Best snake for a beginner?

[Lhannah]

Hello everyone,

I am a college student who just moved into my new apartment. I am planning on purchasing or adopting a snake - preferably a baby that will grow to be between 3 and 5 ft. What are everyone's recommendations for a first snake? I need something very docile and friendly that will take frozen mice or crickets.

It seems like my options are corn snake, ball python, milk snake, or california kingsnake. I'm a little iffy about using heating lamps/pads because I'm afraid of overheating the snake by accident. Any recommendations or advice?

- Laurie

[macandchz]

dear lhannah- my daughter is a college student too, and she started with an albino ball python that she got caught with in the dorm. so now mac's mine. this is our first snake,too. i really enjoy taking care of him. their care really isn't hard once you master humidity and heat. mac will probably make it to 4-5ft. ball pythons can be picky eaters and sometimes go on hunger strikes. you will have to have some kind of heat sorce. i use a florescent aquarium light that sits on top of the tank. mac is a very sociable snake, actually likes being held, and spends a lot of time outside his hide. not all pythons are like that-every snake has its own personality. i'm sure everyone on the forum will have their own idea of a good starter snake.

[eminart]

Well, really, it just comes down to which ones you like most. Any of the snakes you listed a great beginner snakes. None of them are going to eat crickets. The ball python will eventually need rats rather than mice. The one that is most likely to be docile, eat readily, be somewhat visible, and a little less flighty, while not being a "pet rock" is the corn snake. I only mention "pet rocks" because some people want a snake that moves around a bit, and other people don't care.

But, there are many, many snakes out there that are easy to care for, and suitable for a beginner. You mentioned Cal kings, but there are literally dozens of king snake species. Garter snakes, hognose snakes, african house snakes, and children's pythons are just a few more you might want to consider.

That said, there's no guarantee on how any specific snake's personality will be. But, the ones you mentioned, along with the ones I listed (and others) are generally great snakes for beginners.

[SerpentineDream]

Corn snakes are super easy to care for. They are laid back, stay within your preferred size range and come in many, many different color morphs. They will eagerly take frozen / thawed mice almost without exception (ball pythons are also great but can be fussy eaters and will require larger, more expensive rats). Corn snakes got me hooked on snakes in general. Even though I've since branched out into keeping other species I still have several of them. They're just that cool. :)

I use heat pads for all of my snakes BUT always hook them up to thermostats to keep them at the right temperature. There's one called the Jump Start available on Amazon which is cheap and super simple to set up. If you want to get the very best, a proportional thermostat like the Herpstat is the way to go but those are $$$. I use LED daylight bulbs on timers to just to light the enclosures and simulate a day / night cycle (no heat) but regular fluorescent lamps don't throw much heat and incandescent heat lamps dry out the air and are prone to burnout. I only use low-wattage incandescent heat bulbs for supplemental heat when necessary and rely on the belly heat from the controlled heat mats as the primary heat source. If you go with overhead lamps as a primary heat source you'll want to hook them up to a rheostat (make sure your bulb is compatible).

[REM955]

I saved this link from a while back from a thread on thermostats. I myself got a herpstat and it is doing well for me, but it is expensive.
Jump Start Thermostathttps://www.amazon.com/MTPRTC-ETL-Certified-Thermostat-Germination-Reptiles/dp/B000NZZG3S/189-1823477-2871143?ie=UTF8&keywords=uth%20thermostat&qid=1457728178&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2&tag=viglink21195-20
I will disclose I have not tested this.

[EL Ziggy]

I think king snakes are an awesome first snake. They come in lots of cool morphs, the husbandry is really easy, and they're good eaters. Both of my kings are a tad over 4 ft. On another note, I have quite a few of the hydrofarm/jumpstart thermostats and haven't had any issues in the 4 years I've been using them.

[pet_snake_78]

Heat tape will be perfectly safe,just hook it up to a good tstat and make sure it cannot pull loose. Locate the cage somewhere that someone won't trip on the tstat probe and secure it with some duct tape and maybe even a zip tie. Herpstat is a great tstat, it costs a little more but its maybe a few bucks a year over the life of your snake and has many safety features.

[pet_snake_78]

Make sure to ask the breeder if it's feeding on f/t before purchasing, it's usually much more pleasant to not have to run around and find the right size of live feeders.

[toddnbecka]

Corn snakes are a good start, go with a ultratherm heat pad from Reptilebasics and you won't have to worry about cooking your critter, those don't get too hot like the zoo med stick-on types. A suitable size piece of ceramic tile from Home Depot on top of the heat mat, then set one end of your plastic tub on the tile to create a warm end with a bit of a temp gradient toward the other end of the tub. Something elevated to climb and rest on will also help provide a vertical temperature gradient.
Milk or king snakes are also good options, but IME corn snakes seem to be a bit less flighty or defensive about being handled as babies. Children's pythons are a small species, but they tend to be nippy as babies, usually outgrow that fairly quickly.

[Pogie]

Your best bet is reading up on different types of snakes to see what "fits". Then talk to others like you are doing here, asking questions and such. Then shop around.

My first snake was a kingsnake. I have heard others say they can be nippy but I never had that problem with him. I also have corn snakes, they are nice too. More active.

Then I have my ball python. Now she is the only snake I have that has ever tried to bite lol. But given time I'm sure she will calm down. Like someone said above all snakes are different :) Just have fun shopping around to see what you like!

[Lhannah]

Thank you all so much for the information! I really appreciate it. I can tell you all really care about your snakes and the reptile community.