First Snake

My little sister has lately been showing quite an interest in my ball python, and i catch her checking out the site every now and then. So, if you were going to buy your son or daughter or sibling a pet snake, and they had never kept one before... what kind would you go with?

cornsnake
easy heat requirments
get her one thats about 6 months old try and find one that is already calm

Corn snakes are great and all, but the choice is clear. Ball python for sure.

Corn snakes are for people who like colubrids, coloring, and ease of care. I've had ball pythons and corn snakes, and would always choose a bp over a corn. Corns are just to....hectic for me. I like a kind of snake who will sit with you on the couch and relax, without your spending your time keeping it under control. I also have a tendency to boids. I like thick bodied snakes. I remember way back when, I wanted my first bp and kept hitting a wall with the parents. They thought I'd lose interest, all kind of things. But the answer I got every time was "You're not getting some damn muscle snake", yeah my dad calls them that to this day. I also prefer a ball pythons pattern over a corns, just my preference, looks exotic. Corns are easy to care for, they barely require anything. And for me this turned out to be a bad thing. My first corn was too easy to keep my young mind interested, so I kinda put it aside. Plus, it's fun caring for bp's special needs.

I'd check with your sis as to which kind of snake she'll want. Just say something along the lines of "I'm buying you a snake for christmas, what do you want a ball python or corn snake." That'd be so blunt she'd never know you were buying her one :)

This is a site full of ball python people, I'm sure you'll get the same type of answer.

*Not bashing corns! I've kept two, great snakes*

I would go with a super tiger retic ;)

Have fun and let me know how it goes.

LOL. :)

Anaconda all the way. Oh did you say you liked your sister?lol
depends on how old she is and if she will be able to provide the proper care and pay for proper vet visits.
I dunno I'd say older "calmer" corn or any BP.
just my opinion
Rusty

Well, if ya want something really simple and one that will not bite, though it does occasionally strike as a bluff, start her out with a Hog Nose Snake. Extremely easy to care for and the food is cheap. Only problem is, is that you would have to go out and catch it's food. They only eat toad's. Other than the Hog Nose, I would stick to the BP.

they sell cb western hognose around here that eat pinky mice(havent seen a grown up one yet just babies,so guess theyll eat mice as adults)
And their very cool looking-light on top with black and white checkers underneath

I had a hognose, he bit me 25 times a day.

Hog noses are nice because all they can really do is puff up shake their tales and "peck" you.
I've always been able to awitch them easily to PK rodents
Rusty

lol,you let him bite you 25 times in one day!how many days did that last?

Well all the above post's just floored me.....Obviously the Hog Nose here is Illinois are much different. They only eat toad's hear, and have NEVER been bitten by one. Have had probably 30 of these little boogers since living in Illinois and have yet to even heard of anyone even being bitten by one. Or one's that eat something other than toad's. Wizill, you sure they bit? Or just striked with a bump?

ok Just talked to a friend that has been messing around with the hog nose for ove 30 year's. He said that, yes he has heard of them eating mice, though he has never seen it, mainly due to the over abundance of toad's in this area and that they are free. (So I stand corrected on the comment that they only eat toad's) But he was also floored about the comment of them biting. He also has never been bitten by a hog nose or heard of anyone that had, until i told him of Wizill. He said that maybe you just had a psycho snake.

I had an eastern hognose, it was wild caught. If it wasn't playing dead it was striking at me. Felt just like a kingsnake or cornsnake bite.

wow youve been bitten by many different snakes!Sounds like a talent-could be blindfolded and tell what snake by the bite,go on leno or something! :P

I was bitten by a copperhead when I was 3 years old, don't remember it but i'm sure it wasn't fun.

nope bet that one sucked!!!
that couldda killed you so easily
being so young
you are very lucky!

Western hognoses are so awsome, and rear fanged!

Get a nice rear fanged colurbrid like a mangrove or vine snake :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BallKingdom

Get a nice rear fanged colurbrid like a mangrove or vine snake :)

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I do hope you are joking, thus the :) . Rear fanged or not, venomous is a bad first snake choice!
IMO, a cornsnake or kingsnake is a good choice for a younger first time keeper. Easy care requirements, no feeding issues, etc. For a more mature person, who can handle the mental stress of fasting and other frusterating BP habits, BP's are great.

Rosy Boas are reputed to be good "beginner" snakes, though they're a bit harder to find captive bred specimens of.

really
I don't know much about that snake
how big do they get??

I thought hognose were not poisonous-and rear-fanged snakes are poisonous-i feel bad for being in the dark on this,and might explain why my friend seemed so startled to see me pick up her little baby hognose as if it were a brown snake.

Well, all I know is that hognose are very non-poisonous. The best they could do is maybe scare ya to death pretending to be a cobra.

Crap! Sorry I forgot to say kidding. Seriously, they are venomous, it'd be like the worst bee sting ever, and if you're allergic...

Dang, sorry!

As I recall, Rosy Boas don't get nearly as big as the Ball Python does. The ones I've seen have been around 2 to 3 feet, and considerably thinner than a BP. There are several subspecies, of which at least a couple are native to the Southwestern United States.

For anyone wanting to read about the "venomous hognose" check out this site http://www.hognose.com/pages/venomous.htm

Sweet site the guy has there. Thanks for showin it to us

*bookmarks*

ya,great site lots of info

have you decided what snake your going to get your sis???