Best medium sized snake?

[inari rose]

Having bloods, a Hog, and Colombian BCIs I would fully recommend one of the boas. I love my Sumatran short tails but I believe they're a little on the advanced side while the boas are easy keepers, great handlers, and can be good display snakes too.

Hog Island BCIs are considered a "dwarf" boa that can range in size from 4-6'. There are larger females out there but both sexes should be very manageable. Excellent boas.

Here's my pure female:



Colombian BCI boas are the most common BCI in the hobby right now IMO, and not to be confused with "true red tailed boas" which are the Suriname, Peruvian, and Guyana BCC boas (as some examples). The BCCs can be more sensitive to husbandry and feeding so I recommend a BCI (like the Colombians or Hogs) over these guys.

Colombians come in many morphs, range in size to 4-7', and easy to handle and keep. I recommend a 4' cage for males and 6' for females.

Here's my Colombian morphs (first is a Jungle, second a Hypo, third a Sharp Strain Albino, and last a Motley)

They are beautiful I especially like the Motley.

I write a response and suddenly there are a ton more to reply to

[Aes_Sidhe]

I will Say Angolan Python... Little bigger than balls Very similar Husbandry that balls require... much more active and inquisitive that ball pythons... Only problem is Those are Pricey :-/

Second Choice here is carpet Python.. if You want to Stay in Smaller Size irian jaya will be the best Choice....

[towelie4365]

I just got my hog island boa this week, and I'm already a huge fan... I'd definitely give hog island boas a consideration too. (Here are my pictures of her)


I don't have any experience with carpet pythons, but I've heard they can be almost impossible to handle when they are younger without getting bit fairly frequently (obviously it will vary snake to snake--but someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this).

I took a long time to decide between getting a hog island boa and a dumerils boa. I settled on hog island since the dumerils has the potential to get a bit bigger than my wife is comfortable with From what I've heard, you can't go wrong with either. I also stumbled on a few people commenting that their dumerils boa seems to go to the bathroom several times a week (urates only), which could mean a bit more work cleaning.

[Raven01]

I just got my hog island boa this week, and I'm already a huge fan... I'd definitely give hog island boas a consideration too. (Here are my pictures of her)


I don't have any experience with carpet pythons, but I've heard they can be almost impossible to handle when they are younger without getting bit fairly frequently (obviously it will vary snake to snake--but someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this).

I took a long time to decide between getting a hog island boa and a dumerils boa. I settled on hog island since the dumerils has the potential to get a bit bigger than my wife is comfortable with From what I've heard, you can't go wrong with either. I also stumbled on a few people commenting that their dumerils boa seems to go to the bathroom several times a week (urates only), which could mean a bit more work cleaning.

Regarding Carpet Pythons. My Irian Jaya has not even once offered to bite anyone, while her sister from the same clutch(I don't have her I do know the guy that acquired her though) was pretty bitey with certain people, possibly a handling or scent issue, whatever the reason the two have completely different personalities.


For the OP, I am loving having both my Irian Jaya CP and my Peruvian Longtail Boa (Boa constrictor longicauda) They take handing very well and often are reluctant to return to their enclosures once out.
Others I know that have either Dumeril's Boa's Or most of the smaller locality boa's seem to think just as highly of their snakes.
That would round out my short list of suggestions.

[inari rose]

Thank you! The irian jaya CP looks as close to perfect as any snake I've seen. Right size, temperament, and not too thick-bodied. Thank you for the suggestions everyone! I have been introduced to many kinds of snake that I did not know of before

I am pretty much set on a irian jaya CP. After a bit of looking through online and reading about them and how to care for them, they sound amazing! Also, not right now but after I have had my CP for a while, I am thinking about getting a horned adder. Comments? Warnings? Besides being venomous.

[Bluebonnet Herp]

Also, not right now but after I have had my CP for a while, I am thinking about getting a horned adder. Comments? Warnings? Besides being venomous.

I advise you get training beforehand. A lot of people could be owning anacondas before jumping into venomous. Some states (like Florida) make you go through training as an apprentice for a year before you can own a venomous species. There's also heavy legislation regulating, restricting, and banning them. We definitely have political lobbies, but they don't often fight much for venomous reptiles; it's more-so for nonvenomous colubrids, pythons, and boas. And removing venom glands shouldn't be considered.

[towelie4365]

I am thinking about getting a horned adder. Comments? Warnings? Besides being venomous.

http://www.snakegetters.com/hk/handling1.html

I would definitely give that a read before considering venomous. I don't have any experience in that field, but you need to do everything perfectly, and the same way, every single day. One little mistake and you could die or end up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses, and end up with one less limb... Is keeping that animal worth that risk to you?

[Neal]

I second about rethinking before getting anything venomous. Any snake can be quick when it wants to be, and with a venomous it's a whole different ball game. I'm not sure if you're required to have the local hospital keep the antivenin for the species you have, and that stuff has a shelf life though I'm not sure how long. I'm not sure if you'd be required to have them keep it as well, but I know some states do, or I remember reading it somewhere.

Second if you do get bit, depending on the severity and many other factors it requires more then 1 vial, and 1 vial of that stuff can be upwards of hundred's if not close to a thousand or so a vial, and you'll likely need a few. Then what if you happen to be allergic to the bite, and have a bad reaction, you may not even make it to the hospital. Then if you're not required to have the local hospital keep it and you get bit, this means they'd have to find a place that has that species and hope that they have the antivenin you need. It's honestly not worth the risk, and even if they did by the time you got it you'd have damage already and the antivenin doesn't reverse damage done. Then you have to consider all local and state laws regarding owning venomous. I wanted to keep venomous so bad because I want a Cobra or a Boomslang, but I can't justify the risk being worth it. All it takes is one mistake, you handling the snake a cough or a sneeze enough to jolt the snake and your eyes close when you sneeze and WHAM. Not to mention when I was going to be trained by a friend who has a venomous permit he said the best snake to start off with hooking is a racer because of how fast they are.

[Mike41793]

For a first snake i HIGHLY recommend sticking to non-venomous. That's just asking for trouble to be brought to the hobby...

[Rob]

For a first snake i HIGHLY recommend sticking to non-venomous. That's just asking for trouble to be brought to the hobby...

Ummm yeah this x 10000

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