Hello,

I recently purchased a snake and it was a little more expensive than I thought and as such I was not able to buy him a cage. At the moment he just has the run of the house so he pops up all over the place. Is this cool? Or do I need to provide him with an enclosure? Right now he is in the kitchen.

Also I don't know what to feed him. I tried throwing cheerios at him, but he seems totally disinterested.

[Ash89]

Snakes eat rodents. If you can get frozen that would be safer as prey animals can fight back. Depending on how big he is (not that it would matter) but I would keep it away from your pet rat. He should have an enclosure so he doesn't get lost, or at least confine him to one room and block off vents etc.

Next time try to research an animal before you go buy it, for the safety of the animal.

Are you kidding? Of course you need an enclosure for him. Where is his heat lamp? How is he getting the warmth he needs? Where is his water source? He also needs meat to eat. Mice, depending on the size of him, only about once a week. They need to be heated in warm water to be at the right temp and you need to tempt him with it, wiggle it around etc so he can get it the right way in his mouth to eat. How old is he? How big is he? If you dont want a vicious snake you need to do daily handling, or you might be getting unexpected bites, especially if he has free range of the house. Please tell me it is a nice harmless python and not a dangerous snake?

Originally Posted by Supanova

Are you kidding? Of course you need an enclosure for him. Where is his heat lamp? How is he getting the warmth he needs? Where is his water source? He also needs meat to eat. Mice, depending on the size of him, only about once a week. They need to be heated in warm water to be at the right temp and you need to tempt him with it, wiggle it around etc so he can get it the right way in his mouth to eat. How old is he? How big is he? If you dont want a vicious snake you need to do daily handling, or you might be getting unexpected bites, especially if he has free range of the house. Please tell me it is a nice harmless python and not a dangerous snake?

That sounds like a lot of work. To be honest I thought it would be cool if he just roamed around the house like a housecat.

He's a python.

[growlycat]

They can get sick and die without proper heat lamps, water and meat (mice).

Without an enclosure you will probably lose him down a crevice somewhere.

If you bought it at a petco or petsmart you can always relinquish the snake --they will take it if you explain that you made a mistake.

[growlycat]

somehow I think you might be kidding about having a snake?

I'm taking him to the movies later. Is this good snake etiquette?

Originally Posted by growlycat

They can get sick and die without proper heat lamps, water and meat (mice).

Without an enclosure you will probably lose him down a crevice somewhere.

If you bought it at a petco or petsmart you can always relinquish the snake --they will take it if you explain that you made a mistake.

Yes, I will have to make a return trip to my pet store and purchase some lamps and some pre-killed mice.

Thank you for your advice.

Yep gotta be kidding. If you're in Australia you need a license to have a snake (in my state at least), and there are conditions to that license. From reading some of your threads on here I really thought you were serious for a minute...

[Fresia]

I am not of a mindset they have to be kept in a cage either and can roam free. Poisonous, sick, or injured ones, or if you have children are another story though. I used to have snakes, snake proofed the house, and provided heat sources (large hot rocks and lamps) throughout they could go to or perching stations on windowsills for sunning. Freaked people out when they came over but not so far fetched IT; takes a lot of diligence and responsibility to do this however.

So what have you named him/her? Fish can work just as well as mice for some species if the mice repulse you, but a varied diet would be better.

his name is dr. woolsmith

i have bought him a watter bottle and some lamps now i will throw some fish sticks at him and see if he likes those.

is it ok if i yell at my snake to eat?

i was like 'eat, dr. woolsmith, didn't they teach you about processed seafood in medical school'? and i was like throwing fish sticks at him at the same time. this was at 3 in the morning and my hair was in a towel.

or is this crazy behaviour?

[FrayedEnds]

maybe he wouldn't eat the fish sticks without some ketchup? I know I won't

[pachyderm]

Originally Posted by Illegal Toilet

his name is dr. woolsmith

Is he a PhD or an MD -- or something else? Maybe a PsychD?

[Webgoji]

Now remember, snakes like cold. You should keep him in the freezer. Why else do they hunt mice? 'Cause they make little snake stoles out of them!

Also, when he gets big, let him out at night. He'll like to sleep in the bed with you. Don't worry if he wants to hug you, it's just a little squeeze.

Yes sometimes i wake up in the middle of the night cos he is sliding into bed with me. Then i get ready to sleep again and he starts snoring.