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| beansboy |
 Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:49 pm |
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Joined: 19 Jul 2011
Posts: 198
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| I love reptile's I keep many myself, just wondering if anyone else on here keeps any? |
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| grizzle_85 |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:53 pm |
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Joined: 16 Aug 2005
Posts: 1619
Location: Belfast
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Had a wee pet corn snake from 2004 (day after Metallica played the RDS) up until a few weeks ago. Poor wee thing died, she hadn't been eating I'd had her at the vet's at the reptile store but they all said nothing was wrong with her.
I'm still gutted don't think I'll ever get another snake. Was one of the most gentle and docile pets I've had. Got on great with everyone had no problems being handled and I swear she knew my voice. |
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| beansboy |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:58 pm |
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Joined: 19 Jul 2011
Posts: 198
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yea corn's are like that, their a perfect starter snake, really docile, sorry to hear bout the loss  |
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| DopeDanny |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 3:45 pm |
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Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 445
Location: N.Ireland
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Had some growing up. Favourite lizard was a leopard gecko.
Used to have:
Northern Alligator Lizard
Bearded Dragon
Leopard gecko
19 different types of tarantulas.
giant centipede & a scorpion.
Also had a corn snake myself.
Some died, the rest were sold off. Got a bit out of hand with the spiders. Way too many to look after. Some a bit to dangerous for my health to own haha. Plenty of escapes to. Found in bed sheets and under videos.
I'd definitely get a leopard gecko at some stage again. |
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| beansboy |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 3:59 pm |
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Joined: 19 Jul 2011
Posts: 198
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| my girlfriend is mad into her gecko's had 6 leo's at one stage, bt thank god their gone and it's jst snake's now, their much easier to look after. |
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| ragnarok |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:00 pm |
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Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 1763
Location: Belfast
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Have a Leopard Gecko now which I've had for a couple of years. She got out in October last year as I was in the process of moving out after a breakup.. The ex didn't bother her arse moving in until March so I figured her for dead as the heat had been off for 5 months and last winter we had -20 a couple of times up here.. Amazingly, she appeared again after the ex moved back in and switched the heat on so I have her again and she's doing great!
Also have 2 Crested Geckos, these are one of the best to keep in my opinion, a bit more effort but they're climbers so you can spend some time putting together some ace vivarium setups plus they're cute as hell.
Had 2 king snakes for a while there one Cali I bought fully mature she was huge.. nearly 6 feet. Snuffed it after a year though as she was old. Bought a baby Florida not that long ago but got rid of her as having kings with other snakes is bad, they're snake eaters and it freaks everything else out.
Have 2 corns at the minute in a viv together, one Amel and a Blizzard.. best snakes ever to keep if you're just starting out and great fun in general.
Also have a Giant African Mantis and a couple of land hermit crabs so decent collection 
Thinking of putting together another really big setup, maybe White's tree frogs, possibly a hermit crab colony or maybe Emperor scorpions.. Any suggestions welcome. |
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| Dark Stranger |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:02 pm |
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Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 14907
Location: Holding a fiery stride
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| Out of interest, what size of a cage do you put a 6ft snake in? Surely it would need most of your living room? |
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| ragnarok |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:19 pm |
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Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 1763
Location: Belfast
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4ft long x 2ft wide x 2ft tall.
Rule of thumb for a snake is the combined length and width of the tank should match the length of the snake. |
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| Dark Stranger |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:31 pm |
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Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 14907
Location: Holding a fiery stride
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| That's why I wear big trousers meself. |
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| H |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:46 pm |
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Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 11010
Location: www.dme-promotions.com.com
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| Wouldn't mind getting a snake, I have to say. Can any of you guys into it recommend where to start and type of maintenance and feeding frequency etc that's involved? |
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| ragnarok |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 9:16 pm |
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Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 1763
Location: Belfast
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H wrote: Wouldn't mind getting a snake, I have to say. Can any of you guys into it recommend where to start and type of maintenance and feeding frequency etc that's involved?
No idea where you'd go in Dublin.
If you're going to start get Corn Snake, they're consistent feeders, non-aggressive and easy to look after, you don't even need a heat source.
Start with a baby as this makes things a lot easier, snakes don't like lots of room so with a baby you can start off with a plastic tank that will cost you a tenner.. They're also easy to feed at that stage, half a dozen pinkies would do a month and set you back a fiver. Basically this is an easy way to decide if it's something you're going to want to keep up and you can get rid of a baby very easily, not so easy with a full grown adult.
Pick beech chippings as a substrate, they're clean, easy to keep fresh and won't harm the snake.. They also say Aspen bedding is a good alternative but harder to keep fresh.
Once a week for a feed is alright, maybe with a baby you'd want to step this up to twice a week, every four days or so.. Rule of thumb is if your snake is taking less than 3 minutes to eat whatever it is you're feeding it then you need to get something bigger.. Don't live feed, dangerous for the snake, more expensive and frankly not pretty. Buy frozen stuff and let it thaw for a few hours before feeding.
You're best getting a water dish the snake can climb into, when they're molting they will probably clamber in to soften their skin. If you can't get a dish big enough or they aren't doing it then watch for them getting ready to molt (they'll get a lot lighter in colour) and spray them with water twice a day until they shed. Also, with water.. either get one of those Brita filters and filter it all before you use it (for drinking or spraying) or use bottled water.. Chlorine isn't good and can prove fatal long term. Change water daily.
Spot clean the tank as needed (once a week at least) and change the whole substrate maybe once every couple of months. Make sure you get any old bits of skin that might be left over after they shed.
Also, I'd recommend handing, more the better.. keeps the snake calm and relaxed and you'll want them to be this way when they get bigger as striking during feeding can happen and the more nervous the snake the more likely this is to happen.. Bite from a full grown corn snake is sore and if they start constricting on you it can be a real bollocks to get them off as the harder you try the harder they latch on.. If it happens, leave them to get bored and give up..
Apart from that there's not really a whole lot to it.. Hell of a lot easier than a traditional pet to look after.
Once you get settled with it the cool stuff starts, you can turn a nice vivarium into a real piece of furniture, have seen guys with them used as bases for coffee tables, you can light them with a low energy bulb during the day and a red bulb for a bit of heat during the night.. There's waterfalls and all sorts of shit you can do.. can make it a really nice setup quite easily. Also, there's no issue keeping more than one corn snake together as long as they aren't hugely different in size, it's better if they are introduced to each other earlier on in life though. If you DO keep more than one together you will need to feed them in separate places (different tanks).
Good luck |
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| H |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 9:22 pm |
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Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 11010
Location: www.dme-promotions.com.com
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| Cool, thanks for that. Will have a think about it. |
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| DopeDanny |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 9:46 pm |
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Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 445
Location: N.Ireland
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| No heat source for a snake? Ya sure? Surely a small watt heat lamp for the harsh winters. |
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| desertfather |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 10:11 pm |
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Joined: 04 May 2011
Posts: 599
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| Ive 2 giant african snails (not reptiles but the likes of city reptile sell them) fun and low maintance. Fresh lettuce and cucumber every day or second day cuttle fish (that you would put in bird cage for their beak) something for them to scratch. Some use heat mat tho is optional and others swear by it, I was advised to use bulb by the breeder I bought them from but the bulb went and theyre still grand. Can live up to about 10 years or maybe a bit more |
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| Moor |
| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 10:44 pm |
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Joined: 06 Aug 2010
Posts: 159
Location: Land of coal and steel, poets and thinkers and Rudi Völler
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We keep around 10 Hermann's tortoises of various ages outdoors (new babies just hatched a week ago). Not the most interesting pets imho but they're relatively low-maintenance, fun to watch (especially the mating and hatching), minding their own business in the wintertime and selling like sliced bread.  |
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