Help me choose a colubrid for my collection?

Okay, so I don't have a collection- I have one ball that I just moved to a 40 gallon from his 20 gallon setup. But I want to use his old setup to start my collection, UTH's and all. I'll be going to a reptile show in August and want to purchase a smaller snake for the old terrarium. Rats and corns seem appropriate for this enclosure, but when I researched milk snakes it said that they could eventually need up to 60 gallons? I'm guessing they're more active or the information was incorrect. I'm unfamiliar with general disposition of these types of snakes. I love handling my snake almost every day, so that is a factor in choosing as well. If some of these guys hate being touched or picked up, they aren't the snake for me. Suggestions please?

A hoggy is a great snake since it stays small, has an excellent disposition, and are fairly easy to care for. Also, there are a number of different paint jobs so there is some selection.

Never heard of a milk snake big enough to need a cage the size of a 50-60 gallon aquarium.

If you want something that'll stay small and in a 20g tank its whole life, go with a hognose(as stated), Nelson's milk snake, eastern milk, eastern king, garter, African house snake, maybe a Pueblan milk. There are probably others I don't know about or can't think of right now.

The Captain's Cabin

Hognose! They are really fun to keep and great eaters.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would also vote for hog nose, Arizona mountain kingsnakes (Lampropeltis pyromelana pyromelana) are a very unique species to keep. They stay small, are tricky to breed(really small clutches) and are fun to keep!:cool:

Black Tailed Cribos!!! They're definitely on my list and bull snakes also. But since size is a factor I'd say a hognose lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm a major Colubrid fan...

The only milks that would need a 60 Gallon would be Hondurans, Blacks, and possibly a large Sinaloan.

Smaller Kings/Milks would be Mountain Kings and Mexican Milks. Pueblans don't get very large either. (Eastern Kings get pretty big, by the way)

For a 20 Gallon tank, I agree with a Western Hognose. But if you go with something else, the ones above would probably work. A Corn can stay in a 20 gallon for about 2 years.

Just thought I'd throw in here that not all hogs are good eaters. Mine has been a pain and doesn't feed regularly. I would suggest that whatever you get, get a slightly older / more well started one that feeds regularly. BTW, male hognose are significantly smaller than females (think 1.5 ft vs. 3 ft.) so consider that if you are deciding on gender.

I do not keep any other colubrids so I can't give other suggestions, but I will say that I've heard many milks and kings are quite nippy as babies, so again, getting a well-started snake that is used to handling might be a good thing if you plan on handling often.

A hognose is a good fit for a 20gal, especially a male, since they are quite a bit smaller. I have a hognose and he's pretty neat, but I give him a couple of inches of carefresh and he spends a lot of time hiding where I can't see him. I had to do a clean out the other day, not because he needed it yet, but just to see if he was still there and alive. He's usually out at least once on a daily basis but for a week I hadn't seen him. Turns out he was in shed (and a little pissy about being dug out), so that was the reason. Mine is albino, which is cool and all, but I think it would have almost been neater to just get a normal, since I love their colours and their somewhat rattle snake resemblance. Mine is a good eater, in fact when he was younger he was a complete pig lol.

Pits are cool, but will outgrow a 20gal. Corns are fun too. Not a huge fan of hoggies but they would work well if that's what you like.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk