Good Starter Snake?

[sameintheend]

Is a Boa a good starter snake? I was watching an episode of SnakeBytesTV and they suggested a Boa, but a friend of mine who has raised a copious amounts of snakes says they are not. What does everyone here say?

[Valentine Pirate]

Size is a consideration with boas. Everyone I know who's had a Hogg island boa has nothing but good things to say about them and the snakes stay a manageable size. There are quite a few boa people here and I hope they'll chime in, just keep in mind some boas can get big enough to be considered 2 person snakes for safety reasons.

Edit: What are you looking for in a pet snake? Something handleable? something brightly colored? Low maintenance? Something that will be active during the day?

[M&H]

If you pay attention to what you are getting yourself into boas can be a perfectly good starter snake. As mentions Hog Island boas are amazing, well tempered and gorgeous. They stay a manageable size but the only down side is that there are not any pure Hog Island morphs. Nicaraguan boas stay relatively small, about four feet. They have a few morphs out there. I also have Columbian boas but they grow to a size that might be intimidating for a first time snake owner.

I love my boas. They eat great, never miss a meal. Easy to take care of and have great personalities. If someone wants a boa as a pet, there is a locality out there that will fit your needs. What are you looking for maybe I can help.

[Xaila]

I can't speak on boas since I don't have one (yet) but I personally think a colubrid of some sort is a good starter snake especially if there are concerns over size (and possibly cost depending on what you want). I had some experience with snakes before but the first one I got totally on my own was a Hognose and I don't regret it. Before that I had been planning on a corn snake. They come in tons of different color and pattern morphs, many of which are very reasonably priced. I still don't have a corn personally but from what I hear they're basically very hardy, good eaters, and have good temperaments. Hogs I just love because of their funny personalities and interesting appearance But really, a lot of it comes down to what you want and what you can handle financially and space-wise.

[BFE Pets]

my standard starter snake reply for some one thinking about a boa. Get A Dumerils Ground Boa Male. They get the hefty size without the length and are exteremly well behaved. I love mine! I like my corns and rtbs and balls but I LOVE my dums! Now that said there are prettier snakes out there and I have other boas that I prefer the look of but my dums are my favorite to handle. They are fairly slow growing and will take to f/t relatively easy.

[sameintheend]

As far as size goes I do not need a snake that will stay small forever, just one that starts out small so I can gradually get used to it. My friend has an albino corn snake and I handled it a lot and fell in love with it. I finally convinced my mom a couple weeks ago to let me get a snake. I was gonna get a corn, but ended up with a Ball Python. I owned him for about 3 days and ended up having to take him back. I felt so bad but even as a baby he was bigger than my friend's corn. Like I said I am just looking for a snake that will start off small. I did wanna try to get a unique starter snake, though, not the normal corn or milk. Money and space are not huge obstacles but I do know I don't want a Burmese or something that will get that big.

[carlson]

Get a hog nose sorry hit send early they stay smaller tho and they are cool snakes

[Xaila]

Maybe a hognose or kenyan sand boa might be something to look into? With both species the adult male stays significantly smaller than the female, but even those don't grow too large. They both also have kind of unique 'looks' compared to a lot of other common pet snakes. I mentioned hogs before a little and why I like 'em personally, but kenyans are adorable too. I like the way they bury themselves and leave their little heads poking out. They do come in a couple different morphs, though I'm not familiar with many of them. Hognose do as well, but many of the morphs are on the pricey side right now.

[sameintheend]

Definitely gonna look into the Hogs and the Kenyan sands. Thanks guys!

[sorraia]

An often forgotten boa, if you are set on boa, is the rosy boa. They'll stay on the smaller side - two to three feet. They tend to be easy keepers, feed well, and docile.