Pine snakes

[Edcase]

Has anyone ever kept these snakes? What are they like for keeping ive heard they can sometimes be aggresive but are easy to keep??

what would be better this or the great plains rat snake?

[adamanteus]

That just about sums them up, Joe. The aggressiveness will fade in time. They are dead easy to keep, but have a prodigious appetite!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

i have never kept pines snakes but i know snakes like these like the back of my hand. if you are looking for a highly active, pretty colored, full of attitude snake with a voracious appetite then they are for you! usually they tame down but if you never handle them expect them to treat you to loud hisses and a "dont tread on me" attitude. One time I almost bought a leucy pine for $20.... he was that price because the breeder showed me his neck and how as a baby he got his head stuck on the tank lid and because of it he had a "bent" neck lol! it was kind of cute in its own way and I wish I would have given him the chance.

[Loren]

I keep Gophersnakes- closely related. If raised from young, and handled semi-regularly or regularly, most will calm down pretty good.
They are neat snakes in my opinion. If you get one, you may think about starting them on rats from a young age, because waiting until when they grow out of mice may be a challenge. Of course you could just feed a few large mice per feeding. My 5 foot female eats a 100-120 gram rat per feeding.
A good fiesty wild caught adult is good to learn snake handling with though- you definitely will find out what handling moves make snakes feel threatened, and which ones do not- though I wouldnt recommend a w.c. adult be kept for a pet, as they will often be a challenge to feed and handle.
As far as what would be better? Get a pair of each!:)
I think the pine would be prettier, but they both would be good captives if captive born and handled from young ages.Some of the rarer pine localities are pricey, but very beautiful. The great plains rat snake would be much like a grey colored cornsnake from what I understand(closely related), not to say they arent pretty too.

[ScimitarX]

We have an adult pair of northern pines, definitely great snakes. They have a good appetite, and are fairly active. Yes they can be feisty and do hiss quite a lot when we handle them, but they never bite or strike at us.

[Charlet_2007]

i have a pair for sale right now male and female.. 250.00 for the both we got them for 400.00..

[Bay_area]

I just picked up a pair of Black Pines last year. They are the BEST! They are loud hissers & never turn down a meal. Inside the cage they are a little snappy, but once I take them out they really calm down. Do not recommend for small children, but are great for pets & educational shows.

I give them 4 mice out of 5 overall as a pet.

The Black Pines get darker with each shed, until completly black.

1st day I recieved them
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/norcalsnakemaster/IMG_1321.jpg

after it shed
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/norcalsnakemaster/IMG_1688.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/norcalsnakemaster/IMG_1744.jpg

next shed

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/norcalsnakemaster/IMG_female6.jpg
most recent
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/norcalsnakemaster/IMG_2004.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/norcalsnakemaster/IMG_2018.jpg

[anji1971]

Wow, are those nice looking snakes or what??? :cool:
How big do they grow, they look pretty good sized!

[adamanteus]

Whoa! Nice Pines, Jerry!:)

[Bay_area]

[quote=anji1971;43529] :cool:
How big do they grow, quote]

Thanks, they get 6ft when full grown:D

The Pituophis Page - The Online Reference Guide to Snakes of the Genus Pituophis (http://www.kingsnake.com/pituophis/p_m_lodingi.html)

[Loren]

So Jerry, how much longer till you got a baby black pine to sell me? I'm guessing at your feeding rate, a few more months?:D

[Bay_area]

So Jerry, how much longer till you got a baby black pine to sell me? I'm guessing at your feeding rate, a few more months?:D


LOL! They are growing fast, but not that fast:)

[Edcase]

Great pics, i read some of that link you psted...really interesting about the hissing being so loud sometimes that you cant have a convo over it lol sounds surreal.

How active are they usually??

[anji1971]

I really enjoyed the info on that link too. Thanks for sharing that with us Jerry!!:)

[Loren]

Great pics, i read some of that link you psted...really interesting about the hissing being so loud sometimes that you cant have a convo over it lol sounds surreal.



Some of the large gopher snakes( very close relatives of pines) that I have had hissed so loud that you could easily hear them in another room even with the door shut.

[Snaky]

They look great!

[Charlet_2007]

these are mine..

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q61/zoie18_2001/NorthernPineSnakeFemale011.jpg



http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q61/zoie18_2001/NorthernPineSnaleFemale005.jpg


http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q61/zoie18_2001/NorthernPineSnaleMale008.jpg

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q61/zoie18_2001/NorthernPineSnaleMale013.jpg\

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q61/zoie18_2001/NorthernPineSnaleMale010.jpg

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q61/zoie18_2001/NorthernPineSnaleMale004.jpg

[Charlet_2007]

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q61/zoie18_2001/NorthernPineSnaleMale014.jpg

[Bay_area]

Great pics, i read some of that link you psted...really interesting about the hissing being so loud sometimes that you cant have a convo over it lol sounds surreal.

How active are they usually??
Not as active as a garter, but moves more than a redtail boa...LOL!

They are loud hissers! alot louder than the gophersnakes loren. My wife can hear them 3 rooms away when I am messing with them:eek:

Charlet_2007 (http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/members/charlet_2007.html) -Great looking snakes you have there!

[Edcase]

Nice pics. Out of interewst why is it they hiss so loud, is it because they are about toget aggresive or do they just do it?

[Bay_area]

Nice pics. Out of interewst why is it they hiss so loud, is it because they are about toget aggresive or do they just do it?

It is a type of defence to scare off whatever is bothering them. Apparently, from what I was told, there is something in pinesnakes mouths that makes their hiss louder than other snakes.

[Charlet_2007]

they also shake there tail like a rattle snake.. its really neat tho the here them hiss and shake there tail people who dont know carp about snakes thinks you got a hot in the tank lol

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

actually, i would say about 90% of colubrids shake their tails when nervous or angry. all of my corns, ratsnakes, milksnakes, my pine, and my bulls do it. the only ones in my collection who don't are my garters. These is a difference, however, in the intensity of the rattling. a pine snake's rattle actually feels like a vibrating phone when you're holding them. I now have a pinesnake, she is AWESOME. She occasionally will hiss at me, and the reason their hiss is so loud is because of the way that they curl their lips when they do it. Most snakes jsut open their mouths and exhale deeply. these guys actually curl their lips to maximize the noise they make. For example, here's my male bullsnake Jake the Snake(close relative to the pine) doing just this.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/xxAngelinblackxx/camera/081.jpg

all members of pituophis (pine snakes, bull snakes, gopher snakes) do this and do it WELL. as soon as you pick them up, they usually quit the act.

[adamanteus]

i would say about 90% of colubrids shake their tails when nervous or angry.

I think that should read American colubrids. No point immitating a Rattler outside the Americas!:D

[adamanteus]

Incidentally, Pituophis is the only genus I have ever observed to do a 'multiple kill', constricting several mice simultaneously!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

actually, what I meant to say was colubrids in my collection!! lol!!! but yes american is just as well. But i used to have a blue beauty, and he did it too??? and my asian radiated rat snakes rattled their tails up a storm too. are you sure this isn't an outside-US thing too?

[adamanteus]

I'd have to sit and think for a while, but I don't recall off-hand ever keeping a non American colubrid that rattled it's tail. Maybe my memory is finally fading.:rolleyes: I have kept Radiated Rat Snakes a few trimes, never had one rattle though, I don't think.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

jeez mine were so mean!! they would sit tehre and rattle at me until I left the room...

[anji1971]

My old garter used to shake her tail when she was crabby, which was most of the time....:D

[Bay_area]

My leg shakes when I am scared. I hate hieghts, when I am on a ladder, my right leg will shake uncontrolably if I think about being up high. I guess if I had a tail, it would shake...LOL!