Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i all i had been considering a snake for a while my boyfriend and i set up a huge tank in our apartment about a month ago its atleast a 30 gallon with a undertank heater and a basking light we have bed a beast / repti bark mix as substrate and the tank is set up aborial with lots of vines and branches a natural looking as possible . and a fairly large watering hole . we went snake shopping this morning and looked at tons of different snakes corns , kings , boas , pythons , hog nosed . you name it and we finally decided on the sweetest snake his personality just won us over he is a juvinile albino black rat snake and is so sweet he is pink and orange in color and is very docil most of the time . since i am new to this any tips you have found to make their life better or things you think would make him happier could you let us know we have tryed to think of everything possible . o and i was wondering if mice was all he will eat or will he go after small feeder fish as a treat here and their ?
amy

Have you read any care sheets? I have one on my signature, i'd highly reccomend to read it. And then there's one on the top you will see Care Sheets/FAQs/Features - read that one as well. Don't take one care sheet to be the bible on snake care. Do a google search and look for some more even.

I would put him in there and DONT TOUCH for at least 4-5 days, preferably a week. After he's settled in a week, try and feed him, but after you feed make sure NOT to handle him for 2 days - he WILL regurgitate his meal. This will cause a laundry list of problems.

You didn't make it too clear on your description, but do you have any hides? If not, you should put 2 hides in the cage - one on the cool side one on the warm side. Also do you have any thermometers? Not the stick on type - you can get these little digital deals at walmart for $12 or so that display both "inside" and "outside" temps on one screen. That's what i'd reccomend.

And I've never tried feeding my black rats fish - I don't believe (someone please correct me if i'm wrong i'm not too sure on this), but i don't believe that black rats spend too much (if any) time in the water. Therefore, unlike a garter or something of the sort, they won't have a big appetite for fish.

But congrats, sounds like you got a nice setup there... and read care sheets! (if you havent already!)
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote
Information on substrates

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
0.1 Texas Bairdi (Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Monty)

thankyou so much for writeing me i do have 2 hiding spots in their one is a cermic type cave and the other is a half log hide i do have a sick thermometer but i am going to walmart now to get the digital as you suggested should i put the thermometer on the hot side or the cool side i also read that i should put more then one heating pad in atleast 2 different areas in a book i read about corn snakes ( could not find a book on rat snakes but was told at the pet store they were just about identical in care . how do you feel about this . right now i am feeding frozen thawed hoppers 2 him i just fed him yesterday i have not handled him since i brought him home but i did take him out of his habitat too feed him thats what the pet store suggested . i was also wondering how often would you feed ? i have heard different things one told me once every 10-12 days another told me once a week and still another said twice a week . thank you soo much .
amy and taonas (the albino black rat snake )

and the forum. sounds like your off to a great start and have some geniune interest in snakes. I think you picked a great snake to start off with, as any rat snake in general they'll turn out to be super friendly with regular handling as it gets bigger. I usually dont handle the tiny guys at all, and wait until they've got a little size on them to get them acclimated to human interaction. Life is just too stressful when they're so small.
As already mentioned, no fish, and get some hide boxes and you're all set! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep in touch with us here if you have ANY questions. This site is a great resource both from people and from available info sources.
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Tom
TCJ Herps
"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"