Reptile & Amphibian Forums

are they easily availible or do they need to be special ordered? are they docile or agressive? are they difficult to take care of or beginner snakes? just wondering

To Whomever asked (next time give at least a first name!),
You couldn't pick a better snake as a beginner unless you went with a cornsnake, but then I'm prejudiced!!! They are easily obtainable from a local breeder (where are you? I can give you names!) or check the classifieds here on kingsnake under "Other snakes". Now the difficult question-- are they docile? Yes, no and maybe!!! Right now I have several Bulls, several Gophers and a northern pine. I have both Bulls and Gophers that are easily handled and never have bitten. I have a couple of Bulls and Gophers that are meaner than can be, tagging me every chance I give them. Then my pine, who may be a mental case, is sneaky about the whole thing. 95% of the time it's fine. Every so often it gets an attitude! The best that can be said is that they are individualistic and that is what their appeal is to me. They aren't whimpy!!! In my experience Northern Pines tend to be the most docile, followed closely by San Diego Gophers. But everyone has different experiences. My favorite by far are Bulls whether monsters or not. Good luck and be prepared to be bitten by the Pit bug--you can't have just one!!!!

Pat G-C

thanks for the info, my name is jake and i live in bennington vermont (yeah i know that im a hill-billy and wont find a breeder for miles(but the drive is worth it)). i currently own two ball-pythons and an albino cornsnake and have been bitten by "the bug" and need more snakes. i am only doing research right now, i want more snakes and im juggling between a few colubrid species but the corn and one of my balls are new and i need a bit of time to get my new snakes settled and save up to get the optimal enclosure for the new snake. i want to wait until december to bring home a new friend and hope to have made my decision by then. another reason to wait is because im a broke teen, ive probably spent $300 this month on snakes/encosures alone and still need to take my new freinds to the vets for check-ups/sexing and sexing for my other snake wich will probably cost about another 300, and my pride wont let me ask mom for cash so im stuck working my but off to support MY addiction(snakes ofcourse)

sorry for making two posts but forgot some questions. how big do each species grow/ how big of a cage do each species need? are all three pretty much the same thing (like corn/rat or milk/king)? ive had nothing but docile snake and im looking for a challenge snake to keep me on my toes, are these a challenge snake or mostly docile? if moslty docile do you know a species hard to tame i could buy after my next? i want an agressive snake because i want towork my way up to taming and breedig venomous herps (someday but probably not util ive tamed a mean bastard of a snake enough to let my 6 year old cousin hold him without me being nervous and have bred a difficult to breed species( or breed a corn and a ball).

Howdy Jake!!!!
Remember what I said above--you can't really generalize about docility. Just about all Pits (Pines, Bulls and Gophers) have attitudes when small. In most cases frequent handling will take care of this. Size-wise Pines can get 7 feet, Bulls can get just as long, some longer, and Gophers are the little guys about the size of a good size cornsnake. Ideally an adult Pine or Bull will need a 4-6 footX 2foot cage. These are active snakes and get to be impressive sizes. You can get away with a 3-4 foot X 18" cage for an adult Gopher although if you end up with a Sonoran (the largest of the gophers in my experience) you'd want the bigger cage. With Pits bigger is definitely better. Wherever you got the Python and corn should be able to get you a Pit. Good Luck!!!

Pat

i got my corn from someone who could not take care of it and the balls (had to say it ) from petco and petco/smart stores usualy carry lizards/inverts galore but only a few types of snakes, usualy kings,redtails,ballp,corn and sometimes a few others and good luck getting them to order anything else. i tried to see if they would order a kenyan sand boa but that was kinda like going to bk, ordering a small coke and giving the cashier a ten dollar bill, a nickel, and a penny (lets just say they get confused) but its funny

Does Fed-Ex deliver to your place??? Try to get the $$$ fast so you can get a shipment before it gets too cold. Then look at the classifieds: Other Snakes and go with a breeder. Much, much better than a Petco!!! Or just wait till spring. That will give you more time to figure out what you want.
Pat

Pits are certainly more of a challenge than corns. The often have trouble shedding eye caps, so misting while in shed is important. Also, if they are dissatisfied with you, they will go on a hunger strike! Some can get to a good size, like 7 feet, and they are really inquisitive and more interesting than a corn or ball. They also like cooler temps, like 70's, and eat smaller prey but eat more often. Pits are known for loud hissing (very loud I must say) but they are more into bluffing than actually biting. Mine hiss at me every time I handle them, and one thrashes around trying to escape while hissing, but they never strike (not yet at least). Maybe try a reptile show, there is a list under "events" on this page, find one near you around the time you wish to purchase one, and go there. You will have tons of options and be able to pick out the right one, and maybe haggle the price a little. Also, you can buy straight from a breeder, so you can ask them everything you need to know about your new pet.

Have fun, pits are great!