Watching the website stats, I see what search strings land people here. Here is a short list of suggestions to help those in search of more information on Bull Snake care and feeding.
A Bull Snake is not a good beginner snake in general. You may acquire one of the really well behaved ones, however you really do not find that out until it is settled into its habitat. Alice is a good example. When I bought her at the local Repticon event, she was curled up inside one of those clear butter bowl containers you typically see them kept in at such events. She was handled by the breeder and myself there without a single tail rattle or hiss. After getting her home and set up in her habitat, I could tell there was more taming to do. Most likely her initial calmness was due to the cooler temps in the building where I bought her. Once she was warmed up to normal levels for her species, she was more likely to give warnings like tail rattles and some hissing. I have owned snakes before and am comfortable with her moodiness.
Read several Bull Snake care sheets. On the right side of the page under Blogroll, you will see links to a few of the care sheets I have used to guide me with Alice. A quick Google, Yahoo, whatever search will turn up several others to read through. Of the many suggestions you will find on those sheets is to give the snake something they can burrow in. I am thrilled with aspen shavings for the odor control as well as the fact that Alice seems to really enjoy tunneling through it.
Bull Snakes are generally good eaters. I could easily over feed Alice. It is every bit the health risk to over feed your pet snake as it is in humans. Follow the suggestions in the care sheets and do not try to “force” growth by over feeding. At the time of this writing, Alice is around 3.5 feet long and one year old. I am feeding her 2 mice about the same diameter as her largest body area every 7 days or so (no noticeable lump in her body after feeding). She is still growing at a rapid rate and I will feed her less often as she matures. Once you get to know your snake better, you will be able to tell when they are ready to eat again by their activity level.
While on the subject of feeding, use a separate container for feeding your Bull Snake. This feeding container should not have a substrate the snake can ingest. I line Alice’s feeding bin with paper towels to make it easy to keep clean and to provide her with a surface she can more easily move on. I also have a hide box in it that I use to transport her back to her habitat a few hours after she eats. Keeping the feeding quarters separate helps the snake to realize when it is feeding time and helps to prevent accidental bites.