will grow very rapidly. When you are no longer able to maintain an ~ 85 / 75 degree gradient in their cage the adults will probably stop eating. This isn’t a bad thing. Just feed them often in the cooler weather and don’t get upset when they start refusing food in the summer. If you manage to trick them into eating anything too big during the hot weather you do run the risk of regurgitation. This is quite dangerous in the long run and could seriously harm or kill your foxsnake if it happens repeatedly. They probably will resume eating for a while in the fall but brumation is getting close so be sure not to go too far into the fall or you may shorten the brumation too much. As is commonly noted in the popular herp husbandry literature you can stop feeding on Halloween, turn off the heat on Thanksgiving and in my treatment of foxsnakes turn the heat back on after St. Patrick’s Day. My basement reaches a low temperature of between 40 - 45 degrees in the winter. I’m really not sure what minimum temperature or duration of cold is necessary for foxsnakes to allow fertility. I have heard from some folks down south that they couldn’t get it cold enough for foxsnakes to breed down there.
>>
>>The foxsnakes are very agressive breeders and I have observed that male/male combat increases the intensity of male courting response. Needless to say this can definitely work to your advantage if you want to time breeding to fit a schedule or to allow you to witness mating. Once the male is interested in the female he’ll chase her around the cage in an endless ribbon of flying foxsnakes. Once he’s latched onto her neck or body with a love bite he’ll be able to anchor himself to her for the actual copulation. It should probably be a miniseries on the Animal Channel.
>>
>>Clutch size for me has been around ten. I’ve used room temperature incubation in a perlite or vermiculite medium and hatching occurred in 54 days.
>>
>>They’re not the tamest ratsnakes and they can be kind of sneaky. A few days ago I was handling one of my female easterns and as she calmly crawled along my forearm she latched on with her mouth open almost 180 degrees. No gratitude for the fine care I’ve given her prospective offspring. Such is gratitude.
>>
>>They’re not gaudily colorful but they are pleasing to some (me included). The eastern males do get a nice reddish coloration especially during the spring. Maybe it’s a mating display? They don’t get enormous so they don’t take up a huge amount of space.
>>
>>If you have any questions, please write and I’ll try to point you in the right direction for info.
>>John
>>
>>
-----
Gregg F.

www.greggsrb.com

Thanks Gregg:
It's always good to share husbandry info. I see that you've posted some great photos recently. I've been distracted by a bunch of work and some family stuff. I'm still doing research on that project of mine. We'll have to talk soon. The longissima are eating like pigs and looking good.
Best regards
John

Does anyone know of a good source for Western Fox Snakes. I live in OH so am not allowed to posess Easterns. Thanks!