Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well this gal just shed, and is ready for brumation. I was not going to offer her any more food for 05 but in TX it is so damn hot I get the feeling she'd enjoy another snack or two. The pic may not be too sharp, but the snake is awesome. She is a little over 4 foot, weighs about 1000 grams on an empty stomach. Not fat at all and not a pin head...simply perfect. Tom Stevens

This is one of Rainers Eastern X Brooksi het Hypos. She looks a bit opaque in the pic but you can see she is a good sized yearling. I can't wait to see babies from her. Tom Stevens

Tom, I noticed you mentioned that he did not have a pin head. I often thought my male Florida's head was not that big and very much like a "pin head". Do you know if that is just a random trait or caused by something other influence?

Miller
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1.1 Florida King ('02 Pit & '00 Pearl)
1.1 Eastern Kings (2004 Orca & Sugar Pie)
1.0 Black Milksnake (2005 Bubba)
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.2 Cats (Stella and Shug)

My opinion is pin heads are man made. It comes from massive intake of food without proper conditions for the snake to grow. So they get large, but the head looks too small for the body. In the field I have found the opposite. Heads that look a little larger than expected on the body. In the hobby it is an indicator something is not right with your husbandry, though I do not feel it does any damage to the snake...it is something most try to avoid Tom Stevens

I've found a bunch of pinheaded wild florida kings. I just figure its natural variation, just like people have different sized heads.

You very well may be correct. I have caught Garters with very large heads and also caught a TX Rat with a head large enough to eat a huge mouse yet it was only 24 inches or so. In captivity however it is sometimes noticeable that a snake was made a pin head...but I am sure it happens radomly as well. I mentioned it because many of my snakes grow extremely large rapidly and some people think that when snakes do grow as fast as mine it means they will have a tiny head on a huge body. Tom Stevens

Thanks for the reply. When I got him a probably about two years ago, I thought his head was unusally small for his body. Since he was my first male Florda I thought it was a male female thing. I have a 2000 female who's head was much bigger than his even though her body was much thinner. He does have a voracious appetite so I try not to over feed him, sometimes going two weeks between feeding. I will say his head is catching up to his body but stil small in comparison.

Thanks again,
Miller
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1.1 Florida King ('02 Pit & '00 Pearl)
1.1 Eastern Kings (2004 Orca & Sugar Pie)
1.0 Black Milksnake (2005 Bubba)
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.2 Cats (Stella and Shug)

I don't know how much my 04s from Tom weigh now (scale broke) but they are eating small rats with great gusto.

That is good to hear, I like to know my snakes are thriving. The parents of your snakes were from Don Shores. If I remember correctly I think he said the pair that produced mine was a Love line and a Bell line. I hope they prove out cause they make super nice maroon Hypos. The daddy is at least 5 foot. Tom Stevens

What is your feeding regiment? And what size cages do you use for hatchlings - yearlings? Beautiful snake!

The question is more like what is the snakes pooping schedule LOL. If the snake eats and poops and looks ready to eat, it is. OR, if the snake ate a few days ago and "should" be pooping again it is almost a given it will right after it eats again. This particular Brooksi never regurged once. Ate like a champ from day one. After the first 2 or 3 meals of a single pinky I start giving them a few pinkies. Then move them up to fuzzies, but usually only one or two for a while. Once they look like they would eat more...I feed them tons of food. If you read the article Breeding Colubrid Snakes by Steve Osborne you will see he mentions you need to feed a snake 100 food items in its first year if you want to get it up to breeding size fast. But as I mentioned, if your husbandry is right and your snakes are pooping within a few days of eating they will be ready to eat and eat and eat and eat some more. Not every snake will grow at this rate, but many are capable of it. Tom Stevens