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 #1741554


Angelo
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 Gopher snake the first?

my local pet shop has a large , i would say 5’+, sonoran gopher snake for $49 and it looks in good health because it has no scars or anything like that and they’ve had it around 3-4 years. i was thinking of getting it for my first snake. i was thinking of getting a corn, but i need some more experienced help on which one would be better.
05/20/08  06:08pm

 #1741888


JackAsp
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   Message To: Angelo   In reference to Message Id: 1741554


 Gopher snake the first?

Except for being bigger, I see no problem with opting for the gopher. Corns are a little more likely to bite, more likely to escape, harder to find when they escape because they’re smaller, and just generally strike me as having less personality.
05/20/08  10:49pm

 #1748755


Animalkingdom92
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   Message To: JackAsp   In reference to Message Id: 1741888


 Gopher snake the first?

I think Gophers would be an excellent choice. i have one, good temperment, easy to take care of, and are easy to find if they escape ( personal experience) lol.


good luck
05/27/08  11:30pm

 #1749837


The_Thunderer
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   Message To: Animalkingdom92   In reference to Message Id: 1748755


 Gopher snake the first?

I’ve got a different POV. While I do agree that the corn snake is more likely to escape and be difficult to find, I have yet to find a corn snake that would strike. Doesn’t happen with any of the dozens or so that I’ve had and held.

That being said, I see absolutely nothing wrong with getting the gopher snake first -- PROVIDED that it is a relatively tame animal. You mentioned that it is a 5 foot snake. If it is indeed a tame one, it would be AWESOME... quite impressive for a first snake. If it is not a tame one, then you might have some issues and a bite from that one, while it might be minor, can draw some blood.

My advice... go to the store and ask to see it and hold it. IF they are apprehensive about holding it and getting it out to show you how to hold it, etc. then there may be problems and they might be hiding something. If they are quick to get it out and get you used to holding it... then GO FOR IT!!!

Good luck on this!! Let us know what happens.
05/29/08  01:29am

 #1755595


Angelo
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   Message To: The_Thunderer   In reference to Message Id: 1749837


 Gopher snake the first?

well, i got the cornsnake, i couldn’t find room for the gopher, but he’s still there. hopfully one day i can get him.
06/08/08  10:52pm

 #1756120


Wisema2297
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   Message To: Angelo   In reference to Message Id: 1755595


 Gopher snake the first?

Can you get and post a pic of it. 5 ft long and only $49 leads me to believe that it is wild caught. There is nothing wrong with wild caughts and seeing that you are in Kansas I would be skeptical about it being a gopher. Are they 100% sure that it is not a bull? If they are sure can you ask them how they know? Either way, if it handles well and eats well what difference does it make unless you wanted to breed it? I would buy it in a heart beat if it was wild caught!!
06/09/08  04:57pm

 #1760901


Angelo
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   Message To: Wisema2297   In reference to Message Id: 1756120


 Gopher snake the first?

well like i said in my original post, they had for 3-4 years, if not more. i think the price when it first got here was $70 or something. it takes up a lot of space.
06/14/08  05:00pm

 #1777401


Glug33
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   Message To: Angelo   In reference to Message Id: 1741554


 Gopher snake the first?

Go with the corn snake. Gopher snakes are freakin’ psycotic. I have one thats about 4 1/2 feet. I had him since he was tiny. The older he gets the wilder he gets. He ’s not at all mean.He’s very nice once you get him out and he goes wild flailing around and trying to race away for about 5 minutes. Then he calms down and is very cool. However... when trying to feed this guy---WATCH OUT! Everytime you open the lid, he thinks its feeding time. Even though he gets two small rats every week, he will attack anything that moves, sometimes launching out of the tank striking. He bit me 3 times last feeding,almost got me in the face. Don’t get me wrong,I love this guy! But I’ve had him since he was a baby and he’s still crazy! That 5 footer in the store is probably just like him. Corn snakes are waaaayyy more mellow than Gophers.
06/29/08  09:28am

 #1778279


JackAsp
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   Message To: Glug33   In reference to Message Id: 1777401


 Gopher snake the first?

LOL. I can picture that. One of my pines was the same way. Bucket feeding solved the problem. Snake goes to food. Food does not go to snake. Granted, some snakes aren’t trigger-happy enugh to mistake your hand for a rat anyway, but for those that are it’s a lot simpler to just hold the snake above the food, let them go in after it, then put them back home when they start peeking out again.

Only catch is you can’t give him a refill in the bucket, or he’ll continue to get overexcited about you approaching him, and you’ve got the same exact problem in a different part of the room. If he’s eating dead then you can put both in there. If he’s eating live then you might have to use two buckets for a while, each one with a rat in it. Hold him above, let him grab one, untangle the back half of him from your arm, leave him in with the rat, then when he’s ready he’ll go into the other bucket.

Fortunately, once you’ve got them eating out of the "dish" it’s a lot easier to teach them to take dead food. Often all it takes is putting a live rat and dead rat in the same bucket, letting the snake go in, and leaving him to go crazy on them. Or... use two buckets/boxes/tanks/whatever, let him switch from one to the other on his own, and let him fall out of the habit of expecting hands to bring food. They’re great snakes. They don’t have to be crazy. But if he expects rats to be brought to him, and they keep getting brought to him, then he’s probably going to stay that way until he figures out a different pattern.
06/30/08  01:18am

 #1793368


Glug33
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   Message To: JackAsp   In reference to Message Id: 1778279


 Gopher snake the first?

Good idea! Once I gave this guy 2 live rat pups at the same time, he grabbed one and wrapped him up,the other walked by and he slammed him up against the glass with the rest of his body and killed them both simultanously! Thats why his name is Mr. K (as in Killer!)
07/13/08  06:45am

 #1800091


JackAsp
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   Message To: Glug33   In reference to Message Id: 1793368


 Gopher snake the first?

In the wild, they’ll actually go down into burrows and use different body segments to constrict different rodents in different sections at the same time. Granted, "constrict" may be not be the ideal word for "press against the burrow wall because they’re too fat to coil up down there," but Pits are nothing if not versatile.
07/17/08  11:11pm

 #1820467


Matt Chandler
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   Message To: JackAsp   In reference to Message Id: 1800091


 Gopher snake the first?

I would of went with the gopher of course. I currently have a 6’ long cape gopher snake and he is calm. He sleeps in my bed during the dayand when I do go to pic him up he is pretty calm til you hold him for like a little less than 30 minutes and he hisses lightly to let you know that he is tired of you. I got him for 50 dollars at the reptile store and no need for heat lamp either, my room is always hot and the sun shines through in the afternoon.
08/05/08  12:12pm

 #2066809


Kalleigh
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   Message To: Matt Chandler   In reference to Message Id: 1820467


 Gopher snake the first?

he sleeps in your bed during the day??? doesnt he try to escape? i have a baby three month old gopher snake and he would be gone in a second if i put him in my bed.
09/02/09  06:04pm


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