Found in Iowa... not by me :(

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Don Becker
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Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by Don Becker »

A local has a den of fox snakes in his basement, and noticed this one was different, so he dropped it off at the local nature center. Got an email via a listserv asking if anyone wanted this snake before they released it. Someone beat me to it though.

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Jon Wedow
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by Jon Wedow »

That's awesome!
hellihooks
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by hellihooks »

Wow... a Fox Snake you actually could give away... :lol: :lol:
pretty cool looking, though... :thumb: jim
rtdunham
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by rtdunham »

the local nature center should be reminded to advise the person who took it that if paired with one of its sibs, there'd be a good chance the morph would replicate.
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peterknuteberg
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by peterknuteberg »

Very cool looking Fox snake. I hope this one gets into a breeding program as suggested above.
Zach_Lim
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by Zach_Lim »

As I am quite ignorant about ratsnakes, are Fox snakes still Elaphe? Or have they been thrown in with the North American Pantherophis?

Also, stunning specimen. At first glance, I thought I was looking at a hoggie.
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Don Becker
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by Don Becker »

They are Pantherophis, though some sources have them in Mintonius
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Chris Smith
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by Chris Smith »

Nice! Another albino foxsnake! Do you know who got it?

-Chris
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muskiemagnet
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by muskiemagnet »

can you say "totally sh!?*tty!" i can. stupid stupid stupid. what a dumb snake. he he, don knows.

helihooks, not sure what you are implying about foxes, but they are one heck of a beautiful snake.

-ben
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Mattlesnake King
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by Mattlesnake King »

I am shocked no one has asked this yet, but what are the details around this guy's basement? Does he have visible fox snakes in it every winter? Garters too? If so does he tolerate them well? It would seem so if he picked this one up for the nature center. Really cool regardless. I love fox snakes, but have never gotten to visit their range. Maybe I will seek out a CB pair one day.

Thanks for sharing!
Matt King

Edited for iPad typing errors.
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Don Becker
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by Don Becker »

All he told the nature center was that fox snakes spend the winter in his basement. He didn't provide any details about how many or how visible they are. He did say he's used to them being there, and they don't bother him at all.
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Mattlesnake King
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by Mattlesnake King »

Cool! Thanks.
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beemaster
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by beemaster »

Mattlesnake King wrote:Maybe I will seek out a CB pair one day.
I got a CB pair a couple of years ago and am very glad I did. I've found them to be kitten tame, alert, active, curious, and very fascinating captives (not to mention complete garbage disposals for leftover rodents on feeding day). Unfortunately, however, I was keeping the cage in a common area for a while... someone eventually knocked the top loose and the female escaped. She's been gone for about 7 months now. I'd love to get that male another female, so if you find anyone producing westerns, please shoot me a PM!

One warning, though... these guys are messy. They defecate two or three times as often as your typical corn snake and the odor their urates produce is rather odd and pungent, sort of fishy like Nerodia. To be perfectly honest, they are the stinkiest snakes I've ever kept. I absolute love them, though, and have no idea why captive propagation of this species isn't more popular.
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Don Becker
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by Don Becker »

They defecate two or three times as often as your typical corn snake and the odor their urates produce is rather odd and pungent, sort of fishy like Nerodia.
Me thinks at least one of your snakes had parasites. The fox snakes I have worked with never smelled any more than any other rat snake I have worked with.
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justinm
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by justinm »

My Fox snake doesn't smell any worse than any other snake. He will eat anything like you said and crap a lot, but he's otherwise a good boy. I'm hoping to rehome him to a nature center that has expressed needing one. He will be good for education.
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by hellihooks »

muskiemagnet wrote: helihooks, not sure what you are implying about foxes, but they are one heck of a beautiful snake.

-ben
You can't give them away, here in Ca. I had a cb pair... hatched out several clutches... nobody wanted them. Literally.... I could not give them away... :roll: personally... I like them just fine. :beer: jim
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gbin
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by gbin »

For a while in my youth I kept a fox snake that I caught in southeastern MN. I feel as if I recall an unusual odor associated with the snake, but not a particularly bad one. One thing I remember vividly is its very nasty disposition. I always thought it had a right to be so unpleasant, though, as it had obviously had a tough life in the wild; a good portion of its tail was missing, it had a misshapen and scarred face and various seemingly newer and older scars all up and down its body, as if it had somehow survived not one but a series of serious injuries over its years. A snake only a herper could love! I agree that ordinarily they're a beautiful species, though.

Gerry
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-EJ
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by -EJ »

I'm pretty sure there was a thread on the FHF about a basement that was used as a major denning site in the winter for fox snakes. That is really cool. I'll bet the guy is kicking himself in the arse as he learns more about what he had...
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beemaster
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by beemaster »

psyon wrote:
They defecate two or three times as often as your typical corn snake and the odor their urates produce is rather odd and pungent, sort of fishy like Nerodia.
Me thinks at least one of your snakes had parasites. The fox snakes I have worked with never smelled any more than any other rat snake I have worked with.
I doubt it's a parasite thing; I'm forced to clean in there twice a week on average and there's never been anything funny in their waste (I regularly checked when I first got them). Not to rule out smaller parasites, of course. It's entirely possible they might have been carrying something microscopic that I wouldn't have noticed. I think it's more likely that they (or at least the male) release small amounts of musk when they defecate. Fox snake musk is well documented as having an odd and pungent odor not unlike what I described. Unfortunately (or perhaps VERY fortunately :D), neither of mine ever musked me so I can't make a direct comparison.
-EJ wrote:I'm pretty sure there was a thread on the FHF about a basement that was used as a major denning site in the winter for fox snakes. That is really cool. I'll bet the guy is kicking himself in the arse as he learns more about what he had...
I read a similar article about a house that had large amounts of fox snakes denning in the attic on a yearly basis. I can't remember if the house was being lived in at the time. Pretty sure it was in Wisconsin, but not 100%.
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beemaster
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by beemaster »

Found the article, and boy did I remember it wrong; they didn't winter in the attic, they went up there to warm up in the spring. Also, the house was in Illinois, not Wisconsin. Great article, though!

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006 ... corn-house
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muskiemagnet
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by muskiemagnet »

gbin wrote:For a while in my youth I kept a fox snake that I caught in southeastern MN. I feel as if I recall an unusual odor associated with the snake, but not a particularly bad one. One thing I remember vividly is its very nasty disposition. I always thought it had a right to be so unpleasant, though, as it had obviously had a tough life in the wild; a good portion of its tail was missing, it had a misshapen and scarred face and various seemingly newer and older scars all up and down its body, as if it had somehow survived not one but a series of serious injuries over its years. A snake only a herper could love! I agree that ordinarily they're a beautiful species, though.

Gerry
they can be mean buggers all right. i picked one up last week from a shoe store, and this one will not calm down. usually they do, but not this one. i'm waiting for warmer weather to release it. i have found that they calm down quickly though. as far as having them for pets, i recommend handling them regularly. no one minds getting bit once in a while, but the musk is another issue.

-ben
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Don Becker
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Re: Found in Iowa... not by me :(

Post by Don Becker »

-EJ wrote:That is really cool. I'll bet the guy is kicking himself in the arse as he learns more about what he had...
He couldn't legally keep it in captivity or breed it anyways.
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