Gah!! In Love...

[LyrisFlame]

...with a captive bread banded kingsnake at PetSmart!!!

I can't afford an all new set up, but the kingsnake could use the exact set up I have... but I would have to find a new home for my radix Houdini. I can't write a lot atm to tell you why I would consider switching them (I will later), but... I already connected with the kingsnake and named it!!

What to do?!? GaaaaaaAAAAAhhhhh!!

[prattypus]

Hmmm, sounds like you already made up your mind, and are jsut looking to us for re-enforcements. Ha ha.

I say go for it, just make sure thay the radix isn't left out in the cold.

[GartersRock]

So you are saying you are trying to find a new owner or setup for your Radix...
Why would you trade a garter you already have for a kingsnake??
It's "bred" not "bread" by the way. ;)

[Stefan-A]

Forget about the kingsnake, there will be other opportunities.

[anji1971]

Even a dozen of the most beautiful kingsnakes known to man couldn't get me to trade my garters.
It's your choice, but I think you should wait until you can get the proper setup for the extra snake. I think you'll miss the radix if you let it go..........

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

don't do it!!

there will be a million more kingsnakes,

but never another radix like yours.

you will sorely miss your garter after it's gone.

[LyrisFlame]

It's "bred" not "bread" by the way. ;)
Gee, thanks. Thought it was obvious I was typing in a rush. I almost always use spell check before I post. Nice to know someone will be there to notice and jump on it the first time I don't. W/e.

Okay, everyone relax. I'm not throwing out the baby radix I have worked so hard to take care of. I shouldn't have posted without going into the details, but I was all excited and trying to decide what to do and I felt compelled to gush to other snake people in the five minutes I had before I had to be somewhere else.

I understand that this is a (mostly) exclusive forum for garter aficionados and you can't imagine how a garter snake could be a less than satisfactory pet, but hear me out:

My radix is doing pretty well. From the first day I caught him I have done nothing but see to his health and well being to the best of my ability. I was down right neurotic about keeping his tank clean, water fresh, temperature right. The only blip was the worm thing and that was not my fault. He's eating fish regularly now, I prepared little slices for him that I froze individually and I thaw for him each feeding, I know exactly when he's hungry, I just got some calcium powder, and I do everything I can to make his existence stress free and "happy". Despite all I've done, I can tell he's not a completely happy snake. I only see him a couple times a week when he goes for a swim and I have to move very carefully or he'll dart back in his hide. I'll see his little head poking out a few times a day, but if I so much as look at him he will recoil back into the shadows of his log. I don't pick him up anymore because even though he does calm down eventually it still seems to be overly stressful for him and that's not much fun for me. No matter how gentle I am, it scares him enough that I don't feel good about picking him up. And now the only time I even touch the tank is when I leave fish or change his water. I haven't really done anything to make him this shy, so I have to conclude that that is just the way he is. A shy, nervous kind of snake. He's very pretty, he's severely cute, and I love it when I do see him, but it's more like having a pet fish. You look at him, he hides from you, you go do something else. He's like my herb garden. I take care of him every day, I give him everything he needs to thrive for the simple pleasure of having him around and watching him... be a snake. As long as I leave him alone, he seems okay with that.

Then today I go to PetSmart on a mission for a new UV light and calcium. As I am passing the reptiles for sale this gorgeous black and white banded California king snake catches my eye. King snakes don't usually interest me, but this snake is beautiful. It reminds me of those little agate stones. Not only is it beautiful, but its responsive and seems engaged. So I'm cooing at it through the glass and what does it do? Run and hide? No. It sits there in its water dish just as it was before, it looks right at me, flicks its tongue and just watches me as I make a fool of myself baby talking to a snake. I sigh at how cool that is that it didn't run away and go pick up my radix supplies. I can't resist going back, and I am tickled to see that he's gotten bored of soaking and now is making his lazy way to his hide, which he doesn't even go in. Instead he curls up beside it because there are vents in the side of the tank and he wants to sniff at the outside air. I'm still making a fool of myself and cooing at a snake, my boyfriend is shaking his head at me because I am recently "poor" and now is not the best time for a snake like this, and the snake has raised it's head and is actively watching me through the glass. To make things worse, a name for him springs to mind right then and there.

Now the reason that is at all significant, is that my radix doesn't truly have a name. We tried to give it like 8 names in an effort to make him more of a pet, but they never fit. I never connected with this little snake. To me he is just "(the) Snake".

Does that make sense?

Anyway, I think what I'll do is keep my radix, buy a bigger tank when/if I take the king snake home, put the radix in the big one so he can move around more (maybe that's all he needs now - space. He is growing like a weed) and put the king snake in the old tank since he's not going to care too much. It's do-able. The only thing I really have to adjust for is the likelihood that the king will bite me at some point (I know the radix never will) and that I would need to start buying frozen pinkies/"furries" for the new guy.

We'll see.

[CrazyHedgehog]

send me the garter snake, and then you will have room for your king snake!!:D

[Loren]

Something I try to do (key word "try") is to keep a list in my head of the species and quantities of herps I realistically hope to keep, and try to stick to that plan. Otherwise, every cool looking snake I see just might end up back at my house.
I still manage to get a few extra animals from time to time, but it helps.

You dont have to look far to find a really cool herp that needs a home, but you cant take them all. But, if this one is important enough to you, then make it happen.

Hope this helps.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

How much is the cali king at the pet store? you can get them for a lot less at the shows!

I too fell in love with california kingsnakes. They were my first love as a snake keeper and always will hold a special place in my heart. Even though they are viewed as common and boring, they have a striking beauty that msot kingsnakes, even the red black and white ones, lack. It took me 4 years to be allowed to get one, and when we finally went to the store to pick mine out, I was crushed because there were no black and white striped ones. So instead I picked bandit, a little black and yellow twig about the size of a pencil... and he taught me all about the joys of snakes. Bandit is now 6 years old and he's over 5 feet long.... so beware... your cute little cali king is gonig to get BIG :D

The other day, my little bander-babes decided to try and eat me. Yep... they are always hungry. I was remiving his shed and he first grabbed the shed and ripped it to pieces. Bandit calm down you just ate yesterday... oh but no that wasn't enough he spit out the skin and grabbed my right ring finger and proceeded to wrap around my hand and "kill" it. He would not let go... and a big cali king bite HURTS, a LOT. He had the tip of my finger in his mouth and I could feel all his big teeth digging under my skin. Agony. I tok him to the sink and ran cold water over him... that usually always makes them let go... not this time. So after 5 minutes I got teh rubbing alcohol, which they say makes them let go instantly. Well bndit got a mouthfull of that and then started to SWALLOW MY FINGER... he was EATING ME! AHHH! it hurt!!! So finally, I had to run the hot water, and kept popping his head under it brifly so as not to burn him, and he finally spat me out. He was blowing blood colored bubbles out of his nose... my mom and dad were standing there horrified, and bandit is jsut looking at me with his lips all puffed out and pudgy, my blood dripping and bubbling from his mouth... and I smiled at my mom and said "awwwwe, mum, isn't he adorable!!!"

[Loren]

One of my buddies was showing me a little cal king a while back and it latched onto me, trying to eat my finger. Little bugger would not let go! Took the 2 of us to get him off, since we didnt want to hurt him by just yanking. Didnt really hurt since it was a young'n, but it was funny.

I have seen cal kings in the 5 foot+ range, but seems like 3 1/2' - 4' feet is more normal, although I mostly see wild snakes, so maybe captives do hit larger sizes more regularly. My largest are around 42'' last time I checked.

[lestat]

My Honduran Milksnake bit me as my friend was on the phone trying to sell it on my behalf.Then again it had only reasantly eaten so still had a full belly. All snakes will bite if they sent food on your fingers or are handled when they dont want to be. I wanted a Californian Kingsnake once so if you want it so bad get it other wise you will always wonder and it will play on your mind. They are nice but are canbilistic so cant keep together with other's. Some snakes hide all the time and some dont. Usally garters are active. Give it time with the Raddix and it might get used to you being around. some of mine ignor me and some hide when i get near there viv's.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

the only snakes I would say you can keep together without any stress on the snakes is garters and their relatives. All others (corns, kings, rats, boids) should be kept alone.

[drache]

I've got three kings, one of them a 5'+ florida king who's the mellowest snake I own - so is my cali king
my black mexican king is a bit nervous and has bit me a few times, but she only does it when she's startled or hungry
I have a few garters that are as mellow as the mellow kings, but I understand how hard it can be to relate to a snake that's difficult to handle and shy
it might help to give your garter a ton of good hiding spots in parts of the tank where he can observe you, and then do your best to ignore him
kings can grow big - my big one just moved into a 6'x2'x25" tank - quite a bit of real estate
if you want something more mellow that stays smallish, I highly recommend a hognose

[Hornets23]

Nice story Shannon. Glad you're a good sport.

[Charlet_2007]

he is now 6 years old and he's over 5 feet long.... so beware... your cute little cali king is gonig to get BIG :D



Boy i hear you there lol try going to get a baby retic python your 13 at the time... Didnt have a computer to look up info and saw pics from time to time seeing them on tv. And saying man i want one of those so bad.. actuly saveing the money up to get one and buying it then relizing after 10 years of haveing this what the heck was i thinking?????? we sold haven almost 3 years ago she was at in avrage almost 18 foot long.. She was eatting baby pigs... i see her from time to time at the St. Louis zoo because the owner we sold her to gave up on a "BIG" snakes.. but at least shes in good hands...

[LyrisFlame]

We did bring the snake home. It was kind of funny because I had decided against it and just wanted to bid farewell to Spook and take a picture. But then we got to talking with the herp guy there and my boyfriend decided we were taking the snake home. We bought everything to get it set up. All the snakes there were clearly hungry, and on top of that the herp guy pretty much pissed off the snake so that it would come toward him, so naturally the snake bit him and wouldn't let go for 5+ minutes. The herp guy was a little embarrassed I think, but he did ask for it. I was amused.

We got Spook home and fed her(?) immediately. No problem there. Terribly entertaining. I'm thrilled. Captive bred seems to make all the difference. Haven't been bitten yet because I'm still letting her settle in, but it'll be soon because I'll need to move her to feed her.

Now I just need to figure out how to make my garter happy. I thought I got him early enough that he would get used to people and be okay, but I'm starting to think he might just be a nervous snake that will never really be okay around people. Putting him back where I found him isn't really an option since the survival rate of released snakes isn't that great (I hear) and its a backyard with dogs and cars and cats etc. I could give him to someone who might know better, but I'm not sure about shipping him somewhere since he's already stressed all the time.

What should I do? What is best for the snake?

[Zephyr]

We did bring the snake home. It was kind of funny because I had decided against it and just wanted to bid farewell to Spook and take a picture. But then we got to talking with the herp guy there and my boyfriend decided we were taking the snake home. We bought everything to get it set up. All the snakes there were clearly hungry, and on top of that the herp guy pretty much pissed off the snake so that it would come toward him, so naturally the snake bit him and wouldn't let go for 5+ minutes. The herp guy was a little embarrassed I think, but he did ask for it. I was amused.

We got Spook home and fed her(?) immediately. No problem there. Terribly entertaining. I'm thrilled. Captive bred seems to make all the difference. Haven't been bitten yet because I'm still letting her settle in, but it'll be soon because I'll need to move her to feed her.

Now I just need to figure out how to make my garter happy. I thought I got him early enough that he would get used to people and be okay, but I'm starting to think he might just be a nervous snake that will never really be okay around people. Putting him back where I found him isn't really an option since the survival rate of released snakes isn't that great (I hear) and its a backyard with dogs and cars and cats etc. I could give him to someone who might know better, but I'm not sure about shipping him somewhere since he's already stressed all the time.

What should I do? What is best for the snake?Have you tried approaching him differently? This post might get ripped apart by some of the other members, but how you approach the snake makes all the difference.
At first I'd go after wild garters and be scared as heck of getting bit by them. Now, after much experience I casually pick them up and assertively hold them. After the fear and anxiety disappeared the snake's behavior to me, even directly being caught, has changed drastically from multiple lunges and flailing to escape to casually slithering in my arms. Try to relax around him and don't worry that you're doing everything wrong; if he doesn't eat one thing offer him something else. If he likes to bask alot, make his basking area bigger. Just take some time to get to know him and I'm 100% he'll tame down.
**EDIT- Also, what happens if you king doesn't "tame down?" Would you just give up? Observation is your best friend; the more you learn about your individual snakes the better you'll be able to take care of them. If they don't like being picked up, try convincing them to crawl onto you. If they're always nervous and jittery when you hold/watch them, try altering your own mindset to be calm and confident.