Posted by:
53kw
at Thu Mar 24 18:13:09 2011 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by 53kw ]
I've kept a lot of subocs over the last 25 years and I don't think there is anything particular about baby subocs that's all that different from other baby snakes with the exception that subocs often take a longer time to eat on their own.
I keep baby subocs in small Sterlite tubs that I've drilled vent holes in. I make 2-inch diameter holes and cover them with aluminum window screen, hot-glued into place. The screen is glued onto the outside of the hole. I run a bead of glue around the edge of the hole and attach the screen, then run another bead of glue along the exposed edge of the screen to cover it so I don't stab myself on exposed wire every time I handle the tub. Works great.
I put a substrate of clean forest mulch or a mix of organic topsoil, a bit of chopped peat moss and maybe some sand if I can get sand that was quarried from sand dunes rather than produced by crushing quartz rock. Crushed-quartz sand is irregular in shape and might bind into clumps if swallowed, while "wild" sand has eroded to smooth grains that are less likely to clump in a snake's intestine. Some people use paper towels or newspaper, which I think is too dry for a baby snake. Some people like wood chips (NO pine or cedar--those woods off-gas fumes and resin that at best is very irritating to snakes and at worst is lethal). The wood chip crowd uses aspen shavings. I don't like shavings because they are too light to offer much resistance when the snake moves around and needs something solid to push against, and because they are not heavy enough to provide a sense of security when the snake burrows. Wood chips also get moldy and off-gas if wet.
I have a friend who uses chopped paper bedding but I don't care for it for the same reasons I don't care for wood shavings. Whatever you use, if you put your snakes in Sterilites, be sure to have ample ventilation.
I put a slab of slightly cupped tree bark in for the snake to hide under. I find that baby snakes are more likely to eat if food is dropped under the bark, so it lands on the snake, then gently replace the bark. This may trigger a reflexive push-back on the part of the snake, which in turn may trigger a feeding response. Check back in about an hour to see if it worked. There are other tricks to get baby snakes to eat--most can be learned by reading these forums. Once a baby snake has fed a few times it will usually settle in and feed without tricks. It's interesting that baby snakes, like baby humans, have to learn to eat.
A water dish completes the set-up. Make sure the lid fits very well and don't allow small children to access the container--the snake has nothing to do all day but seek any mistakes made in securing the cage and exploit them. Be absolutely certain the container is secure each and every time you close it.
Subocs take longer to feed than most rat snakes. You may need to offer a lizard at first, as many baby rat snakes are more apt to eat a lizard than a baby mouse. Some subocs will take anoles as feeder lizards but many insist on lizards similar to the ones they would encounter in Nature--small spiny lizards, Tree Lizards or Side-Blotched Lizards.
I had a clutch of subocs hatch last summer and two ate as soon as they shed their post-hatching skins. The rest did not eat and were hibernated until a few weeks ago. Most have not yet eaten although some did finally eat after coming out of hibernation. Those that did eat accepted very small live baby mice.
I have a few pairs of adult subocs which I raised from hatchlings. There was some fussing over getting them to eat regularly but once that corner was turned, they ate like corn snakes, every week with no issues.
Subocs don't like a lot of heat so keep them around the mid-70s. They usually don't like light and in fact their eyes have those subocular scales that give them their name, because their eyes are so bulg-y, they need extra scales below the eye to support it. Bulging eyes like that suggest they become active deep into the night when there is very little light around. In addition to large eyes, subocs have a host-specific tick that can't live in dry areas, suggesting that subocs spend a lot of time in underground refugia where the tick has a moist microhabitat. As subocs live in the Chihuahuan Desert where the most reliable moisture is underground, it seems they seldom come to the surface in daylight. It follows that subocs don't care for light and can do OK in dimly lit containers for most of their lives. It's generally considered unneccessary to provide lighting as with some species of snakes.
That said, I have kept subocs in lit cages and they have been surface active during the day as if indifferent to the light.
Subocs are very interesting snakes. They also have a unique "feel" to their skin, quite unlike other snakes. They are generally passive when handled and are usually good eaters. There is something very lovely and special about them that sets them apart from other snakes. If you get past any small challenges over feeding and the proper caging, subocs are very rewarding animals to live with.
[ Hide Replies ]
- Suboc Care - AriaSiaosi, Thu Mar 24 16:09:56 2011
 RE: Suboc Care - 53kw, Thu Mar 24 18:13:09 2011 
|
