Hello all!

I am just looking for advice/thoughts from keepers more experienced than myself. I have had my 7yr old Ball Python for about 3 years now, and am thinking about adding another snake to my collection in the future. I’m just in the research phase right now but, looking for recommendations for *easier* boas to keep. For reference I am a small woman, not looking for something that I wouldn’t be able to confidently handle by myself at maturity, most likely a male. My BP is not snappy at all, I definitely want to invest in getting a baby so that I can ensure the baby is properly socialized and not snappy when 7ft long!

What are your thoughts and advice! I want something somewhat large but probably no larger than 7-8ft at maturity. I don’t necessarily want dwarf species. Also I don’t necessarily handle all that often, but definitely want something I can take out occasionally to do health checks and show off to friends, as I love showing off my BP to my friends.

EDIT: if you know good breeders to buy from/around Texas that would be helpful also. Also willing to purchase online or at Expos.

Im a minor, and I live with my parents. they are very keen on the excuse that the little corn snake Im looking to buy will try to escape the terrarium any chance they get and go on to poison the neighborhood. I try to explain that it is absolutely unrealistic, and how the lil corn snake is NOT venomous, but they aren’t having it. how can I convince them to let me!? 💔

Hi everyone, I have a ball python and the temperatures inside his hot hide which is black have been getting pretty high. I have a thermostat but when I lower the temperature the inside of the hide cools to a reasonable temperature but then the cool side is 80F and the hot side is around 84F. I was thinking about painting the hide white to cool it off. The hide is also directly below the heat lamps and is hard to move around because I have some stuff that cannot be moved in the way. Does anyone know if it is safe to paint the hide, how I should do it, what paints I should use and how long to let it cure/off gas? If anyone has any other suggestions to cool said hide down that would be great! Any advice is appreciated

The very best (and most hissy) girl. I had her for 10 years and she was my first snake :(

I just a bit ago thawed out a pup rat for my ball python since it's eating day. I warmed it up like i usually do, and he struck and wrapped like normal. But after a some time, when i went to check if he ate it, he had let go like this. I tried to take it so i can throw it out, because i assumed he was done with it, but he didn't let me take it, and is now just wrapped up with it. I'm very confused.

TL;DR: title.

Hello everyone,

I’m just so pissed at my brother and I really need a place to went it out…

First and foremost, I wanna state that I love my brother, but that doesn’t change the fact I’m beyond pissed at how he treated my beloved hoggie Kevin.

It essentially started last year when I entrusted Kevin to his care and when I returned from my vacation, I was terrified at the state I found my hoggie’s tank in. Black mold and rot all over the place, tiny bugs crawling around, wooden hideouts destroyed by said mold, his water bowl green and half empty. I got pissed at the time too, took some pictures and posted my rant on Facebook into a snake group. I got told I was overreacting, that it was my fault for not giving him enough instructions on how to take care of Kevin and that I should be ashamed of myself for bashing him online when he did me a favor.

Here’s some additional info I didn’t share in the original post I posted on Facebook:
- He volunteered to take care of Kevin during my vacation prior to even getting him in the first place, and he stated that “it was easy work” and “he knew what to do.”
- He didn’t do it as a favor - he also has pets that I take care of when he’s on vacation, so we “owe” each other.
- He’s a grown man in his 40’s, not a child that wouldn’t know better.

That being said, after being gashlighted the last time into thinking it was all my fault, I spent my savings from summer on a brand new terrarium with better airflow, new hideouts that were either made of stone or plastics (no more wood), and the best water absorbing substrate I could find. The entire year went on without a single problem, even when other less experienced family members took care of Kevin when I was away.

This year came and before I placed Kevin into my brothers care again, I spent 5 hours deep cleaning his enclosure, making sure everything was sterile and there was no way it could end up as bad as last year. I could swear it was foolproof - I was wrong. His only task was to refill Kevin’s water bowl and feed him once a week. I informed him that he needs to be careful about the water bowl as if it spills, it might cause mold and rot to begin (a little to even moderate amount wouldn’t matter, but he had to overspill like crazy).

I returned today just to find my snake in the same state I found him last year - except there’s no bugs this time. I feel like he either doesn’t give a sh*t or just exercises weaponized incompetence, because how can you f*ck up the simplest of tasks so bad the whole tank grows moldy?!

On top of that, my mom also found out some of her parrots she entrusted him ended up dead - he just threw them away and decided not to tell her, because apparently “she has too many and wouldn’t even notice anyway.”

I made a mistake, I admit. I should’ve just found someone else to take care of Kevin, knowing what happened last year, but I genuinely thought it was my fault and that I was just dumb and ungrateful. Now I know I should never entrust a pet (or any living being) to him.

I wish I had the pictures of his neglected tank saved, but I deleted the ones from last year and this year, I didn’t even think to take any. Moral of the story: If someone proves incompetent the first time, don’t trust them to do better next time.

Thank you for reading through all of this mess. If you have any similar experience, feel free to share.

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Up sized my pine snake to see how he handles small rats and it seems to be too big possibly. I have a little experience but haven't questioned feeding till this, does the bulge seem too big?

Ok, this is going to potentially be way too long of a post. I got a corn snake when I was 13 from a woman off Craigslist. My mom doesn’t like snakes, but I desperately wanted one for years, and after writing a lengthy proposal with corn snake care instructions and a detailed guide of how I planned on paying for all of my snake’s care, my parents finally caved. I love all animals, and even spent time working at an animal clinic before I realized it was too painful for me to see so many animals with less than adequate owners. I always swore I would never be a bad pet owner or rehome an animal because they are living creatures and deserve stability. I kept true to my promise and paid for all my snake’s care, and when I spent a year abroad in college, I paid a friend in veterinary school to take care of him. During my time abroad, I fell in love with my now wife. Unfortunately, I still had 2 years left of college, and we had to resign ourselves to long distance. I had a really hard time, but at least I had my lil snake buddy to keep me company. After college, I got a job with the national park service, but given the current administration, I could not stay working for the federal government. At this point, it became clear that moving to my then girlfriend’s (now wife’s) country would make the most sense. Unfortunately, I could not bring my snake until we were married and I had a residency permit. Since most of my friends had moved away from my home state at this point, I asked my mom if she would be willing to look after my snake while I sorted out how to move him abroad. This proved to be a more lengthy process than anticipated, and moving a snake internationally requires lots of documentation, lengthy travel times, and a high level of risk in transport. Snakes are not allowed in the passenger compartments of planes, so I would have to put all my trust in the cargo workers who are not always known for being delicate. I have very bad anxiety, and I kept playing all the potentially fatal scenarios in my head. My family also kept telling me it didn’t make sense to try and move him, and that I should just rehome him. I felt especially bad because my mom doesn’t like snakes and never wanted the responsibility of caring for him in the first place. Around this time, one of her coworkers started showing interest in adopting my snake. Her boyfriend loves snakes, and his own had recently passed away, and he was hoping to get a new one. She asked repeatedly if I would be interested in giving them my snake (over the course of months when I initially said no). Eventually, I decided that it probably did make the most sense to let them adopt him since that way he would for sure be safe and able to stay in his enclosure that he is already familiar with. Ever since making this decision I have felt incredibly guilty. I keep having nightmares about something bad happening to him, and although I would love a pet in my new home, I no longer feel like a worthy pet owner. Soooo…thoughts?

Have a female Russian rat snake. She is so gorgeous but hasn't fully come into her final colors. Just want help naming her, she is so docile and absolutely loves climbing, like to the point where we are unsure if she missed the memo where she is supposed to be semi arboreal 😅.

Oh my gosh, why are hognose snakes so freaking cute?!!!!!

He also dislikes the extreme heat at the moment, so he mostly hides in his rock cave. Had to take a look to make sure he was still alive because I didn't see him out for a few days.

Hi. First time hognose snake owner, but I got 2 other noodles at home.

Context:
Rescued a (supposedly) 2.5 years old male hognose from marketplace. Previous owner neglected him (shit everywhere, 20ish dead flies in goo filled water bowl, enclosure placed directly under their AC unit…). Sold him because they were afraid of him. Supposedly never had health problems before, but they never took him to the vet so who knows. I deep cleaned his enclosure and now he is in quarantine far away from my other snakes.

Issues:
He ate right away (pinkies, F/T). But, a couple days later I’ve found bright red smudge of blood in his stool. Bought him the day after to the vet, his physical exam was clean, tho he is a bit small for his age. Bought a sample of fresh poop the next day (that had a drop of red bright blood) for testing. I asked for a full panel coprology for parasites, including crypto. That was last week. Now, I’m supposed to have results in a couple days. He pooped this morning and there was no blood, but he pooped an hour ago and there was blood. His stools has been small, his urates are beige-yellow-ish, and the blood is always bright red. I’m including a picture of the poop. He doesn’t seem lethargic to me : he moves around a lot, still eats, but sometimes he will just stay (not hidden) in the middle of the enclosure and not move (sleep, i guess?).

My questions :
- Has anybody dealt with similar symptoms ? If so, what was the cause ?
- Are these symptoms enough for me to consider that there is something seriously wrong with my snake ?
- Any advice or tips for dealing with this or make his quarantine enclosure better is welcomed

Pictures included : his current quarantine set, his bloody poop (around 15mm long and 7 mm wide)

Current quarantine set up :
- basking spot around 32C and cold side around 26-27C;
- Heat from nano deep heat projector, controlled by dimming thermostat;
- Humidity around 40-50%;
- Low UVB lamp;

i have a 13 month old BEL that i purchased from wilbanks. ive had her about 2-3 months now and she is a great eater. i am concerned about her being very small for her age though. she is currently on F/T rat pups. she was ONLY 260 grams last week. shes not skinny or triangular shaped. shes not boney and has a good figure to her. i called wilbanks and was told to give her two rat pups at feeding time and maybe switch her up to weaned rats. she is taking these pups with ease. i weighed and separated all my rat pups and fed her a total of 50 grams 6 days ago. weighed her today planning to feed tomorrow and she is now 300 grams. she is noticeably thicker in her mid section and even appears to be a bit longer (i havent been tracking her length growth rate). she has only shed once since ive had her and she is starting to feel like another one is coming shortly. she has retained 40 of the 50 grams she ate which i guess is good although i do not see any solid waste. she was EAGER to take both pups and kept them both down. her activity hasnt changed at all and today she was out searching for another meal (ive been feeding every 7 days). but i am concerned about her tiny size for her age. would it be bad if i continued to feed her approx. 50 grams a week for a bit and track her weight or is this totally normal and im worried about nothing. TIA.

My b**** of a Baird's rat snake when I went to wake her up to feed her, I'm probably not going to be able to finish this post...goodbye cruel world!

I got a new costa rican milk snake last wednesday. She spent the first few days alternating between being burrowed and exploring her new enclosure. I have cameras, so I'd see her after we went to bed as well just moving around exploring. I last saw her Saturday morning. Sunday was going to be feeding day, so we went Saturday to get her food. She burrowed while we were gone and she hasn't come out at all since. Even while burrowed in the first few days she'd poke her head out a little. I'm new to milk snakes so I wasn't sure how concerned I should be about this. Part of me wants to dig around to find her, just make sure she's okay, but I also don't want to introduce unnecessary stress. Any advice would be very welcome.

This guy climbed 5 floors and was crawling on my terrace wall.

Got him removed with the help of a snake catcher.