Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased a baby yesterday. I have some reservations about the type of cage the pet store suggested. They sold me a 10 gallon terrarium with a plastic lid with a built-in light socket. They said I shouldn't use a heating pad but should just use the light. This seems to go against everything I've read in care sheets and books. Also, the only ventilation is a few small holes around the light socket. They assured me this would be OK but it just doesn't seem like enough to me.

Another question, should a baby gopher snake be fed before its first shed?

Thanks.

If that's what they told you, they must not have produced them themselves. They should be provided undertank heat if possible and don't need(or even appreciate) bright lights for heat. A cheap heating pad can be used for heat, just make sure there isn't too much weight on it. Try to get it so the temp is around 82-85 on the heated side(Low or Med setting is usually good). If needed, use a towel in between to lessen heat a bit. Ventilation is important especially since Pits generally have voluminous feces.
P&S Pituophis

Yeah, I ditched the light already and put a heating pad under it. I'm gonna have to find a screen first thing tomorrow. The set up they sold me has 8 holes in the top of the plastic lid that are too small to stick a pen or pencil through. I shouldn't have fell for it but I assumed they knew what they were talking about. The store specializes in snakes more than anything else. I'm thinking of going back there and trying to get a refund for that lid.

The store is in Bellevue WA. I won't mention the name.

The gal there also told me that this kind of gopher snake only gets about 30" long. I knew that didn't sound right at the time, even as unexperienced as I am. I've never seen anything in print or on the WWW about any kind of gopher/pine/bull that only gets that big.

yeah i'd avoid that store in the future,lol...did you say that snake was captive bred ,or at least hatched?if so,it's most probably either a sonoran,pacific,or san diego gopher....could perhaps be a bullsnake too....and yes all of the above get well over 30",hell they can top that length by a little over 1 year!....that being said,considering the source of your info,god knows what they sold you as a 'gopher snake'....and yeah if it is gopher(or any pituophis),they do best with a lot of ventilation-for lower humidity and help their feces dry out quickly-they poop a lot....go with an under tank heater....and wait till it shedds first to feed it-stay on the small side for food items,and don't let it overeat in one feeding-they often will eat more than they can keep down...instead,just feed it frequent smallish meals,not infrequent gorging-type meals

She looks like she may be a pituophis catenifer from what I can gather. She looks a lot like pictures of them I have seen on the net. She has a " " or cross design on the dark brow plate on the back of her head. Definitely a gopher or bull though. She just shed today and I fed her her first pinkie. She inhaled it so quickly that I'm wondering if I should have given her two or something bigger.

good news.....all pits are very sturdy and their attitude(which usually mellows with age,if they have any to begin with)is mostly bluff-all bark,little or no bite-keeps things interesting...hey there is unfortunately a notable shortage of good written info on the entire pituophis genus compared to say,kings,milks,rats,rattlers,even garters,etc....but see if you can obtain this back issue of reptiles magazine-april 2001- the cover article is called 'pituophis parade' and is what i see as the most complete and all-inclusive document i've ever seen about pine,bull and gopher snakes....also,check out the website called 'pituophis page'(look it up on google,etc.)...between these two references,you should know all you need to know about your snake,incl. knowing for sure what subspecies it is.....about the meal size-how big is the snake,(length and girth)?chances are he'll be ok eating at least a 'big' pinky,maybe even a smallish fuzzy,every 2-3 days....let me know his size,and i can get a better idea........peace

Thanks for all the info. I know a place that has a ton of back issues so I think I can probably find that magazine.

She's about 13" long already. According to the store I bought her from she was 2 days old when I bought her Sunday. She was still in a small container with about 7 or 8 of her siblings and the eggs were still in there.

Great little feisty snake thought. Fun to watch and very receptive to handling, except for the initial grasping.

oh ok at that size,i would still probably stay with just reg. sized pinks,but maybe one every few adys should be ok if he acts hungry-but don't push it with too large food items.keep us posted,show some pics too!in fact you can emasil me at justinian2120@hotmail.com