(Hopefully) soon to be snake owner, some questions!

[jhmcgreg]

Hi,
I've been wanting a snake for some time and I'm looking at getting one fairly soon (although it might not be till the end of next year depending). I don't have any intention of breeding, and will only ever be keeping the one snake.
Fair few questions sorry, but thanks so much to anybody who can answer them for me!

I think Bredlis are gorgeous so I'll hopefully be getting one of them! I love albino Darwins to but they're a tad on the expensive side.
Is there anything I should know about Bredlis from peoples personal experiences?

Also wanted to know how hard it is to make sure your snake is staying at the right temperature? Will he be fine in cold weather if he has a heat lamp, and in hot weather should I do anything to cool him down or will be be okay? This is something I'm pretty worried about, so any guides or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Also what age is best to get them at? Will I be okay as a beginner getting a hatchie or should I go for a more mature snake?

I also wanted to ask about acquiring my snake... Like you should never get a puppy from a puppy farm, is there any particular sort of breeder or person that I should avoid? Should I ask to see a license before purchasing a snake? I won't be going to a pet store, they're generally pretty useless from experience.

And lastly, is it okay to ask somebody to hold onto a snake (with a deposit of course), while I get my license processed? Or is that considered irresponsible/rude? As I'm only getting a companion animal keepers license (rather than a full reptile license), I want to hold off on it until I'm absolutely 100% certain on what sort snake I am getting, as I don't know how difficult it is to change the species listed if I change my mind.


Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Barrett]

Hey, awesome choice to get a snake, they are wonderful creatures. Bredlis are known for being very placid, my sister has a 5 year old female and she is the biggest puppy dog. Same goes for albinos, why little albino boy is extremely placid and will wrap around my arm and just chill for ages, plus they are stunning to look at and awesome to watch as their colours come through with age.

It is really easy to maintain the correct temperatures for your snake. As long as you have a good thermostat hooked up to either a a heat lamp, or heat mat/cord/panel (I use both for my snakes running off separate thermostats). It's also good to either have a separate thermometer in the enclosure of an IR heat gun to check the temps occasionly to make sure your thermostats are correct. Good temps are about 31-32 at the hot end of the enclosure, 24-26 at the cold end and if you have a hot spot, that should be around 34

You are better off getting a hatchy that has established feeding and already had a few sheds. Keep them in a 7-10Lt click-clack container up until they are a yearling then you can transfer them to their adult enclosure (they prefer small areas when they are small as it helps them to feel secure).

Well if you decide to buy through the forum there are a number of great people that breed snakes, it's regulated pretty well so I doubt you will run into any troubles buying through here. There are also a number of great breeders outside this forum and some are sponsors of this website. If you buy from outside of NSW you will also have to get an import permit which is quite simple to do through the NSW environmental website and costs around $30.

The best option is to get your license before hand. It only costs about $60 for a 2 year license, and not sure how much for the 5 year license. You don't put down what species it is until after buying the reptile when you get all the details from the buyer (their license no, region, species, etc). Also, some people get a bit suspicious and may not sell to you, or hold, if you don't have your license yet as they might think you are trying to but the snake without a license.

Hope that helps. If you have any other questions, both myself and others on here will be glad to help in any way we can.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[jhmcgreg]

Thanks for the info! It's a huge help

 

[Leasdraco]

From my experience if its taking a while to process/send out your license give DEC a call and they may be able to give you your license number so you can purchase.

 

[Flangii]

Hey, I have a 5 month old jungle python. I'm a beginner and this is my first snake but hes amazing and I hold him all the time now and even a friend has held him and hes never bitten.
I use a ceramic lamp in the enclosure and use a thermostat to keep the temperature at the right temp.
My snake was from a breeder I actually went through from this forum. I gave him a deposit of $50 for a $200 snake and he kept him until I got my snake license.
My snake was 1 month old when I got him. To keep him calm what I did was just held him at first with his hook and wore a jumper and gloves. Every week or so I would take the gloves off then the jumper and keep holding him with my hands and now I can get him out of his enclosure with my hands and he's fine. The bonus of getting them young is that you can get them use to your scent.
Hope that helps =]

 

[Flangii]

Also I kept my hatchie in a little click clack container and he went into his big enclosure when he was only 4 months old. Hes awesome and lays all through the tank.