Introducing Dr. Coil

whistlepig · 02-02-17, 10:39 PM

New to the forum. Thought I'd go ahead and introduce Dr. Coil, my Blue Racer. I've had him since August. Despite their unfriendly reputation, he is actually very curious and fun to watch. If anyone has any tips or other important information, please feel free to share.

GyGbeetle · 02-02-17, 10:49 PM

I love his name! He's a beauty

SnoopySnake · 02-02-17, 11:02 PM

Is he captive bred? If not have you successfully switched to captive bred?

**Tsubaki** · 02-03-17, 06:47 AM

Beautiful snake! I think Snoopys 2nd question meant to ask if you successfully switched to frozen/thawed if he wasn't capture bred

eminart · 02-03-17, 07:52 AM

Sweet! I've toyed with the idea of racers. I think they'd be very cool, in the right setup. Keep us updated as he grows.

whistlepig · 02-03-17, 08:03 AM

Thanks GyGbeetle. He is not captive bred, I found him under my desk at work. If Tsubaki is accurate about the second part of your question, than yes, he eats thawed pinkies. That part took a heck of a lot of patience, mainly because he (and I'm guessing racers in general) is an extremely nervous snake and if I moved at all after getting him to capture a pinky, he would drop it an run. He is a voracious eater now though, gets all excited as soon as he sees the tongs come out. I'll keep posting as he grows. Thanks all.

Jim Smith · 02-03-17, 08:13 AM

Pretty boy. I love how they periscope much like Garters.

SnoopySnake · 02-03-17, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whistlepig

Thanks GyGbeetle. He is not captive bred, I found him under my desk at work. If Tsubaki is accurate about the second part of your question, than yes, he eats thawed pinkies. That part took a heck of a lot of patience, mainly because he (and I'm guessing racers in general) is an extremely nervous snake and if I moved at all after getting him to capture a pinky, he would drop it an run. He is a voracious eater now though, gets all excited as soon as he sees the tongs come out. I'll keep posting as he grows. Thanks all.

LOL yes, I meant to ask if you've switched to rodents/frozen thawed. Was curious because I want one myself but they're near impossible to find CB. I have heard they can be pretty difficult.

dave himself · 02-03-17, 10:41 AM

Beautiful snake, please keep us posted with updates

whistlepig · 02-03-17, 10:54 AM

Well Dr. Coil is my first and only snake, so I'm not sure how he compares to "normal" as far as difficulty/switching to frozen thawed. But I'll expand on my experience for comparison. When I got him he was about 12 inches long. I first tried warming a pinky in warm water and leaving it in the cage. No luck. After a few weeks I became concerned and looked around on the internet for ways to feed a snake that won't eat. Finally tried holding/restraining him and offering the pinky and that's how I first got him to eat. It would take around 30 min as every time I moved, he'd stop and wait. Did that a couple of times, then went back to trying to leave the mouse in the cage, figuring he'd gotten a taste for it, no luck. Back to the internet and read about trying to coax him to eat by presenting the mouse and slowly moving it away from him. That was pretty frustrating. At first he was just afraid of me and would start flipping out. When he would become interested and strike, he usually missed, and when he was successful, he would drop it an run as soon as I tried pulling the tongs out of the tank. Finally I just decided to try and remain motionless after he captured it until he was done. That's what finally started working, but the first few times sucked as I would have to stay motionless hunched over the tank for more than hour in some cases. His aim and nervousness improved quickly after the first few tries though and now he anticipates it and he's done eating in less than a minute.

whistlepig · 02-03-17, 10:56 AM

A few more pictures as I figure out how to post them.

TRD · 02-03-17, 12:44 PM

I definitely need to work at where you are working...

GyGbeetle · 02-03-17, 01:20 PM

Dr Coil is awesome! Glad he finally started eating. I know firsthand how frustrating that can be.

whistlepig · 02-03-17, 03:06 PM

Quote:

I definitely need to work at where you are working...

Yeah, we actually do get a lot of snakes in our building, though they are mostly adult black rat snakes.

bigsnakegirl785 · 02-04-17, 11:56 PM

If you found him under your desk I'd personally release him when the weather warms up. He's more useful out in the wild where he could potentially be part of the breeding population.