I have an 11-year-old daughter who loves animals and wants to work with them as an adult (she's not sure how, but she doesn't think she wants to be a vet because she doesn't want to perform surgery). She is good enough with animals to be the only one who can keep my father's 100-lb.+ male boxer in line, and he is devoted to her.

Jessica's been eyeing some colubrids, but I don't know enough about enough kinds to know what good and bad choices for her would be. She is fastidious about cleaning her rat's cage and feeding it properly and does very well with her tasks of feeding and watering and supervising outside visits for the dogs. However, she's also very tender-hearted and likely to cry if the snake does poorly or breaks her skin with a bite.

I haven't decided she can have a snake yet and might not get it until after we move (1st of June or July) if I do, but I'd really like some input on what varieties of colubrids would be better suited to a kid like her than others. I did read a thread on ks recommending a western hognose and discussed that with her, but she's just wowed by all the black and red and yellow and pastel kings, milks, rats, and corns. My strong preference for her would be a snake that either caps out at <4 ft or is a slow grower (~4 yrs to get bigger than that) and that eats rodents or feeder goldfish/minnows instead of bugs.

The question may be moot because she might just catch herself a snake on her grandpa's property, but if I end up buying one, what would your suggestion be?