So due to a smegma incident we’re assuming this little sicko is a boy… 😂

His personality is derpy, shy, and super sweet. My only other snake is a king snake named Ellis. She’s named after the female main character of a book I was reading when I got her.

Names I like so far: Ezra (another E name), Perry, or Rabbit (the male main character of the same book).

Throw some names at me. I like funny old man names and unorthodox names. I get a chuckle out of a cheeky play on hiss or slither. Do your worst!

Snake tax welcome!

This is more venting than anything, just going through some blues that owning my snake isn’t what I thought it would be and wanted to know if other people have gone through the same, and how they dealt with it.

I have an African house snake, I did a ton of research before deciding on one as I wanted a smaller snake that would still be handleable and interactive, as far as snakes go. They came highly recommended by many people and care guides that stressed how friendly and chill this species is to handle, and how great they are to care for. I picked a good breeder who took care to socialize their animals, and I’d like to think I did all of the research I could have to make sure I was making the right choice for me.

Unfortunately, I think this particular snake is just not what I was hoping. I want to make it clear I still love him and intend to care for him, but I’m a little sad about how it turned out. I’ve owned him for 5 months now, and during that time I’ve rarely seen or interacted with him. Despite most care guides saying this species is primarily terrestrial (and some saying they’re semi-arboreal), he spends almost all of his time burrowing underground. He will occasionally come out to explore, but only late at night when the room is dark. As soon as the lights are on he runs back underground. He’s extremely skittish and runs as soon as he sees me. I’ve managed to pick him up on a few occasions, but he tries so hard to get away from me that it’s rare and I feel bad doing it. I’ve tried tong-feeding him to get some interaction that way, but since he runs as soon as he sees me I rarely manage it. I mostly just leave the mice in there for him to find. The only regular times I see him are on the camera in his enclosure as he moves around.

In general I can’t really interact with him at all, and rarely see him. His care is great, he eats regularly and sheds well, and he seems in good health and happy if I leave him alone, so I’m glad at least he seems to be doing well. I’m working on accepting that I won’t ever really get to hang out with him the way I’ve seen other people do with their house snakes, and I know as long as he’s healthy that’s the best I can hope for. Still, while I think I just got unlucky with this particular snake’s temperament, I wish I would have known this before I bought him.

How do you deal with this, when owning an animal isn’t what you thought it would be? If anyone has any tips I’d appreciate it! Don’t get me wrong he’s a cutie and I’m going to look after him no matter, I’m just struggling a bit emotionally since interacting with him is so different than what I expected and what I’ve experienced owning snakes previously.

It looks like he will suffocate in there!! Please!

I've had him for a day now this vid was taken an hour after him being home yesterday

He’s doing weird jerking movements and he is biting himself. He’s chasing himself around the enclosure too. It kind of looks like he is trying to court himself, but I’m not sure and it’s freaking me out. Does anyone know?

I remembered this fatale attraction episode from animal planet about a woman who bought a gaboon viper and tied after being bit by it.

So I’m wondering why people keep these very dangerous animals?

The only dangerous animal I have is my pigeon.

My boy does this tight wriggle thing a lot, I don’t know what he’s doing? Bellydancing snek?

Hi I’m not the biggest Reddit user, but I wanted to ask some advice about my boy, Gundy.

Context: this is my first snake, he’s just a regular male ball python that I got as a surrender from a coworker who was tired of keeping him (he’s had him from hatch) and I’ve had him for about 2 years now, which has been awesome. A great starter snake, a polite gentleman and a wonderful friend, however he’s getting up in age.

He’s not sick or anything but has slowly gotten more “lazy” in terms of exploration and even eating, last time I got him to eat was winter. He’s had bursts of looking like he’s hungry but never follows through even when presented with a rat, and it took a long time to poop and pass his last meal (I mean a long time)

I guess my main question is how do I know it’s time? Is there like snake euthanasia to help if he just declines further or do I just,, wait it out? Also here’s some pictures he’s my favorite little guy

Be honest with me, guys. 🫣

I’m so fucked. I lost my son’s snake he’s been wanting for years. I was cleaning out his enclosure and he got out of the temporary one. I scoured the cameras and saw him last by the vent. My husband tore the vent system down looking in all the tubes. Is there any chances he’s going to be okay and we will find him? I left out a warm hide with a heat lap over it by the vent hoping to lure him out but I don’t know what else to do at this point. I’ll attach a picture of the vent system. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciate.

I’ve just bought a Thai bamboo rat snake and I’m wondering if I should do any sort of brumation cycle for him? I wouldn’t do it until the end of this year either way but I’m seeing a lot of conflicting information. Some people say it’s never necessary for pets that you don’t plan to breed (I don’t plan to breed him for now), and others say it’s beneficial to all snakes that brumate and can extend their lifespan whether you breed them or not. Some people say the benefits of brumation are species/climate specific. Their natural habitat (Northern Thailand) from what I’ve researched doesn’t frequently get much colder in the winters than their recommended low temperature (60°f) anyway, so it doesn’t seem super necessary (correct me if I’m wrong about temps). But then someone else said that brumation IS more beneficial specifically to tropical dwelling Asian rat snakes. Any advice? Anyway here’s my new snake his name is Industrial Fire hydrant

Woke up today to find her struggling and being upside down. I'm in the process of booking a vet. Anyone have experience or seen this happen. She seems to just look straight up and open her mouth a little. Beyond concerned at this point.

As the title reads! I got this adult female from my local reptile shop about 2 months ago. She wouldnt eat anything I offered her (I figured she was just being a ball lol) until she shed about a month ago. Perfect shed, I was proud. Have since tried to feed her after the shed and it was a no go. Well, I found our answer last night when I came home from work…miss girl was gravid and laid eggs.

Now I was not expecting this so she hadn’t really shown many signs of being gravid besides keeping to her warm side of her enclosure. I did suspect pregnancy at some point in the “why is she not eating” journey but she didn’t check off enough boxes of a gravid female so I ruled out the thought. I was wrong 😄

Since discovering the eggs, we safely removed them from her (she was NOT happy) and candled them. All 5 eggs show veins…which seems to mean they’re fertilized. I’ve been watching a ton of videos on breeding and incubating eggs and have a temporary set up going on while I wait for supplies to come in the mail.

Here’s my set up so far: eggs in plastic tub on top of a warm damp towel (perlite soon to come). I marked the top of the eggs and kept the orientation in the tub. I was able to remove 2 eggs from being stuck together but 3 were stuck pretty good so I have just left them together in fears I’d tear them. The tub has plastic Saran wrap over the top and I’ve snaked a digital wire thermometer inside to monitor temperature. I have a CHE suspended above the tub and temperature is sitting right at 91°. I know this may be a bit on the high end and may look into trying to suspend it higher to drop the temp just a tiny bit.

To my understanding, I am just needing to get them in the perlite (with water) and maintain that 88-92 degree range and just leave them alone for 55 days (until we see little heads popping out).

My next questions are: do I attempt feeding her now since she’s laid? Someone suggested she may be dehydrated and need a soak. Do I do this or just monitor her drinking water? Anything else I should know or do to better prepare for the babies?

Again: myself and the reptile shop are unsure of her history so she’s either been with a male before (entirely possible) or this may be a rare case of parthenogenesis (which seems so rare I doubt). I have had experience with ball pythons for a while but none with eggs and incubating and stuff.

My plan when they hatch so far is to care for them for a few months (making sure they eat and shed) before finding homes for them. Probably just adopt them out or ask for small rehoming fee of $50 or something to make sure whoever is taking them in is serious/responsible/a good fit. I’ll have to acquire the housing for them as well, most breeders have tubs, I’m more of a full on enclosure person, they’re my pets, so unsure how to do that as well.

Any help is appreciated. Again, if I had known she was gravid I probably wouldn’t have purchased her, just with lack of knowledge but now that this has happened I want to make sure to do everything right. Thank you!

I recently went to a "reptile expo" in upstate NY knowing nothing about what that would entail. I just assumed there would be a lot of reptiles to look at which I though would be cool. When I went there was an educational exhibit on one floor where you could hold and learn about various reptiles which were being held in large cages with plenty of room for the animals to move around. However, when I went to the upstairs "vendor" area it was filled with a ton of snakes, lizards, spiders, and all sorts of things for sale. One thing that kind of bothered me though was how these animals were being held. They were seemingly cramped in these Tupperware-like containers with various price labels, and it wasn't just one or two tables- it was pretty much every vendor there. Is this normal? I know the expo was only for a few hours, but are the snakes and other reptiles okay in this type of small container?

I wish to eventually own a beautiful bush viper, as shown in the image above, however these amazing creators are venomous as hell, and if you're stupid, will kill you.

I want to know some ways you can get experience to own something as dangerous effectively, and without you know, dying.

For all the venomous snake experts, what's your tips and tricks to deal with these beautiful and dangerous creatures in an effective and safe way?

His head says AY but my heart says that AY is a cop out of a name.

Any name suggestions for this little guy? I just got him yesterday. I was thinking of Bowie(Bo) since he’s a sand boa but I want to toss around some other ideas.