Let's Talk Pits...

Pituophis that is

I am not a big-time Pituophis keeper(only have one right now, who is awesome), but since these snakes seem to be one of the most overlooked and underappreciated of the colubrids, I thought I would put up a poll to see which of these loud snakes are crowd favorites.

And I apologize in advance if I leave any species/subspecies out as I am not super familiar with all of the different ones.

Anyway, please vote and post some comments as to why that particular one is your favorite.

And oh yeah, my favorite is the Northern Pine. Nothing can beat a beautiful black and white Northern(of course I don't HAVE one yet, but if anyone knows where I might track one down ). But of course the Black Pines are just great in their own right.

Loud snakes? That got my attention.

I don't have any. My only colubrid is Steve the passive-agressive apricot pueblan.

Brian, they are probably the loudest and most "vocal" group of snakes out there. Big time bluff artists. They will raise up off the ground and emmit the loudest hiss you've ever heard. Mouths open the whole time. And when they strike is the coolest thing. Just before hitting you(most, but not ALL) will close their mouth and "punch" you. I know it sounds goofy, but trust me, I've gotten welts and bruises from large southerns and northerns before and it hurts. But of course there are those that will just flat out bite, and that hurts too. lol

Originally posted by BrianB
Loud snakes? That got my attention.

I don't have any. My only colubrid is Steve the passive-agressive apricot pueblan.

Yeah....they can be loud. And intimidating. An adult Bullsnake in full defensive mode can be a VERY intimidating animal. The wife calls one of my more "vocal" ones "Son of Satan" - I say he's just misunderstood, LOL.

But Bulls tend to calm pretty quickly/easily whether WC or CB. It's been a year since I've even gotten a tail buzz outta my biggest Bull.

I have a small collection (usually about 8-10 animals) and they're all Pits (Bulls and Sonoran Gophers) except for a solitary milk.

The Sonoran's, IMHO, tend to have a more varied temperment. Everything from laid back to extremely feisty/grumpy. I have some that I've never heard hiss and I have 1 that is just as quick to strike (and BITE - not "head-butt") as when I got him.

Dunno why Pits aren't as plentiful/popular as other colubrids in the trade....though I suspect some of it is due to their (largely undeserved) grumpy/nervous reputation. They're also not as blessed (cursed?) with color as the milks/kings/corns so they aren't as "eye catching" as the others when young (talking about "normals" here - not the albino's/amels/aneuy's/Hypo's/etc) and sittin' on the vendors tables at expos/shows/etc. That along with their larg(er) size tends to make 'em less appealing than the others.

A real shame (though perhaps a blessing in disguise as they tend to make dull/ugly looking hybrids so the "designer breeders" tend not to work with 'em). Wonderful, addictive animals. Easy to care for. And just enough of that "prickly" attitude to keep things from getting too dull........

Originally posted by Rob Hill/Geckos Anonymous

Anyway, please vote and post some comments as to why that particular one is your favorite.

And oh yeah, my favorite is the Northern Pine. Nothing can beat a beautiful black and white Northern.... But of course the Black Pines are just great in their own right.

I like the Pines. Unfortunately, in my state, Northern/Southern Pines are illegal to own/collect. I've been looking for just the right pair of Black Pines but haven't found EXACTLY what I'm looking for (I'll know when I see 'em).
But these pale (IMHO) compared to the "Red Bulls" that a few pit breeders have been coming up with lately. Not a hypo or other genetic variant but a screamin' red "normal" patterned Bull. Finding an outstanding pair (or even a single one) of these is my current interest.

I just got my first pit this week. She is an incredible looking deppei deppei she is just starting to color up. She hisses a little but is pretty mellow when I pick her up

Charlie, they are illegal here where I live too, probably just a few miles from you.lol However, I am working on getting my permits for indigenous non-venomous so I can keep a few of the nifty native snakes here in GA.

But I will agree with you that the red bulls are pretty impressive, however I do have to say that outside of the northern and black pine, a nice light colored normal bull is hard to beat

Originally posted by Rob Hill/Geckos Anonymous
s... However, I am working on getting my permits for indigenous non-venomous
..... however I do have to say that outside of the northern and black pine, a nice light colored normal bull is hard to beat

Yep. Love the "normals". I have a long term breeding project with a trio of triple-het Sonorans (actually only a pair - the third is an unknown WC female). Hope to get maybe a nice Hypo out of 'em in a few years but any lbino/amels/anys I get out of 'em I'll 'prolly have a clearance sale/giveaway on 'em - the non-"normals" just don't hold my interest much. Would rather have a room full of plain 'ol brown/tan Bulls than a single outstanding genetic variant that's all the rage these days. Just weird that way I guess, LOL.

BTW, you aren't the "Rob" with the gecko's at the Ga Herp Soc meeting last month up at Lanier Museum are you? If you are, I was the audience you were talking to (big turnout). <G>

Charlie,

LOL that's me. I'd like to thank everyone for attending, so thank you Charlie, aka everyone. lol

And I'll be perfectly honest, I think all albino Pits are butt ugly with the exception of albino San Diego gophers, that is. Those are nice, but otherwise the rest are not very inviting to me. I'll take the normal Pits anyday!

Originally posted by dave7739
I just got my first pit this week. She is an incredible looking deppei deppei she is just starting to color up. She hisses a little but is pretty mellow when I pick her up

The deppei are nice - both d. deppei and d. jani. I've thought about getting a d.jani one 'o these days - not real common in collections (or breeders).
'Prolly more color in the deppei than most of the other pits but a little harder to find than some. Where'd you get yours?

If you like some color, you should also look at Cape Gophers. Nice brilliant reds - but *warning* they have a rep for being one of the fiestier ssp of pits - real biters, not bluffers. But they sure are 'purdy.