Beginner Snake

[bcr229]

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?

Most pet store employees don't know - or care - which feeder fish do and don't have thiaminase. Freezing doesn't affect it either. It's easiest just to avoid the whole problem and switch your snake from night crawlers to the smallest mouse pinkies you can find.

While mine were on night crawlers I did get some liquid calcium and put a drop of that on the worm just before it was fed to the garter, to make sure the garter got enough Ca for bone development.

[BWB]

I have a normal ball python and a Hogg Island boa - both great snakes although the ball is not eating right now which is very frustrating. She is wandering around as if on the hunt but the last time I attempted to feed her she crawled out of her hide, over the rat and later went back in her hide past it. The next morning (left it for her overnight) the rat was partially in her hide, not eaten. In the past I have fed the uneaten rat to the boa but last week he had started to shed and I hold off feeding until the shedding process is complete. Balls are great pets and easy to handle - mine loves to explore so you have to watch her. The boa is a bit faster/squirmier when I first get him out but calms down when he gets a grip on me. He'll hang onto me and doesn't venture too far away. The boa is about 4 feet long but slim whereas the ball is about 40 inches long and a bit chunkier. The boa will always eat and requires very little prompting whereas the ball has to have the rat left at her hide entrance and have a quiet dining experience!

[lbrent-hurst]

Hi Everyone,
Sorry to kinda hijack the thread. I am also looking for my first snake right now. I have finally convinced my parents to let me get one, but I am stuck on deciding what species to get. So far, I have been looking at western hognoses, BPs, or Hog Island boas. I really love the character and cuteness of hognoses, but I have heard that they can be more squirmy when handling. I also like that they require so much less room than the other snakes. Their venom/toxic saliva isn't much of a concern, in fact, it makes them a little more interesting to me. I love the temperament, docility, and morphs of balls, but I know that they are sometimes bad feeders, take up more room, and aren't the most exciting snake. However, I would enjoy being able to sit down on the couch and not have to worry about the snake going anywhere. I think the hog island boa's colours are really cool, as well as their temperament, their size compared to regular BCIs, and how inquisitive they are while still being very relaxed. Price and space requirements are my main concerns, as well as the availability of good breeders and pure snakes. I have also been looking at spotted/children's pythons, milk snakes, and kingsnakes, but would be open to any suggestions.

Thanks,
Liam

[Slim]

I am also looking for my first snake right now.

Have you considered a corn snake? Easy to care for, simple caging, good eaters, and they come in many different paint jobs.

[Coluber42]

You could go to a pet store or two, if there's a good one near you, and ask if you can handle the snakes they have for sale and see what species you connect with, gravitate toward, or just like. If you do, try and find out when they are least likely to be busy and go then; don't go on a nice Saturday afternoon when they're packed with kids who all want to see all the animals and then expect a lot of attention from the staff while you're still in the tire-kicking stage.
Most of the snakes that are common pets are not terribly difficult to care for, once you have everything set up initially. Just keep in mind their future needs in terms of space and prey, and the fact that the bigger they are the bigger they eat and the bigger they excrete.
Your snake will be with you for a long time, so you might as well go for the one that captures your imagination, within reason.

[John1982]

I always have and probably always will advise a corn, or(my favorite close cousin) gray ratsnake, as the best first time pets. Sure, there are plenty of great candidates but I think they are the best options for someone that likely wants to handle a fair bit and will almost certainly make some mistakes along the way. Even wild examples, 9/10 of the time you can pick them up and only get bit a couples times(sometimes not at all) before they're chill. A couple years ago I found a rather skinny looking gray rat in the yard and walked him over to one of my known tree frog haunts and held him up so he could pick off a few easy meals while wrapped around my fingers. He didn't bite me at all as far as I remember but the main point is, he didn't get turned off food by the encounter. A year or two before that some heavy rains drove a hatchling gray rat to take refuge in my home. He was a fresh baby, that had just got the poop scared out of him by some crazy dogs, but took a couple pinky ASF like an old pro the same night. I released him the following day after the rains stopped.

King snakes fall into a similar category of basically being bulletproof but they also tend to be more food oriented. You could end up with a gnawer if you don't feed enough or work with the snake often enough - sometimes even when you do.

Garter snakes are also hardy but not nearly so much as ratsnakes and kingsnakes. They can also be very musky and bitey, though this varies largely from species to species, and they can be worked out of it most of the time. They are tiny though and flighty as babies which can be just as intimidating to a new keeper as something larger and aggressive. I often affectionately call my infernalis little bitey poopcopters. They are always hungry and my fingers look close enough to pinkies that they want a taste. They also don't just musk, they musk while twirling their tails like little propellers to send crap flying all over the place. I'll probably get around to working with them when they get a bit bigger probably but for now I find both attributes, more or less, kind of endearing - doubt a new keeper would feel the same.

Ball pythons are great but not as forgiving of keeper error as the above choices. Even when you do get all of your parameters "right" you might still need to tweak around with things to get them to really thrive for you. While all of the above will take to f/t without a hitch, ball pythons can take a fair bit more work and when they inevitably do go off feed they can be stubborn getting back on to f/t whereas a live rodent might get their attention sooner. Also, you have to remember that a fasting royal isn't uncommon or unnatural. If you feed f/t though and this is your only snake, be prepared to throw out a fair number of rodents throughout the year.

[redshepherd]

If you're willing to do a lot of research online in the right places, buy all the necessary equipment of good quality/brand, then I'd say to pick whichever snake you personally like more (corn snake or BP or whatever). Corns are good for beginners in the way that an owner that did almost no research can make childish mistakes on them, and they will live and still have a decent appetite. While ball pythons are quite intolerant of husbandry mistakes.

[lbrent-hurst]

Have you considered a corn snake? Easy to care for, simple caging, good eaters, and they come in many different paint jobs.

You could go to a pet store or two, if there's a good one near you, and ask if you can handle the snakes they have for sale and see what species you connect with, gravitate toward, or just like. If you do, try and find out when they are least likely to be busy and go then; don't go on a nice Saturday afternoon when they're packed with kids who all want to see all the animals and then expect a lot of attention from the staff while you're still in the tire-kicking stage.
Most of the snakes that are common pets are not terribly difficult to care for, once you have everything set up initially. Just keep in mind their future needs in terms of space and prey, and the fact that the bigger they are the bigger they eat and the bigger they excrete.
Your snake will be with you for a long time, so you might as well go for the one that captures your imagination, within reason.

I always have and probably always will advise a corn, or(my favorite close cousin) gray ratsnake, as the best first time pets. Sure, there are plenty of great candidates but I think they are the best options for someone that likely wants to handle a fair bit and will almost certainly make some mistakes along the way. Even wild examples, 9/10 of the time you can pick them up and only get bit a couples times(sometimes not at all) before they're chill. A couple years ago I found a rather skinny looking gray rat in the yard and walked him over to one of my known tree frog haunts and held him up so he could pick off a few easy meals while wrapped around my fingers. He didn't bite me at all as far as I remember but the main point is, he didn't get turned off food by the encounter. A year or two before that some heavy rains drove a hatchling gray rat to take refuge in my home. He was a fresh baby, that had just got the poop scared out of him by some crazy dogs, but took a couple pinky ASF like an old pro the same night. I released him the following day after the rains stopped.

If you're willing to do a lot of research online in the right places, buy all the necessary equipment of good quality/brand, then I'd say to pick whichever snake you personally like more (corn snake or BP or whatever). Corns are good for beginners in the way that an owner that did almost no research can make childish mistakes on them, and they will live and still have a decent appetite. While ball pythons are quite intolerant of husbandry mistakes.

I have looked at corns before, but to be honest, they just don't interest me as some of the other snakes I have mentioned. I have only seen normals, hypos, and albinos at pet stores, but I am going to a reptile expo at the end of the month, so maybe I will see some cool morphs which are a little more intriguing. I have done lots of research on all of the snakes that I have mentioned (housing, feeding, temp, humidity etc.), so I feel that I will be able to care for them all. I am just wondering if anyone has personal opinions on whether or not they are suitable for beginners, and which ones are better/worse.

Liam

[Zincubus]

I have looked at corns before, but to be honest, they just don't interest me as some of the other snakes I have mentioned. I have only seen normals, hypos, and albinos at pet stores, but I am going to a reptile expo at the end of the month, so maybe I will see some cool morphs which are a little more intriguing. I have done lots of research on all of the snakes that I have mentioned (housing, feeding, temp, humidity etc.), so I feel that I will be able to care for them all. I am just wondering if anyone has personal opinions on whether or not they are suitable for beginners, and which ones are better/worse.

Liam

One of my main display snakes is a 5'+ Amel Striped Corn snake , he's a stunning bright orange with a feint yellow stripe on the lower part of his body ( white belly , thin yellow stripe just above the belly and the rest bright orange ) .

[redshepherd]

I have looked at corns before, but to be honest, they just don't interest me as some of the other snakes I have mentioned. I have only seen normals, hypos, and albinos at pet stores, but I am going to a reptile expo at the end of the month, so maybe I will see some cool morphs which are a little more intriguing. I have done lots of research on all of the snakes that I have mentioned (housing, feeding, temp, humidity etc.), so I feel that I will be able to care for them all. I am just wondering if anyone has personal opinions on whether or not they are suitable for beginners, and which ones are better/worse.

Liam

There's no better or worse if you're confident in your research and getting all aspects of husbandry spot on- many species can be suitable then, if adult size is not much of a consideration/if you don't mind larger snakes (rosy boas, corns, BCI, king snakes, bull snakes, ball pythons, dumeril's boas, carpet pythons...). So besides husbandry and size, it's just what your ideal temperament is in a snake/how much you want to handle them, and that could vary per individual snake too. I hope you see a ton of stuff at the expo.

I wanted a ball python for years, did a ton of research, and my first snake was my albino BP. My 2nd snake was another BP, and 3rd was a Dumeril's boa who was 3 years old. I have a friend whose first snake was a jungle carpet python, after lots of research, and her snake has only been doing great as well- never had any issues, because did great research. I haven't had issues with my snakes (other than Cake going off feed over the winter) either. I think if you're smart, confident in your research online, you'll be fine with many species really. Research and husbandry is what makes most of the difference in what makes something "beginner" or not, I think. Almost everything revolves around research.