Beginner Snake

[bcr229]

I have garters and don't care for them. Even at two years old they are still defensive, musk, and bite. My only successful escapee is a garter.

When they are tiny they eat small fish and night crawlers (get them from a bait shop), but as they get older you can switch them to mouse pinkies and then larger mice as they grow.

DO NOT FEED GOLDFISH, ROSIES, GUPPIES, FROZEN SILVERSIDES, OR ANY OTHER "FEEDER" FISH FROM A PET STORE - thiaminase is deadly and I lost one to it before switching to fresh tilapia "worms" (I ate the rest of the filet) along with night crawlers. I did use the fish to scent the mouse pinkies to get them switched over when they got big enough.

[LittleTreeGuy]

Whatever snake you go with, keep a bottle of hand sanitizer (a pump style works great) beside your snake enclosure. Anytime you think about opening that door, use the hand-sanitizer. It does two things.. it gets rid of the rat/prey smell from your hands, and it also creates a constant smell the snake can associate with you, and as a non-threat.

[MarkS]

I think the best beginner snake is whichever one you've done the most research on. There really aren't many of the more common pet snakes that are truly difficult as long as you have their husbandry needs correctly dialed in.

[Coluber42]

Both ball pythons and corn snakes are wonderful. One thing to think about is what your plans/expectations are WRT handling. In some ways it may be easier to get a BP to eventually be comfortable with being out and about a lot, just because they're more slow moving and once they aren't teeny tiny babies they're big enough to roam a normal room a bit without getting into too much trouble, if you keep half an eye on them. Corns are faster and skinnier, and as babies they are teeny tiny; so they really require much more of your immediate attention while they out, until they calm down. A BP is a bit easier as a TV or desk buddy.
The flip side though is that corn snakes can tolerate lower temps and humidity; depending on where you set your thermostat in your house, your TV room, office, or whatever could well be a temperature that would be fine for a corn snake to hang out in but pretty cold for a BP. It's more of a project to handle your snake if you have to crank up the heat and then wait for it to get warm first.

[Zincubus]

Both ball pythons and corn snakes are wonderful. One thing to think about is what your plans/expectations are WRT handling. In some ways it may be easier to get a BP to eventually be comfortable with being out and about a lot, just because they're more slow moving and once they aren't teeny tiny babies they're big enough to roam a normal room a bit without getting into too much trouble, if you keep half an eye on them. Corns are faster and skinnier, and as babies they are teeny tiny; so they really require much more of your immediate attention while they out, until they calm down. A BP is a bit easier as a TV or desk buddy.
The flip side though is that corn snakes can tolerate lower temps and humidity; depending on where you set your thermostat in your house, your TV room, office, or whatever could well be a temperature that would be fine for a corn snake to hang out in but pretty cold for a BP. It's more of a project to handle your snake if you have to crank up the heat and then wait for it to get warm first.

I'd agree .

My Corn snakes are very friendly but once they're out of the viv and being handled they never stop moving , but like holding a hamster

All my ( six )Royals / Ball pythons are tremendously calm and friendly and each one will happily stay on my lap until I get fed up so they're much more relaxing to hold for any length of time imho .

[Hypancistrus]

I think the best beginner snake is whichever one you've done the most research on. There really aren't many of the more common pet snakes that are truly difficult as long as you have their husbandry needs correctly dialed in.

This is a great point, honestly.

[emilys_exotics]

Hello!
When it comes to beginner snakes, it usually is between corn snakes and ball pythons.
In my opinion, I think a corn snake is the best starter. It was actually my first snake and I still have her today
The problem with ball pythons being beginner pets is that females can get as big as 5-5.5 ft. They also don't always eat frozen. Both of my ball pythons won't take frozen thawed, they only eat live. My corn snake is perfectly fine eating frozen thawed. Many people don't feel comfortable feeding live, so if you get a ball python, be aware that live may have to be an option

Here's a bit of info about both:
Corn snakes- 20 gal tank, get 3-5 ft long, eat frozen thawed, good temperament, cheaper snake + setup and cheaper to feed.

Ball Pythons- 40 gal tank, may eat frozen thawed or may eat live, get 4-5.5 ft long, can sometimes be expensive to feed, good temperament.

Also, King snakes are pretty easy beginner snakes. I'm sorry but I don't know too much about them so I can't really tell you much about them other than they are kind of like corn snakes. They are usually fine on frozen thawed and stay around the same size as corn snakes.
Hope I helped!

[Zincubus]

As regards the post above . For what it's worth all mine eat d/f frozen rodents - no problems - including the six Royals / Ball pythons .

I've also got a huge Corn snake which at 5'+ is a good foot longer than any of my Royals .......

As to the point on King snakes , they are kinda like Corn snakes as they mentioned but with many more colour / pattern variations PLUS they get kinda psychotic when it's feeding time or when they smell mice in the air

[distaff]

Between my two kings, and the corn, the corn is easier.
That may have to do with age and size - the corn is older and much bigger.

The kings seem to be more chill in my hand, but I've noticed that if the corn has a place to hide while he is out, he is much more relaxed. I just let him run up my shirt sleeve. He will hang out and curl up at the elbow. Guess he'd be classified as a "desk buddy." He is usually out for morning coffee while I'm surfing the news sites.

[RatAtat2693]

Thanks for all of the info. As far as handling goes, I'm not expecting it to be cuddly, but it would be nice if it would be willing to at least stay in the vicinity of me. On the desk, my arm, or at least chilling on the desktop. Maybe put a hide on the desk? Can you even train a snake? (If I wanted cuddly, I'd get another cat.) I'm leaning towards the corn, and I found a few morphs that I like (particularly the Moonstone Mots). If I could find an older adult, I'm thinking that would be better.

To the person with the albino guys, you're so lucky. Every albino animal I've met is at least half blind and flighty. Maybe this is different with snakes because they don't necessarily need vision. I couldn't say. Either way, all of the snakes I've handled, save for a friend's ball python, were being housed in a nature center at a summer camp, so maybe the commotion was interfering with their behavior.

In my opinion, I think a corn snake is the best starter. It was actually my first snake and I still have her today
The problem with ball pythons being beginner pets is that females can get as big as 5-5.5 ft. They also don't always eat frozen. Both of my ball pythons won't take frozen thawed, they only eat live... Many people don't feel comfortable feeding live, so if you get a ball python, be aware that live may have to be an option

...Ball Pythons- 40 gal tank, may eat frozen thawed or may eat live, get 4-5.5 ft long, can sometimes be expensive to feed, good temperament.

While I'm not a big fan of feeding live, I could manage it. Not my favorite thing to think about, but keeping a half-wild predator comes with terms and conditions. I'd still rather feed f/t because it doesn't require me to feed the food, and pre-dead food doesn't bite back. And 40 gallons? Yikes. Someone said something about the Kings going nuts when there's food nearby. Honestly, I think I'd be more stressed out if my animal stopped eating than if I got bitten by an overzealous eater.

DO NOT FEED GOLDFISH, ROSIES, GUPPIES, FROZEN SILVERSIDES, OR ANY OTHER "FEEDER" FISH FROM A PET STORE - thiaminase is deadly and I lost one to it before switching to fresh tilapia "worms" (I ate the rest of the filet) along with night crawlers. I did use the fish to scent the mouse pinkies to get them switched over when they got big enough.

No worries, mate. I don't go into pet stores for animals, food or otherwise. Working with rats, and the hundreds of dollars in vet bills, has taught me all about communicable diseases. I used to breed guppies, so if I did get a garter, I'd probably just break out that set up. Is there something particular to pet stores that creates it? And those I was thinking could be fed live. Would being fed after being frozen make a difference? Is there a way to add the right nutrients?