BP or corn snake?

[rather_unique]

Heya! Im new here and have sort of been lurking for a while.

The thing is soon I will be getting my first snake The biggest problem is Im not sure which to get :S

I can either get a corn snake that will weave through my fingers and explore and shed farily well and eat generally quite well. The thing is im not that keen on all the confusing morphs etc and there just not as appealing to me then BPS

Or I can have a bp...there beautiful and I love them to pieces. Im just soooo worried Ill get one and be like.....oh....its not as exploring as a corn and think Ive made a wrong desison. I know Ill get some biased comments but can anyone tellme how a BP would be for my first snake. I know its not going to be liek a dog but I would liek something that doesnt sit there 24 7 and moves a little (hehe)

[frankykeno]

Well in the end it always should come down to what appeals to you personally so no one can really advise you on what's the better first snake.

Corns are gorgeous snakes and do come in a ton of lovely colors. They are a pretty easy snake to care for but are faster and smaller and tend to be escape artists. Balls are great also but do have more specific needs as far as temps and humidity to do well. They tend to be a bit more shy but with careful handling they don't really deserve their reputation as "sitting there in a tight ball and do nothing" snakes. They ball up as a defensive mechanism so if they are treated right and slowly get used to being held, they don't really do that all that much.

Of our 5 female balls, we have a range from some that are busy busy snakes and explore constantly when out, to others that like to hang out with the warm humans to one that is not tolerable of any handling. Only one of these snakes however was raised by us from a young age so I'd advise you to get a young snake from a reputable source that has been well started and is healthy and eating well if you go with a ball (that really applies though to any snake purchase).

Good luck on your decision. Take your time now and do the research and ask questions and then you can make the right choice for you and the snake.


~~Jo~~

[Shelby]

A tame well adjusted BP will explore plenty. They will eventually relax and sit on your warm neck/stomach/arm which is nice. You can sit and watch tv with them, but a corn will keep you busy moving around all the time.

[kjc]

i completely agree with jo, always up to your preferences, ive always like balls better, i love their temprement and their beauty,and they do get to be quite active too, one of mine is quite the little escape artist,but hes also real good at giving neck massages so i forgive him

[Neumann]

like.....oh....its not as exploring as a corn and think Ive made a wrong desison.

Greetings,

We have both, a corn snake and royal. We've owned the corn for over two years and the royal for just a bit more than a year. Regarding the personality of either- all I can say is that your mileage may vary. Our royal is seen out and about, exploring his cage, much more than our corn snake is. The corn snake is always hiding but the royal comes out almost every evening unless he's in shed or is digesting a meal. I think on the whole corn snakes may be more active but it's not the case with our critters.

There are a couple other issues I would focus on- longevity and frustration levels. Corns will live up to 15 years or so but a royal has the potential to live over 20 years and that's a big commitment. Corns are typically awesome feeders, while royals are known for being picky and going off feed for tremendous lengths of time. Corns are very tolerant to mistakes in husbandry and thrive under keeper mistakes. Royals require more accurate temps and humidity and seem to be more prone to stress (although I haven't experienced this myself).

Personally, I find I'm more fond of our royal than our corn. He's quite the mellow fellow, is a great feeder, sheds well and has been healthy and growing. So far I have had no grief with him on any level. Also, in general I like the way royals look more than I do corns. Stockie bodies, lovely colors and patterns. But this is just my opinion.

On the other hand, there are million corn morphs out there and many of them are absolutely stunning!

The only good advice I can give is a) be prepared to commit to the animal for a long time, no matter which one you choose and b) purchase from a private breeder and NOT a pet store. In my experience pet store folks are often ignorant so don't believe half of what they say. Ask questions on sites like this and get yourself some books on whatever species you're interested in or own.

...just my 2 cents

Good luck.

[PCherper]

yah try to decide on your own but in my opinion a ball python cause u can juust put them on your neck and watch tv, go on the computer and all that stuff

[frankykeno]

I think Adam said it very well in another thread about making choices when purchasing a snake. Something about picking the one that in the end you love and want as cleaning up snake poop for years isn't much fun if you really wished you'd gotten a different snake (paraphrasing of course as I suck at looking up past posts LOL).


~~Jo~~