Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Have a chance to get an '05 Pueblan. I've read lots about where they're from, but little about their personality. I've heard they're shy and tend to stress easily. True? How are they?

reako45

In my experience, they do tend to be pretty skittish as hatchlings often musking and constantly moving when held.

With frequent handling, they typically will calm down after they reach a decent size after a 12-18 months. They are great snakes if you can put up with being musked for a while when they are young.

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Dave Niles

My Jalisco Milk Snake (cousin to a Pueblan) constantly musks and poops on me. I try to hold him and if I don't have a couple of parts of him between my fingers snugly, he'd zoom off, drop, and escape.

I'm hoping (as the above poster said) that he'll calm down more as an adult. He's truly a gorgeous snake!

Walt

P.S. The bottom pic is from before I changed his habitat to Cypress mulch. Before I never saw him, because he always hid below the newspaper. Now I never see him, because he's always under the mulch!

He's looking good, and glad to see someone else loves to use those clay pots. I have them in all sizes for every snake I own. All my snakes love and use those clay pots. Not to mention when they go in shed, how easy it is to stick a wet paper towl or two under the pot.

Steve

Nice pic, Steve. Our corn uses it much more than my milk. I just have it in there now with the mulch if he wants to come topside... which he NEVER does. When I want to handle him, it's like digging worms out of the dirt. Then he proceeds to crap all over me...lol.

I'll post some new corn pics I took in that forum soon...

Walt

what worked for me when I had pueblans and a red milk..... I would scoop up the snake and hold it with one hand cupped over top of the other. That way they felt more secure, and it was kind of dark in there. I would try to hold them for about two to five minutes every day (except for the two days after feeding). They seemed to calm down when I did it this way, but would become freaky if I went more than two days without holding them.
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phflame
kingsnake.com host

Thanks for the suggestion.

I noticed the last time I held him that he WAS calmer when I did that. He still seems to need to be semi-snug between a couple of fingers, too. Otherwise, even though I've heard snakes don't want to fall, he truly would bolt, then slide off me to hit the ground running.

LOL

Walt

Pueblans are beautiful snakes. They're very jumpy/musky as babies, but if you work with them on a constant basis, they should calm down somewhat after a year to 18 months. Some are better then others. One thing I can say about them in my experience. Even though they are nervous and jumpy, I believe them to be very mild in temperment. Never have I come even close to having them become aggressive, or wanting to bite. I had an 05 female, and sold her. I think I'm going to pick me up another at the next show I attend. Good luck.

Steve

I agree heartily with Steve. My Jalisco Milk Snake always wants to run and hide, but there's been plenty of times I've pulled him tail-first out of the mulch and he could have bit me, but didn't. He seems very mild-mannered as long as I hold him firmly so he doesn't bolt.

Walt

What personality????? Just keep the paper towels handy.

Mike