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just brought home a yearling Okeetee...

larryg

larryg

New member
He came in a tupperware container, which I put inside a 20 gal (long) aquarium with a hide box, water bowl, and stick to climb on. It's been a couple of hours and he still hasn't moved from the open tupperware container, in the middle of the tank. It has wood shavings in it, and he's kind of burrowed down. I'll get a heating pad to put under one end of the tank in the next couple of days, but for now I'm just keeping the temp. in the house around 75. I found the tank at a 'fish' store, marked down substantially because it has minor damage, but it is fine to use for a snake.

Do you think it's okay to try to handle him later this evening, or should I give it another day or two? He's over a year old and roughly 20 inches long. I handled him today before I bought him, by the side of the road more or less, but the seller explained he can be a little jumpy and that he hasn't really been handled much for the last 4 or 5 months. I want to try to 'tame' him by handling him more, but I don't want to freak him out by rushing things too much. He's a good eater, so I don't think that will be an issue. He already seemed 'tame'... I think he just has issues when reaching into the tank.

Thanks for any info.
 
First thing's first, get a heat mat as soon as possible today if the shops are still or if like me it's 10.15 pm get 1 tommorow. Dont handle the snake for at least 3 days preferably 4 or 5 to let him settle in properly and get used to his new surrouding's and find his bearings.
I would place the tub he came in on it's side though at the other side his new home, so he has at least 2 hide's, but i would also advise getting 3 in their because he will be a bit shy at first, and spend most of his time hiding.
 
I agree with Cornman, get the heat and another hide. Let him get comfortable in his new "pad" before you start handling him. A yearling is the ultimate sixe to get, in my opinion. They are beyond the frantic stage(usually). Good luck and congrats on yhe new snake
 
Congratulations on your new snake! :)
You have gotten good advice from cornman & mbdorfer, get the heat pad, 75 degrees is a bit on the chilly side (if thats the only temp he has) and let him settle in I have let some of my snakes go up to a week or more (depends on the type of snake.. I left my my green tree python alone for almost 3 weeks, he ate after the fouth week) - you will have plenty of time to handle him! :santa: Same with trying to feed him- give him several days, it's important to have the heat mat for him for proper digestion.
Well I hope this helps!
good luck & keep us posted
:cheers:
 
Thanks for all the replies. I went out for a couple of hours. When I came back, he was sort of standing up, looking out one corner of the aquarium, still halfway in his tupperware container. Then he slowly moved around the edge, until he found the hide box. He's been in there for about the last half hour. He's a nice-looking Okeetee. Supposedly he eats like a champ, so I'm not too worried about getting him to eat. He's pretty big for a yearling - looks big and healthy, not like a problem feeder. I'll measure him in a few days, once I take him out of the aquarium. I'll get that heat pad (whatever it's called) tomorrow. A friend of mine owns a reptile store, and I'd rather give him my business instead of going to Walmart late at night (as I already felt bad about not getting a Corn from his retail store.) I'm in Florida, where the Corns are running around outside, so I think he should be okay until tomorrow, esp. with the heat running and the tank in my computer room, where it stays warmer. He didn't strike/bite while we were handling him earlier today, so I'm not too worried about that. Any comments on whether I should go ahead and remove the tupperware container with the wood shavings, or just leave it in there? Thanks again. I don't think turning it over would do much good, based on its shape, etc.
 
It would probably be ok to take the container with the wood shavings out, since it was probably just for transporting him :)
 
Thanks. I thought maybe he'd want to go in there and burrow in the wood shavings, since the rest of the tank is only newspaper. If I don't see him going back in there by tomorrow morning, I'll probably go ahead and take it out. The original plan was to use that container for feeding. I'll need the extra space in the tank for more hide boxes, anyway.
 
I just ogt an okeetee not too logn ago, and fed her alotn iwth my normal for teh first tiem, not the first time for my normal though, but first time I fed the okeetee, ate the mouse right away no problems
 
You may want to leave the wood shavings in his viv. The breeder that I purchased sweets from suggested this to me so that there's something familier to them in there new home. :)
 
I got the heating pad and stuck it to the underside of the back end of his tank about an hour ago. I also went ahead and removed the tupperware container with the wood shavings. So right now, he just has the one hide box (a trash bags cardboard box turned upside down), his water dish, and a stick from the yard, with one end of the stick propped up on his hide box. I'll work on finding another cardboard box to put at the cooler end of the tank. The one hide box he has at the present time is mostly over the heating pad, about 2/3 of it. The heating pad is the white plastic type that has two adhesive strips, comes in a black box with a picture of an iguana and a kingsnake (I doubt it will get too hot in that 20 gal. tank, and I will let the house cool down to about 68 ot 70 now.) I've tried not to bother him much. I did come in here late last night and saw that he was active, sort of wrapped around the stick. I did move the hide box before I installed the heating pad, and he did sort of hiss at me a bit as I was moving things around (had to move the tank around to install the heating pad properly), but he did not strike, even though he may have been able to. I briefly touched him near the tail, to get him used to some sort of contact, and also so he doesn't become too 'territorial' about his tank, if I wait several days to interact with him. He seemed fine with me touching him for a few seconds. I did not try to pick him up or do anything else to him. It will be dark in less than a few hours from now, so I guess he'll be 'out and about' pretty soon, if I leave the lights off. If/when he eventually bites me for the first time, is it a pretty minor thing for a snake his size (less than two feet)? I was bit by them as a kid several times, but it's hard to remember exactly.
 
Larry, I notice you stated that you used a stick from your backyard. As I understand you are new with snakes, I would suggest that you put the stick on a cookie sheet in the oven set at 325 for 15 minutes to sterelize the wood. As you live in Florida, I dont think we have to worry about it being a pine tree branch, but please sterelize it ASAP so as to not harm your new little fella.

LadyLaw
 
I agree with LadyLaw about the stick being steralized.
As to the biting thing, ig you so get bitten, imagine pulling a band aid off fast, and thats roughly what a hatchling/yearling corn bite fels like, Even an adult has never drawn blood on me, can't say about anyone else though.
 
Welcome Larryg! You seem to be new at snake care and I can see that you've made some minor mistakes... no worries! That's why you're here, right? ;)

ANY AND ALL outside objects MUST be sterilized to prevent disease or bug transference from object to snake. Any second snakes you bring home, must be kept in a seperate housing using for 30-60 days for the same reasons. And NEVER use cedar (lethal to snakes).

You'll need two hides (one on the cool side, one on the warm), a water bowl (on the cool side) and maybe some foliage or sticks for climbing or hanging out in. The hides should be a fairly tight fit for your snake so if it's too huge, stuff it with paper towels or something to make your snake feel more secure.

If your tank is too big (25 gallons is a good size for an adult corn 3-5 feet long but too big for a hatchling), provide "hide trails" from one end of the tank to the other. Paper towel rolls are cheap and snakes LOVE them. Big open spaces are very scary to a little snake (or maybe an adult snake in a new home).

As for temps, a UTH (under tank heater) is usually enough but you do need to be careful about temps getting too high. If a snake were to lay close to the glass and fall asleep, it may not realize until hours later that it has been burned by the UTH. Place sufficiant substrate or a ceramic tile over top of the glass to prevent this (and substrate on top of course). A red light bulb is also a good source of heat and can be left on 24/7, but a white bulb (or pink) must be turned off at night. The temps should be 80-85 on the warm side, 70-75 on the cool, with a nighttime drop to no less than 68 (72-74 is good).

Enjoy your new snake! What did you end up naming him? Can you post some pics? :D
 
Back w/ pics

I started handling him yesterday, and he has been generally fine. He bit me once yesterday, and it definitely wasn't much of anything (just a couple of little red spots on my hand - no blood or anything.) I took out the little stick, and I'm working on sterilizing a larger stick. He seems to enjoy spending part of his time between the layers of newspaper. He's a little 'wiry', but I don't think he'll be vicious, like another Okeetee I've read about here. Anyway, here's 4 photos. This is my first time posting photos here, so hopefully I can figure it out. He does have a bit of yellow near his neck area, which I guess is normal for some Okeetees. Sorry the photos are not too great. I took them under natural light, to try to preserve the real colors. Any ideas on what's wrong with his head? I figured most likely he injured it rubbing it against something (probably not a genetic problem.) I noticed that when I went to get him, but didn't think it was enough of a reason not to get him, considering I like him otherwise. Thanks for all the other advice. Also curious how old you think he is. He was sold as a yearling, and I'm guessing he probably is, but still curious.
ok1.jpg

ok2.jpg

ok3.jpg

ok5.jpg
 
I agree he is a good looking snake.
Whats wrong with his head? Unless you can provide a close up of his head, i would say nothing is wrong looking at those pics, except you got a beuty their, and i havn't got an okeetee.

(jealous that all I am)
 
Thanks for the compliments. I agree I was lucky to find him. Maybe I am no longer impartial now because I own him, but I actually like the saddles that don't go far down the side of the snake, like the so-called Milksnake Phase corns of various colors. The saddles seem to lose some of their shape and symmetry when that happens. I guess it's just a matter of opinion.

His head looks like it had a bit of damage to the scales, near the back of the skull (if snakes have skulls). It's not that bad. The guy who sold him said he may have just had trouble shedding the last time. I guess I'll find out when he sheds the next time. I haven't named him yet. Still thinking about that. I hope his orange color stays the way it is, instead of turning a bright red-orange like so many of the adult Okeetees I see photos of. I really like the black around the saddles, which is why I took an interest in him when I first saw his photo. He doesn't have that much black, but it's enough so that you see it. To be honest I hadn't read about Okeetees having odd personalities sometimes until after I got him, but I don't think he's that bad at all. He's getting better with each handling (3 total now.) I think he likes his new home a lot better than living in a tupperware container.
 
Does he look a little thin?

I'm getting ready to feed him for the first time. The breeder/seller gave me serveral frozen mice, I think he said they're small hoppers. Should one of those be enough? I guess since it will be his first meal here, I probably shouldn't try to overdo it. Looking at some of the other Okeetee photos, he looks a little on the thin side to me. But I guess he could be barely a year old, while those others could be 18 months or older. I'll try leaving the thawed mouse in his tupperware container, in the middle of his tank. He hides most of the time when the lights are on, so I'll turn out the lights and leave him alone when I give him his food. I'll probably feed him every 5 days, since that seems to be what everybody agrees on. I'll report back tomorrow (whether he eats or not.) I know not to leave it there for too long if he doesn't.
 
Quick update... I left the thawed mouse in his cage at 11:35. I peeked in at 11:50 to see that the mouse was gone and just the tail was sticking out of his mouth. I don't know how long it takes them to swallow the whole thing, but it was plenty big for him, so I'm guessing he probably didn't wait more than a few minutes before finding it and deciding to eat it.
 
Good result, i'm glad he ate for you.
As to weather his a bit thin have a look at this pic and make your own mind up, this is my yearling, who is 16 monther old.
mf0068.jpg
 
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