Bullsnake
 

Hello...yep newbie here. This fauna and stuff is all new to me. Not sure if I’m in the right place for this but I’ll give it a shot. I’m about to purchase a small bullsnake and noticed some of the scales on his face are damaged. Will his scales repair back to normal after a few sheds?

Yes, most damaged scales do heal after a couple sheds. If the wound is really bad there may be some scaring.
Good luck with your purchase, Pituophis can be fun to work with.
Chris
B and S Pythons/facebook

Thanks Chris ��

Bullsnakes make good pets...easy to feed pre-killed rodents & easy temperature range to maintain. They do tend to be active (they are active hunters in the wild) so larger cages are helpful, along with substrate they can burrow into. If your cage has a screen top, try to make sure the screen isn't super-abrasive, as many bullsnakes are "pushy" & may rub their noses...their personality makes up for that small drawback, and they grow to an impressive size but are still very manageable. Welcome!

Thanks hotlips. Just got my bullsnake today and was I entertained. He puts on a good show. I’m going to let him mellow out in his new home for a few days. I’m looking forward to taming him down.

He sounds very cool. I miss the bull snakes I used to keep (& I bred a few too).
With all snakes, though, it's more important to let them settle in, not just for a few days, but until they've fed at normal intervals for 2 or 3 times easily. For a snake, eating is "job 1". There's truly no rush to tame them & if you handle them before they feel safe enough to accept food in new surroundings, you might stress them into refusing food for some time, to their detriment. No matter how sassy them seem, they still might refuse food: what you're seeing is defensive striking, not feeding behavior.

For a young snake you can feed one small mouse (what we call a "hopper") about every 6-7 days as long as the snake is warm enough* & digesting ok. (*as you know, they need some UTH warmth in just a portion of their cage; this time of year, it's easy to forget that the amount of A/C we run for OUR comfort can impact our snakes too) Consider that the only thing that picks up a snake in the wild is a predator about to eat them, that's why handling can stress a snake into not eating; just their new surroundings is scary enough. They seem tough (& bull snakes have the 'act' down pat, lol), but snakes are shy. So I know how badly you want to pick him up to tame, but I hope you'll show restraint & patience...always better when they settle in first.

Thanks for the great advice hotlips. I’m planning on feeding him on Sunday and not going to handle him until he feels secure. He’s doing well in his new home and loves his hide. He’s all set with uth/thermostat and all.
Thanks again!

You're well on the way to being a very good snake owner, and I'm glad you joined us here.

Most bulls will do a ton of bluffing at new people and in new places but chill if you mostly leave them alone for a week or 2. Eventually I just get a little tail shake while they continue to lay there when I approach or even pick them up. My husband won't go in the room when I have the bigger ones out though. He only likes the yearling bulls and pines that have no chance of reaching him despite the fact the older ones nearly always aim to miss. :laugh:

Sometimes it seems as if snakes can read minds, lol...as if they know who is comfortable with them and who isn't. I don't believe for a second that they can "smell fear" as some people like to say about snakes (& other animals), yet I can't explain the easy rapport some of us have with our serpent pals, while others have an uphill battle.