Getting a New Snake

I currently own a Ball Python but I'm looking into getting a colubrid, but I can't decide XD Ive look into rat, king, milk, hognose, garter and a few other snakes but it so hard to choose. What is your guys options on you favorites and some experience with them?


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I think my favorite colubrid is a plain ol black and white cal king. I have one that is young and growing fast, for some reason when he crawls through my fingers the black and white pattern is MEZMERIZING. I think I get hypnotized LOLOL.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...king_snake.jpg

Ultimately it's up to you and what want in a snake. The husbandry is pretty easy with the three I have experience with. If you can get BP husbandry down, you'll be fine with any of these three...

I have a King, a corn and a hognose and had a King in the past. I'll share a bit about my experience with each:

1) King- My adult California Kingsnake, Django, is without a doubt, my favorite snake ever. He's an absolute sweetheart. He handles extremely well and is a snake who is content to be out of his enclosure and chilling with me for longer handling sessions than most snakes. He's curious and alert, but by no means skittish or flighty. He'll explore a bit, whichever room we're in, but usually makes his way back onto my shoulders or lap to just get comfy. He's fairly active and explores and climbs throughout his enclosure.

He's also a garbage disposal. He has never skipped a meal with me and is always happy to get my BPs refusals. He's even eaten my finicky juvenile corn's refusals despite being way too small a meal for a 4 foot, 676 gram adult King. His feeding response is incredible, I have to pay attention with this guy, but man it's impressive.

The only time he is anything less than awesome is when he's in shed, he turns into a jerk. He does NOT like to be handled while in shed. He does give a good tail rattle if I get too close, though, to give me the heads up that he's not in the mood. So at least he warns me in the only way he knows how without tagging me. BUT, I've come to expect it as I've learned my snake's temperament and just leave him alone while he's in shed.

2) Corn- My juvenile corn, Baby Firefly, is a beautiful little girl, but has been a little bit tricky by comparison to any other snake I've had. She's been a finicky eater and is flighty and skittish with handling. I've handled plenty of corns through the years, and most handle better than she does. I certainly love my little pain in the butt corn, but by comparison to Kings, I would vote King all day.

3) Hognose- I just recently took a hognose, who I named Cosmo, into my care after helping a former co-worker out. Long story short: she got the snake off craigslist from somebody who couldn't get him to eat. Then she couldn't get him to eat. So, after about a year of not eating for either owner, my coworker asked if I would be willing to snake-sit and try to get him eating. I agreed and she disappeared after a few months and I haven't heard from her since she was fired months ago (believe me, I tried, as I didn't intend to keep him). Anyway, I got him in March at just 11 grams, TINY!! He now eats like a champ and is up to 28 grams.

Truth be told, I'm glad his former owner didn't want him back. He's in a better home with me, and I've fallen in love with the adorable little guy. He's got personality for days and is super sweet. He handles extremely well and loves to explore his enclosure during the day and see what I'm up to through the glass. He's currently going through his second shed cycle with me, so I've been leaving him alone the last 6 days. I want him to hurry up because I miss the little guy! Hahahaha!

But seriously, I wanted a hognose eventually long before Cosmo came into my care. Since he's been here, I want another!!! They are awesome little animals. Just too cute and such awesome little personalities. The huffing and hissing is just too funny and too cute when they're that small. He used to huff and hiss when I would put his feeder into his enclosure, now he just eats. But he did huff and hiss the other day while deep in blue when I went into his enclosure to change his water dish. But, that's just his way of giving me a heads up. I'll take that over getting tagged any day. Which brings me to the reminder that hognose are rear-fanged and possess a very mild venom which some people do have a reaction to. That being said, they almost never bite. They will huff, hiss, bluff, musk and play dead before biting defensively, and food bites are easy to avoid with tongs.


Anyway, I hope I helped you out a bit. If you haven't handled them all, I would go to an expo (or maybe a reptile specialty shop if there's one near you) if possible and handle different species at different ages and sizes. This might help you decide which animal is right for you.
As you can probably guess, my vote would be a King or a Hognose. It just depends on what you're looking for.
Feel free to ask any more questions if you need more help deciding, and keep us posted.
Good luck!

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

I think my favorite colubrid is a plain ol black and white cal king. I have one that is young and growing fast, for some reason when he crawls through my fingers the black and white pattern is MEZMERIZING. I think I get hypnotized LOLOL.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...king_snake.jpg

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He's beautiful! I've always loved black and white snakes


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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Ultimately it's up to you and what want in a snake. The husbandry is pretty easy with the three I have experience with. If you can get BP husbandry down, you'll be fine with any of these three...

I have a King, a corn and a hognose and had a King in the past. I'll share a bit about my experience with each:

1) King- My adult California Kingsnake, Django, is without a doubt, my favorite snake ever. He's an absolute sweetheart. He handles extremely well and is a snake who is content to be out of his enclosure and chilling with me for longer handling sessions than most snakes. He's curious and alert, but by no means skittish or flighty. He'll explore a bit, whichever room we're in, but usually makes his way back onto my shoulders or lap to just get comfy. He's fairly active and explores and climbs throughout his enclosure.

He's also a garbage disposal. He has never skipped a meal with me and is always happy to get my BPs refusals. He's even eaten my finicky juvenile corn's refusals despite being way too small a meal for a 4 foot, 676 gram adult King. His feeding response is incredible, I have to pay attention with this guy, but man it's impressive.

The only time he is anything less than awesome is when he's in shed, he turns into a jerk. He does NOT like to be handled while in shed. He does give a good tail rattle if I get too close, though, to give me the heads up that he's not in the mood. So at least he warns me in the only way he knows how without tagging me. BUT, I've come to expect it as I've learned my snake's temperament and just leave him alone while he's in shed.

2) Corn- My juvenile corn, Baby Firefly, is a beautiful little girl, but has been a little bit tricky by comparison to any other snake I've had. She's been a finicky eater and is flighty and skittish with handling. I've handled plenty of corns through the years, and most handle better than she does. I certainly love my little pain in the butt corn, but by comparison to Kings, I would vote King all day.

3) Hognose- I just recently took a hognose, who I named Cosmo, into my care after helping a former co-worker out. Long story short: she got the snake off craigslist from somebody who couldn't get him to eat. Then she couldn't get him to eat. So, after about a year of not eating for either owner, my coworker asked if I would be willing to snake-sit and try to get him eating. I agreed and she disappeared after a few months and I haven't heard from her since she was fired months ago (believe me, I tried, as I didn't intend to keep him). Anyway, I got him in March at just 11 grams, TINY!! He now eats like a champ and is up to 28 grams.

Truth be told, I'm glad his former owner didn't want him back. He's in a better home with me, and I've fallen in love with the adorable little guy. He's got personality for days and is super sweet. He handles extremely well and loves to explore his enclosure during the day and see what I'm up to through the glass. He's currently going through his second shed cycle with me, so I've been leaving him alone the last 6 days. I want him to hurry up because I miss the little guy! Hahahaha!

But seriously, I wanted a hognose eventually long before Cosmo came into my care. Since he's been here, I want another!!! They are awesome little animals. Just too cute and such awesome little personalities. The huffing and hissing is just too funny and too cute when they're that small. He used to huff and hiss when I would put his feeder into his enclosure, now he just eats. But he did huff and hiss the other day while deep in blue when I went into his enclosure to change his water dish. But, that's just his way of giving me a heads up. I'll take that over getting tagged any day. Which brings me to the reminder that hognose are rear-fanged and possess a very mild venom which some people do have a reaction to. That being said, they almost never bite. They will huff, hiss, bluff, musk and play dead before biting defensively, and food bites are easy to avoid with tongs.


Anyway, I hope I helped you out a bit. If you haven't handled them all, I would go to an expo (or maybe a reptile specialty shop if there's one near you) if possible and handle different species at different ages and sizes. This might help you decide which animal is right for you.
As you can probably guess, my vote would be a King or a Hognose. It just depends on what you're looking for.
Feel free to ask any more questions if you need more help deciding, and keep us posted.
Good luck!

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Thank you this is super helpful! I think I'm leaning pretty strongly towards king or milk snakes :P All the things I've heard about kings personalities sound really nice. I have read that milk snakes are a type of king snake are their personalities similar?

I'll definantly keep you posted as well, I am hoping to go to an expo in about a month or so to look around and hold some but I wanted to narrow down my options a bit so I wasn't just running around holding all the snakes XD


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If you want something that gets a bit bigger you could get a Honduran Milk Snake. I've never had one but always wanted to add a couple to my collection to try to breed them. There are all kinds of different color patterns and they get big!

I like the Albino Tangerine colors too:

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

If you want something that gets a bit bigger you could get a Honduran Milk Snake. I've never had one but always wanted to add a couple to my collection to try to breed them. There are all kinds of different color patterns and they get big!

I like the Albino Tangerine colors too:

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Yeah those were the milk snakes I was looking into. They are absolutely gorgeous XD that's second pic is amazing [emoji7] I was just wondering what their temperaments and personalities typically are. Like I said if they are similar in that sense to a king snake I'm sold!


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In my limited experience (two kings, two milks), milk snakes need more consistent handling to stay well-behaved, while the kings are calmer by nature. However, I think our albino milk snake has vision issues that affect that.


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I've never owned a milk, but have handled a few.

They definitely get bigger than Kings. I'm not too sure of the temperament in general, but the few that I have handled did handle well.

If you like black and white, there are some beautiful King morphs. I love the good old Cal Kings. The high white, striped and reversed stripes are beautiful morphs of Cal Kings, too.

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Originally Posted by Prognathodon

In my limited experience (two kings, two milks), milk snakes need more consistent handling to stay well-behaved, while the kings are calmer by nature. However, I think our albino milk snake has vision issues that affect that.


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my experience has been similar. I find adult milks (Honduran and Pueblan) to be more high strung than kingsnakes (California and Mexican Black).

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Originally Posted by DennisM

my experience has been similar. I find adult milks (Honduran and Pueblan) to be more high strung than kingsnakes (California and Mexican Black).

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Hi ..

When you guys are suggesting that Milks may be more highly strung than King snakes are you referring to Milks occasional liking of musking on you when they're handled or that they are more jittery / restless when being handled or more likely to give you a nip !?!

I only have one , very calm / placid Milk x King hybrid and he's a complete darling .... So I'm not qualified to comment on Milk snakes per se .

I do have four , young ( 2 year old ) Kings that I don't really handle , they're purely display snakes and very food orientated and viv 'offensive' :)
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...012013e0b6.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9311dd8e9a.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9c21181dcd.png
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...94b599b254.jpg


I'd recommend Corn snakes to the op , great colour options , easy to keep , extremely tame calm so great to handle , great display as they're always active - here's my beaut Amel Stripe Corn snake

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...61d128e404.jpg


That said if he likes the idea of Black and White snake it's either a Cali King like mine above or maybe one like my Anery Sand Boa shown below !?!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...098826d366.png



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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Hi ..

When you guys are suggesting that Milks may be more highly strung than King snakes are you referring to Milks occasional liking of musking on you when they're handled or that they are more jittery / restless when being handled or more likely to give you a nip !?!

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All of the above. :)


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I love kings. Truth about garbage disposal. They just keep on eating lol. I have a Florida king at work I named omega. He has the omega symbol on top of his head. He is calm, chills out when held and just an awesome little guy. I vote King lol

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Originally Posted by BluuWolf

Yeah those were the milk snakes I was looking into. They are absolutely gorgeous XD that's second pic is amazing [emoji7] I was just wondering what their temperaments and personalities typically are. Like I said if they are similar in that sense to a king snake I'm sold!


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Honduran Milksnakes are great snake and can get to a very nice size, I have own and bred Hondos since 2007 and while I have also work with other colubrids, kingsnakes, hognose, ratsnakes they remain my favorite due to their size and striking colors.

The first 6 moths to a year is really the most difficult when it comes to their behavior, nothing terrible but musking and sometime biting (if restricted) is something pretty typical in young individuals. As they grow that behavior goes away on it's own, usually I don't handle hatchlings until they are at least 6 months old time at which they start to calm down.

Young individuals are very skittish and flighty and will musk every chance they get, once they put on size it's no longer an issue.

When it comes to food, they will eat anything anytime offered, I can switch back ad forth between live or f/t, rat or mice they will eat anytime and when fed F/T I don't even warm up their prey.

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Hi ..

When you guys are suggesting that Milks may be more highly strung than King snakes are you referring to Milks occasional liking of musking on you when they're handled or that they are more jittery / restless when being handled or more likely to give you a nip !?!
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For me it's been more of a handling thing. Almost all baby kings and milks I've had throw the musk quite liberally, but I haven't found this to be the case with adults. Nor has biting been an issue for the most part. My milks just didn't seem to take handling as well as kingsnakes as adults. They always seem to do quite a bit of squirming. However, I'm not one to handle the snakes as regularly as some folks and it's likely that was a factor.

Just to clarify, by no means am I suggesting these are difficult to handle snakes. They're not.

I don't have any adults of either in my collection today. I restarted the colubrid collection with hatchlings last year. We'll see how it goes this time around. The young hondos seem less nervous than the pueblans so far.

I do like to handle on a pretty frequent basis with my beeps at least, not too much of course, so I'll for sure keep in mind the milk snakes being a bit less chill at first at least. Kings seem to be winning for me least at the moment. I'll of course handle them myself to see but i will for sure keep in mind all of your guys advice. Thank you so much!


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Maybe the best option is to find a reptile store that will allow you to handle a few different types of snakes - especially a couple of Kings ..... you may not be 'quite' so keen on them ;). If handling is a priority then it has to be a Royal /Ball python , followed by a Corn snake ..

I'll throw some love towards garters. Most stay relatively small so you can have a lot of fun creating a naturalistic setup that doesn't take a ton of space and won't get destroyed on day one. Some aren't fond of handling but, even so, you get plenty of interaction through their favorite pastime - eating. They're active hunters that utilize their vision more than the average serpent. Mine are always out and about, foraging for food or basking in clear view. Whenever I approach their enclosure, they always zero in on me, looking for something to munch. With their color schemes and active habits, these make for some of the better choices if looking for a good display snake. All in all, a very groovy and often overlooked genus.

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Originally Posted by John1982

I'll throw some love towards garters. Most stay relatively small so you can have a lot of fun creating a naturalistic setup that doesn't take a ton of space and won't get destroyed on day one. Some aren't fond of handling but, even so, you get plenty of interaction through their favorite pastime - eating. They're active hunters that utilize their vision more than the average serpent. Mine are always out and about, foraging for food or basking in clear view. Whenever I approach their enclosure, they always zero in on me, looking for something to munch. With their color schemes and active habits, these make for some of the better choices if looking for a good display snake. All in all, a very groovy and often overlooked genus.

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Yeah, I had considered garter but it was just the handling issue that had me wary. They are absolutely beautiful however and I would love to get one eventually as a display animal :P

My boyfriend has been looking into Russian Rat Snakes, they seem to have wonderful personalities does anyone have any experience with them? My only concern is it seems to be almost impossible to get your hands on one.


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Maybe the best option is to find a reptile store that will allow you to handle a few different types of snakes - especially a couple of Kings ..... you may not be 'quite' so keen on them ;). If handling is a priority then it has to be a Royal /Ball python , followed by a Corn snake ..

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Yeah, I already have a couple BPs and was looking for something different. I absolutely love them but I want to broaden my hourizens :P The only problem there is the reptile stores near me only sell ball Pythons, Boas, and some Green Tree Pythons, not even corns. I'll probably end up waiting until the next convention comes by to really make my decision.


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Maybe the best option is to find a reptile store that will allow you to handle a few different types of snakes - especially a couple of Kings ..... you may not be 'quite' so keen on them ;). If handling is a priority then it has to be a Royal /Ball python , followed by a Corn snake ..

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I have to disagree here, sorry Zinc. I have had plenty of success with Kings and regular handling. My boy comes out almost daily with the obvious feeding/shed exceptions. Have I been tagged? Yes. But it was MY fault. I spooked him and my hand was right next to his face. not his fault.
Prior to getting back into keeping snakes this time, I used to have Kings and my buddy/neighbor did as well, all sweethearts handled regularly.

I've also known a few other Kings who were great when handled. In fact, I have only handled one that I would consider nippy besides a few juveniles who settled down very quickly. The nippy girl was in the store when I bought Django and I handled her for about 5 minutes and was tagged about 5 times (she only held on once for a few seconds and barely drew blood.). Needless to say, she wasn't coming home with me.

This is one of the reasons I personally like to meet an animal (any animal) before taking it home.

I'm not a King or Milk fan. I love the Ratsnakes. Chinese Beauty snakes are probably my favorite for the colubrids side with the other beauty snakes coming second.
http://i.imgur.com/805TyJc.jpg

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Originally Posted by chip07

I'm not a King or Milk fan. I love the Ratsnakes. Chinese Beauty snakes are probably my favorite for the colubrids side with the other beauty snakes coming second.
http://i.imgur.com/805TyJc.jpg

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Yeah I've looked into ratsnakes, it was actually a black licorice ratsnake at a local chain pet store that got me looking into them in the first place. He was an absolutely beautiful animal but I don't like to purchase from chain stores so I was going to do some research on them then get one from an expo and then I delved into the world of calubrids XD I do love the look of them a lot but from what I've read they are a bit to aggressive for my taste at the moment.

But like I said I have been looking into Russian Rat Snakes a bit because they seem super chill.


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From what I've heard Russian Rats are awesome.


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Russian Rat Snakes all the way! Look up their temperament and care and some youtube videos, because it's really impressive how genuinely "social" and inquisitive they are! They're the only snake species that you consistently see people describe as friendly and possibly enjoy hanging around with you to handle. Definitely my next snake.

Zerkle Reptiles has some hatchlings ready mid-August, and there's a waitlist. These are seasonal and pretty uncommonly bred, so nab one while you can LOL.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Russian Rat Snakes all the way! Look up their temperament and care and some youtube videos, because it's really impressive how genuinely "social" and inquisitive they are! They're the only snake species that you consistently see people describe as friendly and possibly enjoy hanging around with you to handle. Definitely my next snake.

Zerkle Reptiles has some hatchlings ready mid-August, and there's a waitlist. These are seasonal and pretty uncommonly bred, so nab one while you can LOL.

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Thanks for the tip! I will definantly look into that! I've heard a lot about what amazing personalities they have and I love the sound of them, it was just the availability that was putting me off.

I found them on facebook, do I just message her to be put on the wait list?


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Message or call.

My husband has a VBB and a King Rat snake from the Zerkles, really nice people.


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