Whats a good Intermediate Level snake?

Oh nice! Thank you for the resources!

And btw, about those giant Madagascar hog nose snakes...they're "mildly" venomous, & depending on your sensitivity, it could be a problem. Just so you know.

Yea, I dont think id be interested in a venemous snake (though i recognize its only mild). Ive had western hog noses but i never had any reaction to that. But I dont know much about the madagascar giants and i dont think I wanna play around with that since this will be a pet.

And someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure they're almost always WC. If you find a CB or CBB it'll cost a bit more.

My vote is for the Dumerils boa. I also am planning to use those Xmas tree totes when my boa is grown to full size. Male reaches about 5 feet on average, female about at 6 feet. As mature adults, they have some girth but nothing like a boa constrictor. Very slow growing, takes about 5 years to mature for both sexes and longer if you plan to breed the female.

Great thing about them is their disposition. They are known for their docile reputation. Not one to bite, not even close to a strike, and they are a bit reserve and shy than your boa constrictor. This is what many keepers of this species claim and love about them. I can attest to that. What mine will do is lightly hiss and puff inside his cage but that immediately stops after I pull him out. He can strike easily if he wanted to, for example I offered a rat and I accidentally dropped it on his head (lol). I offered again and he pummeled that rat and went to hide.

There are currently no known morphs, breeders refer them as bloodlines, depending on the pinkish coloring or lack of pattern, etc. They like to hide in 3-4 inches of substrate. Humidity is about 50-60%. Hot side temps at 83-85F and 77F at cool end.

The con about them are difficulty to find and feeding issues. When I purchased Scruffy, I was frantically looking and asking around at the Daytona show that has hundreds of booths. Only 2 booths sold them (Not the breeders), and they both have about 3-5 babies for sale, maybe 1-2 female in the entire show.

Babies are shy and may refuse food like a ball python. Once they start eating, they do well. You should not be paying more than $250 for a baby.

The 'cousin' of the Dumerils boa is the Madagascar Ground Boa (I think... I'm pretty sure it is). Similar in look but different pattern, and longer than the Dumerils boa. Those are harder to find, and imports are banned. I heard they need a little more work in taming. It is definitely a rare one to keep if you manage to get a captive bred specimen.

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Originally Posted by JayFireBird

So Im looking to size up a little with a new snake. Ive had a good number of snakes since I was a kid. Corn snake, rosy boa, hognose, and my ball python that I still have and spoil rotten.

But Im wanting to branch out a little into a slightly more advanced snake but I dont really know what I want.

I really enjoy snakes on the bigger side, but live in a smaller apartment and the largest enclosure I can comfortably house is about 65 gals (A modified plastic christmas tree container 53.5 in wide, 21.75 in deep, and 14.75 in tall.) Im looking for a pet, so something that is handle-able but still has a good food response.

My gut is saying boa constrictor, but Im worried that might be too big for my current enclosure size.

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Brazilin Rainbow Boas are awesome and beautiful. They can get some size to them but not to big. I do suggest buying one that is 1 to 2 years old. They can die easily as a hatchling if not cared for properly and sometimes if they are. Humidity is vital to their survival for sure.

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Originally Posted by baldegale

theyre a different species than a western, but same look and everything. heres a baby and adukt, they get to about 5ft long https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...1993d9b823.jpg https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2b2fc33bf7.jpg


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Oooooo….. amazing looking critter for sure. Would love to have a female.

I'd go with a boa, or carpet python. If you like modestly large colubrids a bull or pine snake would fit in there nicely too.

A BRB/CRB or Tarahumara would do nicely in there for life. I keep Dumerils boas and even my males need a bigger enclosure than that; they don't get too long but they are thick-bodied so they need both length and width in the enclosure.

A male carpet python would fit but they are active and semi-arboreal; mine perches a lot, so they really appreciate having extra height.

Yea, I was thinking carpet python as well, if you can afford the bigger enclosure necessary.