new pet for my son

*first let me say that im sorry that this is prob posted in the wrong place but didnt know where exactly to do so*

My wife and I are looking into gettin my 8 yr old son a new pet. a reptile is where we are looking to go. i have promised him that if he kept up on the up keep with his gerbil that id get him something else when he was ready. i have to say that i couldnt be more proud of him as i havent seen the water bottle half empty her go with out food the only time anyone has to be reminded of anything is when he reminds me its time to change her bedding (he's 8 he needs a little help). he has been workin hard else where too keeping all the other pets in the house fed and watered (the cat got a little fat so we stopped him feeding her not his fault tho she's a pig and 3 of us were feeding her).

but where me and my wife bump heads is what to get him. he loves snakes :snake: so that's our 1st choice but my wife wants something small 2 to 4 ft, bearded dragons came up but shes crazy and thinks they ugly so there out, i cant do frogs or toads so there out. you can see where we are getting stumped please help.

something thats not a huge pain to keep up on, set ups are not a huge issue but would perfer something that can fit in something with no more than a foot print of a 10 to 15 gal tank as his room is not to big, and id like to keep the cost of the pet under $40-$50 but for the right one im willing to spend a little bit more i mean we are all animal lovers here (cept frogs they can stay out of our house LOL)

thanks in advanced

J

just a note he would have plenty of help from my wife and i with anything we get him

Hi. I moved this into the General Herp section for you.

Well, you're on a ball python forum, so I think the answer you're going to receive is definitely going to be biased...towards ball pythons.

Keep this in mind...Ball Pythons are not cheap. A proper set up will cost much more, especially for a tank set up. You would need a good heat source, and a way to regulate the heat..a thermostat..which will probably be the most expensive part.

there's always the option of using tubs, which will be cheaper. It all depends on what you want. If you're going for an appealing look, then expect to spend more.

Well, the first ones that come to my mind are garter and corn snakes. Garters are pretty, stay relatively small, and can live in a 10-20L gallon tank their whole life. They usually cost around $20-30, and are really fun to watch eat, especially when they're eating fish.

Corn snakes are also very pretty, usually don't top 4ft in length, and live in a 20L gallon tank as adults. The husbandry isn't really that hard, and most of them are sweet as puppies. Cost isn't that high, either, unless you get a high end morph.

Hope that helps. Glad there's another young kid out there who can take such good are of animals. :D

You have a couple of balls already...so what about getting him a special snake of his own...like a corn or kingsnake? There are a nice range of colours available at a very reasonable price, care is pretty easy, and they are common. They seem to tolerate handling better than many balls do, especially if you get one that's past the wiggly-worm stage, and are a bit more visible and active so he'd have more to look at than just a hide that conceals a snake that never moves.

Any lizard is going to be a lot more work and maintenace, which may be a factor.

Ball pythons are great, as Nate says. And if you get a male, you can be fairly certain it'll stay on the small side...although it will eventually want something bigger than a 15gal tank. Not for awhile though, if you get a baby.

You could go for various colubrids as well. Corn snakes can live in a 15-20gal as a mature snake...they also don't need a lot of fussing with heat. Some, but not as much as ball pythons.

I have a Cape Gophersnake...he lives happily in a 20gal and we just add a little extra warmth with a red bulb when the house gets extra chilly. No fussing with t-stats or humidity. Very easy little guy to take care of. The Capes stay smaller than most of their other Gophersnake cousins.

crested gecko in a 20 gallon is fine and a leo gecko in a 20 is fine i mean yea its 5 more gallons then you want but those are 2 reptiles that you can look into

Hi J,

Kudos to you and your lovely wife for letting your son get a reptile. They are fantastic animals and wonderful pets.

I love my BP. If you are not driven to own a morph ('designer models' with different colors and patterns), you can pick up a healthy captive bread normal for $50 for a male. I would strongly recommend buying only through a reputable private breeder. If you wait for a Herp Expo in your area you might even be able to find some nice normals in the $25 range. I suggest a male because you mentioned that size is a concern, and males typically grow between 3-3.5'. That sounds bigger than it really is when you see a full grown one in person. ;)

Despite my use of the word 'normal' I want to stress that they are equally beautiful animals. Check out the BP Pictures forum to see some fantastic examples!

Buying a BP for an 8 year old can also be a wonderful way of giving him a pet that can, quite possible, last until his own children get to help look after it. Ball Pythons can live between 20-30 years in captivity, and the oldest on record passed at the ripe old age of 47. There is a forum member who received a BP when he was 7... and he still has her, 21 years later.

There is a couple pros and cons in the enclosure requirements of a ball python. First, if you do not intend this animal to be a 'display pet' then you can use an inexpensive rubbermaid container as its housing. Just make sure you get the proper clamp locks to prevent escape. Many people use these containers, as they are inexpensive and are good at retaining humidity. (Your BP will require 50-60% humidity, and 60-70 when he is shedding. Normally you can take care of this by misting a couple times a day, and more when he is in shed.)

However, if you get a glass enclosure the price will be greater, but the aesthetics might be worth it for you. I use a glass and I'm quite happy with it.

You can keep a baby BP in a 10g, but an adult will require a 20g. Start a baby in a 10g with at least two hides (one of the hot side, one on the cool), because too much space can stress them out. Because they are ground dwelling snakes they don't require height in their enclosure.

One of the biggest costs in getting a BP is the thermostat unit that is required to properly (and automatically!) regulate the heating pads temperature. A good unit will start at $100, but is mandatory so that the pad does not get too hot and burn your snake. Helix and HerpStat are two brands that come highly recommended. You can set what temp you want the pad to maintain, and the thermostat will take care of the rest. (Hot side should be 90-95F. I keep mind at a happy-medium of 92.5F)

Some people also use an overhead heat source, in the form of a heat lamp or a ceramic heat emitter. 40 wat for a 10G tank, and 60 for a 20g. This can help keep the ambient air temp at 80F, if you are using a glass tank. It may not be necessary if you go with a rubbermaid. Because Ball Pythons are nocturnal you don't need to buy the expensive lamps with special UV properties - which is a plus!

However, being nocturnal the snake will be at its most active during the night and will rarely (if at all) be seen in the day while it sleeps in one of the hides you provide.

I recommend you read over the Ball Python care sheet located right here at ball-pythons.net.

You can also look in to Crested Geckos. They live at room temperature and require no special lighting or heat (just make sure that the temperature does not exceed 82F in the summer, as anything hotter can be lethal). The only special environmental requirement is a humidity level of 70-80%, but depending on the enclosure you get that can be taken care of with a couple of mistings every day.

For food you can buy a Crested Gecko Meal Replacement powder that contains all the nutrition they need to live and is easily mixed into a paste by adding water. If feeding tem on the meal replacement powder they won’t even need crickets! (TRex and Repashy brand meal replacement powders are great.) Other than that, just give them a nice high enclosure with plants (real or fake) to climb on and watch them thrive! (They are arboreal - tree dwelling – so they like/need to climb!)

Crested Geckos have sticky toes and can even climb on glass. The minimum tank size for a single Crested Gecko is 12”X12”X18. However, I’d personally recommend the 18X18X24 model. Exo Terra make great enclosures that work perfectly for these lil’guys. You can see some of them here: Crested Gecko Viv (PT-2607)

Most crested geckos will change colors depending on mood, climate, diet, etc. However, they are also nocturnal so you may not see them very much during the day. Don't forget a good 'hide' for these guys too. They like someplace private to curl up.

You can also find a good Crested Gecko care sheet here. Prices for these fantastic lizards vary depending on morph and color. The most expensive accessory you will need will most likely be the enclosure itself. Additionally, you can find a large Crested Gecko community here: rhacscanada.ca

I hope this helps!

I'm going to suggest a Nelson's Milksnake. They are known to be one of the calmest natured of the milksnake group, they don't get overly large, both the normal and the albino are gorgeous looking snakes and they are very easy keepers. They do require a good tight lid (we use metal lid clips) as like all snakes, especially the smaller colubrids, they are escape artists. They normally will take either live or frozen/thawed prey not being particularily picky eaters. Their care requirements are pretty much like a cornsnake, so nothing at all difficult there for a child to maintain.

My daughter has an Albino Nelson's Milksnake and it's been a wonderful experience thus far.

Emi......
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2.../EmiJan072.jpg

My daughter showing off Emi's first enclosure. This one was a 10 gallon and Emi has moved up to a bigger enclosure but we could have just as easily started her in a 20L.
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ProudOwner.jpg

Here's a link to a picture showing both the normal coloration and the albino phase Nelson's. There are also a lot of other nice colubrids on this site to look at.

http://www.cherryvillereptiles.com/milk/nelsoni.html

*note - their "normal" Nelson's are 100% het for Albino*