Friend of mine showed me his Bullsnakes. They're really amazing animals. Animated, like you said. So it gives you a nice bit of challenge either way.
The Cribos are just lovely. A local here owns one and it's just the coolest thing. Very unique and something you don't see every day. Plus they have a nice 'heft' for their length, which I like.
If you don't know what you want, here's how I helped figure my own purchases out:
Go and search all of these animals. Find photos that interest you. Then pick a photo and put it as your desktop for a week or more (or print it and put it somewhere you'll see it daily). Switch through all the photos of the ones you're interested in. This will get you over that initial 'excitement' of new ideas you might have for animals to add to your collection. The more you see it, the more you'll know if you'll enjoy it long term.
I did this when deciding between an Albino BP and a Pied. I put the Albino as my desktop background at work for a month. Then switched to a Pied. Then back again. And then to Pied again. When I looked at both side-by-side, I still had interest in the Pied. The Albino I still thought was beautiful, but it didn't make me as excited as the Pied.
Just a thought, since you seem on the fence![]()