Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I'll be getting this snake as my first in the following week. I decided to get this one because I wanted something bigger than a king but not to big and not mean. I decided to get a pine or bull. Anyway anything I should know? The setup I have is Substrate:crushed walnutes(finely),2Thermometers,1hydrometer,2 rock hides,spot lamp(day and night bulbs) in a 10gl(Im going to get a 20gl soon). Is this good enough? or is there something I need to change?

Sounds like a good setup. I would be weary of the crushed walnut bedding. Reason being is that in case some of that got stuck on the food item being eaten...but that is just me. There may be others who have used it and have had no problems. If I was not using newspaper , I would use aspen bedding.

I personally feel that the spot lamp may not be needed. How warm does it get in the room without it? Pits really do not need a lot of heat. They do really well from 78-82. If they get overheated, that may result in more hissing than normal and also regurge syndrome. If your room is already the previously mentioned temps,..than any other additional heat may not be necessary.

Keep us posted! What kind of bull or pine are you thinking of buying?

Billy
-----
Genesis 1:1

Im pushing hard to get a mexican pine because the coloring is beautiful. Im sorry for making two topics but if your still there can you answer this Q,I have a book that says bull,pine and gophers should primarily be fed dead mice. But it also says that these snakes will eat quail eggs,small birds and other rodents, So would it be ok to feed a parakeet to it?(humanely euthinzed ofcourse...).

To me, there is no reason to feed the snake a parakeet. The book may say birds, but the context that it is saying is most likely that the snakes may eat birds native to where they are from in the wild. Some people may give their pits day old chicks but still, the nutrition provided by those is not as good as rodents. Mice and rats though are better for the snake to begin with, IMO. Also, it would be a problem if you fed the snake a parakeet and the snake did not want mice or rats after eating that.

It would have to be a good sized pine to eat a parakeet to begin with. The parakeets I have seen were quite big.

Billy
-----
Genesis 1:1

"Also, it would be a problem if you fed the snake a parakeet and the snake did not want mice or rats after eating that."

billy has a great point here. i have a large female bull that has become obsessed with quail, she won't take anything else. if you enjoy cleaning very smelly cages, get your snake hooked on bird!

matt

Hmmm the only solid point Ive heard about not feeding my snake parakeet is that it might not take mice. And speak of the devil my friend just got 2 parakeets from a lady down the street that could not care for them...LoL I'm serious, I just wanted to see if the parakeet Idea was ok, If you know about members of the pit family then you know that when they are older there girth is about the size of a baseball, I know this and I dont even own a snake yet. Also parakeets dont grow any bigger than your palm.

There are more things to consider with the parakeet idea as well. First...would the things that come along with the parakeet be good for your snake, like sharper nails than mice, whatever the parakeet ingested going into your snake as well? Also...the girth being the size of a baseball is way over exagerated. Yes, pits can get big around but a baseball is a little much. The biggest pits around may get as big around as a coke can. Also, you say you may be getting a mexican pine, then you should know that they are leaner than something like a black pine and would take years to get the to the size to engulf a full grown parakeet, if they are even able to get that big to begin with. Since you say you do not even own a snake yet, I would advise reading up more about them. Proper feeding practices are crucial to your snakes health.

Perhaps a boa or python would be better suited for you since they can be big enough to eat a parakeet safely, but then again, why even bother? Rats and mice offer far better nutrition than any bird to begin with.

Take care!
Billy
-----
Genesis 1:1

First of all, Billy has alot of very good points that you ought to consider before feeding off a parakeet. And he is right about the mexican pine. If you feed them too heavy or too much, they probably won't live long. I have both adult pines and bulls and they could probably eat a parakeet, but why would you even bother. Rodents are easy to obtain and have so much more protein that the bird would ever have. Some birds could carry mites or lice with them also. Also, let me stress this, some snakes really crave a certain food item. If it really takes to the birds, that won't be cheap to feed it.

Later
Scott Robinson

Thanks to everyone for help. I will probably not be feeding my new snake parakeets anytime soon thanks to you people that helped me understand. I have 1 last question,I will be gettng a snake on saturday or sunday, I recently scooped out all my substrate which is finely crushed walnuts. At first I was thinking to go with that since its cheap and the feces will clump together then I realized that I'm getting a baby and switched back to some paper towels. Should I have kept the walnut? Is paper towel ok to use with the pit family? I heard most like to burrow.

Paper towels are perfect in my opinion. I use only those and newspapers. The main reason being that I used to use aspen and when you have a lot of snakes in your collection, the aspen filled cages are usually only spot cleaned, picking up only the poop you see, leaving dried uric acid on the bottom of the cage that may not get picked up. That is how I did it, thinking they were clean. lol...with the paper towels, I lift out all of it and wipe down the cage well and with that, leaving no waste anywhere.

BUT aspen shavings are good as well. They give the cage maybe a more " natural " look, unlike my cages with their " clinical" look with the paper towels. If this is going to be your only snake for the time being and you have a few minutes a week to dump out the aspen, wash the cage good, and put new aspen in, then I would suggest that. The snakes really like to burrow around in it.

Just some options there. Keep us posted about what you get and let us know what you got!

Take care!

Billy
-----
Genesis 1:1