My next snake...

Well my birthday is coming up and I'm looking to buy another snake to add the the family. I can't decide on what to get there are so many wonderful snakes out there! I'm looking for one that would thrive as an adult in a 40 gal long. Im willing to bump up the size for that special snake but somewhere around the size of a 40 gal would be best (for now ;) ).

Can anyone help me? :)

A gopher/bull/pine snake.

A western hognose. Won't even need a 40L... 20L would do very well.

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Originally Posted by anatess

A western hognose. Won't even need a 40L... 20L would do very well.

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I was thinking about one of these guys...they mostly stay short and thick correct?

I like the way they look but how are they when handled? Are they real skiddish, shy...etc. elaborate :D

One thing to add about hoggies...

the folks in the Netherlands consider them venomous... because of their mild toxins that are delivered through rear fangs. However, they rarely bite and when they do, they're gonna have to chew on you for you to have any symptoms, which include swelling and blistering.

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Originally Posted by DutchHerp

One thing to add about hoggies...

the folks in the Netherlands consider them venomous... because of their mild toxins that are delivered through rear fangs. However, they rarely bite and when they do, they're gonna have to chew on you for you to have any symptoms, which include swelling and blistering.

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good to know :gj:

Yeah, my 7-year-old gets a kick out of telling everybody (especially my parents who already consider me a child-abuser for having pythons in the house) that he has a venomous snake!

The western hognoses got personality, I have to say, which is really interesting in my opinion.

Handling-wise, they don't "hang on" like the ball pythons do, so you can't just let him roam free on your body, lest he falls. They're skittish when very young and wormy since they're tiny. I guess they're like corns in that sense. But as they grow older they settle more. Our hognose would just sit on my son's hand and try to burrow in his palm - digging with his turned-up snout. My son is ticklish, so he is laughing like crazy when he does that.

They're diurnal too which is cool for me because I work from home, so I get to see him out and about more than the bp's. They're burrowers, so a lot of times, you don't even see him in his hide - he is buried under the substrate!

The really interesting thing about the hognoses are their defense mechanisms. When we first got our hoggie, he would hiss like crazy when we open the enclosure. I mean, man, he sounds like a rattlesnake! Then he would spread out his neck like he's a cobra. It was comical. Then he would strike with his mouth closed real quick-like, sometimes bumping with his upturned nose. If we didn't know anything about the little guy, we'd think he's this scary little snake, when in fact, he's one big pansy! My son would go ahead and pick him up anyway - hissy fit and everything - and 100% of the time, he would settle down the second he gets picked up. Now, though, he is so used to us that he doesn't do that anymore. We kinda miss it. Hognoses do not strike for defense (not with teeth bared anyhow), so bites are rare.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anatess

Yeah, my 7-year-old gets a kick out of telling everybody (especially my parents who already consider me a child-abuser for having pythons in the house) that he has a venomous snake!

The western hognoses got personality, I have to say, which is really interesting in my opinion.

Handling-wise, they don't "hang on" like the ball pythons do, so you can't just let him roam free on your body, lest he falls. They're skittish when very young and wormy since they're tiny. I guess they're like corns in that sense. But as they grow older they settle more. Our hognose would just sit on my son's hand and try to burrow in his palm - digging with his turned-up snout. My son is ticklish, so he is laughing like crazy when he does that.

They're diurnal too which is cool for me because I work from home, so I get to see him out and about more than the bp's. They're burrowers, so a lot of times, you don't even see him in his hide - he is buried under the substrate!

The really interesting thing about the hognoses are their defense mechanisms. When we first got our hoggie, he would hiss like crazy when we open the enclosure. I mean, man, he sounds like a rattlesnake! Then he would spread out his neck like he's a cobra. It was comical. Then he would strike with his mouth closed real quick-like, sometimes bumping with his upturned nose. If we didn't know anything about the little guy, we'd think he's this scary little snake, when in fact, he's one big pansy! My son would go ahead and pick him up anyway - hissy fit and everything - and 100% of the time, he would settle down the second he gets picked up. Now, though, he is so used to us that he doesn't do that anymore. We kinda miss it. Hognoses do not strike for defense (not with teeth bared anyhow), so bites are rare.

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thanks alot for the info!

I'm definitely going to consider it but id like to explore some more first

Zack, check this post out too. I love the look of that snake. I don't have one of those and I don't have any experience with them either. But, something you might wanna check out as well...

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...31&postcount=6

Check out the Pacific Island boas. My Solomon Island Ground is the only experience I have with keeping a snake, but so far I love the little guy. He may grow to 3 feet if I'm lucky, and he's really easygoing and easy to care for.

Just thought I'd throw that out there :D

i second the soloman ground boa. i love them!!!

but don't discount the bulls and pines. i really like patternless bulls!!

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Originally Posted by anatess

Zack, check this post out too. I love the look of that snake. I don't have one of those and I don't have any experience with them either. But, something you might wanna check out as well...

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...31&postcount=6

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pretty snake!

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Originally Posted by Lucas339

i second the soloman ground boa. i love them!!!

but don't discount the bulls and pines. i really like patternless bulls!!

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So a Solomon Island ground boa would thrive in a 40 gal?

How are they handling wise?

they max out at around 3 ft and need temps around 82 ish. so yeah id say so. try and get an older one that is on pinkys though.

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Originally Posted by Lucas339

they max out at around 3 ft and need temps around 82 ish. so yeah id say so. try and get an older one that is on pinkys though.

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Just curious, why is that?

Also, do you have a recommended breeder? I saw that you own two.

i dont' know of any breeders. got mine from a friend.

it is hard to find frogs and if you do there is always a risk of parasites. i fed mine one live frog each and then switched to frozen. the frozen ones won't pass parasites on so hopefully they didn't get any but i plan on checking next month either way.