# My new pet needs a new name (warning; contents include snake) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 1, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331 "2016-11-01T03:05:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/21 "2016-11-01T16:14:50Z")
Wasn’t Linus (Van Pelt) always on the lookout for Queen Snakes? ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/22 "2016-11-01T16:24:12Z")
Hmm… Ekans? (I choose you!) Naah… Some Say she can eat other snakes, and she’s highly resistant to rattlesnake venom… All I know is, I’m probably going to call her The Stig! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/23 "2016-11-01T16:35:21Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > [Ouroboros](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouroboros) > > It is the name of the symbol of a snake eating it’s tail. Who would name a female snake Thulsa Doom? > [@Chronos](#): > > That’s neither a V nor an A; it’s a lambda. Terry Jones: Are you insinuating something? ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/24 "2016-11-01T16:48:15Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Her current tank is a 10 gallon locktop terrarium, to me, it seems too small for her current size, but I do happen to have an unused 20 Long aquarium, I’ll just need a secure top for it, I think she’d like the extra room (30" long, 12" deep, 12" high), I’ll also put some "furniture " in for her as well, a couple sticks/branches to climb, perhaps a second “buried” hidey hole… > > I’ll keep the existing tank as a quarantine/transport/backup tank It makes sense to use what you have, but if you’re looking at getting a new enclosure, I’m a huge fan of those built from [mesh screen](https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Amesh%20reptile%20cage). Not only do they have better airflow, but you can get sizes much larger than would be practical in glass enclosures. I had a 30"x30"x60" enclosure for my 4.5’ boa, arranged vertically because he’s a climber. You just have to make sure the air is warm and humid enough for your critter, but California Kings are not quite as picky as more tropical species might be. (To control temperature, my boa graduated to an under-the-stairs closet with a glass door., 7’ tall, 12’ long, 3’ wide, with a slanted back wall.) With lots of space to move around, they are more active and tend to be leaner and more muscular. I definitely recommend the extra “furniture.” They like lots of things to climb on/under. You don’t have to go with pretty pet store stuff either. I used some spare lumber to create little hidey-holes out of plywood and 2x4. Leave the front and back open and put it up to the glass so the snake feels safe, but you can still see them. These can be stacked up multiple layer high, too. As for names, I’m probably not much help in the creativity department. My first was a garter snake named Herky (short for Hercules, because my preschool had one of the same name), a rescued ball python named Monty, a California rosy boa named Rose, and my current is a Mexican red tail named George (of the Jungle). Given a female king snake, my first though is Queen, unless her behavior reminds you of a particular monarch. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/25 "2016-11-01T17:22:39Z")
Speaking from experience, yes, they will definitely eat other snakes. Mine ate a garter snake, intended as a cage mate, that was almost as big as the king snake. Pounced on it the second it hit the cage floor. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/26 "2016-11-01T17:22:50Z")
I like Lamba, and Cali (get it). ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/27 "2016-11-01T17:28:33Z")
Nagaina. ---
**Author:** ![slightly\_askew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@slightly\_askew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slightly_askew)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/28 "2016-11-01T17:48:58Z")
She’s a beauty. Have to say, she looks like a Brenda to me. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/29 "2016-11-01T19:17:22Z")
She’s not the Stig, she is The Stig’s Reptlian Cousin… Okay, experienced herpetoligists, a few questions I may have missed in the care book she came with… How can you tell when she’s hungry and ready to feed? Cats and dogs can tell you with vocalisations and body language, snakes are harder for me to read right now In addition to her standard mouse diet, what other treats are appropriate? Eggs (I have two bantam hens in the flock that lay small eggs) hard boiled or raw? Crickets? Feeder goldfish? Night crawlers (I know garter snakes can eat worms and small fish, logically a Kingsnake could too) I’m planning on using carefresh bedding (shredded recycled paper) but also have access to other bedding material like hay (50 acres of hay fields at home) and dried fall leaves (maple mainly) these beddings have the advantages of being free 😉 I’d mainly use carefresh though, although I do have a huge bag of Green Fiber recycled paper insulation, which seems to be nothing more than Carefresh with a flame retardent Borax (Boric acid) coating, is Borax dangerous to reptiles? Greenfiber insulation works great as model rocket recovery wadding, its biodegradable and flame resistant, decomposes rapidly to wood fibers and borax (plant fertilizer) when exposed to water ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/30 "2016-11-01T19:52:00Z")
Female? Samantha Samantha L Jackson ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/31 "2016-11-01T19:52:57Z")
I think you nailed it in the first post - Fluffy! ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/32 "2016-11-01T19:56:50Z")
Hey, I learned stuff! 🙂 How about Festina Lente. She moves only as slowly as she wants to. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/33 "2016-11-01T21:36:26Z")
Since you mentioned Mr. Cooper, here’s more Alice-themed suggestions from his songs… Former Lee Warmer Cold Ethyl Dwight Fry Halo Juju Rosetta Jackknife Baloney Wind-up Toy Lullaby Sentinel Sister Sara Novocain Jesse Jane ---
**Author:** ![stolatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@stolatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolatt)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/34 "2016-11-01T21:47:09Z")
Sheba, though I have no idea why. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/35 "2016-11-01T23:35:47Z")
She looked hungry tonight, so I thawed a frozen mouse for her… She’s a very good feeder, I had lowered it about half into the tank, intending on placing it on top of her rock hide she was laying next to… As soon as she saw the mouse, WHAM! A solid strike, she grabbed it from midair (guess she _was_ hungry after all…) I then watched in fascination as she unhinged her jaws, and slowly shoved her meal down her throat, the actual eating took about 3-4 minutes, and once the meal was inside, it was amazing how quickly she pushed it down to her stomach… There were a couple drops of mouse blood on the edges of her jaws, and it surprised me when she, very daintily, wiped her mouth on the side of the rock hide, using it as an impromptu napkin. Amusingly, moments after wiping her mouth, she glanced over at Cooper, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she was thinking “he looks tasty too…” She had a kind of hungry look in her eyes, as if she wanted something more substantial than a large frozen mouse. (Good thing Cooper is far too big for her to eat, she’s lucky he doesn’t think she’s a chew toy, honestly.) After that mischievous glance, she happily slithered into her hide to start digesting her meal. I imagine once I set up the 20 Long for her, she’ll be extatic with the additional room and furniture to play on ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/36 "2016-11-01T23:38:49Z")
How about Vanesssssssssssssssssa? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/37 "2016-11-02T20:32:02Z")
Severus Snake. I had a friend with a king snake that he named Elvis, but this is a female - how about Priscilla? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/38 "2016-11-02T21:23:59Z")
Mojo. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/39 "2016-11-02T21:32:09Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > How can you tell when she’s hungry and ready to feed? Cats and dogs can tell you with vocalisations and body language, snakes are harder for me to read right now Not a herpetologist, but long-time snake owner. Here’s the wisdom I’ve observed and been taught. I would keep an eye on your particular critter and watch for her behavioral cues, but from the snakes I’ve owned, you usually see this pattern: 1. Fat and lazy: They need three days to a week to digest a meal and probably won’t move much during that time. 2. Active hunting: After digesting, they start a little active hunting for a week or two, getting a little more active as they get hungrier. Ideally, you want to feed them during this stage. (So big meals every 1.5 to 3 weeks is probably optimal). 3. Passive hunting: If they’re not finding food, they go into a passive mode of inactivity, basically hoping that prey will wander by. They’ll alternate between periods of passive and active behavior every couple of weeks. This can last a very long time; literally months. My rescue python went 11 months without eating and was so far gone at that point that I had to force feed him baby food through a tube for two months until he started taking interest in regular food. 4. Brumation: This is a little like hibernation. Snakes that live in cold climates will generally stop eating for a few months in the winter and become very still. They still need water every few days, but might reject food. If you keep your snake warm enough and with consistent lighting, it might not go into this phase at all. > [@](#): > > In addition to her standard mouse diet, what other treats are appropriate? Eggs (I have two bantam hens in the flock that lay small eggs) hard boiled or raw? Crickets? Feeder goldfish? Night crawlers (I know garter snakes can eat worms and small fish, logically a Kingsnake could too) You’ll just have to see. Captive snakes often eat what they’re used to even if wild snakes would go after a more varied diet. The rescued ball python (notoriously picky eaters anyway) would eat mice, but not rats (not even small rats), perhaps because of a smell difference. My current boa would probably eat anything of the proper size that moved, but he prefers gerbils to mice or rats. (Seriously. He’ll spend an hour patiently stalking mice, but gerbils are gone in minutes). I’ve never had luck with my snakes taking to frozen or dead prey, so that’s one area where you’re in luck. In any event, snakes have pretty simple brains. They’re smart in their own way, but I don’t think they get bored the same way a mammal might. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331/40 "2016-11-02T23:53:44Z")
Kingsnakes may eat eggs but I doubt your snake will ever be big enough to eat a chicken egg from the grocery. I also don’t think they would be able to eat a broken chicken egg. I think the eggs in a kingsnakes diet would be smaller wild bird and reptile eggs. Snakes are set up to swallow stuff whole and I don’t think they have the ability to lap up liquid or semi liquid egg stuff. That said, I’ve been wrong about plenty of snake stuff in the past and will be happy to be corrected. On second thought, if they can drink water maybe they can eat eggs that have been broken. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pet-needs-a-new-name-warning-contents-include-snake/770331.md?page=3)