Tips for Newbies thread!

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

my tip to not getting bitten;

1. if your snake is clearly going to shed, leave it alone.
2. if your snake is in "S" shape and your see its eyes (pupils) turn real big, good indicator to leave it alone.
3. if you must hand feed cause you think tongs are for whooses and your feeding pinky to small rats then my advise is don't be dumb and get the tongs lol been bitten and finger chewed too many times by hand feeding hatchies to yearlings without tongs...learnt after that hehe and trust me if a hatchy or yearling is hungry and gets a taste for blood its very painful to have them eat your finger right down to the knuckle.

biting with food response;

1. if your an unlucky keeper to experience a food responsive finger chewing incident the only way to remove them safely from chewing more of you finger is to run luck warm water from the tap over there face, they will need to stop chewing and release your finger to get some air. when they do come up make sure your have food item available so they don't go you again.

wow! i hadnt even thought how i was going to feed my snake (when i do get one!) tongs all da way thanx!!!!

 

[peter28]

Handling too much

I have myself a coastal 'Arnie'. When it comes to handling and feeding,I don't handle the day before feeding the day of feeding and the day after.. He was born when cyclone Yasi came to town so still quite young, new to his enclosure, and settling quite well, very protective after feeding, strikes well and handles well too, a little bity but to be expected..
What my question is, if I handled him this morning for about 20 minutes and he only bit 3 times, little ones not even really bites, then decided to rub himself and what only seems like cuddling my hand, I was wondering, if he is handling well, is it too much to get him back out in the afternoon and handle him again ??
I would like him to get used to handling and feel comfortable, so pretty much what is too much and what is not enough ??
He has handled well so far, the first time he was ever handled was last tuesday, untouched wednesday fed thursday untouched friday and handled today (saturday) so it was 3 days between handling and he fed in between.. Any thoughts and recommendation's would be much appreciated.
I think he is doing well considering he went into his new enclosure on Thursday as well, transfered through him going into it without me handling him..
Thoughts please .. Thanks..

 

[Waterrat]

I wouldn't handle any snake, large or small for at least 5-6 days after feeding. hey need some piece to digest their food. Just MO.

 

[saximus]

I agree they need more than a day after a feed. For me it's 4 minimum. The day before and even the day of shouldn't be a problem though (unless he is really hungry). Also if he is that snappy it's best only doing it once a day for 5-10 mins to start with. Even most snappy hatchies can be held without you getting bitten if you do it right.
One last thing, you should leave him for a couple of weeks after moving into a new enclosure. It's really stressful for them so they need time to settle in

 

[Aussie-Python-97]

I Went Down To My Reptile Shop Got Infomation,
Then Got Further Infomation From The Internet, Such As "Aussie Pythons & Snakes'

 

[vadercat]

I did alot of reserch before I purchased my central netteds as well. It pays to be well informed as it is not a cheap hobby.

 

[boo.i.see.you]

Have snake = will get bit.
Buy a book called keeping and breeding Australian pythons.
QUARANTINE! Don't just let any one touch your snake.
and keep spare heat lamps, when they blow i guarantee every one has sold out.
Buy your snake from a reputable breeder.

 

[Jonlivingthelife]

yes when we start owening our snakes it good to have a freind who keep snakes to show you the ropes and internet is good tool you can look up anythink about them in matter of seconds all it takes stay aways from pet shops they do give bad advise and make you spend a lot more than is needed i say

 

[Nicole666]

i think it depends entirely on the breed of snake when it comes to handling with the exception of digesting, every snake should be allowed a day or 2 to be left alone to disgest there food which is what they do naturally in the wild, handling after feeding can cause discomfort and regurgitation.

Some snakes need there space and some thrive of attention, my stimmy luvs chillen in my shirt pocket haha its a mission sometime to part ways haha, but im a firm believer that snakes should be admired and left alone rather then petted and shown off like a trophy! although some require constant attention to become tame etc, which brings me back to breed of snake.

To all the newbies out there (im am too!) please do your research, its not like getting a dog or cat.

 

[Retta4jungles]

Thanks guys, for info i have found it hard to find info on hatchies, im new to the hatchies, so this has been good, i feel bad having to ask questions every five seconds on the forum and seem to several different responses so its hard to know what to do. thanks for sticky thread tip. Will keep looking this up for more info lol

 

[krashdummy7]

vote for charlie the jungle python for the 2012 APS calander!!!!

 

[Bluetongue1]

i think it depends entirely on the breed of snake when it comes to handling with the exception of digesting, every snake should be allowed a day or 2 to be left alone to disgest there food which is what they do naturally in the wild, handling after feeding can cause discomfort and regurgitation.

Some snakes need there space and some thrive of attention, my stimmy luvs chillen in my shirt pocket haha its a mission sometime to part ways haha, but im a firm believer that snakes should be admired and left alone rather then petted and shown off like a trophy! although some require constant attention to become tame etc, which brings me back to breed of snake.

To all the newbies out there (im am too!) please do your research, its not like getting a dog or cat.

Great advice!

Blue

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Top tip is definitely to do your research on the needs of your intended purchase BEFORE you buy. Unfortunately that is often easier said then done. So how does one go about it effectively?

1. Accessing the books mentioned is my top suggestion. You don’t have to buy Swan’s or Weigel’s or any other book. You can access them through your local state library.
2. Magazine articles are a great source of information. Reptiles Australia, Scales and Tails, and the overseas mags Reptiles (USA) and Practical Reptiles (UK) are all excellent sources of information if you can access them.
3. Forums. There are numerous forums that will have a plethora of information. You do need to read the entire threads when utilising these because there are often differing views presented.
4. Internet Sites: This is fraught with danger. Many sites are not what they claim to be and offer bad or conflicting advice. Someone new to the hobby does not have sufficient experience or knowledge to be able to discern between the worthwhile and the crap. So what to do? Most Australian reptile sites, other than those of some pet shops, are good quality. The best are herpetological societies that have care sheets available. For Geckoes, Danny Brown’s Homepage is unsurpassed. Melissa Kaplan has an excellent US site and her links can be trusted. The larger US reptile distributors also have worthwhile and accurate care information. Once you develop a basic knowledge of the husbandry requirements, you can start to recognise those sites that are crap and those that are worth reading.

Biting has been discussed at length but not a lot on how to minimise it. Snakes are the main offenders for biting, particularly pythons. As was pointed out they can be trained! Snakes bite for essentially one of two reasons – striking potential food and in defence when feeling threatened. So the first bit of training is always offer food from the one side of the viv and always around the same time of day – preferably different to the time of day you would handle it. Secondly, when removing the snake to handle it, always do so from the other side of the viv. Feeding your animal in its viv will help here but is not essential.

Go with the advice already given – leave while coming up to shed, for 2 days following a meal and when it adopts an s-shaped posture indicating it is prepared to fight rather than be disturbed. For snappy snakes, open the viv and give them the opportunity to star emerging on their own. When sufficient of the snake is outside the viv, you can use a hook to simply control the head end so it is not within striking distance. With the other hand, remove the snake fro its viv. Often, at this point, you can dispense with the hook. If not, maintain its use simply to keep the head out of reach of you as a target and allow the snake as much freedom as possible while handling it. Done once a week consistently you should get to the point where the hook is no longer needed.

Do your homework BEFORE purchasing. Otherwise you may end up with an expensive corpse.

Choose an animal that is healthy – alert; active; responsive; regular tongue flicking in all snakes and many lizards; supporting its own weight; in good body condition; exhibiting muscle tone and muscular resistance when picked up; no lumps in the body cavity when gently palpated; a feeding record is provided; scale look healthy and have lustre on snakes and skinks.

Blue

 

[danricho]

Howdy, switched from adult mice to velvet rats today, my girl was not interested at all. Put a mouse in there and she smashed it. Is this normal? And if it is normal, how do I wean her onto rats?

 

[saximus]

Try defrosting the rat and mouse together. Once they are both thawed rub them together so the mouse scent gets on the rat. This usually works. It's what people mean when they talking about "scenting" a food item

 

[mysnakesau]

Avoid feeding your snakes in very hot and cold weather. Food items can rot inside them quicker than the snake's digestive system can work. While it is more commonly heard of when feeding at low temperatures, feeding in hot weather will have the same effect. I lost two bullet proof bredli from food poisoning couple days after I fed them when temperatures were high 30c, possibly closer to 40. Wasn't pleasant experience at all. Even though the night temperature had fallen quite well, I did not consider the predicted temperatures for the next days to follow.

 

[danricho]

Cheers mate, will give it a crack.

 

[Nikolameyers007]

I have just moved my gecko from a huge tank set up to a click clack set up.. nice 30L tub like my breeder uses, i am just nervous about heating though. I am using a 15watt 3 m heat cord and i have it sitting UNDER not in UNDER!!! My plastic tub. it is sitting on a pair of flat packed draws.. not sure what materials they are etc and am just wondering if this is safe? chance of melting/burning etc? pelase get back to me asap

 

[danricho]

My girl has just had her 3rd shed this year. There is still a bit left on her tail, what should I do?

 

[mysnakesau]

Soak her in warm water for about 20 minutes. Then you can gently peel it off with your fingers.

 

[Logan92]

how do you keep a python warm if the power goes out?