Finally have my Snakes!!!! :) :)

[SnakeWrangler]

Hey all,

I finally got my two coastal hatchlings . They are amazingly beautiful, as soon as I get some good pics I will post them.

I am a little bit worried about the male, when getting him out he remained in a ball and barely flicked his tounge once, he also looks like he may be a little thin, although these are my first so I may be wrong. On the other hand the female came out blazing, she was flicking her tounge gliding up and down my arm, she never even looked like thinking about having a snap at me, while the male pulled back into a strike position whenever I moved to much. Maybe the male is a little more stressed than the female. It may also be that considering the airport totally stuffed up with the snakes that made the male more stressed.

Living in Newcastle it was a 2 1/2 hour drive to Sydney airport to pick them up, on arriving the "friendly" guys at AAE calmly told me that one of the pilots on his way to Williamtown (alot closer to my home) decided he would do me a "favor" and fly them up there, well too bad that I was already in Sydney specifically to pick them up, he now actually was adding 2 hours to the overall trip, which now ran to a total of 7 hours driving. This also added to the stress of the snakes making them have to endure two flights. I guess all is well that ends well, as long as the male doesn't suffer from the added stress. By the way, have you seen how those guys handle the packages, they were kicking and throwing them around while looking through them, needless to say I was really pis*ed off about it, I mean what did they do to my snakes while they had them. Bastar*s!

Anyway, I got them from URS and Tim recommended that I wait a week or so before trying to feed them but I think the female was looking for food, what do you guys think? I also think the male could do with a feed as Tim said they are usually fed on Wednesday's but that he would not feed them today.

I am also suprised at their size, Tim said they were "probably" hatched in January making the about 5 months old, but they only appear to be about 50cm's does this seem right?

Just to be clear, I am not in anyway "unhappy" with my dealings with URS so far, I am just a little (overly) concerned about my new babies.

 

[moosenoose]

I'm only new to this SW, but 50cm sounds about right for a 4 month old, maybe even a little bigger than usual? Congrates on your snakes, you'd be wrapt right now! Whenever I think about the postal guys, I reckon that scene out of Ace Ventura at the beginning of the film just about sums up their style of package handling LOL

 

[moosenoose]

Oh, I reckon if they eat why not? It might be just the thing the male needs as well - a good feed and a nice snooze.

 

[jimmy_the_kid]

congrats on the coastles how old r they im not sure wats going on with the male but if hes goingto bite you u may aswell get it over with i cant wait till i get mine on saturday

 

[basketcase]

if i were u i wouldnt handle them for at least 2 or 3 days, prolly longer, just to let them settle in and maybe feed them in a week or so

i know its hard but its worth it in the end.

 

[SnakeWrangler]

What are the benefits of waiting?

 

[basketcase]

just so they feel comfortable.

if your snake never settles into its new environment youll just end up will a reclusive and moody snake, one that mightnt handle well or feed regularly

 

[Greebo]

By the way, have you seen how those guys handle the packages, they were kicking and throwing them around while looking through them, needless to say I was really pis*ed off about it, I mean what did they do to my snakes while they had them. Bastar*s!

Oh yeah, if we find a parcel that has live animals written on it, a soccer game usually breaks out. :roll:

 

[earthmother]

lol Let's not disgruntle the postal worker

 

[Robert]

Yer we all know what disgruntled postie's can do.LOL
Just jokes Greebo.

 

[Greebo]

"The days of the gun toting mailman went out with the Macarena."

ps. I know where you all live.

 

[SnakeWrangler]

Well gave them their first feed today, the male went crazy, but the female wasn't keen and never took it, so I gave the male a try on hers and he whacked into it. The female showed some interest but I think the smell was unfamiliar, I was told they were on pink rats or fuzzy mice, I brought fuzzy mice but I am thinking that she may have been on pink rats mostly, are the pink rats and fuzzy mice about the same size and do they have a similar smell or is it common for a snake on one to refuse to eat the other. I know she may just be a bit stressed so I am going to leave her a couple of days, but the male was the most reclusive and still is but he had no problems eating.

 

[Greebo]

So much for listening to advice.

 

[Ricko]

good stuff on getting your snakes mate you know you cant stop at just 2 you will get more one day. also a couple of my snakes wont eat mice at all they love the rats.

 

[SnakeWrangler]

Ricko, I know, I have already thought about what else I can get once these two grow up a bit. And I will be buying some pink rats to try as I really believe that she has been looking for food.

Greebo, When it comes to following advice, I actually was given two different pieces of advice, one said feed if they will have it, the other said wait a while! Now given this I simply decided to go on the behaviour of the snake, and I was spot on with the male, and I really think the female will take a pink rat, anyway time will tell. I have actually decided to get the pink rats tomorrow and try her.

By the way, both of these snakes have been looking around the tank and even trying to climb the sides so they are hardly stressed and hiding in a corner, they have responded to being handled very well and the only strikes that have occured happended when the snakes were faced with sudden movement and I am not talking about normal movement, I'm talking about my 4 year old daughter running past me like a maniac, the snake wasn't impressed. The strikes were not even real attempts to bite, they were more like warning strikes. Sure, I am expecting to get bitten a few times but neither of the snakes seem bothered by normal handling, so I will handle them without the wait.

The only thing I am worried about is that the male, after eating started rubbing himself against the substrate like he was scratching himself, could this be a sign of mite or something?

 

[SnakeWrangler]

If my snake is scratching itself on the substrate could this mean that it has mites? I have only seen it doing this once but I don't want the problem to get out of control if that is what it is.

 

[angelrose]

could be working up a shed, can you see any mites? if you're worries, go see a vet...

 

[SnakeWrangler]

How obvious are the mites?

 

[glacey]

Doubtful that it's due to shed if he's happy to eat - but don't assume mites immediately, wait a bit and look for further signs, such as soaking etc.

It's exciting when you get your first snakes, but as a few other people said - it really pays to leave them alone for a few days, especially with several flights under their belts. I would leave your female until next week before a feed...........a couple of days won't hurt.

 

[SnakeWrangler]

This is what I have decided to do, thanks anyway. Any other posts in other threads directed to you glacey are based on the merits of the post you made there, I do appreciate helpful advice from anyone, wether I take it or not.