#snake husbandry

[omg-snakes]

Help Us Do Real Science!

@talesfromtreatment and I have an ask for our fellow corn snake keepers and breeders.

We're gathering information on corn snake size by age and we need community scientists like you to provide the largest possible body of data.

@talesfromtreatment will be using the information gathered to build an accurate, statistics-supported corn snake growth and feeding guide based on ACTUAL data from ACTUAL corn snake keepers like you! I'm just the numbers gal.

Here's what we need:

Your snake's age (in years)

Your snake's weight (in grams)

A top-down photo of your snake's entire body with an inch or centimeter reference. (see photo below)

All of this information entered in our online form, linked below or copy/pasta: https://forms.gle/QtAwmiFa6fpBewFs8

https://forms.gle/QtAwmiFa6fpBewFs8

We'd love to get data on older snakes, younger snakes, fatter snakes, skinnier snakes. If you've got a corn snake we want their age, weight, and a photo of them with a measuring device.

Photos don't need to be fancy, just give us a top-down view of your snake and a ruler/tape measure/yardstick on a flat surface.

The survey is anonymous and we won't share your photos with anyone nor use them for any purpose beyond collecting morphometric data for this specific study.

Please please please help us collect as much data as possible. Share with your reptile-keeping friends, signal boost, submit your metrics, and stay tuned for updates!

https://forms.gle/QtAwmiFa6fpBewFs8

[thlpp]

The boyo has discovered his shelf, and I think he approves.

Finished his course of antibiotics, and white blood cell count came back normal, so we're all set to enjoy our new accommodations.

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

If you notice that your snake is getting ready for a shed, is it better to bump up their humidity to help, or to leave it as is?

Always bump it up! Increased humidity during shed cycles is important to help ensure everything goes well and your snake has an easy and comfortable shed! How much you bump it up will depend on the species, so double-check first, but in general around a 10% increase is perfect.

Also, never underestimate the benefits of a humidity box! They're easy to make by cutting a hole in the lid of a food storage container big enough for your snake to curl up in and filling it with damp sphagnum moss. Keep it damp, and your snake will always have a nice humid retreat. All my snakes have humidity boxes and I literally never get bad sheds.

[ritori666]

Wonderful seeing her enjoy the new plants I set up ❤

[bring-out-the-dead]

I want to see ball pythons. show me your balls.

[lemonsharks]

My snake: mother may I have a rödent

Me: before a cold snap in which I am prepared to zip tie you securely inside a bag and then stuff you into my bra if we lose power and then run out of reptile heat packs? Absolutely not

[furmity]

House snake

Um, a lot of people have this assumption that keeping a pet snake means he just roams the house like a cat or a dog. An agent from our new real estate company came to inspect our house for the first time today. He called ahead to ask where the snake was, "Is it in the house?"

"Yes"

"I'm not so good with snakes can you put it away?"

"He's in his house, he's enclosed. He's also hiding in his log right now so you won't see him."

"OK good, see you soon."

So, er, for those unsure: it's not safe for him to wander unattended in the house. First of all he could be stepped on or caught in a door. Second, he's a semi- arboreal python, he climbs. Unlike tree branches, our shelves and cupboard- tops have items sitting on them. He braces against things as he moves, so he could knock them onto himself.

It is also not hygienic. Reptiles can carry salmonella in their guts- he does not belong in the kitchen. He also can't be toilet trained, and would likely take a foul shit in the least accessible place, like behind a bookcase. Could also happen on a powerboard, say, let alone the good rug.

Then there's ordinary security risks of getting into the walls/ roof after the smell of possums, or outside where he could meet neighbourhood cats and dogs. Some people also kill snakes on sight, so it's pretty important he doesn't get out of the house. A personal fear is that he would eat a poisoned rat.

In summer he could plausibly stay warm enough, but he needs external heat. In his designated zone he has special reptile lamps to achieve the ideal gradient. Such bulbs have protective cages around them, because they are very hot and he will try to wrap around them (heat sensors adapted for patches of sun and warm blood, not artificial sources). If he was loose in the house and got cold he would burn himself on the stove, on a radiator...

It's no good, he needs his own space where he is warm, safe, and I can easily clean up the waste. So if you want a snake, please don't think for a moment you can just set them loose in the house. You need a secure terrarium and good heating gear. The heating setup needs to be completely replaced every few years to make sure it stays safe (let alone bulb wear- out...), and as your pet grows they will need a bigger terrarium- if we're talking glass tanks they get shockingly expensive in larger sizes. Be prepared and save the money, or build one.

He's about as low maintenance a pet as could be found, but he has specific needs and deserves good care ❤️

[flameraven]

I happened to check Facebook today and saw a group rehoming reptiles and other exotics in my state. And scrolling through... I'm really glad these animals are being rehomed because a lot of them are in poor condition or have just awful, empty enclosures. A hide and a bowl of water and not much else. Tanks or racks that were way too small.

It made me so so sad. :( Please do your research before getting a pet, especially exotics.

[uncivilcivilservice]

Cleaned and redid Wally's enclosure today. He's lost real plant privileges because he keeps 💩 on them, so kinda ugly fake plants are all he is getting for now

I wish I knew what was going through his head when I change up his enclosure. Does he think I've moved him to a completely new location, or does he understand that he's in the same place but the dirt in the ground is new and things have just been moved around. Snakes need thought bubbles

[1spooky-dad]

Hi, I saw you've got a Malaysian blood python and just wanted to ask how you got her to warm up to you. I have one and he's very insistent on trying to bite me. Thanks!

I'm very lucky, in that since i work at the pet store i got her from, and am the lead animal caretaker, i was the person who handled her the most from the time she was about 2-3 months old to now.

The day she came to the store, her box had been put down on a counter by the delivery person, who had not told anyone it was there, and unfortunately she got pretty cold, to the point i wasn't sure if she'd survive the night by the time i tracked the box down. In order to keep an eye on her, since i had to go to my lunch, instead of putting her in a warm enclosure, i put her in my shirt. Bras are, of course, made to be cozy warm snake pockets.

For the 6 months she was at the store, i would take her out of her habitat and carry her around the store in my shirt, and she loved it. She loved looking around and smelling everything, and she associated the experience with a cozy, warm spot she could huddle up in (thank you, bra)

She has only struck at me once, when i woke her up too quickly and scared her. The only other person she ever struck at was my high strung coworker who can't handle snakes because (I'm fairly certain this is the reason) they can sense her anxiety and fucked up heart rate (she's got heart problems) and snakes go "idk what's wrong with you but stay the fuck away" which i can't fault them for.

Captive bred bloods are typically more handleable than wild caught ones, but they're are still a pretty temperamental breed, and Sweettart is absolutely an exception to the breed. I do think it was my carrying her around like a baby kangaroo for at least an hour 5 days a week for 6 months that got her to be the specimen she is today.

Depending on how old and big your boy is, handling him daily may not be an option for you. Sweettart is only getting to be a year now, so she's still pretty young. She hasn't started turning red yet. Would you mind giving some info on how big he is, and how his habitat is set up? That way I can get an idea on how you can go forward with taming him, simply cause i don't think your gonna have the time to stick him in your shirt and walk around a petco for several hours a day lol

Sweettart says hi btw

[flameraven]

It is a cute comic! Yay for pet snake love! Although I think that is a Green Tree Python, which can be rather delicate and aren't generally recommended as beginner snakes. You're better off with something like a corn snake as a first pet! Just make sure to find a reputable breeder and try to avoid chain stores like Petco/Petsmart. And always do your research first before bringing an exotic pet home. 🐍

Comic by PetFoolery

Hands up if you'd also adopt that little noodle! ✋

[omg-snakes]

This is an interesting stress behavior that we don't see very often in corn snakes!

The tail wiggle that you see here is called caudal luring and it's distinct from the vibrational shakey-tail threat display. This is a defense maneuver!

Shakey-tail is intended to trick a potential predator into thinking the snake is a venomous rattler.

By contrast, caudal luring is a last-ditch effort to get a predator to attack a snake's thrashing tail instead of their head, while the head is focused on leading the body the heck outta danger. They may lose part of their tail, but they have a better chance of living to tell about it. Some snakes and other reptiles may use caudal luring as a hunting strategy, too!

This snake is definitely stressed, not hunting, so I recorded a 5-second clip and then focused on helping them feel safe and in control of their body by loosening my hold on them and letting them move freely through my hands. They stopped the behavior and we moved on to the next part of the handling session.

A tiny bit of stress with a positive outcome can inoculate against future stress. The goal isn't to prevent any stress from ever occurring, but to limit stress to what is necessary for proper husbandry (in this case, taking a length measurement and transferring to a feeding cup) and to work with the animal to help them overcome stress when it occurs.

[thlpp]

Sun King has left the building

Some time between late afternoon of 30th of September and the morning of the 1st of October Sunny has passed away as a result of multi-systemic antibiotic-resistant infection.

Sunny came to us aged 2.5-3 years in 2017, very sick, and after almost a year of treatments he eventually recovered; however some resistant bacteria remained in his body. As long as his immune system remained strong, he would be able to suppress the infection, but it was unlikely to ever fully clear.

It seems that the incident with the mass that Sunny had an emergency surgery for back in April marked the beginning of the end.

We took him to the veterinary hospital for a necropsy yesterday, and the results were that pretty much every system in his body was impacted, and he couldn't go on.

In the seven years he's had with us, Sunny brought innumerable moments of joy to us, and we're devastated by his loss.

I haven't yet fully processed it TBH. It's going to be some rough weeks ahead.

If you wish, please donate to your local reptile rescue in his name.

Goodbye sweet Sunny boy.

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

I think you mentioned dehydration as an issue you see in rescue snakes often, what are the signs of dehydration to look out for?

The biggest and most obvious one I see in 99% of dehydrated snakes is stuck shed. Snakes need moisture to shed, so a dehydrated snake won't be able to shed properly.

The other big, immediately-obvious sign of dehydration are the wrinkles it causes in the skin. Wrinkles are also common in overweight snakes, but in cases of dehydration they have a very specific, flakey, pulled-up look. It's impossible to miss and often the earliest sign a keeper will notice.

Dehydrated snakes often get wrinkles on and around their heads.

The eye caps might look dented and sunken.

Refusal to eat is another common sign a snake is dehydrated. If a snake isn't getting enough water, their appetite absolutely tanks. I have a theory that ball pythons have such a reputation for being terrible eaters at least in part because they're so rarely given adequate humidity and their appetite suffers as a result.

When it comes to dehydration, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Dehydration can cause rapid weight loss and respiratory illness pretty quickly, and just make your snake feel lousy! It's crucial to monitor humidity in your snake's enclosure by using a hygrometer with a probe, not stick-on dials (they're often inaccurate).

[cobragardens]

Yeah if you keep your ball pythons like this you don't just look like an animal abuser.

This is the standard of keeping ball pythons. Its the most common technique, and it IS widly spread.

We can do better than this. This kind of stuff doesnt allow for a range of natural behaviors. It makes us look like animal abusers. Yes, the animals survive, but they cannot thrive in this setting. There’s literally not enough room for even one of them to stretch all the way out.

We can do better. We have to do better because this isn’t good for the animals health wise, or even mentally. It also gives HSUS and PETA more grounds to ban reptiles as pets.

Enrichment provides animals with an outlet for natural behaviors and promotes healthy animals. There are tons of studies on the benefits of enrichment- it’s not an extra step- it’s necessary for the good of the animal and is part of proper husbandry.

Dont be like this picture; dare to do more.

(image source purposely withheld)

[mossiestpiglet]

[ID: a pile of plant cuttings in front of a naturalistic reptile enclosure. End ID]

Oort’s enclosure had overgrown to the point where the pothos leaves were trying to stop me from opening the doors, so I finally accepted it was time for a major trim.