New Concern

Discussion in 'Other Colubrids' started by ICEnVy, Feb 26, 2006.

  1. ICEnVy

    ICEnVy New Member

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    43
    I posted our snake on a forum we go on for our saltwater fish. This guy on there saw the pictures and he said....

    Here are the pictures I posted.

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    Do you think he is right? Is this setup wrong? I am using coconut eco earth bark for the substrate. They told me to keep it very moist. Also how old do you think it is? I had 2 people tell me it was about a year on diffrent occasions. But they both work there. Anyway here is a pic to give you a better idea of the length...

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    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. Ash19

    Ash19 Well-Known Member

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    You don't need to keep it moist. He was right. 60% or less is fine. The substrate you have is fine as long as it stays relatively dry. Just throw a humid hide in there for shed time. I'm not sure about his age but he COULD be an adult. He does look a bit on the large side. Also, about the feeding thing; do what is right for YOU. You don't HAVE to feed in a separate container. He was semi-wrong about that. Not all snakes will associate your hand in their cage with food if you handle them often enough. It depends on the snake's temperament. Also, you can avoid substrate injestion by simply placing down paper towel underneath the feeder. Are you feeding live or f/t? That is a gorgeous snake by the way!
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. VtMiPgYeRr

    VtMiPgYeRr Member

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    With how thick it is, definatly looks like an adult to me. :3 Its actually thicker then my adult. I think my adult is a runt though becuase he isn't malnourished or anyhting, just a skinny butt and is 2-3yrs old. Maybe yours is a female too, that would also help make your girthier at a younger age.

    Ash is definatly right about the feeding, might I suggest though, if you feed in the tank use tong (hemostats) to hold the prey and not your hand. A long with covering the bottom to keep down ingestion of the substrate.

    Your setup does look a bit to humid which could cause the problems the other person said since Ca. KS are desert snakes. Just don't mist your cage, and try adding a bit more heat, so long as it doesnt exceed 90F in your basking area. Remember about 60% or a bit lower is good for a KS :3 Hehe now I am just repeating what Ash said.

    Oh btw, I was looking at your tank again. You may want to move the light off to one side so that it creates a warm end as well as a cool end. With it being in the middle, it doesnt seem liek there is much room for the snake to escape the heat.
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. CornyGuy

    CornyGuy Well-Known Member

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    ash19, and VtMiPqYeRr pretty much said it all, but nice snake! :)
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. ICEnVy

    ICEnVy New Member

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    Thanks for the comments. The reason it is in the middle is because there is a ledge about 5 inches higher than the bottom of the cage. If you look in the second picture you can see it. It is the best I can do for now until we get a bigger tank. I think I will go ahead and feed him in another container o I dont risk anything like that. I am feeding him live mice. Small ones. How long should we expect it to live if it is already an adult then?
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. Ash19

    Ash19 Well-Known Member

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    Depends exactly how old he is. Kings can live from 15-20yrs.
     
  12. Skunky

    Skunky Well-Known Member

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    Nice snake..but you know, something about albino snakes..give me the heebies :)
     
  13. CornyGuy

    CornyGuy Well-Known Member

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    I think it's their eyes. Lol.
     
  14. Skunky

    Skunky Well-Known Member

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    No, it's not so much the eyes (I like albino rats and mice), it's the yellow and white skin..brrrrr! Goosebumps!
     
  15. CornyGuy

    CornyGuy Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, the albinos, are a little creepy.
     
  16. atm4747

    atm4747 New Member

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    very nice snake
     
  17. improvius

    improvius New Member

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    Sand is a terrible substrate for most snakes. Some sand boas being the exception. The stuff you are using should be fine. We use Aspen shavings for all of our snakes, including a kingsnake.
     
  18. willythegame16

    willythegame16 Member

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    He's well older than a year and ill tell you what if I saw one insactly like that in a shop i'd buy it no question and put it in my breeding proggramme that would produce some nice offspring.
     
  19. iloveherps

    iloveherps Member

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    I would say that your snake is 3-4 years old.
    Very nice snake
     
  20. willythegame16

    willythegame16 Member

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    no not as old as that my king is 4 and hes (judging by the pics) is condsiderably bigger hes got a bit of gtrowing in him yet.
     
  21. reako45

    reako45 Member

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    Before worrying about advice somone gives you make sure you do tonsa of research. A few of his points were misleading. I live in California, I hunt (wild pigs) and herp in the mountains and just got back from a 4 day field herping trip in the desert. Cal Kings are not strictly a desert snake. Matter of fact, I've found more Cal Kings in the mountains (Santa Monica and Santa Susana) than in the desert. I keep 1 WC female I caught in the Malibu section of the Santa Monica mountains which is a coastal habitat that averages 82F during the hot months here.Desert phase Cal Kings look different than the standard dk brown and cream yellow common patterns.
    As for substrate impaction, I imagine most Cal Kings don't eat on plastic, newspaper, cage carpet or paper towels in the wild. I keep and feed my WC girl on aspen (sani chips), have ner seen any in her feces, and know a couple of local breeders (1 does GBKs and the other does milks & W. hognoses) who've been doing it that way for years w/ no trouble.
    As for feeding in their tanks, I have 2 WC snakes (Cal King SD Gopher) that I feed in their tanks that have never associated my hand w/ food. I feed my Cal King live, and she even recognizes that the little brown bag I get from my local herp shop contains her 2 hoppers or her rat pup (she's back to eating those now).
    When I caught her the next day I went out and bought a couple of books on Common Kings, was asking folks in my herp club, and online all kinds of rookie questions. I had a local herp vet do a fecal, and she's been my big (3.5') L.g. californiae girl ever since. Good luck to you... Oh, and by the way, the guy w/ the advice was right about one thing, in the pics, that snake looks to be bigger than a yearling.

    reako45
     
  22. kinsey

    kinsey Embryo

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    what a pretty snake! you should keep down the humidity and feeding in the cage is fine but be sure you feed with tweezers. my snake sees the tweezers and goes nuts, but never bites at my hands. the substrate might be ok but i would reccomend sand or bark. I keep my gopher on snad and she loves it. it is not a yearling i dont think.
     

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