#snek reply

[rainbowsnakes]

coffee or pepsi would fit your ground boa nicely! or maybe horchata? (horsechata.... long weird horse baby...)

oooh I like pepsi. thanks anon.

I know snakes are regularly reffered to as long dogs but long horse baby is just as good haha.    

[rainbowsnakes]

yesssssnakes said: You should get one …..

I just... thought they would be about £200- £300 because they are CITES... but they are only £100 that and quite affordable as far as snakes go....right?and the babies are starting to eat and they are just so damn pretty ....

I suppose I don't really need to freeze my human food.... freezer is for snakes now.  

[rainbowsnakes]

Are reptiles truly interactive pets, or are they more like fish? For instance, can you play games with them, or not so much?

Hello,  They are not interactive in the sense you can play games with them or make them do tricks like a dog…(Though you can “tap train” a snake so It knows when it shouldn’t expect food… so I don’t see why you couldn’t train them to do other things with extreme patience).  

They are also not really “affectionate” the way some mammalian pets can be….They are not social animals by nature and they do not need or necessarily relish attention and handling.

That said you can handle snakes safely and that dose make them “interactive” pets. They are really interesting animals to handle…And to me the fact they don’t necessarily need it is quite appealing. As pets go they are quite low maintenance animals which makes them good pets (disclaimer: Even so they can never be purchased on a whim without thorough research.)  

The extent of how interactive the snake is to handle varies greatly from species to species though…. 

Using my own snakes as an example:  

Leon my cave racer would probably rather be left alone to be honest.. As would Solo my ball python.  Both are quite shy animals and when I go to pick them up the ball python curls into a ball and Leon will Sometimes try to dart away or just sit there depending on his mood.  They are perfectly fine when out there tubs and do not behave aggressively or bite…. They obviously trust me to an extent and are quite calm being handled. The python was very very shy when we got him but is now more relaxed and explores more when out.   

GLados my Leucistic black ratsnake has calmed down a lot since I got her with regular short handling sessions but I really have to be alert at reading her signals or she will not hesitate to bite me. Different snakes have different boundaries. 

Biscuit the house snake flinches slightly when picked up but doesn’t try to move away. She is a very chilled out lady and while I think she would happily just sit in her tub forever she doesn’t object to handling at all and falls asleep in my partners hoodie while they are working.

Then there’s Levi the Russian rat snake … I really want to know what goes on in this snakes head to be honest as he is quite different to the others.  

He actively comes out to me when I open his tank and when I spot clean he climbs all over me and smells my hands. He is just… very bold and totally unafraid of me but seriously hasn’t got an aggressive bone in his body.  

When out and about he will sit on my shoulders for ages or he will just try to explore me and everything around him. He is a very curious but docile snake and seems for a snake to be pretty intelligent too.  The species is known to have a lot of personality which is why I got him as my first snake.. I ramble even more about how cool Russian rat snakes are here.       

Wow. So I hope You enjoy this essay I wrote… To sum it up… They are more interactive than fish,  but not as interactive as some mammalian pets…   

[rainbowsnakes]

snoots-and-boops answered: Where did you get Levi because I’m looking to get another colubrid soonish. 

Levi is from AC snakes . (I am UK based)

She has an amazing collection of snakes if you check out her gallery and is a very nice and knowledgeable breeder. 

Russians are not as readily available as the common corns milks and kings but they are around in the trade... and despite being uncommon they are not that expensive.  Levi was £40.    

[rainbowsnakes]

Wait, who says corn snakes aren't real?

I have encountered some keepers (mostly on forums) with the attitude that corns are dull just because they are popular and common….or those who sneer at them as being  ”just beginner species” and therefore keeping them is somehow   “not real snake keeping”.   Which is total and utter rubbish of course!! 

[rainbowsnakes]

Question time! So Ember is still pretty young (had her fifth feeding a few days ago, while she was apparently in shed much to my surprise) and that all went fine. Now I'm wondering how long I should wait before moving her to her long-term viv from her baby one. The long term is 30gal with lots of hides and stimuli. I've heard mixed opinions on whether it's safe at her age (some say no, some say yes with lots of hides). I was thinking of testing it with her for a few minutes tonight. Thoughts? :)

Hello, 

I talk in some detail about my thoughts on putting little snakes in big tubs/tanks in this post  

In summary there is a popular myth (in my opinion) that snakes “don’t do well in big tanks” or that they are scared of having lots of space.. I have to disagree with this and say It is “open” spaces that bother them.  In my opinion bigger is always better!  

One method you could consider if you want to try it out, if the dimensions of her current set-up permit it, is putting her baby set up inside the big one. That way she still has what she is familiar with but also has the opportunity to roam in the larger cage. When she seems confident you could remove the smaller tank/tub.

All my snakes have gone into very large tubs from when I first got them and they all use every bit of space and feed very well. Let me know how it goes if you do decide to try it! 

[rainbowsnakes]

I just have to say that I just took the time to read your pages on your current snakes, their enclosures, and the UV lighting post. I think that your views on providing the best, most natural environments for your pets are incredible and I'm happy that your snakes have an owner who not only has such good intentions but also has the knowledge to make sure those good intentions are executed in a helpful way. Keep up the amazing work, and I hope I can provide Ember with the life your snakes have :)

This made me so happy to read! <3 and makes writing it all out and doing the research into it even more worthwhile ^_^  If even one person see’s those posts and thinks ” yeah I want to enrich my snakes environment too” then that’s just fantastic and it’s ultimately what I want this blog to be about really! Thanks so much for your kind words and good luck with Ember!