New snake!

[peas_and_corn]

I now have a pet snake. This was a one year anniversary present from Mel who said that if I were to get the enclosure and the accessories, she would buy the snake. I've wanted a snake for a long time, so this was a great thing to be told. So, onwards to the story...

We go to the store on Thursday. The snake we handled on an earlier day was somewhat bitey for our tastes, so we decided to try another. Some of the prices had jumped since last time we had been there, and that was because the more expensive ones were good feeders. He gave me a $10 discount. So we chose one at random and I fell in love with it instantly. He was really active and inquisitive, but not aggressive in any way. So I chose that one.

Putting him back, we get all the equipment in to the car- the enclosure *just* fit into the car, but the boot had to be roped closed. Once it was all in the car, we were off. On the way, I hear a *crash* as the doors fell out of the housing and one of them smashed. Grr. Once home, we got the enclosure inside and assessed the damage.

The blokes at the store, since I got a big enclosure (since I didn't want to replace it as the snake got bigger) gave me a container to put the snake in while in the enclosure so it could be comfortable with it over time. We put him in that (before he was in a bucket with holes in the lid) with some newspaper and his water dish. I called a glazier and dropped off the not broken door to get a new one made.

When we got back, the snake was incredibly cold. So I decided to put the closed container (with newspaper over the clear lid) on some books under the heat lamp to heat it up. Over time I reduced the number of books as he got warmer.



The enclosure was hard to get up the stairs, so we left it downstairs after we got the new bit of glass. We didn't really set it up, but we got the hidey hole in and put his water dish in. We left the lid off the container to see how adventurous he was, and he indeed is very adventurous. A couple hours later, he was already looking to explore the place.



He was left down there for the night. We organised Luke to drop by on Friday to help get the enclosure up the stairs, which was very nice of him. And so, here's a pic of it being installed onto the table, and then Luke installing the guards around the lights.





And so then it was all set up, and the snake put into his enclosure, in the box so that he can get accustomed to the larger surrounding. It only took him a few hours to get used to his surroundings, though, so the next day I removed the container and he seemed to be nonplussed about it.





He's a great handling snake, incredibly placid and easy to handle. That makes everything much better And like I wrote earlier, he's incredibly curious and always wants to explore. He's about the length of my arm, and many times when handling him he likes climbing it. Other times he's sticking his neck out really far, looking at the furniture that's near him, most likely looking to climb on it a little bit.







And of course on Sunday came the fun part- the feeding. I bought a pack of frozen pinkies with the snake, and I took one out the freezer to defrost it. Using tweezers, I took it into the enclosure, and got his interest. It didn't take much convincing to get him to take a jump at it, lazily coil around it, and consume it. Here are some pictures of this. The last picture is of him after swallowing the mouse before quickly going under the log.











I've decided to call him Francis. He has been named after the person (Francis ***uyama) who, through his work, managed to convince me to take the idea of academia seriously. For those of you who have only read The End of History, I recommend that you read his state building book to see his true writing style

Lastly but not leastly, I would like to thank Mel, for providing the photography, giving me such a wonderful present, and putting up with me for the past year.

[Horsy]

Aww congrats! Everything looks great and he looks so happy I wish you the best of luck with him!

[blair55]

what a long post haha
nice snake

[yellowtamarin]

Great story, thanks for sharing it all, and the pics.

[tempest]

He looks awesome! Which store did you end up getting him from?

Just something you might want to think about - quite a few people have had their hatchies escape through the gap between the sliding doors. You might want to get a length of hose and cut it down the centre and push it into the gap so it's nice and tight and Francis can't escape. There are other ways but that is one of the most common ones I've read. Trust me, you don't want to come home to find an escaped snake - it isn't a very nice feeling!

Enjoy!! You'll soon want more!

[bredli84]

Congrats, just a word of warning, make sure the snake cant wedge himself into nooks or crannies in that log because he might get stuck.

dont let people tell you that the enclosure is too large, if the snake is not stressed and is eating happily then thats all that matters.

Edit: Tempest makes a good point about the gap between the glass. i used some of that stick-on furry weather stripping from bunnings.

[skunk]

nice snake n aweomse enclosure mate.
wat substrate is that ?

[peas_and_corn]

Tempest- I got him from Gully Reptiles. They're really nice there, I recommend them fully Also, about the gap in the glass, it's not really much of a problem- he's grown a bit in its 6 months since hatching, and its head is bigger than the gap between the doors- it's really only about 3mm.

Bredl- hmm, haven't thought about that, but from memory I can't think of any that it can get stuck in. I'll have a look at it when I get home, though.

Skunk- it's called 'desert blend', apparently it's made up of some sort of nut shell (I think walnut?) that has been ground down. Apparently it's good because if the snake eats it, there's no problem. Also it looks real nice.

[Fester]

What a story! You being from Adelaide and the look of your enclosure, I would say you visited Gully Reptile Centa,

Ah, you posted quicker than me. I see that is where you have been!!

[steph]

is it a Mury Darling snake?

[tempest]

That's where I got my first from too, they're a nice bunch of guys

[peas_and_corn]

Steph- oops, forgot to mention breed, but yeah it is a MD. Really nice and laid back

[peas_and_corn]

I'm considering putting something in it for him to climb on- would this be a good idea? What should I use, and where should I get it? Also, I've considered putting something in the hot end of the tank for him to crawl under so he can be at the hot end but still hiding under something- good idea? what should I use for that?

Cheers

[Bung-Eye]

mate in my enclosure while he's still young i just use the lid of an egg container cut off in the warm end that he can curl up in, and in the cool end I've got a box of oats or something that I've cut a hole in the side of so he can get in and out.

nothing wrong with having a hide on both ends of the enclosure, that way he can feel secure and regulate his temperature at the same time.

As for climbing, most morelia's are aboreal, if you supply them with something to perch on chances are they'll use it. My bredli just loves the stick I put in for him, he sits on it for hours.

so i've read anyway...

[Bung-Eye]

just re read your post..

I just got my stick from the garden and snapped it to the correct size. If you do this, put it in the oven on about 120° or so for an hour and bake that sucker to kill any thing on there, and then it should be right to put in your enclosure (though i sanded mine a little to get some of the junk off it)