Questions tagged [snakes]
For questions related to snakes, whether constrictors or venomous, kept as pets.
74
questions
26
votes
2answers
8k views
How can I free a snake from duct tape?
I left some strips of duct tape on my patio because I was gonna paint it, and a milk snake or king snake from outside got tangled in it. Sorry, but touching it is out of the question.
I'm trying a ...
24
votes
3answers
12k views
What forms of “body language” can be identified in snake behaviour?
Clearly, the snake's brain is far more primitive than our own so will not include "emotion" as we understand it, but there will still be identifiable reactions to different situations, which can be ...
19
votes
3answers
10k views
My pet snake seems to have some sort of bugs crawling on its face; do I need to worry?
There are tiny little white things crawling across my pet snakes face, and even on its eyes.
What are they, and what should I do about them? Are they harmful?
14
votes
1answer
3k views
Snake not interested in food
So I have a female Californian king snake and I'm starting to get worried about her not eating.
First of all, she has not eaten in 4 months. It's winter at the moment and I know they do not eat at ...
14
votes
1answer
28k views
How can I tell whether my corn snake is over- or underweight?
We have been feeding our two-year-old corn snake mostly when he starts actively hunting, but I'm slightly worried that we're feeding him either too much or too little. He's probably okay, but:
In ...
12
votes
4answers
11k views
What alternative foods can I try feeding my snake?
I have a California kingsnake. She is female and around 4 years old. I have been having some issues with feeding her as described here.
We eventually concluded that the problem was she was bored of ...
11
votes
3answers
4k views
What age of snake is best for a pet?
I want to buy a snake and am interested in whether or not I should buy an adult snake or a baby snake. I have heard from my friend that an older, adult snake can be more frisky but when I went to the ...
9
votes
3answers
19k views
Why would my royal/ball python strike but not eat?
My royal python is currently being a very picky eater. Last night I was able to coax him in to striking an appropriately sized rat, he missed three times. I then left him overnight in a dark cupboard ...
9
votes
1answer
183 views
My yellow rat snake was eaten by a live pet mouse!
I had a yellow rat snake, we fed it a live mouse only the mouse turned round and ate the snake! Obviously killing the snake. Why did this happen?
I have an albino corn snake now and will only feed ...
9
votes
1answer
2k views
What are snake morphs?
When looking for snakes I often see the term morph flying around. What does it mean exactly?
9
votes
1answer
357 views
Can I help a pet snake through the molting process?
My friend's pet snake is starting to molt and since this is (the owner's) first experience through a molting, he is concerned.
We know to apply some humidity to help, but are there other techniques ...
9
votes
2answers
514 views
How to proceed with a pet snake that starts jabbing when held?
I was considering adopting a milk snake. She's 5 ft. long and the first time I held her she was very friendly, wrapping herself around both my arms, and mostly staying in that position. I held her for ...
8
votes
1answer
871 views
What is the safest way to find a missing snake?
What is the safest way to find missing snakes if they are loose in your house?
8
votes
2answers
50k views
My corn snake died just after feeding. What are the possible causes?
I just fed my 2 corn snakes five live hoppers each about 5 hours ago. I like to leave them in their feeding boxes for a while to make sure they eat everything. I went back to put them back in their ...
8
votes
2answers
6k views
What terms are used for mice that are fed to snakes, and what are their meanings?
This term "hopper mouse" just got used in a recent question, and it seems to be a term that only people that have experience with snakes know. So what is a "hopper" mouse? What are the other terms ...
8
votes
3answers
15k views
Handling snakes and salmonella
I'm not a snake owner (though I'm considering becoming one), however I've handled snakes belonging to friends.
I've been told you should always wash your hands after handling snakes because of a ...
8
votes
1answer
697 views
Does a pet boa/python measure the owner by lying straight?
I read it somewhere, maybe as a Facebook photo of some Tumblr or yahoo a long time back (hence not a reliable source) that the user found it's pet snake (which was not eating food for quite some time) ...
8
votes
1answer
179 views
I just read my hognose snake is venomous. Should I be worried?
I have a pet hognose snake (Heterodon nasicus) and I just read somewhere that they are venomous. Should I be worried about getting bitten?
8
votes
2answers
1k views
Differences between taking care of a California king snake and a corn snake
I've been taking care of my snake as if it was a corn snake, but today I was looking at some images and my mom suggested it might be a California king snake, then I started doubting what the vendor ...
7
votes
1answer
170 views
What anaconda species/variants/whatever (if any) would be plausible to keep as pets in Belgium?
All my life I've had one favorite animal: the anaconda. I used to read up quite a lot of documentation on them, but as time went on, I forgot most of it and haven't really found the time lately to ...
7
votes
1answer
837 views
Water conditioner for a snake
Okay so I built a small aquarium in my snake's terrarium for him to swim in. I added a couple of small fish that can live without water conditioner. I'd like to get different fish for the aquarium, ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
What are the minimum requirements for keeping a snake?
I want to get a pet snake. What aspects should I consider when choosing one and preparing to keep it and care for it?
6
votes
1answer
1k views
Is it possible to gut-load a mouse?
When feeding insects to lizards, it's a common practice to gut-load them in order to deliver nutrients to the lizard. The diet of the insects can be altered to give them the highest possible ...
6
votes
1answer
8k views
Why do corn snakes rub their mouths on the tank?
Why do corn snakes rub their mouths on the tank? Snakes love to travel but rubbing their mouths on the tank is a different thing. I thought corn snakes do that to shed but for some reason they ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Do snakes give birth to live young or lay eggs?
My son was watching a video of a snake giving birth to live young. I was under the impression that reptiles laid eggs.
Do snakes give birth to live young or lay eggs?
5
votes
1answer
234 views
My snake's stomache burst two days after eating a pinky
I had a baby corn snake and unfortunately two days after feeding her a pinky her stomach burst. It turned black and there was a blister over her stomach where it burst. What should I do?
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Snake died suddenly. I have no idea what happened
My pet ball python (I’d had him for about 3 months now) was fine last night. I got him from a reptile expo back in December from a breeder. I cleaned his cage with vinegar and water solution and put ...
4
votes
2answers
35k views
How to tell a female corn snake and a male corn snake?
How to tell a female corn snake and a male corn snake?
I am thinking about mating my male corn snake with a female corn snake. My problem isn't the mating. My problem is how to tell the difference ...
4
votes
2answers
120 views
My snake has started shedding, but seems unwilling/unable to finish
I have a juvenile corn snake. This is her second shed with me so far, and the first went very easily. This time, however, she seems to be unwilling or unable to fully work her skin off. On Thursday ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
Safe hot-rock for corn snake
Hot-rocks look like a great idea!
I would love to warm the hide at night and the rock at day, so as to entice my corn snake out more.
But everywhere over the Internet they are blasted as being ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
Is my cornsnake overweight?
My 3 Year old boy (corn snake) has come back to me after being looked after by a friend for 9 months. I'm concerned about his body shape; he seems to have a pivot where his spine is, with mounds ...
4
votes
1answer
68 views
Suitable heat source for young blood python
The goal: Design a habitat suitable for a hatchling/juvenile blood python.
Main issue: Controlling temperature and humidity
Progress so far: What I've got so far (all theoretical at this point) is ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
How to choose the right size of mice for my snakes?
Currently my black headed python is eating 3 medium mice once every 10 days. If he is eating 3 with ease should I upgrade the size of his mice?
I also have 2 hatchling jungles that are currently ...
4
votes
1answer
372 views
Which is the better hiding place for a Kenyan Sand Boa?
Which would be more important, deeper substrate or a pair of caves (one on the hot side and one on the warm)?
4
votes
1answer
2k views
What is “tap training” in snakes?
In this answer I saw reference to "tap training" when handling snakes.
What is it, and do I need to learn it?
4
votes
1answer
4k views
How wide can a corn snake open it's mouth?
I know snakes can unhinge their jaws when they eat food that is large (rats, large mice, etc.), but I don't know how much that helps them to open their mouth. How wide can adult corn snakes open their ...
4
votes
3answers
280 views
Rosy Boa keeps seeking the cold. Why?
I just got a 4 month old, male, rosy boa 5 days ago. His warm side (temperature taken at surface) fluctuates between 85 and 94 °F (29 and 34 °C). I have a heating pad stuck under the cage and an UV ...
4
votes
1answer
362 views
How do I heat and/or build multiple snake enclosures?
I am starting to get setup for snake breeding (balls) and I am lost on the process of multi enclosures. It is hard to find information about getting started with them and best practices/equipment to ...
4
votes
2answers
9k views
Why are my snake's belly scales turning yellow?
I recently took my snake out of his cage to hold him for a bit but I noticed a light yellow on his belly. He has checker like scales with some black and some white (those colored scales were on him ...
3
votes
1answer
5k views
My snake died suddenly
I have 2 baby corn snakes and I fed them both about three days ago. I went to check on them today and I found one of them dead with only his head buried. I don’t know how this could have happened and ...
3
votes
1answer
378 views
Can a red belly black snake kill a horse? How would I know if my horse has been bitten?
My horse was eating and jumped back from her feed bowl and wouldn't go back to it. I thought she may have been stung by the electric fence, but thought that was strange as she was well aware of how to ...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
Swelling of the cloaca
I currently have a Green Tree Python that is about 3 feet long and still has the yellow juvenile colors. The cage is kept at about 55-60% humidity and a temperature of about 85° F. The snake's cloaca ...
3
votes
1answer
82 views
Ratsnake with mouth deformity
I took custody of a rat snake a few weeks back - I got him off Craigslist. I can tell he has been badly neglected -- the vivarium was stinking. I don't think that it had been cleaned for months.
He ...
3
votes
1answer
654 views
Are rodent repellent devices safe for snakes?
We have young curious large breed dogs who make using mouse traps and poison difficult and/or dangerous. We also have a ball python who lives in his terrarium, not free roaming.
All information I ...
3
votes
1answer
244 views
Snake refusing food after escaping
My 4 year old cornsnake escaped and was lost for about 10 weeks. I finally found him about 3 weeks ago.
Since he's been back he has been refusing to eat. He's more active than he was before he ...
3
votes
2answers
4k views
When my snake is refusing food how long should I wait before I should worry?
I have had my corn snake for approximately 5 years now. He is normally a very good feeder, strikes for his food and eats well (I feed him one jumbo mouse approximately every 12-14 days).
He usually ...
3
votes
1answer
80 views
Feeding snakes skinned rabbits
I farm rabbits for pelts and meat. I’ve been wanting to get a snake but I would like to keep the pelts for my pillows and blankets. Would giving a python a skinned animal be okay or do they need that ...
3
votes
1answer
157 views
Type of mineral oil ot remove snake mites?
I see people mention that they use mineral oil to kill and remove mites from the snake but I'm not sure what kind of mineral oil to use. When I looked up mineral oil I seen there's different kinds. ...
3
votes
1answer
390 views
Can I leave a water dish in a Kenyan Sand Boa's tank?
Sand Boas need warm/hot temperatures and very low humidity, generally speaking. During shedding, for snakes having trouble, especially eye caps, I've read that putting a water source (or humidity ...
3
votes
0answers
35 views
When to see vet? Snake digestion process stuck
I fed my 5 year old adult carpet python 2 weeks ago. He still has a large bump right in the middle of his midsection. He is last poop was around the same time he was fed. I plan to go to the vet in ...
