colubrids?

[chomsky]

hey, I just wanted to get a consensus of what the funnest/best looking colubrid is to keep as a pet. up 'till now, i've only kept boids(boas, burmese, balls, ect.); but i want to get a colubrid cuz i aint never had one. what do you think?

[ohh_kristina]

hognose! i think they are the most attractive colubrids out there.

[alex_33]

My favourites are Greybanded Kings, Or any of the Tri-coloured Milksnakes.

[lordkovacs]

hognose is cool. I like the plain ole' corns though...okeetee's. good luck.

[Classic]

You really think that a hognose looks better than a milksnake that has bright colors? The many milk snake sub species out there has an almost countless number of variations in color and pattern. A hypo or tang honduran, normal pueblan, albino nelsoni, and just about any kingsnake. The colors on some of these are mind boggleing. Except for the cute face on a hognose, I find the colors are drab. Just my 2 cents.

[ohh_kristina]

I agree with you on the colors, but hognose are just more attractive to me. Not only because of their little noses, but because of their "personalities". They flare out like a cobra, play dead, rattle their tails, etc. They're cute :D But if you're looking for something with a little color to it, then get a milksnake or a morphed corn snake.

[Lisa]

I think I like my corns the most, they're cute and are very curious. I have corns, kings and a hognose.

[Invictus]

Corns all the way. They are so easy to keep, have great personalities, can adapt to just about anything, and eat like pigs when they are established. Not to mention, you have over 120 pattern variations to chose from.

[Oliverian]

Over 120?? Holy! I had no idea there were so many! Lol. I'm definitely getting into corns when I get out of school. ~TR~

[reverendsterlin]

thai bamboo ratsnake

[Simon R. Sansom]

Actually, there are many morphs of Western Hognose Snakes (Heterodon nasicus nasicus) being established these days.
There are several forms of extremely colourful Amelanistic Hogs and an incredibly breathtaking, high-contrast, red, Hypomelanistic morph, among many others.
Ryan and Sheila at Scales Zoo apparently have an amazing pair of red hogs which really get me droolin'!

Check www.albinohognose.com and you'll see what I mean about the many morphs.

Anyway, my personal favourite colubrids are...
1) Trans-Pecos Rat Snake (Bogertophis subocularis).

2) Cave-Dwelling Rat Snake (Elaphe taeniura ridleyi).

3) Tropical Chicken Snake (Spilotes pullatus).

4) Mexican Black Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula nigrita).

5) And I agree with the good reverend, the Thai Bamboo Rat Snake (Elaphe porphyracea coxi) is really sharp! Don't have any...YET!!

Cheers!

Simon

[eyespy]

Garters are my favorite "fun" snake because they are extremely active, lively hunters and diurnal. There are some lovely color morphs such as Blais Flames.

To look at, I love Mexican black kingsnakes and leucistic Texas rats. I guess I look at things in black and white. :p

[ErikM]

Hondos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and Hognose :D

[lolaophidia]

I really like colubrids. Here's a list of fav colubrids that I currently keep...

Mandarin Rat snakes- timid but beautiful!!!
Taiwan Beauty snakes- hefty, huge appetite, easy going.
Mexican Black King- the only king snake I ever wanted...
African House snakes- the easiest snake to breed, undemanding.

Past favorite snakes...
Black Rat snakes- great personality, hefty snake, can be pissy as youngsters though. I've had albinos, normals and "greenish" yellow/black intergrades.
Central American Black Tail Cribos- what a sweet snake, extremely active but cage clean up was a mess!
Corns- nice but common.

Hognosed for funniest looking. They really are odd with that upturned nose... Haven't kept one though 'cause I really like the Easterns and they can be finicky switching to mice.

[Darlene]

Gotta go with Invictus on this one. the corns are common for a reason.....they are great !!!

[reptiledude21]

Im with you Invictus, Corns all the way!

[vanderkm]

As people have mentioned, there are many colubrids you could choose from - much depends on the coloration, body type and size you want. One thing you may want to be warned of before switching to colubrids if you have only had boids, it that they poop a lot more. Food goes through them really rapidly and instead of the once monthly firm boa or python poo, you are looking at one to two high volume, wet, heaps every week. I really like my corns, kings and milksnakes, but this is one major difference that makes for more work.

mary v.

[Doug & Deb]

Personally I like the corns and I think my favorite is the Butter Corns they are beautiful. I also like the candy cane and the creamsicle corns and the anetherestic are nice to the belly looks like a piano keyboard.

Doug & Deb

[TheRedDragon]

I'm with you Invictus! Corns come in so many pattern and colour varietys, there's just so many to choose from. You can really get a beautiful collection going with them!

[matrix1829]

I just bought 2, an okeetee and a snow corn because I just lost my burm. they are very curious snakes. I think I will like the experience of owning corns!!!!

[Invictus]

Curious is right. You have to keep your eyes on them if you let them roam a bit. That's part of why they are so much fun. They are so active when they are handled.

[spyderman]

I'd go for corns,they are very inquisitive,and docile.
Our snow corn hatchling curls up on my youngest daughters hand(she's 8yo). the snow corn pooped on her last night and she thought it was great cos now she's a herpatologist as she put it..lol
She overheard me talking about one of the threads,that your not a hepatologist til you've been pooped on...lol

go for corns

Wayne

[Zoe]

How come no one has mentionned cavers yet??

And can I safely assume indigos are out of your price range? :)

Zoe

[spydermrs]

go for corns, there is a large range of colours, and they are so inquisitive. Each has their own personality, I think they are great.

If you want something a little larger try the bull snake,a bit hissy but they are mostly quite docile.

btw I saw a corn x bull snake in a book from the library it was a fantastic looking snake. Has anyone heard of this cross breed before???

Ruth

[TheRedDragon]

Originally posted by spyderman

She overheard me talking about one of the threads,that your not a hepatologist til you've been pooped on...lol


Heh heh heh, Invictus sure has made that rank at least 10 times over! *LOL* :D

[Beardonicus]

I know I may be an exception, but I just recently got my first colubrid and it was a Leucistic Texas Rat. I am not sure of the general opinion on these, but I like them alot.I have heard they are supposed to be devilishly mean, but mine is very sweet and inquisitive.

[lolaophidia]

I think a lot of the reputation of the Texas Rat is based on Wild Caughts. I had one around 10 years ago and he was pretty evil. He never calmed down, I always had to handle him with gloves or he'd bite repeatedly. When I got him he was 5' and skinny, covered in mites and hadn't had a decent shed for a while. He never ate frozen thawed or even pre-killed. Nice orange background and good pattern though. He did thrive for a while in my care but he was never a "pet". I think the leucy's are more of a domestic animal (bred for looks and hopefully temperament).
Good Luck with your LTR.
Lora:)

[Invictus]

Originally posted by TheRedDragon
Heh heh heh, Invictus sure has made that rank at least 10 times over! *LOL* :D

Oh yeah... I have my PhD in corn poop. :)

[spyderman]

Originally posted by Invictus
Oh yeah... I have my PhD in corn poop. :)

Near with you Invictus. My Bull DUMPED one on me. I was wearing shorts at the time, as I always do & it really does stick to everything. SpyderMrs Just laughed at me. WOMEN!!!

[Invictus]

LOL.. the corn poop didn't stick to me. The problem with it is, it's liquidy. It soaked right through my jeans. I almost puked.

[ChunkyMunky]

yummy

[Cas]

Black pine snakes... gotta love the attitude <img width="512" height="436" src="http://image.photoloft.com/opx-bin/OpxFIDISA.dll?s=cano&src=/PhotoLoft/Asset19/2002/07/09/9776/9776770_0_0689.fpx,0,0,1,1,512,436,FFFFFF">

And corn snakes, of course.

:D

Dawn

[spyderman]

I prefer my Bull. She's beautiful & Unusually docile, but I am just one of the lucky ones, I think. Most take a while to calm down, but My Ekans is Great.

I would still get a corn for a first snake, But I just Love my Bull. :)

[Linds]

Not a huge colubrid fan, but Cave Dwelling Ratsnakes are simply amazing! As well as Vietnemese Blue Beauties. I think Apricot Pueblans are very attractive too... can't get much more colourful than that!

[Invictus]

Well, needless to say I agree with Linds, being that we own a blue beauty. :) Ours is a little spitfire! Full of attitude, but hasn't tagged us yet. She's an absolute joy.