New Here (advise please?)

[mpdescha]

Hi all! My name's Mack and I'm a pretty experienced snake keeper who has taken a break for a while but now looking to get back in :D

Here's the scoop. My bf is terrified of snakes. It's taken a lot to get him to the point of being ok with having one in our house, and I don't want to screw it up. I'm looking for suggestions on what snake would be the best (i.e. calmest, most tractable) snake to have around someone who is scared of them.

In the past I've had an assortment of corns (love them, but looking for a new experience) BCI, BP, black & andean milksnakes, kings, and lastly, a spotted python. The real damage was done with my bf when he saw the spotted bite and start constricting my hand! I want to make sure the next snake I get will be as unlikely as possible to do something like this again. I understand that there is always the possibility, but I'd like to at least reduce the likelihood of it happening.

The snakes I'm most considering right now are a baird's rat, african house snake, russian rat or rosy boa. I'd say the russian rat and rosy are my top picks. Russians have proven very difficult to find, and I've read a lot about how rosies can be pretty bitey. Does anyone have any experience with this? I've heard that the mexican rosies are calmer. I for one am interested in the harquahala locality. Anyone with any experience with them and temperament? I am open to any suggestions as well.

Just to reiterate, I'm interested in getting a pet that will serve as a sort snake ambassador to my bf. Hopefully I can convince him that they aren't all mean! Thanks,

-Mack

[sharthun]

Hey and welcome!

[wrecker45]

Welcome. My girl friend was terrified of snakes also. I bought a corn. She now owns her own corn. I now have 8 snakes.

[drumcrush]

Hey, welcome! Mexican black kings are very docile snakes. Mine wouldn't hurt a fly!.....well, maybe a mouse lol but you get the point. I have a friend who had a Rosie and sold it for a different one because it was bitey. Russian rat snakes also sound like a great option!

[mpdescha]

Hi, thanks for the welcome!

[Starbuck]

Welcome! I have a rosy who is 15 and she is the most docile, calm snake I own. She is never nervous, never has struck or anything... plus they have tiny little heads :-)

[swolek]

If you're looking at rosies, check out Kenyan sand boas, too :). Admittedly, one of mine is an ******* but the other two wouldn't bite me even if I tried to get them to. Gobi, my adult male, is actually the only snake my fiance will handle :).

[franks]

If your main criteria is something that will most help your boyfriend feel comfortable, and if your two choices are a rat snake or rosy boa, the answer is Rosy Boa. I have read too that some Rosy Boas are bitey, but that is the exception, not the norm. I think that they are deemed so docile that people start posting about bites just to remind others that they are snakes and can bite. I have met one that would try to strike anything, but most are exceptionally docile. My wife hates snakes, and will no go near any of them, but she will handle my rosy boa. Good pets all around imo.

[franks]

... And welcome to the forum!

[Charis]

Hello and welcome! I'd suggest the Rosy boa too. My Mom isn't a big fan of snakes but she likes my really calm male Mexican Rosy, we drove two and a half hours to pick him up and on the way back he coiled up around her arm and went to sleep, ever since, he's been her favorite.

Another species I'd recommend would be a tricolor Hognose, L. pulcher. They are fairly difficult to find but our little one is super laid back and probably the most non head shy snake we have. He's never made any kind of threatening moves and is very calm with being handled.

[Mikoh4792]

Russians are great pets if you can provide the space. They can get up to 6 feet+ and are pretty active snakes. They require cooler temps(70-82f) so if you don't live in an area that gets too hot they'd be a great choice.

[Terranaut]

Just tossing this out there....first you mention stuff about your wife but in the next bit mention the snakes you like personally. If you stick to keeping the wife happy and ok with your snake I would drop getting what you want for what she wants. Show her some snakes and see what she thinks. I would also recomend a ball python. Get your snake of choice in a few months. The body movement of some snakes is what freaks some people out. Balls do not move in that ribbony sorta colubrids movement. I find this is why many people are less afraid of bigger slower snakes. Anyway....trust me and get your wife a snake first.

[Mikoh4792]

I think most girls like boas cause they are "pretty". If you don't want to house a big animal look into the dwarves. There are many different kinds available.

[maroongrad]

I have to agree about letting him pick the snake out! Take some time to flip through videos of snakes with him, look up pages on their behavior, have him determine a few snakes he'd be okay with. Personally, I'd say the smaller the snake, the better. If it does bite, realizing that it's not going to do much damage at all is reassuring! But he's going to be less likely to freak about it if he has some say in the snake.

[mpdescha]

Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful replies! It seems most of you are right about letting him help pick out the snake. Repticon is here next weekend and I'm thinking about taking him to see what he likes and doesn't. I was actually pretty set on a rosy before I posted this (small, calm, docile) and was quite surprised upon doing some quick research and hearing of all the biting stories. I had always thought of rosies as a go to snake if you wanted a good, handleable pet.

-Mack

[Hurrok]

Welcome to the forum! I haven't had any experience with Rosies or rat snakes but ball pythons are great!

They are pretty calm and I've never had an aggression/biting issue, except one (out of 11 snakes). It all just comes down to socialization, the more you take them out the more comfortable they will be.
People consider them to be pet 'rocks' but they are more active than you think! Definitely not as flighty as corns can be. Plus maxing out at around 4-5 feet is pretty handle-able.
I've had a few friends and family members come over who are afraid of snakes, and when they find out I've got a few of them they get a little freaked out. But honestly as soon as I take 1 or two out and let them hold them or even just pet them their perspective changes. Even with one particular friend who will not touch them like their life depends on it has learned to appreciate their beauty just by watching them interact. It is so cool to see :)

The majority of people who come to visit that are afraid leave wanting one of their own! :p

[MizCandice]

Just tossing this out there....first you mention stuff about your wife but in the next bit mention the snakes you like personally. If you stick to keeping the wife happy and ok with your snake I would drop getting what you want for what she wants. Show her some snakes and see what she thinks. I would also recomend a ball python. Get your snake of choice in a few months. The body movement of some snakes is what freaks some people out. Balls do not move in that ribbony sorta colubrids movement. I find this is why many people are less afraid of bigger slower snakes. Anyway....trust me and get your wife a snake first.

Firstly Welcome to the forum and back to herping!!
I have to agree with this, I love corns and they were my first snake too , ( I was a convert from the hell no I dont want a snake in the house crowd), but when you first take them out and they are all writhing and moving it definately made me nervous as a noobie. If you get a ball Id go with a yearling though as hatchlings can be VERY nippy. Good luck I hope things go well.

[mpdescha]

Thanks again for all of the helpful replies! I agree that a nervous, squirmy snake could definitely set off the fear factor, even if it doesn't bite. That's one of the main reasons I was interested in a rosy boa. From what I hear they are comfortable to just hang out, not constantly writhing and moving like some of the colubrids. I would just hate to get a rosy and it turn out to be one of those fabled biters I've read about. I think if the snake tried to eat him (regardless of size) that would be the end of my herping :(.

Anyone here with any rosy boa specific experience that can assuage my fears about ending up with a bitey snake? I've read that Mexicans are the calmest. Is any of this true? Thanks,

-Mack

[Terranaut]

Sorry. I did screw up the who's who, husband wife thing.

[mpdescha]

Sorry. I did screw up the who's who, husband wife thing.

Haha no worries.

[Charis]

I currently have three Mexicans and would recommend them, I'd just make sure that your SO only handle it when it's well fed and not around feeding time. All three of mine have bit me once each, feeding bites that were partly my fault, though my yearling female did go through a bitey period that seems to have passed since I upped how often she eats and started feeding her in a separate container.

That said, from what almost all the big Rosy boa breeders say, there are very few truly "mean" Rosy boas out there and in nearly all cases, simply increasing how often a bitey one eats gets rid of the bitey behavior.

[Starbuck]

MPdescha, i *think* my rosy is a mexican (you can look at her if you search through my threads) and she has NEVER bitten or even hissed or acted like she would bite, and she went through a period where i was giving antibiotic injections every other day or so, and she went to the vet and had a tail abscess lanced with only local lidocaine, and didn't even need to be restrained very much during the whole procedure; just needed to keep her head away from the incision while they worked. She is by far the snake i trust the most of all of mine (not that i don't love the excitement from the other 6 ;) )