Thinking About Purchasing A Reptile?

Thinking About Purchasing A Reptile?

So you have decided to bewitch a snake and you notion it as a pet and a companion, a indecent maintenance animal that will grow and relish life with you. Something you can possess in your hands and point to to friends and family members. An animal that is on the modern side and reflects your independent nature, and sets you aside from main stream society. All of these reasons are noble and a snake can be a very consuming subject of conversation. As for improper maintenance, a snake can be considered vulgar maintenance after the initial position up has been completed and you have learned the basics of caring for the species of snake you have chosen. Snakes are like humans, they reach in all types and sizes, when in the infant stage (less then 6 months of age) all snakes are cute, easy to handle and require minimal care. Like people, snakes grow and some grow and grow and grow, prior to purchasing your pet you must complete a short spy program to ensure you lift the honest snake for your needs, in short you must become a lustrous shopper.

First you should examine at your housing residence, if you live in an apartment complex, a snake is not for you. Should it race, you have let yourself in for lawsuits filed by neighbors as well as being asked to go. Snakes do not belong in a multi family type site and that is that. If you live in a single family home, you have met the number one requirement. A snake will come adulthood at two to three years of age, how sizable of a snake do you want to bear if purchased as an adult? two feet, three feet, twenty-eight feet? Most people unusual to the hobby want a snake that will max out at five feet and weigh less then seven pounds. This is the ideal size for a beginner, at this size a snake is easy to handle and does not cost an arm and a leg to feed. Deciding upon the factual species is the next put a question to. Boa constrictors are not very apt beginner snakes mainly because they tend to have an attitude and often bite when annoyed. Being bitten by a non venomous snake is really no titanic deal, it is far less painful then an injection at the doctors office and when washed with soap and water, it is forgotten in a day or so. Members of the Colubridae family are snakes that include King snakes, Garter snakes etc. These animals are also not generally for beginners as they require a complicated habitat location up and must be fed more often then other species. Next is the python family, this family has members that arrive lengths of thirty feet so you must spend caution when purchasing a member of the python family. One python that is ideal for a beginner is the "Ball Python" it grows to six foot tops and weighs about seven pounds tops. It is a well-liked snake and easy to obtain in reputable pet stores everywhere. This species of snake is extremely tame and rarely if ever bites. They seem to indicate affection once they become familiar with their keeper and readily stagger around in their owners hands. After forty years of handling reptiles I would wholeheartedly recommend a Ball Python for a beginner. Other reasonably estimable choices for a beginner are the Rainbow Boa, the Rubber and Rosy Boas, A California King Snake and a Corn snake, all produce reliable starter snakes.

Prior to purchasing the snake you must assume its habitat and accessory items. You should bewitch them home, region the habitat up, accumulate the snakes food supply, I recommend you acquire a three month food supply and then freeze it. When the food supply gets down to one month left in the freezer, win another three month supply and exercise the oldest first. The following is a list of items you will need to have a snake and maintain it in superb physical health for a life time. Before you go any farther, a snakes life time can rush from ten to thirty-five years! Ask yourself if you are really prepared for this long a commitment, and please be impartial with yourself. Snakes grow very quick during the first 18 months of their lives. The 18 scamper snake you win today will double in size before its first birthday so take a tank that will accommodate a 36 jog snake, it will effect trips to the pet store in the future and money in the long speed. OK here are the items required for a Ball Python (Also any other snake)

#1: The aquarium: I would go ahead and pick up the 40 gallon tank. gather a reptile aquarium, not a fish tank. The contrast is about $60.00 and about 15 pounds in weight. 1 reptile tank 40 gallon with locking conceal top. brand the "locking" shroud top, snakes are speed artists and the camouflage allows for ventilation. The top must be lockable, no amount of weight will sustain a snake inside, they are masters of speed and will do so if not locked.

#2: cloak boxes, two, this can be as simple as a shoe box with a hole carve in the side colossal enough for the snake to walk in and out of. You need one for each raze of the tank. All snakes require seclusion and a region they can retreat to for sleep and when digesting food. It should be slightly larger then the snake. Its sides should touch the sides of the box when inside. Snakes like tight places with only one entrance, they know they are marvelous from attack and are able to relax. occupy it or not, more snakes die of stress then all illnesses combined. If you fail to give your pet snake a position to retreat to, I bet it will die before you have had it six months, a camouflage box at each raze is essential.

#3: A heating pad placed under the tank, not touching the glass and residence on rude should raise the temperature inside the mask box to about 90 to 95 degrees. This will be the hot destroy of the habitat, there must be two different temperatures inside the tank. A snake will need the extra heat after eating, to encourage in digestion and taking up minerals and vitamins from the food into its body. The camouflage box at the other destroy should be about 73 degrees to the coarse 80's. Snakes regulate their temperatures from external sources and need a choice available to them. Also you will need a heat lamp which you will employ for three hours a day immediately after your snake eats a meal, the temperature should be between 92 and 99 degrees directly below the lamp. This is called a "basking plot". Please be positive the heating pad is adjustable, improper med. hi. Do not spend inside heat sources like heat rocks, they have caused severe burns to snakes.

#4: two water bowls one of which must be colossal enough for the snake to bath its entire body in. You should exercise non chlorinated water for drinking and bathing. The water must be changed daily and sooner if it becomes unfriendly by wastes or other items which have fallen into the bowl. Plastic dog bowls are ideal items, glass is not advisable.

#5: Two thermometers, one at each demolish of the tank and kept in peek for easy reading at a ogle. A humidity gauge in the center of the tank is also required. Normal humidity of 40% is ravishing except when your snake is in a shed cycle. The humidity must be elevated to 80 to 100% once you look your snakes eyes launch to cloud over which signals the begin of a shed cycle. You must also collect a spray misting bottle. It must be feeble twice a day when in a shed cycle to mist the snakes body and support the outer layer of skin soft and loose. Twice a day, AM PM mist. You must remember not to handle your pet when in a shed cycle, resist the temptation to consume it up or play with it. Also do not feed your snake once its eyes have clouded. After you eye the eyes cloud, the snake will shed its skin about four days after the eyes sure. Resume normal activity after the shed has been removed. Check the two stare spots on the shed to insure the two "Brill's" distinct see scales have also been removed.

#6: What to do on the floor of the tank? Never utilize wood chips, especially ceder chips, they own a toxin which will cause injury or death yo snakes. Wood chips stick to food and when swallowed do not dissolve, this can be fatal to a snake. indoor out door carpet is OK but hard to trim when soiled. I consume 100% white cotton bath towels folded the staunch size of the floor space. I can scrutinize any kill deposited on the floor, I can seek a tick, flea etc. and deal with the quandary. It is soft on the glowing ventral side of a snake and any parasite is visible at a gawk. I have a few extra ready to utilize when the one in spend becomes soiled.

#7: food, A Ball python will eat two mice a week when six months or less faded. When it becomes larger you can switch to tiny rats. I never feed my animals live prey, I refuse to do this for a variety of reasons. Number one, I collect it cruel watching any animal being crushed in the snakes remarkable coils. If the snake is not hungry, a mouse or especially a rat can inflict gash harm to a snake. Remember the prey animal is fighting for its life and bites can be awful enough to cause infection and the death of your snake. Live mice at times arrive with fleas and mites that can harm a snake. Freezing raze a bulk of despicable organisms. With frozen food I can stock up when I catch them on sale. I have fed a Ball python of mine, strips of warm baked chicken as a treat. You should by powdered calcium and sprinkle it on the food item once a month, a multivitamin inserted into the rodents mouth is also a first-rate thought, once a month.

#8: A fluorescent UVA & UVB light bulb and fixture should be placed on top of the tank which will allow your pet to beget the needed vitamins obtained when under sunlight out of doors. The fixture is inexpensive but the bulb can bustle $20:00 or more. To avoid the cost of this, you can area your spot up in an place that allows natural sunlight to enter for about three hours a day. Some reptiles require it regardless of the tanks site while others do require it at all. I gather it best to use the bulb on all of my animals regardless.

#9: An inexpensive humidifier. You can catch this at a chain pharmacy for less then $25:00 or at a second hand store, here you can gain them for $5:00 or less. spend it when your snake is in a shed cycle or if you live in extremely dry arid locations. 40 to 50% is normal 80 to 100% during a shed, along with a misting bottle twice a day until the shed has been removed. You will also need to set a rough medium sized rock in to the tank, it will benefit to glide the used skin, allowing the snake to shuffle out of its dilapidated skin and a snake will also spend it to scratch any itch it might have.

#10: You will need to locate a kindly reptile Vet. Do not chance using a Vet that says he knows reptiles, call your county extension service and ask them. Your ASPCA might be able to steer you to a generous worthy Vet. as will the pet Store you occupy the snake from. Reptiles are special animals that require special training by Vets. Even if your snake never has an apparently unpleasant day throughout the year, a wellness check up once a year is always a reliable plan. You will have to do your share to seek that your pet has a healthy life, you must withhold records of your snakes activities. A sheet of paper divided with the above titles in each row will pronounce your Vet. everything about the snake, should it become Ill. DATE, FOOD, AMT., B/M, URITES, SHED (launch) (kill), condition. Each time you feed your snake designate it down i9n the narrate book, if you feed it one or two mice or 1 rat, write it down. If your snake uses the bathroom, write it down. You will behold your snake will often deposit white chalky looking matter on the floor of its tank. Snakes do not have urinary Bladders like mammals do. They excrete urine in the do of soft solid urite crystals, in humans this is called a Kidney Stone! You may also gaze fluid mixed in with the other raze products left leisurely, this is normal and nothing is immoral. Write down the date you notice the eyes cloud over and when it sheds. mark if it is in one fragment, several pieces etc. Write down your attempts to feed the snake but it refused to eat. PS. If the snake refuses to eat, position the thawed item in the refrigerator and warm it up in warm water the next day and offer it again. If it collected refuses, discard the item, never refreeze it.

If you settle upon purchasing a Ball Python, they sell for different prices depending in which fragment of the Country you live in. A righteous ticket scale is somewhere between $59.00 and $89.00 for a yearling. This is a snake about 14 to 18 inches long and has a girth between the size of a dime to a nickel. The skin should be tight with no sags, the scales should be uniform with out scars or wounds of any type. Its eyes should be lustrous and obvious (shinny), there should not be any extinguish material along the cloaca underneath approach the tail portion. Its tongue should be active flicking in and out all the time or at least when in your hands. There should be no mucus around the mouth and the mouth should always be closed. A snake breathing through an commence mouth has a contagious (to other snakes, not humans) lung disease, do not retract any snakes in that store. The snake should be actively crawling through your hand, from one to the other and exploring you and its site. It should not have a smell. Females usually have shorter tails then males and grow larger, ask if the snake has been sexed and have them reveal its sex on the receipt of ownership. construct positive it comes with a 30 day money help guarantee against sickness or death. Ask if they will lift it benefit later then thirty days if you obtain you are not the snake person you view you were.

It is not unreasonable for them to say they will secure it a unique owner but they will not refund money after thirty days, they should not charge the fresh owner for the snake other then the food it ate while under their care. Be definite to have its home dwelling up and ready for it when you return from the store after making the bewitch. For the first forty-eight hours, resist the bustle to handle it and allow it time to acclimate itself into its modern surroundings, only offer it water for the first two days. On day three, recall up the snake gently and introduce yourself. Snakes have no external ears but are sensitive to vocal vibrations and physical vibrations of things walking around them. Avoid using items such as a vacuum cleaner end to the tank, loud bass (rap) music can vibrate a snake into a coma. Talk in a normal tone of articulate, it might sound laughable but smile when looking face to face with the snake, expend an antibiotic soap on your hands before and after handling your snake and wash your hands if you have near into contact with a dog, cat or especially a rodent, ( squirrel, mouse rat, hamster etc.) these are prey items and it could mistake a finger for a mouse. Washing your hands before and after is the rule from now on, and everything will be delicate.

If you have a friend or relative whom wishes to acquire it, OK but only after it becomes utilize to you, say during the first 30 days of having it in your possession, only you should handle it to avoid confusing the snake. After 30 days, wash hands before and after, this is the rule for others as well. Snakes do not be pleased being handled roughly or being held high above the floor, do not allow anyone to hold the snake over their head, this is stressful to snakes, and do not handle it for 48 hours post eating. atomize this rule and you could be wearing a 1/2 dissolved mouse on your shirt and you wont do it twice, I promise you that. Do not allow other pets to pick up within terminate proximity to your snake. Cats and dogs might not observe like they would bite or scratch the snake but it only takes the blink of an inspect to destroy up with two short snakes that were one long snake objective a moment ago. Ball Pythons and several other species of snake are nocturnal by nature. It does not cause noteworthy damage to handle them during the day light hours once in a while but after sin down is always best. You can plan them after black with out turning on lights if you select a red light bulb and space it come their tank. Snakes can not peruse the color red so they are in total darkness as far as they are concerned and they go about their business at hand unhampered by the red bulb. Several of the pythons including the Ball Python have infrared heat sensing pits along their lips which allow them to peek warm blooded animals in total darkness. These pits are similar to the pits of rattlesnakes and other pit vipers although they are not as sensitive. A Ball python could notify an 100% upright strike at a rat or mouse even if it was totally blind. Special nerves called Trigeminal nerves spread from the pits and join with the optic nerve and connect to the brain enabling the snake to gaze images in a sophisticated 3D thought. Pythons and Boas are two of the oldest species of snakes alive today, their lineage dates succor to almost 300million years, that's about 230 million years before mans ancestors found their intention onto the scene.

The statement "outrageous maintenance" is somewhat an fair description for a pet snake however the few requirements that are valuable should always be handled in a timely manor, for instance feeding. Feed your snake every week in the evenings when it is normally active. Defrost the prey item in very warm water insuring it is thawed completely. Pat dry with a tidy towel touching it to verify it is warn and not hot. consume forceps to acquire the mouse by the tail, never believe the tail with your fingers, one set of teeth sunk into your hand will cure you of feeding the snake with your fingers. Once it has swallowed the first mouse offer the second one. At times snakes absolutely refuse to eat. You can try offering it a different colored mouse but should that fail, relax and if it does not eat the next evening, wait until next week then initiate over. Snakes can go for months with out food so don't anguish about it starving itself to death, that is not likely to occur. new water every day, sooner if soiled. Remember the safe temperature range inside the setup. Basking light for a few hours an evening for a few days after eating and no handling for 48 hours after a meal or when shedding.

edifying humidity and misting during a shed cycle, and no handling or feeding until the shed has been removed. Check the gaze scales on the customary skin. Wash hands before and after and have guests do the same only after the first thirty days of living with you. When on vacation, have a friend or relative observe in on your pet once in a while when you are away. consume a red light to explore the snake after black. Remember to write down every action your snake makes, eating, using the bathroom, shedding etc. Do not allow other pets discontinuance access to the snake. Handle the snake often to retain it familiar with your scent and exhaust no perfumes when doing this. Handle the snake gently and withhold it level with your mid fragment and chest region, never over head. sustain in mind that you are responsible for the life and health of this animal. Read everything you can get about this species of snake. To some people snakes are like potato chips, one is never enough. If you choose to score another, they can be housed together if they are of similar size and species. Do not status a newborn in with an adult, snakes are cannibalistic, both should be of similar size. Feed seperately, never together, a war will ensue. A recent snake must be quarantined for three months away from the older snake to avoid the spread of disease. Once they bond, leave them together from that point on. If they fight from the open, seperate them and collect a second region up like to first. Male and female are usually ok, female and female are also usually acceptable, male and male at times will fight for dominance of the site, once established, they should be OK from that point on.

As stated earlier, snakes can live for over ten years, the responsibility of caring for them is a serious one. Kept in a apt setting, and managed correctly snakes can live a long and healthy life. ample food, temperature and a wellness check once a year are the prime requirements to having a healthy and cheerful snake. Keeping its enclosure natty is also distinguished. When demolish products are seen, buy it and replace the cotton towel immediately. A once a month total disinfection of the habitat is also advisable. One tablespoon rotund of Clorox to a gallon of water will raze every germ in the habitat. spot the tank on the sink top and exercise the sprayer to rinse all cleaning products left inside the tank. Dry and replace the contents and you are splendid to go for another month.

You can also location a few inches of warm water in the bath tub and let your snake swim around for a while, towel dry and you will kill up with one overjoyed, neat snake. Last but not least: little children treasure recent pets and will beg to believe the snake. You should enjoy the snakes forward most part and let the child absorb the befriend portion, this insures you of control of the snakes head should the child squeeze it tightly and the snake turn to bite. Let the child stroke the sides and absorb the snake with initiate hands, watching both the child and snake for hints of concern in the making. Once you have become proficient with the snake and become reasonably knowledgeable concerning its life style, requirements and other points of interest pass the knowledge along to others. Offer to indicate your pet at local schools, 4-H clubs and homes for the elderly. You can join one of the many Herp. clubs on the salvage or launch your absorb club. Snake rescue societies are also needed throughout the country. Become active and grunt what you have learned, you will feel excellent for lending a hand and for saving the life of an unwanted or uncared for animal. Knowledge is a remarkable tool and all to often not shared with those searching for an acknowledge.