Info on care for non-corns?

[Naagas]

If any of you people own the following snakes and would help me out with how to care for them, I would appreciate it.

I have looked at care guides, obviously, but I am looking for more of a 'tips and tricks' and how the care is different from corn snakes.

I have bought out the inventory of a local breeder, so I am inundated with new species of snakes that I have little experience with.

Hoggs
Womas
Honduran Milks
Balls
Pueblan Milks
Kings
Black Pines
Yellow Anacondas

Right now I have them quarantined at room temp (70-80*F). I know that they need heat ASAP, although they haven't eaten for about a week. I am going to start to put them into heated racks tonight.

The previous owners said that the balls would be ok being cohabbed during quarentine. I have the males and females seperated, but it still seems bad to have them all together. Opinions?

The pair of pines and the pair of pueblans are housed together, respectively. Again, the past owners had them this way. Should I seperate them ASAP? Are mated pairs of these species ok together? I can't find definitive opinions either way.

I was instructed on a non-invasive way to sex BRBs. Is sexing of all these other snakes the same as corns? (Popping as new babies, probing as they reach around a foot?) Not that I'm going to dive right into probing the guys, I'm just curious.

I have mice. Should I go buy rats instead? Theoretically, it seems like I should feed bigger prey less often ideally.

I am super excited to gain the experience of caring for these animals. I know that I wasn't super prepared, but I do have the space and the budget for this... so I just need to get all the education I possibly can.

The previous owners were at the booth next to me at the Wasatch Reptile Expo. They were told by their wives to get rid of all the snakes before they came home. Sigh.
I hope to be able to give these animals the proper care while placing them in good, experienced homes (Balls might be ok for beginners, but the Anaconda needs specialized care as does the Hogg.)

So, yes, I might have done a silly thing.... yet I'm thrilled. So much variation and beauty in snakes. And the only one that has shown any aggression is the anaconda. No wonder.

 

[Floof]

Oh, jealous! Especially about the womas and hogg... I knew I should've done some walking around at the end of Sunday... Lol. That's awesome, congrats!

Just found your ad on KSL... Just a head's up, there's no "het pastel" ball pythons--the Pastel gene is co-dom, so the "het" form is visual (het = Pastel, homo = Super Pastel).

As far as care tips/tricks, the care for the milks/kings should be right about the same as for your corns, and, for any of the above, cohabbing is as much a "no no" as it is for Corns.

Anyway, congrats again... I may have to find out your asking price for the womas and the boa if you still have them in a couple months.

 

[Naagas]

I know. The are het pied. I need to fix that.
Let me know if you are interested on anything!

 

[AliCat37]

Are you talking hognoses or hogg island boas?

As for Ball pythons, I can definitely help you there
I do better when asked questions directly, but as from what I have noticed with my own, here it goes:

They need to be fed weekly just like corns. The rule for them is not the same width as their stomach though, once an adult reaches full size they do better on smaller prey items, as large prey items weekly can cause more frequent hunger strikes. It is not uncommon for males to stop feeding during breeding season. Past feeding records can help a ton here! For adults, a medium sized rat once a week is great- I personally give my male a single adult ASF weekly, and every third week he gets two. Being fed ASFs seems to stop those hunger strikes too- that's why I switched to them.
Temperatures are higher than corns. They need a hot spot of 90 degrees. Right now mine is at 88 degrees simply because he is on the same thermostat as my corns, but he will be getting his own this month. *note- he has been fine with the 88 degrees for the entire 2 years of his life. Temperature drops at night are not needed or recommended, they can easily get pneumonia from a temperature drop under 75 degrees.
They are humidity lovers, I keep mine at a constant 60%, raising it to around 70% during sheds. Speaking of sheds, they don't shed as often as corns do. Mine has only shed a total of 12 times in 2 years (he is 2 years old!) and has shown significant growth.
While many people keep their ball pythons in racks just fine, I have noticed that they are quite active at night when left to themselves. Mine utilizes both the ground and vertical space of his 4x2 cage.
They are not active critters when out for the most part.. I can keep mine on my arm around my wrist for hours on end.

That's pretty much all I can think of.. do you have any specific questions?

 

[KingCrimson<3]

If it were me, I would separate everyone asap until you get a feel for each species needs and each individual's preference. Also, if they were fed rats previously, you should probably stock up because that is what they will be eating. It won't be at all economical to have to feed multiple mice, and BPs are notoriously preferential.

 

[AliCat37]

If it were me, I would separate everyone asap until you get a feel for each species needs and each individual's preference. Also, if they were fed rats previously, you should probably stock up because that is what they will be eating. It won't be at all economical to have to feed multiple mice, and BPs are notoriously preferential.

Oh snap, I didn't even read the rest of the post before replying!
Yes, separate everyone ASAP. Don't feed mice if they were feeding on rats previously. I would stock up on those as soon as you can.

 

[Floof]

I know. The are het pied. I need to fix that.
Let me know if you are interested on anything!

Ah, ok, that makes much more sense.

I'm guessing "hogg" means "hogg island"? I think I remember that table--in the corner by rockstar's booth? That is definitely one gorgeous boa if I'm thinking of the right one! I'd be interested in one of the womas for sure... I'm just afraid to ask about pricing until I actually have money again, lol. Kind of spent every last penny on a short-notice move this week...

 

[MegF.]

I can't help you with specifics as far as care since I don't work with any of the listed species...however, I would recommend that you separate all snakes from each other. It's never good practice to co-habitate and I could go on and on about examples all night. Needless to say, it's stressful on already stressed snakes and ball pythons are the worst snakes to stress as they....go off food...all the time...for no reason and for reasons. No reason to give them one! Pueblans are related to the kingsnake family and as such are cannabilistic. Separate immediately especially since they haven't been fed. There's no such thing as a mated pair. Snakes don't mate for life and they generally don't stick around each other when not mating. For sexing pythons and boas. It depends upon the species. Robust animals like anacondas etc can be sexed when they are born or hatched but some are large enough that I would probe rather than pop. I've never popped a python or boa although the species I keep are too delicate to sex at a young age. I've also never heard of a reliable way to sex them without probing. Looking at the spurs and the size of the tail is helpful but it may not be perfect. I have seen some females with spurs that would put a male to shame. Boas and pythons are slow metabolizers and do not need frequent feeding. As a matter of fact you can induce prolapse by overfeeding. I do not feed my boas or pythons more often than every 2 weeks and usually go at least 3 weeks between feedings. Young snakes are fed every 10-14 days. You'll have a better feeding response and a leaner more active snake. this is also true of most colubrids such as cornsnakes. We feed too often in captivity and as a result our snakes sit in hides most of the time and never move. You will need cages that will handle higher humidity for the anaconda which is a water loving snake. the hondurans, kings and pines can be kept in similar ways that a cornsnake is kept with the same substrate and temperature requirements. I'm glad you are quarantining the snakes and recommend that you do so for at least 6 months..no less. You have both pythons and boas in the mix and they can carry IBD. This is a fatal disease to both species and it can sit in suspension for a very long time. This will also give you time to see if any have mites that might have been picked up at the show. I'd get several cans of Provent a mite and treat every cage with it now to prevent any from starting or spreading. Save yourself a headache now. I'd get frozen rats now to have for the larger species. The anaconda will definitely end up taking those as well as larger prey than that. Womas, balls and hoggs (if it is indeed hogg island boas you're talking about) will also take them. An adult pine snake could also take a small rat. They get pretty large for a colubrid.

 

[Naagas]

Yes, it is a Hogg Island Boa.
From those guys in the corner
He is a gorgeous snake.

I have been busy separating all of them and getting more racks built.
I will need to buy lots of rats, I guess!

I haven't fed any of them because they all don't have a hot spot yet. They have all basically been at room temperature and will be until I get them in racks tonight.

I have decided that I am going to keep a 1.1 pair of BRBs (I have been eying a pair forever) and the 1.1 pair of black pines. The black pines are gorgeous and friendly.

From what I've seen, the Womas, Black Pines, Milks, Kings and BRBs can be kept at the same temps as corns, just higher humidity for the BRBs.
The Yellow Anaconda and Hogg Island and Balls need higher temps (90-95). Anaconda and Hogg need lots of humidity.
Is this right?

About 1/3 of them are all in racks now.... guess what I'm going to be doing today? That's right, building racks.

 

[MegF.]

Definitely keep the humidity up for the BRB. Mine is kept much like my green tree pythons and my amazons. He gets sprayed each night and the temps are around 82-84 degrees. I have them in cages that can handle the higher humidity and keep the temperatures more stable. I quarantined him in a reptile aquarium with plastic wrap protecting the lid from letting out too much humidity. It worked as a temporary cage. I tried a plastic tub but no matter what I did he managed to escape it.

 

[Dakafall]

Can't really help much with the care of any of them, but congrats on a great pickup. Super jealous of the womas lol, any pics of your haul?

 

[KingCrimson<3]

I keep my ball python at about 91F. When it hits 93, he scoots to cool side ASAP. Cool side has a separate UTH set at 85F.

 

[Naagas]

Some pics:

Baby yellow anaconda:

Black pine:

Baby pastel ball:

Baby Brazilian Rainbow Boa:

Hogg Island:

Honduran:

Chain king:

 

[Destarte]

I love your belt. lol All of those are so beautiful. Congratulations on the pickup.

 

[HoosierHerper]

Cool snakes, but that is not a Pastel Ball Python, it's just a pretty Normal with some nice Golds on it.

 

[MegF.]

The Eastern king and your honduran are both good sized animals. Very nice! Pretty little Hoggy and BRB. Should turn out to be a pretty animal.

 

[Naagas]

I love your belt. lol All of those are so beautiful. Congratulations on the pickup.

Thanks! So far that is his favorite position. He is a great snake.


How would I be able to tell a pastel from a normal ball python? They are obviously more yellow than the normals, but I don't know my ball pythons.

 

[Naagas]

The Eastern king and your honduran are both good sized animals. Very nice! Pretty little Hoggy and BRB. Should turn out to be a pretty animal.

Thanks, Meg!

 

[HoosierHerper]

Pastels are literally YELLOW and black...not goldish and black like yours...it's still a pretty BP don't get me wrong...

Here is a borrowed pic of a Pastel BP:

Photo Credit to Kingsnake.com member "bristen"...

 

[AliCat37]

That is a pastel as far as I can tell, however, it is browning out at a very early age. That's too bad! But she is pretty. I love the black pine. I miss my pine snake, but she smelled so bad the entire house stank so my ex took her back to his house. Gorgeous pick ups.