Decisions.

[RCR]

Hey everyone! I have never owned a snake, nor do i really know what im looking for. I am looking for something on the easier side to care for, and something more docile/tolerant of people.

I originally was going to get a Corn snake, but now im kind of looking for something a bit more i guess? haha. A few were mentioned to me in a different post and i am currently looking at a Eastern/Chain King snake and a California King snake.

Im open to other types of snakes too(including boas and pythons too) But again looking for something on the easier side, and lower temperament. ( I also really enjoy cool colours/patterns .. i dont know what snake lingo is;))

So im curious as to what other options i have out there also. Im not even sure what is available here in MB, CAN either - i am attending a Reptile Expo in a month so i will meet breeders too im sure!

Look forward to your responses!! :)

P.s I live in a place that doesnt exactly allow pets, even though i have a few already... But 40 Gallon tank is the biggest i was looking to get. Thanks!

[toddnbecka]

Cali kings are more often on the grumpy/bitey side of the fence IME, and an adult Eastern/chain king would be cramped in a 40 breeder. My speckled and thayeri kings are smaller species, and quite easy to handle.
Children's, spotted, or savu pythons would be fine in a 40, you could actually cohab a pair w/out any problems as long as you separated them for feeding.

[dannybgoode]

Cali kings are more often on the grumpy/bitey side of the fence IME, and an adult Eastern/chain king would be cramped in a 40 breeder. My speckled and thayeri kings are smaller species, and quite easy to handle.
Children's, spotted, or savu pythons would be fine in a 40, you could actually cohab a pair w/out any problems as long as you separated them for feeding.

Childreni are awesome snakes. Missed out on one the other week but hey. Yeah if you can find one that's a great choice. Maculosa are nice as well - handled a few and they've all seemed pretty calm.

Savuensis are hard to find over here and expensive - they have a pair at my favourite store and they're very pretty. The male is a psycho though :)

An African house snake (Lamprophis sp) are another choice. Awesome snakes and one I'd love in my collection. There's a few breeders and keepers on here so plenty of advice available.

Zamenis persicus is another choice (Persian rat snake). Beautiful snakes - I have one - but more a display animal than one to overly handle.

[RCR]

Honestly, most of those pythons are a bit boring looking.. lmao, i was hoping for something i bit more than just a brown and black. i guess there is the simple Ball python which can come in many varieties...

Im only available to so many kinds in my area also, how about a Rainbow Boa? Im reading up they are pretty docile when handled on a more frequent basis.

[Andy_G]

Honestly, most of those pythons are a bit boring looking.. lmao, i was hoping for something i bit more than just a brown and black. i guess there is the simple Ball python which can come in many varieties...

Im only available to so many kinds in my area also, how about a Rainbow Boa? Im reading up they are pretty docile when handled on a more frequent basis.

Rainbow boas are a humidity sensitive species in that they require a lot of it. Not the best choice for a beginner and a tank without midifications definitely wouldn't do. Perhaps you should look into some of the different milksnake species? Many would do well in a tank that size, and a lot of subspecies are fairly docile especially as adults as well as colourful...hondurans and sinaloans are good examples of that.

Any particular reason why you wouldn't just buy from another area and have the animal shipped to you?

[Minkness]

BRBs would not last in a 40 breeder tank. If it's color, facility, and size you want, then a male Ball Python sounds more up your ally. Corn snakes are also pretty great. I have 3 of each and love them all. They really do have some amazing colors and patterns and would also be nore than fine in a 40 breeder tank. Some garter snakes are stunning and stay small, but most are nervous, so not the best to handle.

All in all, sounds like you really would like a ball python.

[RCR]

Ive had experience working with humidity and heating, just not with a snake, but yes i agree the Rainbow Boa probably isn't the best beginners choice. I've never done online shipping, im very skeptical to stuff like that, but lots of people do it so im sure all is well when doing it, just need to find a Canadian site then. I do also have the MB Reptile expo coming up in Oct. But of course i need to at least know what i want so i can have everything set up and ready in case i do bring something home.

My original plan was to get a corn snake, but im not completely fond of that orangey base color. (im being too picky apparently...)

Im kind of leaning towards the Ball Python, they can come in some pretty cool pastels and patterns, and seem pretty straight forward to care for.

[dannybgoode]

Not all corns have an orange base colour. They come a whole range of colours.

Personally I'd pick a snake for its behaviour and interest and not its colour but that's just me :)

[RCR]

Not all corns have an orange base colour. They come a whole range of colours.

Personally I'd pick a snake for its behaviour and interest and not its colour but that's just me :)

Most of whats readily available to me is the orange base. Sorry i should have worded that better. I may just have to look online/wait till the expo. See whats there. Ill take another yander at Corn snakes lol.

[Scubadiver59]

Yes, looks don't mean everything...I've been married twice and divorced twice, so I'm rather experienced! Make sure that you can touch them when you want and that they don't bite!

Oh, wait, we were talking about snakes, weren't we?! :rolleyes:

Not all corns have an orange base colour. They come a whole range of colours.

Personally I'd pick a snake for its behaviour and interest and not its colour but that's just me :)

[Aaron_S]

Top 3 for you

Corn snake - adult
Honduran milk snake
Ball python

[Alduin12805]

I say a spotted python, i have heard they are great for people beginning in snakes, and they look quite nice too.

[jjhill001]

Hey everyone! I have never owned a snake, nor do i really know what im looking for. I am looking for something on the easier side to care for, and something more docile/tolerant of people.

I originally was going to get a Corn snake, but now im kind of looking for something a bit more i guess? haha. A few were mentioned to me in a different post and i am currently looking at a Eastern/Chain King snake and a California King snake.

Im open to other types of snakes too(including boas and pythons too) But again looking for something on the easier side, and lower temperament. ( I also really enjoy cool colours/patterns .. i dont know what snake lingo is;))

So im curious as to what other options i have out there also. Im not even sure what is available here in MB, CAN either - i am attending a Reptile Expo in a month so i will meet breeders too im sure!

Look forward to your responses!! :)

P.s I live in a place that doesnt exactly allow pets, even though i have a few already... But 40 Gallon tank is the biggest i was looking to get. Thanks!

The question I have is what do you mean by more? Like more of a snake? Heavy bodied for example, I would look into the Eastern or Brooksi Kingsnakes, or, and I shudder to recommend this species but... a ball python (sorry Aaron I had to lol) would probably be your best bet, heck now that I think about it even a rosy boa offers some oomph without the length that would require much larger than a 20-40 gallon enclosure at full size, not sure anyone has recommended that species which is kind of underrated.

Or do you mean just sort of not as common that the average person who goes to the pet store often won't know about. There are a myriad of species that are great for beginners. I'm just gonna run off a list of species that aren't as common as corn snakes that make great beginner species but are also a bit unique.

-California Kingsnake
-Speckled Kingsnake
-Desert Kingsnake
-Black Rat Snake
-Yellow Rat Snake
-Everglades Rat Snake
-Baird's Rat Snake (my recommendation)
-Grey Rat Snake
-Western Diamondback Rattlesna...lol just kidding.
-Spotted/Children's Python
-Fox Snake (hard to find CB but are supposedly really neat species that stay small)

Those are just some off the top of my head not including the ones I mentioned before. I actually have breeders in mind for all species but the Spotted and Children's Pythons if you'd like me to point you in right direction but obviously I'm not sure about how shipping works from US to CAN so those breeders might not work but you'd at least be able to compare pictures to make sure you're getting a quality animal.

[Colombianito]

Corn snake is a fine choice. I personally love the Miami Phase Corns over all the rest. Really good looking snakes.

[akane]

Rosy boas. Calm, slow, easy to handle even as babies (corns and kings tend to be wiggly or nippy for awhile), almost never bite except feeding response accidents when rodent smell is present, and have lots of locality colors as well as a few morphs that are easy to find online or along the west coast. For something a little bigger and more active African house snakes get overlooked. The brown is the easiest to find but with some searching the group of species has a huge diversity in spots, stripes, and even somewhat shape with the bug eyed striped house snake (Boaedon lineatus). They are still hardy to conditions, easy to care for, and tame easy even when wild caught but are more active and while more slender than even a corn snake get up to 5' instead of the 2-3' of rosy boas. Harder to find though. I was just checking what was available and the bulk sellers usually only have brown so a breeder devoted to the species would probably need to be located instead.

[SerpentineDream]

Corn snakes come in hundreds of color morphs. They are a good choice, usually have nice dispositions--except for Honey morphs--and if you don't want orange you don't have to get orange. I have some that are eye-poppingly red (Cayenne Fires), pure white (Blizzards and Whiteouts) and yellow as well (Butter and Gold Dust). They also come in Anery and just about every other color and pattern that you could want.

King snakes are hit and miss. Some are nice and some live to bite you, depending on the individual. They also vary quite a bit in size.

Stimson's pythons are another tiny Australian python from the genus Antaresia but they retain their juvenile colors / patterns better than the others and have a nice iridescent sheen as well. Very nice disposition. They can be hard to find though.

A house snake is a good bet too. I love those little guys.

I also agree with the rosy boa suggestion.

Some milk snakes tend to be flighty and Hondurans can get fairly large. My picks would be #1 Mexican milk snake. Great color, mild disposition. #2 Nelson's milk snake. A little more shy but not spastic and also great color. My Mexican milks are gorgeous, easy to handle and never miss a meal.

Ball pythons are great. Males mostly stay smaller than females. They can be tricky to keep at the right humidity depending on your climate and some are very picky eaters. I'd say they would make a better second snake unless you read up on them and decide you're OK handling that. They also tend to be fairly sedentary. However they are gentle and--I think, anyway--very cute.

[Captain837]

A woma python is as close care/temperament wise as you can get to a kingsnake with a little more exotic look. They come in a variety of shades of color and banding and if fed properly won't get too big. Their only flaw is their insane feeding response when they are adolescents.

[Hissing sid 65]

Have a look at bull snakes and pine snakes...if you want something more active than a ball python check out the Angolans..they seem ace :-)

[TRD]

I would say, in no particular order;

Lampropeltis mexicana mexicana (Mexican kingsnake)
Lampropeltis alterna (Banded kingsnake)
Lampropeltis getula nigrita (Mexican black kingsnake)
Boaedon (Lamprophis) capensis (Cape house snake)
Lamprophis olivaceus (Olive house snake)
Elaphe dione (Dione rat snake)
Elaphe schrenckii (Russian rat snake - much bigger though than the rest)
Elaphe climacophora (Japanese rat snake)
Bogertophis subocularis (Trans pecos rat snake)

and there are so many more..

these are all very easy to keep, and readily available most of the time.

[Albert Clark]

Garter snakes are the "classic" beginners snake and the first snake. The females of most species and sub species grow fairly large and are more tolerant of handling. The Western and Mexican species are ones that grow fairly large. Some garter snake coloration is some of the most sought after in the hobby. California red sideds, Oregon red spotteds, and the blue puget sound garters are just a few.

[Humble308]

Another vote from me for spotted or childrens pythons. I have a pair of childreni and they some of my most interactive snakes. Great fun to feed them as well. House snakes are very interesting as well and voracious feeders.