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Bloody beautiful! a friend came round with an assortment of goodies to show off, a couple of ferrets (for me), her skunk (yes, americans, a skunk, a de-scented very human friendly one!) and two big adult pine snakes.
wow. very impressive. anyone naturally encounter these hissy things? i bought the female, as i couldnt resist...photos here:
http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t72/james_meehan/ - the snake, the first lot of photos..
Any comments welcome.
James
EDITED: not sure if people could see pics or not..

descented skunks? That almost sounds fun! Although I hope it's done in an comfy and humane way.

Just checked the wiki on the pine, never saw one but I was a bit outside their range, by a few hours. Blue mts of virginia are...ermm were only a 2 hour drive away.

Nice!

^_^

eh....descending skunks is a bit of a controversial (sp?) situation. it is in fact illegal to descent a skunk in the uk...since like last year. however, its not illegal to go to france or holland to have it done, and the operation literally takes minutes, a lot less severe than a castration on a dog. i think the big question is do skunks need their scent...ive always said yes, but now, im 100% positive that captive bred and hand reared(obviously) skunks dont need their sprey as it is only for defense, not for attacking/eating/killing food..
that skunk is so friendly, just like a dog, they really like to interact with people. its good feeding them locusts, too!
That pine snake is a huge hisser, really impressive.
cant wait till feeding time.

My buddy has a pine snake, a bit lighter colored than yours. Nasty little bugger he is....

haha. yeah, they have a rep for being very hissy and bluffy, they often (i say often, ive had her merely 5 hours and already experienced this!) strike just within inches of you mouth wide open..if they wanna hit you they usually can, i find these snakes have a huge striking distance.

They are a magnificent species, worked with quite a few pine and bullsnakes in rescue, primarily because their owners found they bit children and stayed aggressive and they often get to sizes well in excess of a lot of beginners expectations. Those expecting them to be like cornsnakes are in for a nasty suprise!

Personally I found them tameable but it takes firmness, gentleness and patience. They are one of those snakes that usually only accept one primary owner, on the upside though , they are good feeders and tend to make reasonable display animals. I rather like their uncompromising nature. Quite a handful for a fairly slender bodied snake when in a mood though, nearly all the ones I worked with still aggressively constricted even dead prey.They had a real thing for poultry. Still im not surprised that people give them up , having been on the recieving end of a few bites I can honestly say they bite harder than almost any snake of the same build, they can seriously mean it.

Its nice when you do finally get to the point when they trust you and all the hissing and striking stops. Takes some real consistancy in handling and making every effort to avoid provoking them to get them to calm down.

Not exactly a beginners snake but rewarding once youve got it right. Nice buy, no doubt they will hold your fascination for a long time. Not for everyone though.

They are one of those classic snakes that the owner says "hes fine he doesnt bite" only to watch it tear into a vet or fellow herper.lol Theyre intelligent and high strung and their trust has to be earned, but that is kinda what makes owning them rewarding. Its rather nice knowing you have won their trust.

ps , when it does come to feeding time, watch your damn fingers, its a mistake you make only once ! lol.

haha i got tagged when i first held her..moved my hand away too fast. little pinprick marks for me!
Really superb snake, and id say almost the opposite of a corn! lol

can i also state i got it at mates rates, £20!

Awesome... That one looks pretty good for a Northern Pine, but I still say you should have gone with a Gophersnake...

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

well, they're all pits!
She should have some growing left in her, the male was huge, 6.5ft possibly, with minimal hissing/bluffing...shes smaller and certainly more aggressive!