good starter snakes. I'm looking!!!

Hi all,

im new to this and figured i would pick your brains for some information. I'm looking for a snake to start off with. i like the constrictors but dont want anything that looks at me as a food source lol. i was looking at the Children's python, or maybe even the stimson's python. i am really not sure if these are the only ones that stay at a relatively small size (4ft max). also, and this is a major factor, i want something that has a cool color morph. i figure if im going to spend the time and money to have one as a pet, i really dont want the one everyone buys at a pet store. just my thoughts.

any help on this would be great from you guys, and gals. im not stuck on the python/boa types, but i do tend to like their body styles a bit more.

thanks all,

mossyoak

Childrens Pythons and Spotted pythons are nice snakes to keep, something similar to them would be a Brown House Snake(Lamprophis capensis). If you dont decide to get a constrictor try getting a Western Hognose. Ball pythons are also great snakes to keep annd there are thousands of morphs to choose from.

thanks for the information, after looking at a few examples of what you listed, are there any species out there that stay around the 4ft length but get a body size of say a black rat snake for exp?

im guessing im being way too picky on my requirements that im looking for but then again, whats the point in not asking at all lol im also looking for something, that with supervision my 5 year old daughter could handle and im afraid a ball python may get to big and heavy.

How about a Corn Snake? They are small bodied but can reach around 5ft in lenght. Some amazing looking morphs out there

There is a lot out there.
King snakes, corn snakes, milk snakes, Brown House Snakes, some of the rat snakes also make good starters but each individual snake will have a different personality. I have seen some scary corns that will bite anything they see and some that will never bite.

sand boas are always fun to keep also rosy boas
crawl cay boas are a smaller local of boa but may get heavy for a young child.

Everyone has mentioned good species already. I just want to add you aren't buying a full grown snake so there isn't any need to worry about your behbeh girl being able to handle it full grown yet at 5, you should be concerned about personality at this stage. The baby snake will grow as your daughter does and at a slower pace. Ball pythons are perfect in regards to consistency in mellow personalities and have AMAZING morphs to choose from.

yeah but royals aren't necessarily a good starter as they are quite often problem feeders

shadowfoot wrote:

If you dont decide to get a constrictor try getting a Western Hognose.

I have a hognose and he is my favourite, they are wonderful snakes.

lycanlord wrote:

yeah but royals aren't necessarily a good starter as they are quite often problem feeders

+1, but CB's aren't always problem feeders. I would say go for a corn or king (or a hoggie ).

Parabuthus21 wrote:

shadowfoot wrote:

If you dont decide to get a constrictor try getting a Western Hognose.

I have a hognose and he is my favourite, they are wonderful snakes.

lycanlord wrote:

yeah but royals aren't necessarily a good starter as they are quite often problem feeders

+1, but CB's aren't always problem feeders. I would say go for a corn or king (or a hoggie ).

true but most will go through fasting periods I have an adult that didnt miss a feed in four years, then didnt eat for 10 months lol
Hoggies can be awesome to keep, get a female though as the males are like worms haha

compared to a female


also most snakes can be great handlers for children aslong as supervision is excellent
Hoggie

Columbian rainbow boa

my son corey he will be 2 years old this month and he loves to hold the snakes
He tried to hold my 7ft+ female boa

Already training the little guy up? He will be breeding scorps in no time

he is a big scorp fan as well, but hasnt held any just yet

thanks for the photos lycan, it does kinda put me at ease that this will be something i will be able to share with my little one as well.

It is true that bps can be finicky eaters. I have never had a problem feeding mine. I'm extremely anal with it's husbandry and she's a pig.

It comes down to the personality of your child and snake. My 16 month old daughter and 12 year old niece doesn't like the way my bp coils and grips and makes them a bit uneasy but the corn snake on the other hand slithers from hand to hand freely. Whatever you choose I'm sure you'll pick right because I can tell your doing your research before hand. Goodluck to you in your endeavors.

my roommate, who is wyattearp4137 on here. has a bull snake. i have started looking at some of the morphs of this species. im really starting to dive into these a little deeper.

well all, i am looking at a ball python. to be more specific, a male ball python. i like that fact that they tend to stay around or under the 4ft mark and get the extra size that im looking for. i dont think i will get just a normal color one, i really like the ghost color (silver) but not really sure. i need information on what is the best substrait for these, as the information im finding is too broad. what is everyones experience with the diff types out there?

I live in the dry [buttocks] desert of Phoenix, Arizona and I find that a mix of cypress mulch and sphagnum moss works perfectly. The two combined compliment eachother and hold humidity well. These snakes come from an arid tropical area. Too much humidity will give your bp a respiratory infection and not enough will cause shedding issues and wet substrate will cause scale rot. A big water dish gets my enclosure's(normal 20 gallon long with sliding locking screen lid)humidity up to 60 while allowing the substrate to be dry. I also keep a humid box( tupperware bowl with lid lined with moss and a cut out hole for entrance). I moisten the moss in the box when I notice it will be shedding soon just in case she wants a boost in humidity.

I know you didn't ask about this but I figure why not while I'm here. When you do decide on getting your snake make sure you set up the enclosure and get the temps and humidity right and stabilized prior to even buying the actual snake. Hygrometer, thermometer with temp probe, heat pad and thermostat are crucial. Like what was mentioned before bps can be trouble eaters but if you get a healthy one and you have everything set up perfectly before it comes home and you give it it's space you should have no problems. I myself didn't handle mine for the first couple of weeks, just performed necessary maintenance letting it get use to my scent before my "harassment". Now I have a fat pig that never refuses a meal even before a shed.