Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Another keepsake from Daytona, one of Alec E.

My introduction to the Bullsnake world started just recently with the purchase of 1.1 Stillwater Hypo's. I am such a newbie with these snakes that I read and reread everything I can about them. I don't even know what to expect size wise from them. Will they get thick girth? Will they reach 6ft? Will they ever be aggressive? They are as calm as can be now. Are they fast growers? As hatchlings they are already eating fuzzy's without any problems. I'm enjoying them a lot and will learn as I go but any help would surely be appreciated. Did you get just one? A female? Or do you already have another one or two?

Hey Passport!

Your Stillwater is killer! Thanks for sharing!

I was able to see Ginter's Stillwater adults last year and they were quite large, around 6 ft from what I remember, having some good girth.

From the experience of my male, and from what I have heard from others, Stillwater hypos are really quite calm and gentle bullsnakes. Mine has been an absolute angel, although one of my most violent eaters! LOL!

Mine has taken some time to grow though, he is 3 this year and is about 32-33 inches. I don't know why, but he has grown kinda slow for me. When I got him off rat pinks and put him onto very young adult mice, he has taken off though and finally is growing a little faster.

Take care!
Billy

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Genesis 1:1

Hi

You made a very good choice of bulls to start with. The Stillwaters are known for being very laid back bullsnakes compared to other localities. I've been keeping and breeding these guys for a while and I never had a defensive stance from any of my animals. And the only time that I heared the hiss is when I opened the feeding box too fast while one of my female was feeding. Not suprising since I startled my female and had a mouthfull of rodents. And even then it was only a short 2 second hiss. Size-wise my 6 year old adults are about 5 1/2 feet and is very robust and girthy. They may get bigger as they get older but at this point I think they're close to maxing out. They also have the typical bullsnake appetite and may shoot out of their enclosure when in feeding mode. Here's a pic of my keeper female from '02. She's around 4 feet now. Hope it helped.

my site

These guys are awesome and are eating every two days. Jeez they'll be porked out in no time.

Russ

Are you feeding pinks? Or fuzzy's? My two are eating fuzzy's and I only have offered them once a week. Could I feed fuzzy's twice a week? I didn't think I should feed before certain that the previous food was digested. Set me straight, thanks.

How are you doing? Just a comment about your feeding schedule since it somewhat raised some concerns in husbandry. I think that feeding every 2 days is way too much. If you want to make your animal grow faster but in a healthier way I would atleast go at maybe every 5 days. Digestion usually takes 3-4 days so If you feed every 2 it may stress out the animal since It may not be able to metabolize the energy that it took in properly since it is continuosly digesting food items. I dont really believe and agree with power feeding since I've seen some bad effects from it from friends and other breeders. Problems with illnesses, breeding, egg-laying, etc. Obesity in any animal is not good. I feed my stillwaters(actually all my animals) every week and they have a robust healthy appearance and good muscle tone. I like my animals trying to somewhat look for food for some minimal exercise and not just a couch potato. I know it's far fetched from their hunting in the wild but I think that it actually helps the animal be healthier. I know that they are really awesome feeders but I would really watch it my friend since it may not be even remotely benificial in the longrun. Just food for thought. Take care.
my site

That probably wasn't the right thing to put in my post as it didn't accurately reflect what I'm doing with my snakes.

When I got the pair of stillwaters home from Daytona I offered them pinks and they ate no problem. Since then I offered a pink every two to three days and they are doing great. I don't intend to keep them on this schedule.

I also feed my snakes on a four to five day schedule and have acheived excellent results. Thanks again for sharing your experiences......I don't want you guys to think I'm killing my snakes

Russ

he is worthy of posting again