diff snakes?

[redshepherd]

They're arboreal, they sit on branches all day. Similar to BPs, a basking spot of 85-88, and a general temp of 78-80. Some bedding, a water dish, and a couple branches it can reach the water dish from.

4-6'. Slender build, a small rat/2 mice every couple weeks.

Better for a GTP to eat one mouse every 7-10 days than a larger meal at one time.

[Vipera Berus]

I would suggest a corn snake, as they are easy to look after and quite honestly having kept them before I got a bp actually made me wonder if I was keeping the bp that badly due to the feeding differences alone. Corns are so greedy its almost a problem.

[dkatz4]

My understanding is that Corns are universally recognized as the perfect beginner snake. They eat well, husbandry requirements are simple and they usually handle well. They are relatively small, though I've seen some females that have attained very respectable size. Google some handling videos, I've not owned one myself, but I've never known anybody who regretted getting one

[erebus45]

Beautiful snake I want to wait a while get use to having a bp since (from what I'm told) are the easiest snakes to keep.... I wanna go through the hard times (not eating, shedding problems, etc) so I have a general idea of what to do in these scenarios besides freaking out (if that makes any sence)

[Giga]

Surprised hognose snakes haven't been mentioned much yet - they are adorable, have relatively simple requirements, stay very small (especially males) and are are very handleable, not to mention they come in a variety of morphs so you're likely to find something you like. Some are hissy/puffy with some posturing, but very reluctant to actually bite. They're also quite active.

Otherwise, the various small-medium colubrids that have been mentioned are all good; corns, kings and milks are generally simple to care for and tolerant of handling.

I would not consider GTPs 'beginner' snakes, especially not if easy handling is important to you, although that's not from personal experience, so take with a grain of salt.

[Zincubus]

Surprised hognose snakes haven't been mentioned much yet - they are adorable, have relatively simple requirements, stay very small (especially males) and are are very handleable, not to mention they come in a variety of morphs so you're likely to find something you like. Some are hissy/puffy with some posturing, but very reluctant to actually bite. They're also quite active.

Otherwise, the various small-medium colubrids that have been mentioned are all good; corns, kings and milks are generally simple to care for and tolerant of handling.

I would not consider GTPs 'beginner' snakes, especially not if easy handling is important to you, although that's not from personal experience, so take with a grain of salt.

You ( and everyone else above ) make some great points ....

My issue with Hognoses - even though they are the CUTEST of all snakes ..... are rear-fanged and as such mildly venomous .... in fact for someone like myself ( whose hypersensitive to most things ) they are a complete NO-NO .

[bcr229]

I keep Savu pythons. I would not recommend one as a beginner snake even though they stay small, as they do need relatively high humidity and they are crazy voracious (typical liaises attitude). My adult female has done the tag-grab-wrap to me several times in the past year. Fortunately she has tiny teeth.

I would agree with keeping a king, corn, or milk snake instead. Males typically don't get very big.

[chip07]

Chinese beauty snake would also be a good option. They get a littler bigger than corns thickness wise but they don't tend to get larger than 5-6ft range. A black milk would be a decent option even though from what I've seen in mine they like to dig a lot.

My woma is not all that friendly and getting him out can be a pain even now when he is still on the smaller side.

[enginee837]

My woma is not all that friendly and getting him out can be a pain even now when he is still on the smaller side.

Thats crazy, our 3 babies get handled daily by my 8 and 10 year old daughters and are easier to manage than our 3 bp's. Just goes to show that although a species can have a general temperament it it still up to the individual animal.

After reading all of these responses I am thinking the best advice would be to get yourself a list of snakes you would be interested in then try to make it to one of the big reptile shows so you can see some in person.
If temperament is important and it is the one thing that can vary the most from snake to snake regardless of species. I do not think buying online would be in your best interest unless the seller has a good reputation and can clearly communicate all of the aspects of the animal.

[o.r hill]

Red-sided garters are neat. The ones that I had were inquisitive and active. A couple of ‘em became very tame.