Preparing for my First Snake

[Kryptic]

Hi there! I still don't own any snake, but I'm doing my research in preparation for it. I have the species I'm considering narrowed down to a Ball Python or a Sonoran Gopher Snake. Part of the reason I decided to stop lurking and post is to write down my pros/cons of each for myself to mull over. Also hoping someone's experienced input might help me break the deadlock.

I find snakes fascinating and would love to keep one. I don't care to display it. I know I have friends and family that hate snakes and seeing people and dogs pass by all the time probably isn't something any snake wants. I would keep it for my own interest in watching it, feeding it, and handling it. I love wild type camouflage, so morphs aren't a consideration. I've already done a bunch of research, bought some of the things I'll need like a heat mat, thermostat, hygrometer/thermometer, and temp gun. I can use one of my dogs' old water bowls and I have a 48x20x18 plastic bin I can put it in. I measured the ambient temperatures and humidities in the candidate rooms where I would keep it. I've talked to several breeders and keepers, visited a couple, and handled multiple of both species as well as milk snakes, corn snakes, and a hognosed snake.

Ball Pythons
Pros:
- Amazingly fun to handle. It's been a great experience with each one, whether a male or female, baby, juvenile, or adult. They move and observe enough to be interesting while being slow and deliberate enough that you can also do other things while handling them.
- I love the looks with the size, head shape, and heat pits better than any other snake I could legally or reasonably keep.
Cons:
- I worry about providing an appropriate climate for it. It should be ok in the summer even if it means moving its bin from one room to another every day, but in the winter, maintaining an appropriate humidity will be difficult. Just as an example, today my basement was around 70 degrees all day with 66% humidity, while my office was a high of 88 and floated around 50% humidity with no air conditioning or fan. Humidity drops like a rock from November to February, but the air would be around 75-80° near a radiator since we keep the thermostat around 72°.
- The idea that an animal I'm keeping may not eat for months worries me.

Gopher Snakes
Pros:
- Maintaining an appropriate ambient temp/humidity for one in my house will take no effort.
- Reliable eaters.
- Looks, size, and behavior-wise, they're easily my favorite Colubrid that I've seen in person.
Cons:
- They're fun to handle and calm, but handling them is its own thing. I can't see myself sitting at my desk doing work while it hangs out on me.
- One of the things I like best about the Pituophis genus is the warning pose, hiss, and tail rattling, but since a snake that's doing that is trying to scare away a threat, that's not a display I'd like to induce or see in mine.
- I'm told they're notorious escape artists.