what python species is better to get?

[snakebeginner]

What would be the best type of python to get? I wanted to get a Ball Python but now I might get a different species. Please help me decide. I am just a beginner rember. Thanks :)
Aaron

[snakebeginner]

Or else maybe a Boa. NOT A SAND BOA. Those snakes grow to small. I am looking for something that grows to be 5-7 feet long

[Matt_K]

Just a helpful hint to you, instead of replying to your post to add a point or whatever, you can click on 'edit' and it will allow you to add more to the body of your post..

As for a good beginner python, i would definatly recommend a Ball Python (bought from a reputable breeder).. I notice you're in B.C.. Have a look at Jeff Favelle's site, i think he actually has a couple baby BP's available right now!

[Bighead]

I agree. Ball pythons are great beginner snakes and as you may have noticed by now, even a favorite of many experts. As long as it is captive bred, they usually have nor problems eating and are very calm. They are also quite easy to care for.
Do you have any other herps? I have a ball python I might be willing to trade you for something else. It is three years old and smaller than average but very spoiled. She has 2 small scars from a heat lamp in the cage from the previous owner. It doesn't cause any problems with shedding or anything. You can see one of them in the picture. The other one is smaller.

[Bighead]

forgot the pic

[snakebeginner]

I think I will get a Ball cause I really wanted one.....Thanks for the helpful hint matt I am not to good with computers sometimes........ And I would trade you Bighead but I doubt you want a Corn Snake or 2 cocketiel Birds. I would definetly trade you either one but you probably wouldnt like that deal. well write back if you are interested...thats a cool pic also :)

[Invictus]

I'd recommend spotted pythons. They don't always, but CAN get to be 5 feet, and unlike a ball, do not stress easily from handling. The main reason why I do not recommend BPs to beginners is because they mistake a ball's timid nature for docility. This is simply not the case, and people tend to over handle BPs, and wonder why they don't eat. That's just my $0.02.

[SerpentLust]

Invictus beat me to it. My Spotted Python is 4.5 feet and still growing. She does not stress easily, ever. She has only bitten me once, and that's because I had the scent of mouse on my hands. I have never had a problem with her.

So that's my 0.02$ to add to Invictus' 0.02$....so you got 0.04$ worth of Spotted Python goodness :D

http://img1.photobucket.com/albums/0903/SerpentLust/Montey/c3c0da1a.jpg

Jenn

[marisa]

Whatever you choose, make 100% SURE you buy from a breeder with a good reputation for selling healthy, well started Captive Bred (C.B.) animals.

You can even tell the breeder you are a new snake owner, and would like baby that is feeding really well. Just make sure you do not purchase from a pet store or W.C. (wild caught) you will be in a world of problems! :)

Good luck with whatever python you choose. Spotteds, Balls, etc are all good choices.

Marisa

[Jezabel]

You can also look at irian jaya carpet. They do not usually grow over 7ft and lots of people are breeding them. They can be nippy young but they'll calm with handling. The eat better then bp and are more active, mine often coiled around it's perch while my bp where hiding most of the time.

[Herpsrus]

I totally agree with Invictus and Serpentlust. I have been keeping spotteds for 5 years and they are one of my favourites. They are soooooo easy to breed too. That may be a factor in your decision.

Mike

[Zoe]

Yep, my suggestion is a carpet python too.. irians rarely top 6ft and i've seen a nippy one (not even a baby, though some babies can be nippy). Plus, they are mostly CB and you can find them fairly easily.
BPs are greast too though, go with what you prefer!

[B-Rep]

Go with the spotted. You won't regret it.

[Jezabel]

My ij is a male and he's 6ft. And he's still groing. I thought female grow bigger so I thought 6ft was a comon lenght.

[Invictus]

I think 6-7 feet is a pretty exceptional size for an IJ! They usually top out at 5 feet. You must be doing something right, Jezabel. :)

I just can't say enough about spotties. I only have 2, but I am planning to get not a breeding pair, not even a breeding group, but a fricken COLONY of spotties, because they are just such incredible snakes to own. Anyone who owns one will also tell you that even to look at, they are amazing... SerpentLust's pic does them NO justice. I've seen rainbow boas with less irridescence than a spottie. I love those snakes!

[rwg]

I dont keep BPs so correct me if I'm wrong, but I think 5 feet is above average length for a ball python, especially a male. IJ carpets and jungle carpets get to be a nice size though. Jungles may get a bit bigger than you bargained for but they're not as heavy bodied as a ball python.

rg

[SerpentLust]

SerpentLust's pic does them NO justice.

Oh yeah thanks alot Invictus, pick on my crap photography skills! lol He's right though, and like him, although I only own one, these are the only snakes I can see myself owning colonies of! The entire family is in my A+ list! I want the Anthills, Stimsons, Children's, Granite Children's, Spotteds, Granite Spotteds, Cape York Spotteds, Striped Spotteds, And I've seen a couple of pics of what some call Hypo-melanistic and others call "peach faze" where their background is a lighter shade than normals.

I would honestly recommend Spotted Pythons. I only bought mine because at the time I had the choice between a fiesty milksnake, a BCI and a Spotted, and I took the pet store guys advice...but I sincerely think that I would not have been ever 1/4 as satisfied with the two others as I am with my Spotted.

I've had another corn, a Ribbon snake and currently a Mexican Black King...and not to play favourites, but they just have never appealed to me in the way that my Spotted has...they intrigue me yes, but I'll even go as far as saying the my Spotted is always first and foremost in my heart when it comes to my herps.

Jenn

[Jezabel]

I think 6-7 feet is a pretty exceptional size for an IJ! They usually top out at 5 feet. You must be doing something right, Jezabel.

Thanks alot Invictus but I it's something with genetic, he's parent must have been big. Here's a pic of him (that show he's size, not much of the color)

http://www.hissnherps.ca/sauron-012.jpg

But if you want a 5 ft snake, I also really like the anterisia species. If Large blotch python could be more often availlable in Canada...
:(

[Tim_Cranwill]

That's an IJ?!?!?!? Wow, he's HUGE! :)

I have lots of BPs and only a pair of IJs but I must admit I like keeping BPs a lot but I <b>LOVE</b> keeping IJs. They are so beautiful it makes me sick. :D

Snakebeginner, you live in BC. Call a few BC breeders and go check out what they have. That might help you make up your mind. :)

[snakebeginner]

i have heard many good things about spotted pythons. especially that there the easiest snake to look after. and i am considering getting one. How big do they grow? and does any one know where there is a good caresheet on them? Thanks everyone! :)

[SerpentLust]

Oh Me me me I do I do!!!

They usually max out at no larger than 5 feet, my Spotted is 4.5 feet right now and about 3-4 years old.

As for caresheets, I do enjoy reading this one: http://www.pythons.net/australia/antaresia/

This one is also alright:
http://www.thereptileshed.com/spottedpythoncaptivehusbandry.htm

I've never really found one I'm 100% satisfied with. But those are good little starters. I'm in the midst of writting my OWN caresheet lol

As for breeders, because you live in BC, you may want to check out Henry Piorun's stock, I think he still has some Spotties left:
www.a1pythons.com

Hope this stuff helps :) If you end up getting one, pictures :D:D:D

Jenn

[Jeff_Favelle]

Ian Muir breeds spotties as well. I think he has a pair left. He ships across Canada.

He can be found at www.mouseman.ca

[TheRedDragon]

I would definitely say either a ball python or a spotted python, ours are complete sweethearts. :)

[BoaBoi]

Perhaps a Male Columbian BCI? Usually stay around 5-7'. You said maybe a boa, well that's a pretty nice starter snake. As a matter of fact I personally think it's the BEST starter snake. Easy to care for, eats like there is no tomorrow. Very forgiving of care mistakes, while at the same time have great temperments. I swear mine has a personality of its own. Usually goes from my neck to the back of the chair to the bed, where it makes the dog move so it can have the bed to itself :P

James~

[endofshow247]

definely spotted!!!!

much more accepting of husbandry mistakes

[Mugwump]

My vote is for a venomoid rhino or Gaboon. So loving, so caring, so facially mutilated. And the odd nip that you might suffer would amount to a pin-prick--the average Gaboon only has 1.2 inches on its fangs!

[Bighead]

yeesh

[Dom]

MugWump .. I hope your kidding cause that is a horrible suggestion ..

I'd aim for a carpet python .. there semi-arboreal (imo) so make a much better dispay then your ball python and there colors are much nicer in mo ..

Just my .02$

[TheRedDragon]

Originally posted by Bighead
yeesh

I second that.

[M_surinamensis]

While you all go insane with spotted lust, it's important not to forget the rest of the genus... Childrens would be my suggestion if he's willing to invest the cash into obtaining some (How readily avaliable are they in Canada?), similar care to spotteds, just as forgiving of minor difficulties and I personally find them more visually appealing.

[beaglegod]

I think Ill be catching spotted lust come the end of next month:p

[juviniles_5]

u said that carpet pythons are semi aborl so what would be the minimum hight requrment for a carpet???

[lordkovacs]

minimum would be 18" i'd say... just MHO though...

[naja]

snake beginner, you might check out the Candoia genus, pacific tree and ground boas. there are a few different species and sub species, ranging from 2 1/2 feet and fat (ground boa), to 3 1/2 feet and very thin (tree boa). they are shorter than you said you wanted, but how inflexible can you be on that, i mean, really? they are incredibly beautiful snakes. what they sometimes lack in colourfulness, they make up with the shape of their heads. very cool snakes! they are quite easy to care for, plus they give birth to large litters and are relatively inexpensive. all in all, a good beginner snake, i must say.
and, hey, jezebel, are you absolutely certain that the snake in the picture is an irian jaya carpet? i find it very confusing, all of the various subspecies of carpets out there, but i do know that ij's are not usually over 6 feet, if that, and that there is one ssp. that can get as long as 12 feet, and others who fall everywhere in between. you may have one of these others. of course, i may be totally wrong here, and you may have gotten the snake from a competent breeder who knows what he is doing, but if you say that your snake is still growing fast, and is perhaps a young snake, i would have to say the possibility of it being another ssp. is definetely there. ok, just a thought! i know my irian jaya is definetely an irian jaya, and the colour is quite different, as well, but hey...

[Jezabel]

It's definitly an IJ. You can look at those pics where we se him better. The light is not good inside so color don't come out right on the pics I first post here. Also, I didn't say he still growing fast, I just said he's still growing.

http://www.hissnherps.ca/sauron-008.jpg

http://www.hissnherps.ca/sauron-006.jpg

http://www.hissnherps.ca/Sauron%20-%20140.jpg

[meatbeef]

Go with spotted pythons. I have two and they are wonderful, and easy to care for.