How often should I feed my new pet snake? - Reptile

snakes are attracted by warmth and the smell of live food
to keep snakes out , remove all vermin from your grounds and house and keep all doors/ fly screens closed
lock any pet doors
keep the yards well mowed , all rubbish removed to stop vermin breeding

Good luck. I would not like to be put in a situation like that. When we get animals that we intend to process we give them names that imply what they will be. Like sirloin for a cow or bacon for a pig. Although these animals become pets, we are always calling them for what they will become.

The dreaded snow snake is responsible for tripping people on ice.
Building its snow bank den against your front door so you can't open it.
Burrowing under your tires so you can't get out of your drive way.
Snow snakes for the most part afflict those uneducated to the ways of nature and are pets of old timers full of mischief.

feed him to a snake

I keep and raise many corn snakes and have had numerous successful hatchings...they are a lot of fun. Age and size will determine the enclosure they will need to start with. A 20 gallon long will do fine for a few years...make sure you get the type with the sliding locking lid to prevent escapes.



I use under tank heat pads for my snakes typically abbreviated UTH (under tank heat). I UTh on the side I choose to be warm and nothing in the other side ...so in effect you have a hot side and a cool side. The hot side will be maintained at 82-85F and the cool side is room temp. usually no lower than 71-73F in my house except on the coldest of winter nights. but thats OK because the snake will migrate to the warm side as it desires.



Now we need to address the substrate. After many years I have settled on ASPEN bedding ....inexpensive. clean and free of harmful odors and caustic oils. Cedar and Pine and Redwood have toxic chemicals that over a long term exposure can cause problems like caustic burns and respiratory issues. Please use ASPEN. Snakes love to burrow through the aspen bedding. Or on the cheaper side newspaper is common and easily replaced when soiled. Aspen bedding can be spot cleaned for a month or 2 and then replaced depending on the amount of feces and size.



A water bowl is required and a place to hide out...A small box for free from the USPS the PRIORITY small box is perfect and free if you need to replace it. cut a few openings on the side and the top so the snake can get in and out.



Feeding of rodents / mammals is required. The snake is a carnivore. You must learn to feed frozen thawed rodents available at the pet stores or raise your own. Depending on the size of the snake you will need to feed it something as big as the largest part of the snake. Usually a corn snake at 2 years of age can eat adult mice ...or young adult mice. Another term often used is a HOPPER mouse which is a younger / smaller mouse fed to 1 year old snakes. Newborn snakes require pinkie mice / newborn mice and will quickly graduate to fuzzie mice in 6 months time.

The reason I say frozen thawed rodents is for the safety of the snake. It is possible for the adult mice to bite the snake and do damage to the snake, if you choose to feed live rodents. I realize after many years and seeing the results of my snake being bitten by a rodent ...it happens and I prefer to feed frozen thawed. The damage was minor but if the mouse had bitten the snake any closer to the eye cap it might have been serious and irreparable.



As your snake grows and sheds it can live for many years. Shedding skin is another area that requires a bit of common sense...offer the snake more moisture when the eyes get cloudy and dull. After a week the snake will turn clear again and then shortly after it will shed its skin. During this time misting of the enclosure and a moist damp towel / washcloth will keep the humidity up to facilitate shedding.



Any more questions I will be happy to help with if I can.

could be as simple as a broken belt or a clogged hose run a broomhandle through it or a plummers snake also check filters for dirt

I would use a snake for plumbing (sinks) and feed it down the hose to find and clear this blockage if you can remove the hose compressed air may also work.

It is better to give your reptile prekilled food. The main reason is that you don't want your snake to be injured by its prey. Sometimes the prey will fight back and start chewing or pecking on your snakes. Understand that captive snakes behave differently in captive than in nature - they may not be as aggressive as they are in nature and the result can be serious - snakes did loose eyes before when they were offered live food.

To ensure that your reptile is happy and healthy, one of themost important issues when having a pet reptile is the cage heating issue.Basically you need to have a heating device and a thermometer in order tofollow the cage conditions. Reptile environment should be between 20 C - 32 C. You can read more here: http://www.reptiles-info.co.uk/reptile-heating.html