Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got my little girl, Isabella (I love that name), a few days ago (Monday). I got her home, set her tank up, etc., and gave her till Tuesday afternoon to get used to the place. I've been holding her once a day or so, towards the evening... she's a dream to work with, compared to my kings. And I fed her last night, to keep up with the schedule at the petshop. She's a little girl, and she took a f/t rat pup, which, being a kingsnake guy, looked WAY too big... but it seems to fit just fine.

Anyway, the point of all this was that I've been reading up on BP's, and it seems all of the caresheets/guides/FAQ's I've found are very quick to stress that BP's are finicky eaters, get stressed very easily, and that when they are first aquired they should be left alone from anywhere from a week to two or three! My walk-in closet is the snake room, so she gets good privacy. She's been on live mice until now, and had no problem taking a dead rat pup (even my voracious mex. black king wouldn't do that without a fight). When I hold her, she shows no signs of defense or aggression; she's very exploratory, but not in a hurry to run away, etc.

So, from anyone here who's owned kings/corns and BP's, how are they really? Is feeding and stress really as big of a problem as people make it out to be, or are they just being cautious, esp. compared to colubrids?

I know I should've probably waited more than a day to handle her, but after keeping a lot of snakes, in my experience, unless the snake is noticeably stressed, gentle handling just begins to reinforce the "handling != bad" concept sooner. I've never had a snake that was friendly from the beginning show any signs of stress from being handled a day or two after aquisition.

Thanks,
Baz

P.S. Man, I love BP's! I know they're "beginner" snakes and whatnot, but they're just a joy to have, at least so far. I know a lot of snake owners that are really missing out.

I currently have 5 BPs:

1 converted with no problem to f/t
1 took two tried before he'd take f/t (discovered I had to continue wiggling the rats even after he constricted them or he'd loose interest)
1 will only eat if left alone in a dark room for a few hours
1 will ONLY eat live, despite all the tricks I've tried
1 I just got Sat, and then went into shed, so I haven't had an opportunity to feed her

I'm getting another pair this weekend
1 of which will only eat (f/t wise) adult mice
1 is a good eater

So, it really depends on the snake. Those of us who write caresheets like to stress the feeding issue because someone may be used to good eaters (corns, RTBs, etc), and they need to be prepared for a finicky eater. Doesn't mean they ALL are, tho.
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-Irish
My Snakes

I'm no expert, but I think a lot of the reputation that BP have for being finicky and difficult applies to wild caught specimens. Captive breds are usually fine. My captive bred BP has been so easy to feed and care for. She eats live, freshly killed, frozen, whatever I give her. I've had her since October and she has never once turned down a meal.

Even during the winter? How often did you feed her last winter? Mine is eating a LOT now during the summer, and I feed her every 2 days with no problem, but during the winter, she would only eat about every 2 weeks or so.