What do you mean, I can't have both?!

Haha, awesome. :) Thanks for replying so quickly!!

I was also thinkin I might wana add a few thoughts:

By the friend thing, I'd be the only one to carry it around an such. I jus don't want something that's going to be a brat with people it doesn't know..

I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but I will more than likely get it from a breeder.. I don't really trust pet shops.

I plan on putting something in the aquarium that smells like me like we did with the hedgehogs.. Seems to help them recognize scent.

Also in case I get something from one of you guys, idk if I mentioned this either but the snake will be fed frozen/thawed.. I won't have anywhere to keep live food, an I doubt our tiny pet shop will be able to help much.. I know more about hedgies than they do, lol. But they're sweet, good people.. We used to ride with them..

Thanks about the note that males are smaller- I've been thinkin about gettin a boy. Are the males more calm than the females? And what about maturity/breeding season attitude changes?

I'm glad I've got like 3 months to think and plan.. The aquarium'll be big no matter what- dad and I have a thing about decorating cages. :)

There are no temperment issues related to sex. A snake will not be more bitey just because it is a male or female.

The only difference is size. Female BPs are noticeably bigger in particular than males.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

HuH?? :confused: :confused:

Anyway.. Like some others have said. BPs are slower and become much more calm with time. Corns are fast and often just dont relax in your lap or on your shoulders like a ball will. If you are looking for a display snake only go with a corn. If you want a snake that will become your "buddy" as far as handling goes, get a BP.

Males stay smaller and generally thinner if size is an issue.

---

Lol! Sorry about that- I was mobile, and trying to find a quick reply thing.. The page didn't reload or anything, so I didn't realize it actually posted something. xD I had to opt off the viewing of avatars/signatures/etc. just so the actual thread would load.. And I thought blackberries were so cool. *sniff* lol. xD

Gaahh. I want to handle something! Lol. Its killin me not knowing.. I love research, but nothing beats personal experience!

Afterthought: As far as the BP handling/buddy versus active any time of the day corns.. I'd probably be more likely to mess with it in the evening or later night, at least for the next year or so. I usually work anywhere from 9:30-6pm, 3-11pm, and the occassional 6:30-3pm shift.. I'd think about getting a tarantula more, but I know I'd be too tempted to handle it. Guess I'll just have to spend a few hours in some pet stores. xD

Plus, always remember that a reptile is not a mammal--even though hedgehogs are on the lowest end of the mammalian scale, they're still geniuses compared to all snakes, and ball pythons are definitely not near the top of the snake IQ chart. Corn snakes are probably a bit brighter, but that intelligence is often applied toward finding a way out of their cage (lol).

Snakes do have personalities, but they tend to be more simplistic than mammalian personalities. Their emotions are also more primitive--more so than a hedgehog's even. A snake will never express affection for its owner, or for anything, for that matter. Snakes don't feel love or hatred. They do not care for their offspring, and come together only to mate or hibernate. A female snake removed from her eggs does not search for them for even a split second afterward. (In fact, some of my girls seem to look forward to it, and are ready to eat within the hour, lol).

They do appear to experience curiousity, fear, contentment, interest/excitement, and anger. They will have moods--sometimes they will be outgoing and want to explore, other times, they will want to be left alone, and may warn an intruder off with a hiss.

To them, we are a source of anxiety and stress, but after a while, their stress level will decrease as they become used to us, and they will slowly come to realize that we make a good basking area. ^_^

They are slow to learn, but once a routine is set, it can be hard to break. They are driven by extraordinarily strong instinctive impulses, which are often immuteable, so must be respected.

The hedgehog was a good animal to use to introduce folks to what it's like to keep a reptile. Hedgehogs, being so primitive and antisocial, also lack many of the characteristics that most other mammals have. But they're still comparatively complicated.

What goes on in the mind of a snake is, well...just enough to fascinate us. I don't think that placing your scent in the snake's cage is likely to make much difference to it at all. The scent is only one tiny aspect of what it will need to get used to in order to be comfortable with handling.

Also, rereading the previous posts- my gut likes the BPs, lol.

And, I totally understand. The smaller of the sisters, we lost to a disease called Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome, but she was a very friendly, curious girl who enjoyed biting at anything shiny- whether or not it was attached to the hand holding her, lol. Mine, on the other hand, has always been timid, and most certainly anti-social; the one we lost would be running around as if begging for attention the second she saw someone come in the room. Very active creature, where mine comes out usually around three or four am, hisses and huffs at the smallest sound or shadow (or even vast changes in the radio sounds) and almost seems skeptical, lol. She does register me, and is almost friendly with my dad sometimes, if I'm holding her. Usually, she's happy just to sit there as long as your hand/lap/arm doesn't feel like solid ground... I love little Honey to death, lol.

I also see what you're saying about putting something in with my scent in the idea of the snake getting used to me; well, it was an idea, anyways, lol. Honestly, it'll be nice to have something that doesn't have to be there every second in dependence- I'm used to moderating temperature with the 'hogs. If it gets too chilly- usually below 75F -they will try to hibernate, which slows down their system too fast and will kill them.. Our WHS-loss did that often when she started getting ill, so I moved her into my (usually 80F) room with her sister.. Checked on her every few hours when I was home, and picked her up to discover she had passed. Quite a nasty shock which made me go bawling to daddy, lol.. Sad. :tears:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kritters4Keeps

Also, rereading the previous posts- my gut likes the BPs, lol.

---

After reading your post about your work hours and this post, I think that a ball python should be in your future. :)

Just be keen to ask the owner/breeder you buy from if the animal readily takes f/t if you don't have access to live rodents. I feel that in general corn snakes will much more easily take f/t. But I also have 3 hatchling ball pythons that were feed live prey and very easily have accepted f/t for me. :banana:

After you get your first snake, you can always go to the next show that comes near you and see if there's a tarantula breeder and you could pick up a spider. They are low maintenance, don't need much space, but are a whole 'nother enchilada. Plus, with many of them the males only live a couple of years (can be good), and females can live upwards of 10+ years.

And yes, well, the snakes will associate scent... if your fingers smell like mice, snakey might think they are mice. :D But the rest is like wolf already shared - the shirt might be a nice place to hide but that's about it! ;)

Oh, and I should forewarn you... snakes (reptiles in general) are like horses. They are addicting, and if you can afford multiples, you'll easily get more. Except that the financial upkeep on snakes is much cheaper than horses. So don't be surprised if in a couple years you have more snakes than you can count on one hand!

I keep forgetting to say condolences about your hedgie that you lost. I can get one-track minded sometimes. All I can say is that I'm glad you are one of the stronger people that can keep on with owning pets after the loss of an animal. Those that can't continue to own pets after a loss of one, baffle me. I could never live without pets.

Cowgirl- Lol! I hear that! And, thank you.. Its still weird not to see her cage or her trying to climb up the bars to see who's there.. She went crazy over these hedgie food pellets we finally bought, made of meal worms and things like that.. Little miss Honey, however, won't touch them. Hedgehogs. :rolleyes: Crazy as snakes! Lol.


I've also been looking around more, and have found snakes such as egg eating (speaking of which, I need to see what kind of eggs our grocery stores carry..), and blue tongued skinks- those run wild around here, and I never realized it, lol.

Do you guys know of anyone who has an egg eater? I can't find much information on them besides the basic diet, care, and feeding and what not.