What are the differences between milk corn and rat snakes

[Jellybeans]

Which are the best to keep as a docile pet

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[Bogertophis]

I've kept various kinds of all three so I'll offer my 2 cents:

Milk snakes are generally docile & their mouth is comparatively small, so biting isn't their best defense anyway. They're available in bright attractive colors, but if
you want a pet to handle & interact with, I'd keep looking. Most milk snakes are nervous burrowing types, so they tend to be very restless about handling & have
less personality IMO.

Corn snakes are excellent easy pets that stay a modest size, come in lots of colors too are not inclined to bite. If you get a hatchling, their teeth are too small to
feel (unless you're literally under 5 years old) & by the time they grow big enough for you to feel their teeth (in self defense) they'll be tame anyway. High marks! And Great Plains rat snakes are basically corn snakes in duller colors...great pets too.

Rat snakes: it all depends on which ones, many of the ones I'm familiar with make great pets, but a few kinds (like Korean rat snakes) "not so much". I've bred &
kept many of the 'obsoleta' group (black including amelanistic, grey, Everglades & I currently have 2.2 Florida yellow/gulf hammocks). These are all somewhat
more challenging than corn snakes & they get quite a bit bigger (some are 6-7' as adults); as hatchlings you'll feel their teeth & they take more time & patience to
calm down than a corn snake but that's not saying it's terribly difficult, just that they're a step up. On the other hand, if you truly want a docile rat snake, you cannot
do better than either a Baird's rat snake (get up to 6') or a Trans Pecos (adults are about 4'). Russian rat snakes have the reputation of being great pets too, but I
can't speak from personal experience on those. And if you're looking for more exotic rat snakes (like from Asia), do your homework carefully.

[Jellybeans]

So corn snakes might be the best choice
And btw, I appreciate your 2 cents!

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[redshepherd]

Corn snakes are actually a species of rat snake!

There's also a huge variation in rat snake species. Some species are very docile (like corn snakes), while some are known to be defensive. Some stay pretty small while some grow 7-8 feet in length. So you could research into which species you like first. Corn snakes are definitely one of the most docile out of all the rat snakes though, which is why they're so common to have.

[pretends2bnormal]

I love my 2 corn snakes, but I do believe I "dodged a bullet" with my milk snake. It seems to me that the honduran milk snakes in particular are less.. stereotypical of milk snakes, from talking to others who have them, but that'sall anecdotal evidence. Mine has always been calm and reasonable to work with, but I feel like it may be an exception. He has never musked, struck, rattled his tail, bit, or even put much effort into fleeing from me, even as a 20 gram little worm.

42" corn snake (abbott's okeetee)


36" honduran milk snake (albino)


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[Bogertophis]

Well, corn snakes are widely available at great prices too, that doesn't hurt anything. And fyi, they do great in glass tanks with screen tops, ie. good ventilation.
They like but don't usually need a humid hide, and if you give them branches in the cage, they'll use them & you'll see more of them, just like with most rat snakes.

Corn & the other rat snakes I mentioned do well at room temperatures (70-80*) that we're comfortable at, also...that makes it easy. If your house is 70*, they only
need a UTH in one corner of the cage for when they want to use it to digest. Or, you can offer a basking spot with overhead heat, or both, but don't overdo the
heat, especially for corns. Mine all prefer to spend most of their time in the cooler parts of their tanks. My large Florida rat snakes, on the other hand, have both
UTH and regularly bask in their branches under a warming light. What I like most about rat snakes is that they aren't hiding much, & feeding is a breeze on f/t.
(you can put away the blow-dryer, lol)

[Jellybeans]

I saw a picture of a snowflake corn snake I believe it was and it was so beautiful

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[Jellybeans]

I would really love to have a leucistic ball python or a nice-looking piedbald but they tend to be a little pricey so I think I might just go along the lines of getting a white corn snake
The ball python I have now has no feeding issues at all so by getting a corn snake that will make two snakes I don't have to worry about eating

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[Jellybeans]

Or maybe a blizzard corn snake
I also like the idea of having a snake that will get up on branches

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[Jellybeans]

How difficult are the blizzard corn snakes to find it Expos and are they more pricey than other morphs

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