Hi everybody! New member here!

[dragonlover1]

Cat has no problems with the reptiles,he is mildly interested in their activity

 

[Bl69aze]

My snakes dont give a *#%^ about my cats and viceversa, only when snakes are up against the doors trying to break out, do the cats pay attention

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

With all due respect, I disagree. Snakes often occupy burrows that are made by their prey animals, such as lizards, mice, rats, small marsupials, rabbits etc. They also occupy hollows and shelters that have been used by nesting birds and arboreal mammals. Aside from this is the physiological reaction of "sensory adaptation", where prolonged exposure to a stimulus reduces the reaction to that by increasing the threshold required by the receptors to react. In other words a stronger stimulus is required to elicit a response from the receptor neurons. A common example is contact of an object with the skin. After a while you cease to feel it unless a stronger stimulus of touch is applied.

100% agree with this.
To cut a long story short I remember many years ago cleaning out my Burmese girl who would have been 12ft at the time. Damn dog, (puppy) snuck in from the kitchen and got curled up on the sofa unknown to me, WITH the snake. By the time I realised where the dog was they were both sound asleep together.

 

[Harimoni Proudswift]

Just in case I ever do get a python sometime in the future, can someone give me a list of all the necessary equipment I would need?

 

[Bl69aze]

Just in case I ever do get a python sometime in the future, can someone give me a list of all the necessary equipment I would need?

Depending on the age, a tub, a heat source (usually a 5w mat or heatcord for a tub) thermostat, hide and water bowl (I use food boxes (small to start) and ceramic bowl for water coz why not, save money) and paper towel for substrate ~ for a hatchie

Older would need everything but bigger

 

[Harimoni Proudswift]

I'd love a BHP, but I've heard they're not really suitable for people who've never owned a snake. Currently imagining myself having a male Red Coastal Carpet yearling.

 

[Bl69aze]

I'd love a BHP, but I've heard they're not really suitable for people who've never owned a snake. Currently imagining myself having a male Red Coastal Carpet yearling.

Get what you REALLY want, not what other people recommend I would have never been happy if I got what people usually suggest (antaresia species) only way you can learn and enjoy is to (potentially, depending on the snake) get bit in the process and if you get it young, chances are you will get more experienced as it grows, I started with a coastal 6mth old, he’s my big boy now at 7 1/2ft

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

I would suggest that BHP's are ideal as a first animal so long as you get a youngster that is already calm.

 

[Harimoni Proudswift]

When it comes to heating an enclosure, infrared heat lamps appear to be cheaper to buy than ceramic lamps or heat mats. Of course, this may just be because they're being advertised for sale online (they might be more expensive to buy in-store). Also, do thermostats need separate thermometers?

 

[Bl69aze]

When it comes to heating an enclosure, infrared heat lamps appear to be cheaper to buy than ceramic lamps or heat mats. Of course, this may just be because they're being advertised for sale online (they might be more expensive to buy in-store). Also, do thermostats need separate thermometers?

thats true, how ever globes are more likely to "pop" compared to CHE or Heatmats, an argument could be said to buy multiple globes yadda yadda, i have a che and its great, i use heat mats for enclosures that are small, i.e 50x50x70 or a click clack (food safe tub)

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

Nothing wrong with globes but you don't need the good old 'reptile infra red' you only need normal incandescent/spot globes from Bunnings. $5 for 2 if I remember correctly.

So many people get conned with that red light mania for reptile globes and its all a con. Infra red light is a specific spectrum that gives off heat. As light globes all give off heat to varying degrees that heat is in the infra red spectrum.

 

[Ella C]

Hi! I've only been on here for a few months. I'd also LOVE a snake but my dad is scared of them (He's determined to see them as 'evil death machines.') Anyway, I'm trying to change his mind but... I'm lucky to have frogs though!
Anyhow, welcome to the forums!!

 

[Harimoni Proudswift]

If you have a heat mat, do you need heat lamps too? "Amazing Amazon", a shop in Glen Waverly, are advertised BHPs for $400 and Coastal Carpets for $120, though prices would probably vary depending on colour, age and gender.

 

[Bl69aze]

If you have a heat mat, do you need heat lamps too? "Amazing Amazon", a shop in Glen Waverly, are advertised BHPs for $400 and Coastal Carpets for $120, though prices would probably vary depending on colour, age and gender.

no you only need one or the other. i "wood"n't recommend using a heat mat for wood enclosures however.

I.E i moved coastal to his large enclosure last year and bought a 75W CHE and a Cage for it (so he doesnt burn himself)

 

[Harimoni Proudswift]

"Amazing Amazon" are advertising an Advanced Reptile Thermostat for $90 (they recommend using both a thermostat and a thermometer) and a Budget terrarium tower (size: 45x45x60cm) for $180. Would a tank this size be big enough for a BHP?

 

[Bl69aze]

"Amazing Amazon" are advertising an Advanced Reptile Thermostat for $90 (they recommend using both a thermostat and a thermometer) and a Budget terrarium tower (size: 45x45x60cm) for $180. Would a tank this size be big enough for a BHP?

id recommend getting a custom built enclosure, 45x45x60 is definitely not big enough for them as they can grow in excess of 1.5-2m, it'd be fine while young, however you can definitely do cheaper. being a non arboreal species, they will do better with an enclosure that is long and "deep" rather than high, so you can get

Spoiler

<- something like this from http://www.maverickenclosures.com.au/ who can build you what you need and cheap

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

Size of the enclosure is relevant to age/size. Sub adults I have kept in 3x2x2 to 4x2x2. Adults 6x2x2 or bigger for large breeding females.
A $400 BHP without any specific genetics is a little more expensive than you would pay from a breeder but that shop is a reliable seller though some on here will disagree with me on that.

 

[Harimoni Proudswift]

Didn't realise I had so many questions.

Snake Ranch website says the minimum size tank for a BHP is 3x2x2. The biggest glass tank Amazing Amazon have is 4x1x3, though I'm assuming this probably still wouldn't be big enough for an adult. Does the sex of the snake determine its full adult size?

What about feeding and lighting? I assume snakes need both lighting and heating. If using a heat mat, what kind of lighting is recommended? As for food, I know wild BHPs eat mostly other reptiles and, given the opportunity, will take small mammals, but what about birds (ex: small Quails)?

Transport. When buying a snake or taking one to the vet, how do you go about transporting them?

 

[Lanea]

Perhaps... but then again... snakes in the wild don't experience a lot of the things that their captive counterparts do .. like a stable consistent environment, no competition, no predators, regular hassle free feeds... comparing the 2 scenarios is pointless.

Love the point you make. See too much of comparing captive snakes with wild. Ours are in a synthesised environment. Of course you want to mimic as much as possible temp, food, terrain, enclosure to suit ground or tree dweller. But the conisistent environment we provide them with is indeed unnatural, because it's too perfect.

I had an eye opening experience 3 weeks ago when I was on the Gold Coast for holidays, and met and bought my GTP - Who was flown down to me to Melb 2 weeks later.
I have been around snakes for about 15 years, and own a cat. I kick the car out of the room if I do anything snake related. (She lives indoors) I also wash my hands from snake to snake. I have a spotted, an albino darwin a coastal and now a GTP.

I have never bought from a breeder, only (regrettably) pet shops. When I went to the breeders house in QLD, he was on a farm 40 mins from gold coast on average, (breeds jungle morphs and GTP's) I was surprised to see his 2 cats sitting on the couch, who I pat as I walked in. I asked the guy if I can wash my hands to handle GTP as I wanted to see disposition before going ahead with purchase and wanted to get the cat smell off me. He said he never washes his hands. (Of course I have always washed my hands, thinking should a snake smell cat on me, it'll think its getting fed and i'll be bitten)

Anyway, for the first time ever I held a snake after touching a cat without washing my hands. Was interesting to see the difference in how country folk compared to urban keepers handle their snakes / specifically in terms of their own hygiene. The breeder explained they have chicken, sheep, goats, cats, dogs, so rural snakes much like wild snakes are used to a conglomerate of difference scents, opposed to an urban breeder selling to an urban owner, who's snake never gets the opportunity to smell those other things and then may have bite issues later when smelling pets on your hands, etc.

Was just interesting and eye opening for me. Although at home I still wash my hands before and after anything snake related and still kick my cat out of the room into our garage when handling a snake

Opened my eyes to see even same breed can be different, dependent on what captive environment they started out in. I noticed the breeder didn't wash his hands from snake to snake and he had jungles, HETs and GTPs

So, going back to the comment in one of the above posts, about it being psychological torture for mice to be 2 meters away from snake enclosure, I don't know. Much like the guy breeding on a farm, wouldn't they just get used to the smell of their food in the air around them? Like my breeder said about his snakes used to farm animal smells, wouldn't the smell of the mice cage in same room as snake be their normal?

 

[Bluetongue1]

Many, if not most people, have a misconception of the realities of nature. It literally is a jungle out there. Even plants compete savagely for water, light and nutrients, killing (by out competing) other species and their own kind in order to survive. They also produce all manner of nasty things to avoid being eaten by animals. As for animals, on average less than 5% of those born survive to reproductive age. They are all a part of the food web, where the rule is ‘eat or be eaten’. There are also pathogenic fungi, bacteria and viruses to consider.

This is why tend to find general comments about natural and unnatural not very helpful. They are seldom based on a good understanding of nature. A more realistic and productive approach IMO is looking at the biological needs of animals.

Having said that, there is something majestic about seeing nature in the raw – plants and animals in their natural environment. Appreciating the amazing complexities that bring life to each and every organism; the dynamic and complex ecological systems that have created and sustain what one sees. This can influence whether or not one prefers naturalistic enclosures or not. The difference is usually about aesthetics rather than biological needs of captive snakes.


With respect to the last paragraph of the previous post, you are quite correct. As I said in a post a few weeks back, snakes often occupy burrows that are made by their prey animals, such as lizards, rodents, marsupials, rabbits etc. They also occupy hollows and shelters that have been used by nesting birds and mammals. Just like us, they get used to the smells. The biological basis to this is termed “sensory adaptation”. If you have the smell of mice on your hands when you go to pick up a snake and it detects this, then that would likely provide a strong enough stimulus to elicit a response (vs the air-borne scent it is accustomed to).