Eastern Fox Snakes

[Topaz]

I'm getting a baby from a rescue and have found an extreme lack in information on these snakes. They look easy to take care of, and the baby I'm getting is already on f/t pinkies (three weeks old.) Any info, links, experience, etc. would be appreciated.

[Garter_Gertie]

sorry. have wayward peepers in one hand, trying to tame.

;rockster can help you. i think she has a bazillion.

[Loren]

Never had one, but in my peterson field guide, they are shown to be in the ratsnake/cornsnake family elaphe (which has since been changed, I think), so I would imagine they are similar in care to corns and rats.
It says 36-54" usually for adults, with a record of 70.5" long. They seem to be found in a wide variey of habitats, so a basic normal cornsnake type set-up should be ok.
Hopefully you can find some more experienced info than mine though :)

[Topaz]

Thanks! I plan to bombard the rescue folks with questions when we meet, and they seem to have a large collection of them. They don't seem to be very populare pets.

[Zephyr]

They don't seem to be very populare pets.Apparently they have a bad temper and don't like to cooperate at feeding time either.

[sschind]

Treat them like a corn snake or a kingsnake. I've had a few WCs over the years and with regular handling they can be as tame as either and feed just as well. I think that one of the reasons they are not more popular is that very few people are breeding them. People over here just don't seem to have the interest in the native snakes without all the morphs. They are one of my favorites however and I would take one of them over a corn snake or a kingsnake any (unless its a mt. king of course)

[Topaz]

The lady that has them told me they'd be better than a corn snake because of how easy they are to care for and how readily they take f/t mice. I personally think they're prettier than corns. :)

[Loren]

The lady that has them told me they'd be better than a corn snake because of how easy they are to care for and how readily they take f/t mice. I personally think they're prettier than corns. :)
I didnt know there ws anything that took f/t better than corns. :)
Mine will aggressively eat any form of rodent you wiggle in front of them, every time.

[Loren]

Treat them like a corn snake or a kingsnake. I've had a few WCs over the years and with regular handling they can be as tame as either and feed just as well. I think that one of the reasons they are not more popular is that very few people are breeding them. People over here just don't seem to have the interest in the native snakes without all the morphs. They are one of my favorites however and I would take one of them over a corn snake or a kingsnake any (unless its a mt. king of course)
This kind of explains the bad temper reputation- most of the animals people have kept so far are probably wild caught, and half grown already at capture.
I know with gopher snakes for example, there is often a night and day difference in the handleablilty of a cb vs a w/c.

[Topaz]

I guess I really lucked out on this litter, then. She has many babies that were captive hatched. I don't know about the parents other than she said the female was a two headed snake that died soon after laying(that she keeps in the freezer in case no one believes them.

Do you guys think the mom's early death will contribute to a shorter life span to normal babies?

[Loren]

Cool, so they are captive born?

I doubt it will harm them. I think she died cause she was 2 headed. If the babies have 1 hea each, then I would think they should be ok, but who knows.

[Topaz]

Cool, thanks!

Yeah, they're captive born. She said they're coloring is really starting to come through now...waiting this 2 weeks is gonna kill me!

[sschind]

I wouldn't say they are better than corns, probably about the same and it does seem the WCs are a little more feisty than CBs. All three that I had were still very young so I didn't really experience much difference.

Topaz, where in Wisconsin are you located? I'm down by the border between Kenosha and Lake Geneva.

On a side note. Does anyone else find it a bit funny that baby fox snake are better than corn snakes and it just so happens that the lady telling her this has a bunch of fox snakes to get rid of. I wonder what she would be saying if she had a litter of timber rattlers on her hands?:)

[Topaz]

On a side note. Does anyone else find it a bit funny that baby fox snake are better than corn snakes and it just so happens that the lady telling her this has a bunch of fox snakes to get rid of. I wonder what she would be saying if she had a litter of timber rattlers on her hands?:)

LOL. I've thought of that as well. But if she did have rattlers, there'd be no way of getting around it, the b/f would want one :rolleyes:

We're about 2 hours from Lake Geneva, near Janesville, WI. We'd pass through Lake Geneva on our way to the Bristol Ren. Faire when we went years ago.

[sschind]

LOL. I've thought of that as well. But if she did have rattlers, there'd be no way of getting around it, the b/f would want one :rolleyes:

We're about 2 hours from Lake Geneva, near Janesville, WI. We'd pass through Lake Geneva on our way to the Bristol Ren. Faire when we went years ago.

Janesville is about an hour from me. Well, pretty much exactly an hour from me coming in on the North end off HWY A.

[Topaz]

Janesville is about an hour from me. Well, pretty much exactly an hour from me coming in on the North end off HWY A.

I guess my parents just drive really slow :rolleyes:

[arzerkle]

Being C.B it should do well, most W/C don't aclimate well since there preferred diet tends to be frogs & fish and a heavy parasite load, however don't waste your time trying any of these on your C.B. I've found they don't like being excessivly hot (watch for them to endlessly crawl and snout rub, thats your clue), and so be careful of feeding overly large meals, they need to be able to break them do and digest fast. They're active cycle seems short as well. W/C's have to do everything, eat , breed, lay and fatten up for brumation all in about a 4 month window. When I worked with these, it was'nt uncommon for them , including Captive raised ones to quit feeding by the first of October. I've found them to be quite a low keyed snake, even when we collected them in the 80's, I don't think I was ever biten by one we grabbed and collected.
Hope this helps
Rob

[Topaz]

That does help a lot! Thanks! I'm really excited about the new snake.