I think the common boa would be a perfect choice if I wanted a snake simply for rat disposal purposes. The red-tail I had when I was a young lad had some temper issues that may have turned me off to them a tad. I just don't like them as much as I used to. As for corn snakes they have some cool looking morphs but I just prefer my snakes to be on the larger scale. I picked bull snakes for the time being because they just look evil as heck and they get pretty big but not too big and I just like them a lot. Like you said Deborah I don't want to get a snake just because it eats all the time. I was just considering adding a snake to my collection and would prefer to get one that would eat leftovers so I didn't waste money on unwanted mice. I don't think I am going to go out and buy a snake tomorrow or anything unless I can find a giant hognose somewhere.