Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm a new skake owner and I don't know a lot.

How often do you feed a baby pueblan? It's about 10 inches or so. We've been feeding it one pinky every 7 days. Seems to be working out okay.

How are their personalities? Ours seems pretty skittish...do they settle down as they get older? Do they bite? Ours hasn't yet, but it seems like it wants to sometimes Maybe it's just scared?

Thanks for the help!

One pinky every 7 days sounds right. If he/she seems hungry after 5-6 days you could feed then also. Just no handling for 24-48 hours for digestion.

Pueblans are one of the most, if not THE most, skittish milks. I was going to get one till I held one and thought the poor little thing would pass out. It was so squirmy. I bought a tangerine dream honduran instead.
They do settle down after a while and as they get bigger(like after a year). My honduran is a yearling and he still is a bit squirmy. My honduran has never bitten me but they are so small as babies that if they do bite they won't hurt.

Just keep handling it. That is the only way they will get use to it. Maybe extend the amount of time you hold it so it gets used to the idea that you mean it no harm. Remember you are a giant predator and he's a small baby so it's going to be scared till he gets to know you mean it no harm.

pueblans are the squirmiest. I think that the fastest one that I saw was a scarlet kingsnake (which is actually a milksnake, don't know why it is called a kingsnake) and then you have the coastal milksnakes, such as the Calvert and the St. Mary ones, which are real livewires, but not as much as the scarlet.

I had a pueblan and he calmed down pretty quickly, for a milksnake. I found that if I cupped him in my hand instead of letting him weave in and out of my fingers, he did much better. Maybe too much space around them is scary? He never bit me, but I have heard that the musking is their main line of defense. I also found that if I went too long between handlings, for more than a day or two, he got more wiggly. The key seemed to be to hold him for 5-10 minutes each day (except post feeding times). Unfortunately, I sold him when I was thinning out my snake collection. I really do miss him and am seriously thinking of getting another one soon.
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sue

No I haven't handled those you mentioned. I just remember holding a pueblan and thought he was going to pass out! My honduran is calming down. He has never tried to bit or even musk me. So I'm happy with him. I just wish he wouldn't hide 24/7.