| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| eyeball |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 12:20:08
So, after all the excellent help provided in my last thread, I've got another question that might provoke a little debate.
My good lady wife works part time at a wildlife park and was chatting to the head keeper of the reptiles and mentioned that we were thinking of getting a Royal. He thought that in general they were excellent starter snakes (phew!) and hadn't really ever heard of one that was very aggressive.
He went on to mention that we may want to consider a snake that was a couple of years old as it would be established in its feeding regime and less difficult to feed in general than a hatchling may be.
So, now we're on the horns of a dilemma. If we were to get a Royal (we're going back to have another look at them this weekend!) what should we go for, a hatchling or something a little older?
On the one hand, we don't intend to start a large collection (stop laughing!) so getting a Juvenile would mean missing out on rearing it from the start but on the other, we would save ourselves the potential problems of a snake that won't feed early on.
What would be the group opinion on getting a hatchling? Good or bad idea? How likely is it that a hatchling would not feed?
Thanks! |
| 19 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| diamond royal |
Posted - 04/10/2012 : 22:48:18
blood pythons, now they are a whole different kettle of fish from ball pythons.... |
| Ads |
Posted - 03/10/2012 : 18:50:18
Agreed, we got 2 young royals about a year ago and havent looked back we are picking our young blood python up this weekend  |
| diamond royal |
Posted - 03/10/2012 : 17:32:09
iccle baby royal everythime... |
| Baobab |
Posted - 22/09/2012 : 19:45:17
Sounds like a good shop. You definitely won't regret getting a royal. |
| eyeball |
Posted - 22/09/2012 : 19:39:52
Well, we had a great visit to tails n Scails today and handled all three of their Royals. They were all lovely and mooched about on our arms as placid as you like. We had a good chat with the guys and were very impressed with how they run things.
They won't release a hatchling to a new owner until its settled down and taken at least three feeds from them. The owner, Dan, is happy for us to visit the shop as much as we like to handle and get used to the snakes and has offered to let us feed their Royals so we get used to the experience.
We've had a good chat about it and will keep on studying so we know what we're doing (hopefully!!) but we're both in agreement that a Royal is the snake for us!!
All we've got to do now is choose one!!! |
| BlueDragon |
Posted - 22/09/2012 : 09:44:36
I agree, get a baby. For your first Snake I think it's important to be able to build a relationship from early on, to get to know eachother and be able to create that early bond. There tend to be a few less problems with babies, and you don't need to worry about fasting. Also I think baby Royals tend to stress less and so they'll adapt quicker to the move and new suroundings, atmosphere, smells, routenes etc. An older Snake might stress easily and this could cause fasting, bad sheds etc to deal with which for a new owner can be very stressful.
Get a baby. Build a strong bond with eachother. Learn about eachother.
...and then find room for more, 'cause beleive me there are plenty of people on here who all had the intention of just having the one Royal! ; ) |
| jonoandapril |
Posted - 22/09/2012 : 09:40:53
iv had all mine, except the fire from hatchies. wouldnt change it for the world. never had feeding problems until they started getting to that randy stage. go with a hatchie id say, even if its just because their less intimidating for first time owners. make sure you get them from somewhere with decent experience tho so you know for a fact they've had the correct amount of feeds and have been looked after. |
| diamond royal |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 22:51:23
deffo get yourself a little baby, i find that a hatchling can be a bit nippy, but as previously stated, a reputable breeder will only let it go once its had at least 3 feeds in a row, and hopefully by this time, not nippy.
dont missunderstand me, i dont mean they all bite, but in my experiance of them from out the egg, and some morphs are worse that others, i think calicos the worst, some seem to be a bit more headstrong than others..
but there is nothing cuter than a iccle baby royal.
|
| acd1984 |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 21:29:22
Personally the younger the better, so long as they are eating fine. the reason for this is that, if you have a snake from a hatchling you have more influence over its temperament compared to say a yearling or older.
2 of my royals at about the same age: the one i brought up (so to speak)is so laid back, calm and trust worthy. where as the one i bought as a yearling (although tame), is more jumpy and tense when handling |
| reptilemadd |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 20:09:23
I've got a female (Ariadne) who likes her food a lot!!! she has been known to even try and eat my hand once or twice lol (there are even pic's on here to prove it), I've had her from two months old and up till now has never missed a beat food wise, But Kelf got a young pinstripe female who is on and off with her food, so I think it's more down to the personality of the snake as too weather they fast or not, but as you won't know what their personality is like till you get one, choose which you would prefer, baring in mind a couple of things, at some point they will fast and scare the hell out of you cause you can't understand how they can go that long without food, and no matter what you say one is just never ENOUGH lol..  |
| Fezza |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 19:18:58
I'd go with an established animal tbh, as I stated in your other thread. It just gives you a bit of breathing room as and when they decide to go off food. Save your stress levels |
| kizzy |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 16:42:42
My rescue one eats really well at the mo but then he was very poorly when i hin got under weight and had a bad ri now he thinks every thing is food even my hand!!hoping to get a female hatchling very soon!! |
| eyeball |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 15:41:33
Hmm, so hatchlings reach sexual maturity at around a year then? And when they hit that they can stop eating periodically. Kinda like a snakey teenager. |
| ajokocha |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 14:55:02
One is never enough lol. I only got my first royal last December, now I have 3 and I'm getting a boa next week. Tis a powerful addiction lol |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 14:53:44
I'd tend to disagree and say that younger snakes are easier with feeding, in my experience they generally don't start fasting until they're old enough to do it properly. |
| kizzy |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 14:44:50
I have a rescue that is about a year i think didnt really get much info when we got him.he is wicked but i really want a hatchling.as some one on here told me one is not enough!!! |
| Baobab |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 14:27:32
If your not going to be impatient to start breeding, I think you'd get more enjoyment from a young one that's an established feeder, at least 5 (feeds not years). A far as I can tell from previous posts the feeding problems don't usually start until they are a year or so old which is breeding time related or they just have sporadic fasts which doesn't seem to do them any harm, just worries the owner until they start feeding again.
If you go for an older royal it may decide to start fasting on you anyway,, even if it has been behaving up to you taking ownership, then you'd miss out on all those baby pictures. |
| konrad1982 |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 13:57:19
Bare in mind it is very addictive hobby and I'm telling you now - if you get one you will get more snakes. So being realistic I would say, definitely get a female. Something in between 250-350g. And if possible get a morph - I don't need to explain why :) |
| ajokocha |
Posted - 21/09/2012 : 12:44:11
Hello, they are excellent starter snakes, all of my 3 royals were bought as hatchlings, as I love to watch them develope. Any reputable breeder/seller would make sure they were feeding properly before letting them go. And good luck on keeping your collection small lol :) |
