Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey i was thinking of gettin a pair of bloods..what can you tell me about them..

Thanks Jason

What experience do you have with snakes, what are you keeping now.Have you looked at the caresheets on these guys.They are awesome snakes to work with, but requirements must be met to keep your snake alive and thriving.They aren't very active snakes compared to most.Also some can be very nervous and never calm down for you, but with all the captive breeding coming along there's been a lot more nicer bloods now.It's best to get them as babies as you can learn more about their personality and any negative responses which you can work on and make it better.As babies they are usually defensive but so are a lot of baby snakes.Over time with proper handling they turn into a mellow calm beautiful short fat bodied snake which is why they are my favorite.

Sorry guys, but I can not recommend a Blood Python to a novice.
I have a 2-year old male Blood Python, that is hell on wheels! He is feisty, nasty, he spits, hisses, and is down right dangerous. I can not recommend this species to anyone who does not have the appropriate means to house this species. Professional breeders should own these, but not the typical reptile hobbyist. Yes, they are heavy-bodied, large thick snakes. Their temperament is not good, at least my Blood's temperament is not good, and I own 7 other snakes - all boas and pythons. The Blood Python is just a species I can not recommend to anyone.

Dude, seriously....

Do you know the experience level of this person? We're all assuming that he's a novice, but as of yet, that hasn't been stated....

Only professional breeders? Well Gee, guess I better go give away all the bloods that I have, including the two that are tame enough to pet their heads. Dangerous huh?

Here's your first clue Jersey...ANIMALS HAVE INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIORS....you can't possibly label EVERY blood out there as a DANGEROUS animal just becuase you have ONE that has an attitude problem!! Bloods have a reputation for being 'nasty' thanks to the imports....they are now being bred in captivity very well, and as such, people are discovering that, just like every other freakin snake, with TIME and DEDICATION they can become calm. Now am I speaking for every blood out there? NO. There are some animals that are more than 'happy' to be the spawn of satan for the entirety of their lives. There are retics out there with bad attitudes...are you suggesting no one should keep them either? How about bullsnakes? They're awful fiesty.....

NO, I don't think novices should start out with bloods, as they are tricker than most snakes...and they don't respond well to someone who tries to treat/handle them like a cornsnake....but your comment that no one should have them just because you can't get your's to play nice is flat out ignorant.

I apologize for the attitude...but seriously....sounds like you need to stick with your boas. Bloods can have attitudes...that part of why I like working with them. You can't do whatever the hell you want to these guys and expect no consequences from it.

If you're just going to bash our animals, then please take yourself to another forum.

Sorry to everyone on the forum for getting angry..hate to start a flame war in this great forum.....some people.....now excuse me while i go take care of the supposed 'killers' i have...I'm sure they're plotting my death as we speak....

Carole

I agree. If only professional breeders should have them then who would they sell them to? Also, individual personality does vary a lot. I have a corn snake that rattles his tail and bites anything he sees. You can't say that because one is defensive (snakes are never aggressive, when in captivity, they are constantly cornered and have no other means of self defence) the rest are as well.

hear hear

it is obvious you are speaking from an extreamly limited experiance level at least when it comes to bloods
It is also obvious that you are starved for attention. No one would really go to a Blood forum and post anti blood info unless they were starving. Any ways I guess you have already dragged me into your spiral so I might as well follow through, it is possable you purchased a wild caught, In which case shame on you. never buy wild caught anything unless you have extensive experiance with at least captives of the same species. If you did purchase captive well...still shame on you. It is my experiance that all but the shyist most docile of animals if left alone with limited contact will become agresive It is a natural reponse. Captive Bloods are no differant then any other captive snake (a little nippy when young but calm with handling) they do however take aliitle getting used to and tend to take a little longer to "break in" So I guess what I am trying to say as nice as I can to you is .... If you were scared of it as a baby it probly never got broken in properly. These are not ball pythons they will strike and bite but they all will uasually calm. I have had my wild caught for about 2 years now and he is just starting to come around. Just takes time, patiance and understaning of the animal. It is a shame that your experiance with your blood turned out so poorly but YOU should probably think about what you are saying and where you are saying it. people here are very pationate about bloods most of us own multiple animals (most of more than we care to admit)and that is why people come here to ask us questions, I think it is inportant that you voice you concern that there is the potential for agresion in this species but don't over state it. these animals have long been mis understood and concidered the super mean animal but to those of us who admire this species we know that is not the case.
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Kevin
I am lost w/o spell check
"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself."-unknown

if your blood is so terrible I have a solution! i will pay the shipping for you to send me the snake. you will then be relieved of the burden of dealing with a snake that you clearly dont have the time/desire to work with, and I will be the happy owner of another blood. you will be less stressed, I will be delighted with the new snake, and most importantly the snake will be happy to be cared for by someone who wants to take the time to care for it.

I'm serious
jeff

No way back off Jeff I want it!! lol I was angered when I saw this guys posts but.. I think you guys pretty much took care of it already. There are some bad bloods out there theres also bad burms, balls, or just about any kind of snake. Investigate what your getting into before you do as you are asking about right now. Wild caught bloods do tend to be a bit fiesty but if your a first time owner that is not what you want. Captive bred on the other hand tend to be very tame. Dont be like this guy and tell people its an evil kind of snake because yours isn't very tame... oh hey BTW GUY Dont ever remember you posting asking about trying to calm you blood down. I'm sure the members here would be more than happy to help you. What are the handling methods you have previously tried, what kind of caging are you using, what are you heat and humidity stats, what kind of hides, and extra humidity hides are you keeping for you OVERSTRESSED snake, feeding schedual or should I even ask? Theres so many things that can come into play when housing an animal, you have to think about everything that comes into play.... and sometimes maybee accept that YOUR THE PROBLEM
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

It's too bad that your snake is not easily handled, but like everyone has already said, it's not the norm for a captive bred snake. My pair were snappy as youngsters and I was bit quite a few times (it didn't really hurt), but with handling they've become quite "well behaved." They are 2 yrs old now and I bring them to educational events for the local herp society and they are great. They are so calm that it's easy to just lay them out on the table for people to look at and touch, and they don't try to crawl away - they just hang out and look around.

Dude, you are just going to have to trust all these people in here when they tell you how wrong you are about bloods. Yes I have seen a couple of bloods that even I can't calm down, but 99% of all my bloods started out calm. I really am sorry that your blood didn't turn out to be an easy one. I hope that someday you will own a really sweet one (like all of mine), and then you will see why so many people in this room get upset with what you are saying. Dogs can bite, but not mine, how about yours? Think about it Good luck with all of your animals, they rock!

I have looked at as many care sheets as i could find..all were a little different which is why i posted on this forum. Little did i know it would cause such a problem...LOL
Well as far as my experience goes, i wasnt a lost child in the jungle found by bloods and raised like tarzan but i think i can handle them just fine.
This is what i currently own
2 IJ carpet pythons
1 spotted python
2 corn snakes
1 BP
1 ATB
1 burm
1 northern pacific rattlesnake
1 Racer
I was planning on getting a cb baby.
Your help is greatly appreciated, i am glad to get some information from people who own and love these snakes.

Jason

So what size were you thinking of getting.

I dont think i quite understand your question...do you mean adult size or baby size..i had planned on getting babies and raising them..

quote:

Hey KLG is it possible to cross a yellow with a red and what is the
outcome of this??

Sure...although I haven't actually done it, so I'm not quite sure what
to tell you. I'd assume you'd end up with babies somewhere between the
two color variations. Remember, red and yellow Sumatrans are still both
Python brongersmai .

quote:
Also how big do these Bloods actually get on average

Blood pythons ( Python brongersmai ): 4.5' - 6'
Borneo short-tails ( Python breitensteini ): 4' - 5.5'
Sumatran short-tails ( Python curtus ): 3.5' - 5'
Sarawak short-tails ( Python breitensteini ): 3.5' - 4.5'

Again, these are just average sizes for the various species/localities.

quote:
and hows there temperament

Varies from individual to individual. Most of the blood & short-tailed
pythons I work with are extremely calm, placid captives with the
exception of a few wild caught animals. Babies are notoriously pissy,
snappy little youngsters, but this behavior is typical for many juvenile
pythons. Time, patience, and consistent, gentle handling are usually all
it takes for the antics of a fiery juvie to subside.

quote:
and the care they need?

While I'm not going to delve into the details of care requirements for
these species (as there is plenty of info available on the web!) there
are a few points I'll touch on.

First off, if you're capable of caring for a larger boa, or a Burm or
retic, bloods & stp's should be relatively easy in terms of husbandry.
Caging, heating and feeding should be a common-sense no-brainer if
you're familiar with snakes and have done your homework. These animals
are NOT for the uninitiated or first-time keeper.

Second. Babies/juveniles do better in SMALL enclosures! Even the
confines of a 10 gallon tank can be stressful to these secretive
youngsters. In my experience, they do better set up in small plastic
shoeboxes with a simple hide & water dish, and left at an ambient temp
around 82 degrees with NO BASKING SPOT. Put a juvie blood/stp in too big
of an enclosure and you will definitely have one freaked out snake on
your hands that does not want to feed, and does want to defensively nip
everything that comes near it. This is good for neither keeper nor kept.

Third. HUMIDITY!!!! This is one of the BIGGEST problems I see with blood
keepers, husbandry wise. Keeping a blood TOO WET is worse than too dry
in my opinion. If your blood/stp is too wet, the skin will typically
start to wrinkle. Many inexperienced keepers will look at this and think
"oh, he's too dry" and up the humidity in the blood's enclosure. Expect
your blood to develop serious skin problems and probably quite literally
melt if you continue along this route. Understand the difference between
humidity and a wet cage. Humidity is the amount of moisture in the air.
A wet cage is exactly that: a prime environment for bacteria & fungi to
grow and negatively affect your snake. Keeping your blood/stp on a
simple substrate of newspaper and providing a humidity chamber (i.e.
plastic tub full of damp sphagnum moss) will typically do the trick.

Fourth. Expect killer feeding responses, just as you would with any
larger constrictor...then again, when making a conversion to f/t
rodents, ENSURE that the prey item is VERY warm. Bloods/stp's rely
heavily on their thermoreceptive labial pits to sense a heat signature
for a prey item. If you're dangling a room-temperature rat in front of a
hungry blood, chances are it's going to zero in on you instead of the
rodent. Get that prey item hot enough for your blood/stp to pick up on!
***Side note...don't make your blood/stp too fat! Just like with people,
obesity is an unhealthy condition for pythons! While these animals are
robust, heavy-bodied, stout creatures, they are not meant to look like
flat tires!!!!!!

Fifth. Know how to read your snakes prior to getting a blood. Be capable
of free, intelligent thought processes and don't freak out just because
something isn't happening "by the book." Be a problem solver. Learn to
understand ophidian behavior. Know how to recognize when a snake is
hungry, scared/defensive, wanting to breed, etc. etc. etc. USE YOUR
NOGGIN! These snakes are very intelligent compared to many species, and
really a joy to interact with if you're willing to meet them on their
terms and understand what makes them tick.

***Handling: SUPPORT THE ANIMAL'S WEIGHT!!! These are heavy bodied
snakes that do not enjoy being slung around or dangled. These are not
"throw around your shoulders" snakes - cradle them securely in your arms
or rest them on your lap. Make the animal feel secure, not threatened.
Your blood will thank you for it...well, at least by not railing you
because it associates handling with a negative experience.

If you can, visit the facility/collection of an experienced blood/stp
keeper. Observe their collection and become familiar with what a
healthy, happy blood python looks like, and make those conditions your
goal.

Let me know if I can clarify anything.

Next Section: Caging info

Thoughts
First off, let me state that I pretty much subscribe to the “K.I.S.S.”
school of thought in terms of snake housing. In other words, Keep It
Simple, Stupid! Less is often more when it comes to setting snakes up,
with regards to both ease of maintenance for the keeper and a
comfortable, low-stress environment for the snake. Understand that this
information is not offered under the pretense of “you have to go set up
your snakes exactly like this or you’re going to fail!” Quite the
contrary – in fact, what works well for one keeper in one situation may
not work at all for another keeper in a completely different setting.
What I am trying to offer, however, is some experience gained from
several years of herpkeeping and some ideas that can be easily modified
to suit just about any snake or keeper.

Practical Considerations
Many novice keepers set out with the idea of purchasing a cage that
their snake can eventually “grow into.” Seems like a good idea at first,
after all, why spend money on multiple enclosures as an animal grows
when you can just get it a big one and use it for a long time? Besides,
the snake will appreciate all of that spacious extra room and feel more
at home, like it’s in the wild, if it can go anywhere it wants (well,
within the confines of a big cage, anyway). Right?

Well, not exactly…this is one of those ideas that is great in theory,
but when it comes down to application. Big cage + little snake, often =
nervous, stressed out snake that doesn’t want to feed & eventually
declines in health if the situation is not rectified. Why? Because
little snakes want to HIDE. Large, cavernous enclosures don’t allow them
to totally feel secure the same way a smaller cage would. Take Burmese
pythons as an example. A 15’ Burmese has no real problem hanging out in
the open because there aren’t many things that threaten a big Burm from
a predatory perspective. On the other hand, take a hatchling Burmese and
put it in a 40-gallon tank and you suddenly have an extremely insecure,
freaked out, biting, spraying, upset snake on your hands. There’s
nothing more that little snake wants to do then jam itself into the
smallest crevice it can find and feel completely protected from possible
predators. Snakes don’t lose that instinct simply because they’re in
captivity – they just don’t work that way.

When housing a snake, the top priorities should be security (as in
escape-proof), environmental control, and low-stress situation for the
snake. These factors are equally important, in my opinion. Fortunately,
there are extremely cost-effective “raise-up” cages that won’t break the
bank, but will allow you to keep your snake in an appropriately sized
enclosure as it grows.

Understanding Temperature
It’s probably a no-brainer to you that snakes are ectothermic, meaning
they are incapable of internally regulating body temperature in the same
manner that mammals do. You probably also know that you need to provide
your snake with an external heat source to provide a basking spot within
the enclosure (we’ll touch on HOW to do that a little later). What a lot
of people don’t know is that the temperature outside a cage has a big
effect on the temperature(s) inside a cage. Giving your snake a basking
spot of 90 degrees doesn’t do a lot of good if the ambient, or
background, temperature in the cage is 68 degrees. When deciding what
kind of enclosure you’re going to use for your snake, please take into
consideration the room in which you’re going to be keeping the cage (and
the snake!). If the room temperature is consistently in the 72 – 75+
degree range, then there’s not a lot to worry about…on the other hand,
if you keep your house cool, or have no control over the ambient
temperature, then it’s time to either relocate the snake cage, or make
modifications/buy a cage that is not as easily affected by room
temperatures. This is where glass, screen-topped tanks pose some real
issues – heat and humidity go right out that screen top, allowing the
snake’s environment to fluctuate according to any changes in the room.

It is essential to your snake’s well-being that you provide correct
ambient and basking temperatures at all times. Thoroughly research the
husbandry requirements of the species you intend to acquire, and set up
the enclosure prior to actually obtaining the animal. Part of this setup
process includes regulating the temperatures within the cage. Creating a
basking spot can be done several ways: undertank heating pads (choose
non-adhesive if available), radiant heat panels, ceramic heat emitters
and basking bulbs are all popular choices, but it is important to
understand how each element affects your snake’s environment. Ceramic
heat emitters & basking bulbs tend to dry out the air in a cage, and
leaving a basking bulb on 24/7 can be stressful to an animal if the bulb
emits bright light. Under-tank heat pads controlled by a thermostat or
rheostat work extremely well for providing consistent, non-stressful
heat to a snake. Radiant heat panels also work very well, but are more
expensive than other heating elements.

Both ambient and basking temperatures within your snake’s cage should be
measured on a regular basis with accurate thermometers. Digital
indoor/outdoor thermometers, temperature guns, and simple, traditional
“analog” thermometers all work very well for this purpose. Avoid small,
adhesive temperature strips commonly sold for fish tanks, as they may
not provide the accurate readings needed for a reptile enclosure.

Cage Components
Substrate can be as simple as newspaper or paper towels, or something as
elaborate as cypress mulch or similar type bedding. Never use cedar,
which is toxic to reptiles. Also, consider the entire enclosure, as well
as the species being kept when choosing an appropriate substrate. For
example, if you’re putting a tropical-habitat snake into a cage with a
lot of ventilation, you may want to use a substrate that helps to retain
humidity. On the other hand, if you intend to use a shoebox or
sweaterbox type enclosure with less ventilation, newspaper may be a more
appropriate choice to help avoid a too-damp cage, as a consistently
moist environment provides a breeding ground for bacteria and fungus.

Water dishes are very straightforward – provide your snake with a bowl
or dish that allows access to fresh, clean water at all times. For
smaller or younger animals, ensure that the dish is shallow enough to
easily exit once entered otherwise the animal may become trapped, tire
from constant swimming, and drown. For larger animals, consider using a
heavier dish that cannot be easily overturned.

Hide boxes don’t need to be elaborate to be effective. Your snake just
wants something he or she can wedge into and feel completely secure.
Plastic flowerpot saucers work well for this, as do opaque Rubbermaid
containers and any of the commercially available hide boxes that are
more practical than decorative.

Keep in mind that all cage components should be easy to clean &
disinfect with a simple bleach/water solution. Try to avoid porous
materials unless you are willing to take extra measures to consistently
disinfect such items. Cage furniture can be as simple or as elaborate as
you care to make it; remember that the more things you put into an
enclosure = the more things you have to take back out and disinfect on a
regular basis. It also helps to keep duplicates of “the basics” – i.e.
water dishes & hide boxes available, so that you can replace soiled
items with clean ones immediately.

Blood & Short-tailed python caging

Hatchling
Newly hatched blood & short-tailed pythons are extremely shy, sometimes
defensive, secretive snakes. They enter this world approximately 10-16”
in length, with the perspective that anything bigger is probably trying
to eat them; that “perspective” is important to keep in mind when
deciding upon appropriate caging for these animals. These snakes DO NOT
appreciate setups that force them to be out in the open for extended
periods of time.

I find that setting up blood & ST pythons in small plastic shoebox-style
enclosures works extremely well. I use boxes that measure roughly 15” x
8” x 5”, but any box close to these dimensions would probably work well.
A soldering iron (Radio Shack) is used to melt 15 – 20 holes on each of
the “short” ends of the box for ventilation. Newspaper/paper towel
substrate, ceramic crock water dish that prevents tipping, and a 4”
opaque plastic flowerpot saucer with a hole cut in one side for a hide box.

I do not give hatchling blood & & ST pythons a basking spot, as this
typically overwhelms the snake & discourages feeding behavior. I keep
hatchlings at a constant ambient temp of 82-84 degrees.

Juvenile
See hatchling setup above. When a juvenile blood python outgrows its
baby box, I typically move it into a Rubbermaid 2220 box, which is a
very standard size used in snakekeeping. Dimensions are roughly 16” x
11” x 6”. Water dish & hide box size are increased appropriately. At
this time, a 90-degree basking spot in the form of 3” heat tape
controlled by a thermostat may be provided. Ambient temp fluctuates from
75 – 82 degrees.

Subadult
I house subadult blood pythons in the equivalent of Rubbermaid 2221
boxes – dimensions approx. 23” x 17” x 6”, or a similar sized enclosure.
Vision cages and Freedom Breeder racks also work extremely well. Hide
box & water dish sizes are increase accordingly. Basking spot of 90-92
degrees is always available, and ambient temperature ranges from 75 –82
degrees.

Adult
My adult blood pythons are housed in 4’ Freedom Breeder drawers for
females, and 2’ or 2.5’ drawers for smaller males. 4’ cages are a great
size for bigger bloods & give these animals room to stretch out and move
around. Basking spot 90-92 degrees provided by 4” or 11” heat tape,
controlled by a thermostat. Ambient temperature 75-85 degrees.
Appropriately-sized hide box & water dish also provided.
Response to a juvenile blood python question. Snake was being kept in a
40-gallon enclosure, but had quit feeding.

Baby blood + 40 gallon tank = recipe for unhappy snake. Baby bloods are
extremely shy and putting them in a giant enclosure is often the cause
of going off feed. She wants to be in a tight little cage where she can
feel secure. Since she's in a clear, big, spacious cage with an "open
top (which is what the screen top on a 40gal equates to) she basically
feels open to attack from all angles from a "predator" of any sort.
Remember that young snakes pretty much operate under the mindset that
anything bigger is a threat.

Time to make some modifications, which fortunately is easy to do. Get a
rubbermaid shoebox w/lid, a smaller version (like the 4636 model) if
she's a small baby, or a bigger box (i.e. 2220/3 gallon size) if your
snake is bigger. Put 10-15 holes on each "short side" of the box for
ventilation, using a soldering iron ($20 @ Radio Shack & a no-brainer to
operate) to melt the holes. Keep the setup with in the shoebox VERY
simple - just substrate & small water bowl. Try to make sure the water
bowl isn't something she can easily flip - those small, heavier ceramic
crocks often sold in pet stores work GREAT. Your substrate should be
something simple, too - i.e. paper towels or newspaper. Boxes this size
are too small to use mulch in since it jacks up the humidity too much,
and excessive humidity is a bad thing. Humidity isn't the main thing you
need to be worrying about right now. Crumple up a little extra paper for
her to hide under, or give her a small hide box at one end of the
shoebox. I find that those little opaque plastic plant saucers that you
can get at Home Depot make great hides for baby bloods. Get one 4" in
diameter & cut a little hole in one side.

Get a little digital indoor/outdoor thermometer from Walmart...I picked
up a great one the other day for $10, so they're not expensive. Put the
temperature probe inside the shoebox so you can keep an eye on the
temps. You do not need to give the animal a basking spot right now -
there's cause #2 for baby bloods going off feed - get them too hot &
they don't want to eat. But it IS important to keep an eye on
temperatures. You want her entire enclosure to run around 82 degrees or
so...but don't get too much higher than that!

Set your snake up like this and leave her alone - let her settle in for
a good week - 10 days. Give her time to get comfy in her new home & get
hungry. At that point offer her a pre-killed mouse, or if you need to
leave something in overnight with her, get a crawler rat - the size
where the rat's eyes are just open, but it's big enough for the snake to
notice and also tend to move and crawl around a lot, which will also
help attract the snake's attention. If you can't find the right size
rat, I don't really recommend leaving a live prey item overnight with
your snake, since older rodents have a bigger tendency to start chewing
on snakes, or even attack them outright.
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
0.1 Red blood python (Rhianon)
0.0.1 ball pythons (FELIX!!!!!)
2.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, Bear, and Tony)

My image Gallery

hey there,

Sorry your introduction to the blood forums was so dramatic! Bloods have a bit of an undeserved reputation, so when someone goes spouting off misguided opinion as fact, it tends to be frustrating.

What would help us out is if you have any specific questions about keeping bloods. "Tell me about them" is a bit difficult to answer. Are you wanting to know about their temperment or their care? Have you checked out the blood care section NERD and VPI websites? Those are both excellent references.

Bloods are great as 'lap' snakes. I love to take mine out, then plop down in front of the tv for a little bit with them. They are very content to 'just chill' with you. I take mine for a stroll in the backyard once its dark out (weather permitting of course). These just aren't animals that will tolerate being slung around your shoulders or passed around your friends for a show and tell session. They have no sense of height and as such, will more than eagerly try to fall out of your arms.

Bloods are very vocal snakes which probably scares off the majority of the people out there. I have a two year old female that lets out a hiss practically everytime you move. And yes, she has taken a few swings at me...but once you learn to read their behavior its pretty darn easy to see when they've had enough.

Here's a pic of me and Big Red...he's an absolute sweetheart. Bloods need to be held in more of a cradling manner once they get some size to them.

Hmmm, I think that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Please don't hesitate to ask any more questions,

Carole

I was wondering if all the rumors i hear about them are true...it appears that they arent always the nasty snakes everyone says they are. I understand that they can be nasty but any snake has the capability of being nasty..
I was wanting to get a red one like the one in your pic..(awsome looking snake) what size of caging are you using for yours? What are your temps..and humidity..
I know they need higher humidity than other snakes but havnt found a number on what that is..
Do you mist them and if so how often.

Thanks for all your help......Jason

I'm not sure what size Carole is using, but my adult is in a 4.5' x 2' x 2.5' melamie cage, which is actually a little too large if anything. I start babies out in rubbermaid shoe containers with holes in them, I believe there 12Q size, feel free to email me if you have any specific questions. Bloods seem to thrive with an ambient air temp of around 82 and a hot spot of around 88. As far as humidity if you ventalate it properly and have some external heat source an appropriately sized water dish will keep the humidity at the right range, bloods are advised to have 70-80% tho I know some keepers are using lower. If you have a particularly dry climate you might need to mist, but down here in Ga I have trouble keeping humidity low enough. I reccomend setting up the cage first with a heat/humidity monitor which you can get at radioshack, wal mart, or various other sources and make sure its right before you get the snake. Once they reach a juvie size you might want to incorperate a humid hide to add extra humidity if they want but with the smaller ones it seems they just want small tight quarters so they feel safe. I'll see if I cant get a pic of one of my little ones cages within the next few hours for ya, its pretty basic.
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

Ok here ya go bit of a grainy pic but you get the idea. Just a rubbermaid with holes on the side a water bowl and a hide. I have a very low wattage heat pad under the corner of the cage as a hot spot to hide, and some external lighting. Some people like to use some kind of mulch for bedding but I think it adds too much to the humidity and cant keep mine low enough with it. So I just use paper towels and fold up a few layers so they can get under it if they want and it works just as well as mulch for hiding purposes. About half stay in the hide most of the time and the others stay under the paper towels most of the time. I usually have to use heat lamps in the winter but if you keep your house warm enough you wont need them.

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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

Thanks for the info..i have used tubs like that in the past and they do work well.
Do any of you house them together or do you used separte caging?
Either way is not a problem just wondering how they tolerate it.

Jason

I house all of mine seperately, I used to have a few BRB's I housed together and they actually seemed to enjoy each others company. There are a few members that house babies together and seperate when they get larger however it just seems easier for me anyways to house seperately. I dont have too many animals the caging is really cheap and I have extra containers and heating accessories lying around.
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

how old is the snake in the pic?

Jason

The snake is approaching four years old ( i believe). Just weighed him last week, and he's up to 14.2 pounds...Here's a pic of him next to a 20 ounce bottle. Think its about time to back his feeding off though. Bloods are easy to make obese!

As for the caging, right now I have him in the largest size rubbermaid container. I'm working on getting one of the Animal Plastics cages for him. Bloods are massive enough that they take up a lot of floor space, but they don't need 'exploring' room like many other species. On the few evenings that this big boy is cruising his cage, I just take him out to roam around a little bit, that seems to keep him satisfied.

From the list of animals you've kept, I really doubt you'll have any problem with a blood. Just keep the temps fine and use some common sense with them, you won't have a problem...Oh, as far as humidity, bloods don't need nearly as much as people will tell you. I just up the humidity to around 80% when they are going into shed. Aside from that, an appropriate sized water bowl will provide enough humidity. Far more problems arise from keepers keeping these guys too wet than too dry.

Carole

You all have been a great help..it was just the kind of help i was looking for..

Thanks Jason

I wish everyone that was lost would ask for directions Even if I have a question I dont hesitate to ask a fellow member for help. And definately try to contribute to the boards as much as I can for being a moderate keeper. If you need anything else just let us know. I think we all enjoy helping one another
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

..is this a first? I dont ever remember seeing one in here..
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

to be honest i have wanted one for about to years but i dont think im ready to take on a snake that thick bodied wit a narly attitude but i think im pretty close cause i have a 8ft snake wit a half narly attitude

It all depends on how much experience you have. Have you owned a variety of other snakes? Do you have all the general knownlegde of snake care you need to move onto some more challenging animals? If so then i say go for it. Bloods can be tempermental and nippy, but usually are more bark, or hiss, than they are bite. This isn't saying they are easy snakes to handle, they have special requirements that need to be met. You should do a lot of research first and make sure you are really ready for these guys. I know several people that own Bloods and the temperment of their snakes are as varied as those of their owners. They are beautiful snake and a joy to add to any collection as long as you have the experience and the knowledge.

MIM