Bull Snake
Pituophis catinefer sayi
DESCRIPTION
The Bull Snake is so called because of the impressive snorting sound it makes when under threat. This snake is a large, impressive and powerful constrictor from the prairie lands and plains of Central USA where it hunts rodents and birds (including their eggs).
The Bull Snake grows to an average length of 6 feet but has been known to exceed this by 2 -3 feet making it one of the largest North American snakes.
This snake is an egg laying species.
HOUSING
An enclosure measuring 48”x24”x24” is suitable for housing a Bull Snake. A large wooden vivarium with sliding glass doors is suitable for this species. You should be able to acquire a vivarium in the size previously stated from most shops that deal in reptiles. If you have a particularly large Bull Snake (8-9ft) you may need to have one custom made, or construct your own if you have the knowhow.
Juvenile Bull Snakes can be kept in an enclosure measuring 24”x12”x12” until they exceed about 3 feet in length. Housing juvenile Bull Snakes in a smaller enclosure helps them feel more safe and secure and makes the snake easier to care for as it matures.
The humidity of your Bull Snake enclosure should be kept at 50% to 60%. Unless you live in an especially humid or dry area this level of humidity is easily achieved.
A layer of dry absorbant substrate such as aspen bedding (wood shavings) should line the floor of your Bull Snakes enclosure. Alternatively you can simply line the floor with newspaper. Cheap, easily replaced when soiled but a less attractive substrate. Another option is astroturf. Buy two pieces. One can replace the soiled one while the other is being washed ready for the next change.
1 or 2 hiding spots should be provided in your Bull Snakes enclosure or vivarium. Specially made hides for reptiles are readily available for purchase or you could make one at home from items such as ice-cream tubs, cereal boxes, plastic piping etc.) The hides should be just large enough for your snake to squeeze in to. Large pieces of bark make attractive natural hides but are more difficult to keep clean.
A large and sturdy water bowl should be available in the coolest part of the enclosure, and should be just large enough for your Bull Snake to bathe in, although this doesn't happen often with Bull Snakes.
A climbing branch can be included in your Bull Snake setup but is not essential for this mainly terrestrial snake.
HEATING, LIGHTING AND TEMPERATURE
Bull Snakes do well at daytime temperatures varying from 28 to 30 degrees centigrade at one end of the enclosure and 21 to 23 degrees centigrade at the other. Overall temperatures can be allowed to drop 5 or 6 degrees at night
A thermal gradient for your snake can be easily achieved by placing a heat mat under only half of the enclosure, leaving the other half cool. All heating equipment must be controlled by a thermostat to maintain the correct temperatures for your Bull Snake. Always follow the instructions that come with your heating equipment as these occasionally vary between manufacturers. Ceramic heat emitters are also useful for heating the air in larger cages in combination with a small (23” x 11”appx) under tank heater at the far end of the enclosure for basking. As long as the correct thermal gradient is achieved for your Bull Snake the type of heating is a matter of choice providing it is safe, easily controlled and allows your Bull Snake to thermoregulate.
Lighting should be turned off at night. An inexpensive timer can be used to do the job for you. These can be bought from most hardware stores.
FEEDING
Bull Snakes can be fed roughly every 8-10 days (5-7 days for juveniles) or after defecation. 1 or 2 food items roughly the same diameter as the snake at mid body can be offered to your Bull with forceps or simply left on the floor in the warm end of the vivarium. The amount of food fed to your Bull Snake should be just enough to leave a small bulge on your snake.
Food items for the Bull Snake can include appropriately sized rats, mice, gerbils or chicks.
Mice, rats and chicks can be bought frozen from pet shops that deal in reptiles and can be thawed out for your snake when required.
SEX
To be sure of the sex of your Bull Snake it will need to be 'popped' at a young age or 'probed' when it is older. If you are unfamiliar with these methods of sexing you should take your pet Bull snake to a vet to be sexed rather than attempting it yourself. It is worth asking your vet if you can do it yourself under his/her guidance so that you are familiar with the technique and can do it yourself in the future.
There are only minor visible differences between the male and female Bull Snake. A male Bull Snakes tail will generally be longer and thicker at the base where it houses the sex organs (hemipenes).
HANDLING
Adult Bull snakes are large and very strong constrictors and should not be handled by small children.
Despite the Bull Snakes reputation for aggression, with regular gentle handling they can grow in to reasonably calm and handleable adults. It should be noted that the impressive and intimidating threat display used by the Bull snake, including snorting and forming its body into an s-shaped striking position is largely bluff and the Bull Snake would much rather avoid violent confrontation.
GENERAL MAINTENANCE
Your Bull Snakes enclosure should be spot checked for faeces on a daily basis and cleaned out completely with a reptile-safe disinfectant at least once a month. All cage furniture should also be disinfected at this time and the substrate should be changed.
A good cheap disinfectant is a solution of household bleach and water at a ratio of 4% bleach and 96% water. This can be sprayed and then wiped off the vivarium and cage furniture. It is very important that everything is then rinsed thoroughly with water and then allowed to dry before returning your Bull Snake to its enclosure.
Cleanliness is an essential part of Bull Snake care.
Your snake should be given fresh water at least twice weekly.
BREEDING
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Your Bullsnakes should be healthy and at least 2 years of age to breed.
1) Pre-breeding conditioning--At the start of december cease feeding your Bull Snakes for two weeks so that their guts are completely empty.
2)Reduce the overall temperature slowly over two weeks until it is down to 13-14 degrees centigrade and reduce daylight hours to 8hrs a day.
3)Keep at this temperature for two months without feeding or handling your snakes. Change the water and check on your Bull Snakes health once a week but otherwise don't disturb. This type of winter cooling is known as brumation and should only be implemented with healthy snakes. 4)After 8-10 weeks you can slowly raise the temperature and increase lighting over two weeks until back to normal at which point you can start feeding your Bull Snakes again.
5)After your female has shed her first skin of the year you can place the two Bull Snakes together for a few hours every few days and if you are lucky they will mate. If the male is interested in the female snake he will slide over her back and flick his tongue rapidly. He may also grab hold of her neck and this is nothing to be concerned about.
6)After succesful copulation is achieved the two snakes can be placed back in their own enclosures.
7)5-20 eggs about the size of a small hens egg will be laid 1 to 2 months after mating. An extra hide box filled with damp sphagnum moss or vermiculite should be readied as a place for the female Bull snake to lay her eggs.
8)The eggs can be incubated half buried in damp vermiculite (1 part water/2 parts vermiculite, in weight) in a plastic container with only a few tiny air holes at a temperature of 26-28 degrees centigrade and 90 to 100% humidity until hatched. The eggs must stay the same way up as they were laid. Eggs should hatch within 2-3 months of laying. Once the juvenile Bull Snake has broken its shell it may decide to stay inside for several hours; sometimes more than a day.
9)Once your baby Bull Snakes are out of their shells they should be moved in to their own separate enclosures lined with paper towels and a small water bowl and hide. They should start accepting pinkie mice after their first shed.
This is not a guaranteed method of breeding your snakes (nor is any other) and success has been achieved using a variation of methods but all are basically similar to this.
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