sup guys, i want a snake ;P

[dreamache]

sup. pretty much a newbie here. now i know, this will sound pretty much typical, but i want a snake cause i think they're badass lookin, and i think it'd be pretty interesting to watch it eat something living. anyhow, wondering what kind of snake would you suggest for what i want, being a snake newbie.

thanks guys.

[matrix1829]

well if you are a starter go with a corn or a king snake. the are pretty easy to take care of.a peace of advise don't feed it live prey. if the live prey were to bite the snake it could injure it badly and even be deadly.
good luck pat.

[Linds]

Well for starters, although it may be cool....it is not in the snakes best interest to eat live prey in captivity. They eat them in the wild, but in captivity all the conditions are altered so you can't even compare. Rodents can deliver a nasty bite, sometimes even deadly.

<img src="http://www.proexotics.com/graphics/ball_python_live_prey_1.jpg">

Now the next part. What criteria are you looking for. Do you want a small snake or a little snake? Active or more relaxed? Do you want to handle your snake? Snakes are solitary animals, they don't enjoy being handled, but some tolerate it better than others. If you can give us some more specifics, we can probably give you a better answer :)

[burmer]

well if you are a starter go with a corn or a king snake. the are pretty easy to take care of.a peace of advise don't feed it live prey. if the live prey were to bite the snake it could injure it badly and even be deadly.

I couldn't agree more. For a first snake a king or a corn is without a doubt the best way to go. There are plenty of color morphs to pick from and they are the easiest for a beginner to care for.

[burmer]

Sorry I didn't see the pic before I posted. I've seen that pic before. That is without a doubt the best illustration of why not to feed live.

[dreamache]

hey, thanks guys. yeah, obviously i'm a starter here. i like animals, but obviously it'd be stupid for a starter to get a snake that'd require alot of attentive skill.

so i'm looking at what every start probably wants. a snake that doesn't require a TON of attention as far as moderating special conditions, i dont want a LARGE snake but i dont want a real small snake either. something that i can handle from time to time, but i understand its not something you should overdo and such. i'm a computer programmer / designer, so i'm in my room a lot, so i wouldn't neglect it ever or not feed it.

so i hope thats enough specifics. thanks.

[lilyskip]

Wow, Linds...everyone who feeds live should staple those pics to their wall. Ugh.

[sapphire_moon]

Ya, you don't want to get a snake just to see it eat something. Or just because you think it would look cool.
I did, I got a Ball Python believeing I could keep him in a little 10 gal aquarium all her life. No one told me anything about snakes at all. They have special heating requirements and some have special humidy (sp?) requirements. They aren't cheap to keep. Buying a 3-6 dollar rat every week can become very expensive. And seeing as how most people get addicted to Herps then buying 3-4, $3-$6 dollar rats a week can get VERY expensive!

By the way how old are you? Because Herp Vets are especially not cheap! And for some of the larger snakes (3-5 ft) neither is their caging.

[Linds]

Well you have a choice between boids (boas and pythons) and colubrids (milksnakes, kingsnakes, ratsnakes, etc). Boas are usually heavier bodied, slower moving, less active than colubrids, which are more slender bodied, quite active and can be a bit high strung, as well as they defecate much more than boids.

<U>BOIDS</U>
Spotted Pythons usually finish up around 3'. They are relatively easy to care for and are usually quite docile.

Childrens Pythons are similar to Spotteds, although their pattern fades and they have a slighlty different colour. They are also a bit smaller.

A Hog Isle Boa can also be a great choice. They are easy to care for, and usually pretty docile once you get them out of their cage. When they are in their home they have a very strong feeding reflex. They average around 4.5-6 feet in length, some females may occassionally exceed this. Below pictured is my 6.5+ foot female.
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/508/22peanutfsoutside-med.jpg">

Central American Boas are great as well, depending on locality... they range from 4-7 feet in length. They have the same care as the Hog Isle (they are the same subspecies), though they can be somewhat more variable in their temperaments.

Rosy Boas usually max out around 2-3 feet. They come in a variety of different colour and pattern variations depending on the locality.They are super easy to care for and tolerate handling better than most species. They are probably the slowest moving boids you will find. They don't get stressed very easily either. Below pictured is one of my mexican locality Rosy Boas...
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/508/22sweetnesspumpkin1.jpg">

Sand boas can also be a great choice. They range from 1.5 to 3 feet in size, and their care is similar to that of rosies. They are usually pretty easy to handle as well.

Rainbow boas can be a good choice if you are prepared to for their lower temperature/high humidity requirements. As long as these are met they make great captives. Most commonly available are Brazilians and Colombians. Both are usually great feeders and easy to handle. Colombians are shorter (4-6 feet) and stockier, and dull in colouration. Their care is similar to the Brazilian, though they can tolerate lower humidity better. Brazilians attain larger sizes (5.5-7 feet) and are, IMHO the closest thing to having a guaranteed "tame" animal. Babies can be nippy but calm down fast and easily and stay that way. They aren't a very stocky snake so a 6 foot rainbow is nowhere near as large as a 6 foot Hog Isle. Below is my 2 year old orange male...
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/508/22tagz-sun.jpg">

<U>COLUBRIDS</U>
Corns reach lengths of 4-5 on average, with some specimens reaching lengths of 6 feet. They are usually handleable, are very hardy, and are great feeders. They come in an endless array of colours and patterns.

Milksnakes are easy to care for however can be a bit spastic in terms of handling. Not so much that they bite as they musk, defecate, and urinate all ove the place. They reach lengths of 4-6 feet. They are very nervous and super fast, but can be very pretty.

Kingsnakes can be similar in milksnakes in terms of musking all over the place. They are easy to care for, but again can take a lot mreo effort to acclimate to handling. They finish up around 4-6 feet as well. Some species such as grey bands may be more difficult in terms of feeding.

Bull snakes are easy to care for, and usually reach around 6 feet. They are relatively easy to handle as well.

Some ratsnakes such as grey rats, everglades rats, and black rats are relatively easy to care for and can become handleable with some time. They attain sizes of 4-7 feet depending on subspecies.


NOTE===Although this species is commonly recommended as a beginner snake, I would have to disagree. Ball Pythons are IMHO better as second snakes. They can be finicky feeders sometimes, and often go on fasts, which can be very frustrating for the novice keeper. In addition they are a very timid snake and can stress very easily, which doesn't make them a great candidate for frequent handling.

Good luck with your decision. Make sure to research thoroughly and have everything setup before you are ready to bring your new little friend home :)

[Oliverian]

IMO, you should really think about it and only get one if you're ready to pay for everything it needs, and look after it well. Sorry to sound like someone's mom but you need to know what you're getting into. As sapphire said, feeding can be expensive. Personally, I like garters and ribbons as they are interesting, active, very curious, and their food is very cheap. (Here, feeder fish are 10c each, and slugs and worms are free:p) Also the snakes themselves are very inexpensive. But, they don't get very big (around 3f usually), and you said you wanted something not too small. So, just something to think about. Other than that I would recommend corns, and i'm sure many of you agree that they are a great beginner's snake.

[Lisa]

One thing I thought I'd mention. Snakes don't eat their prey live. They kill it first, then eat it whole. If you want to see some thing eat their prey live get a gecko, frog, toad or another such animal that eats live prey (usually bugs of some sort). Putting a rodent through the stress of being crushed to death isn't the most humane thing to do either. We raise rodents for our snake food but we kill them first (usually we use dry ice in warm water, the rodents pass out in under 10 seconds and in general it's a pretty painless way to go). Seeing as the snake eats dead food there's really no reason to feed it live anyways, there's no thrill in watching a snake crush a rodent to death it just sits there and squeezes, and odds are your snake would do it with a dead prey item too (most of ours do). So why put the snake at risk and have either the preditor or prey suffer a slow death? I can't think of a good reason, can you?


Oh ya, as a rule, boids tend to just sit there while colubrids are a little more active.

[tHeGiNo]

Putting a rodent through the stress of being crushed to death isn't the most humane thing to do either.

I wouldn't go as far as saying that...Not that I am encouraging live feeding but it is natures way. Of course in captivity it is a whole different story and live feeding shouldn't occur. Also they dont crush the prey to death, they asphyxiate, two different things IMO.

[Smilts]

i have Bull snake and a Gopher snake there my first snakes to own. They both eat well, and are very docile they keep moving while youre holding them but mostly just checking things out. They are very nice and easy going snakes both where w/c.