what should i get

[Life-Saver]

I really want a snake that would be a challenge. Something that would need extra work. Ive always enjoyed working with large reptiles, and im wondering what kind of snake should i get? I want a snake that will grown pretty large. I would like to buy one as a baby, and i would like for it to be about $100. What should i get?

[Tim_Cranwill]

The only snake I can think of that fits all of the criteria you listed would be a normal male Burmese python. If you don't mind spending a couple hundred more, you would a lot more options though.....

If you're in Canada, there aren't many snakes of any size you could get for under $100 though and the ones who require more care are often more expensive due to the difficulty of keeping and breeding them. :)

[Life-Saver]

Im in the states.......Do you or anyone who sells them.

[Tim_Cranwill]

There are TONS of burm breeders. What part of the US are you located? Maybe you can even find a breeder in your city....

Also, being the US, your $100 will go a bit further. :)

Here's one of the bigger breeders in the US....

http://www.bobclark.com/

[Life-Saver]

Im in texarkana texas its in the middle of arkansas, louisiana, and oklahoma. There are none in my city.

[Life-Saver]

hmmmm rainbow boas.....$75

[lostwithin]

Hey what snakes have you owned before? Just wondering, brb's don’t get too big but do require more attention then some other species, Burms are hardly difficult too care for, just Big, there requirements are fairly standard with the exception that they get huge,
Devon

[Life-Saver]

well ive kept ball pythons but wont matter with burms.....But i have kept very large monitors such as niles.....Ill have people help me with the burm always.

[lostwithin]

Hey, have you considered a boa? Maybe a nice female they get larger then males, as well BCC tend too get larger then BCI, but both can reach an impressive size then stop growing before its too much too handle, I know a 7+ foot boa can be quite a hand full too interact with, very tame, but also very strong, just try convincing one too get back into its cage when it feels like going somewhere else.
Devon

[Life-Saver]

where could i get one? Are there any good breeders on ssnakess?

[lostwithin]

Boas are very common, Actually check the classifieds there were some in there today, I'm not sure of breeders around your exact location but there must be some there as well. You would just have too ask around,
Devon

[Gary O]

I don't recommend Burms to people under 18....Burms are a handfull and are not a throw away pet. Is there care hard?...No. But they get large enough to make it hard lol.

[DonMeyer]

Gary I dont think the age matters.....basically your saying that anyone over 18 is capable of caring for a burm...which isnt true at all. I am 16 and take care of my burm very well. He is a healthy and happy burm too. And I also cage him appropriately.

Thanks

[DonMeyer]

OH......and to the post..

I dont think a burm would be a bad idea. YOu could get a nice male burm for 100 bucks in the US. Just make sure you can accomodate it for its whole life:) oh and be prepared to feed them a ton cause there appetites are insatiable

[Gary O]

The reason I say 18 is because you are an adult. And by then I hope that someone of that age will know what direction they will go or want to go....... Kinda lol

It is not easy to move a full grown burm. It is hard to find a place to house it if you choose to go to school. It is hard to find a place to live that allows them lol.

And you are right just because you are over 18 does not mean burms are fine.

I get calls all the time from 14 to 18 year olds saying that the snake got to big and mom and dad does not want them having it any more. Or The snake struck at me and I don't want it any more. Or i am going to school now I can not house it.

Or the best one. I have a 15 foot burm Gary. I am going to school and I am looking to get rid of Sammy(burm) I want 500 bucks for her cause she can breed for you lmao..........

I get calls daily about burms needing homes. lol Ok maybe 3 to 4 times a week.

[ReptiZone]

I don't want to sound like a Prick But most times I do so it is all good..lol

If you are looking for a Large snake weather it be a Burm, Retic Or the godd old Fasion Boa Constictor.

With a $100 price Budget I would realy recomsider large boids all together I know we are talking US curancy and all but.....

with $100..

1) You need a Cage
2) You need to heat the cage (you need to buy the heat sourse.)
3) You need all the cage Decor. Water dishes, Braches, Rock's...

This is all stuff you need B4 you Actualy Buy your animal.
If you are smart and get a Baby Burm, Retic or boa you can Keep it in a Rubermaid till it is 5 feet give or take a few then in the cage you baught but have the cage B4 the animal anyways.

Now for your expencises..

1) Food!!!!
You need to get food every 5-7 days for a baby Burm, Retic, Boa
so 2 Rats a week at $3 each(I will be nice to you)= $24 a month
Dude that is $24 a month and it is just a BABY!!
in 6 monts you can safly double that to $48 a Month and that is still a BABY!!! lol

2) Substrate..
That is a Givin your Baby will do it's dirty deed a least once a week for the first year cause they are eating mashines and grow all the time the food has to go some where in the cage once again if you are smart you will use a cost effitien substrate like News Paper. so the is prety cheap $5 - $10 a week depending on how much you use tp layer your cage with..
At worst $10 a week X 4=$40 a week just in substrate...lol Dude I am not making these Numbers up I pay $5 for my weekly News Paper and I resive 2 I read one then use bothe on My burms cage and She is only 10 feet lol.

That covers your monthly Expencis lets recap shale we..
Food= $24 for 6 monts
Substrate= $20
------------------------------
$44 A MONTH

The First 6 monts of your Burm, Retic, Boa will cost you!!!!
$264

Now lets do the Math with the New Growing Baby feeding Plan OK

Food= $48
Substrate= $40
-----------------------
$88 A MONTH

so for the last 6 monts it will cost you $528

So just in monthly Expencis the first year of your Snakes life just Cost you $792 in food and News Paper

so we will take $792 and we will but on the cost of a desent cage I will ball park it at $100 for the nursary cage and $100 for the large cage that may last the till December of 2005

$792
+$100
$100
-----------
$992 in cages, Food, and News Paper for year 1

$992 Holly $#!T you did not even buy your snake yet what was the prise again oh ya Baby Burm $75

In ONE year your 16'' Baby Burm, Retic, Boa WILL cost you $1067
All of a suden you $100 is not going as far you wanted it to Eh

Keep in mind I did thows numbers with out adding your 2 vet visits a year one every 6 monts at about about $50 each just to get in the door but you get the Picture.

Hey do what you want I am just giving you the Numbers My friend.

Marc Doiron

P.S.
My 10 foot Burm Eats $80 worth of food a month and I am getting a break from my friends. it shold be close to $120 a month
$10 a Bunny X 2 a week X 4 weeks = $80 a month

[djc3674]

Since when did newspapers cost $5???? I pay 50 cents for a paper if it is a daily one. I usually just buy the Sunday paper for $1.50 and it lasts quite a while. I have a 7ft boa, a yearling Hog Isle and a Ball Python. I totally disagree with most of the numbers your throwing out there.

The only thing cost that adds up is the food and electricity to heat their enclosures. I can assure you it has not cost anywhere near $1000 dollars in the last 2 1/2 years. I feed my snakes every 10-14 days. The yearling Hog gets fed more often. All of my enclosures I got for free, except one. It's an 125 Gal aquarium that I am not using at this time and I paid $80 for it.

Most of the things your reptile needs you can get pretty cheap. I make my own hides out of boxes, I use newspaper as substrate, and if your smart you will have your enclosures in a place where they can get natural sunlight. This will help cut down on keeping lights on all the time. I am being pretty general cause I have no idea what snake you planning on getting. I find BCI's to be the most forgiving on husbandry. They do not require nor care for cage decorations and all that other crap that pet stores rip you off on. Give them fresh water every couple of days, a UTH (heat source), and a hide box. Maybe even a climbing branch, some will use it, some won't.

[Bighead]

Marc- you need to keep in mind that he didn't say, "I only have $100 to spend on the snake and everything it will need for a year." He said, "I would like for [the snake] to be about $100." Give him the benefit of the doubt or ask him what his budget is before you jump down his throat. He is an admin on another reptile forum and he said in the first post that he has experience handling large reptiles. Something along the lines of, "Don't forget that the enclosure, bedding, and food is going to cost you much more than the snake itself." would have gotten your point accross just fine, and you wouldn't have had to do all the math.

[Gary O]

I believe this member is 14 years old(maybe 13 I forget)....that is where I am coming from.........

I helped him build a herp board in the past.

[ReptiZone]

Sorry if I cam off harsh i said i did not want to sound like a prick. sorry again.

Just that if a pesron doesen't want to spend more then $100 on an animal that will cost him or her more then that to care for in the run of a month.

Stikes me to be kinda of odd
I guess I am the only one that saw it that way that. But That is cool I won't cry over it.

I guess if we all looked at what the animals cost is compared to what it costs to keep the animal thriving (NOT living THRIVING) then Rescues would be out of buisnes OOPS did I say that out loud
sorry but it had to be said $75 Burm or what ever the animal may be is appealing but if you go in blind folded and are not ready for the long haule then it is the animals thay pay for it. Not You

and I have experience Handeling Large Crocodilians and Large Monitors that dosent mean I can get one in my home and know all the finacial details right from the start.

That is what it cost me in one year if ppl are cheaper then me then go for it your animal not mine. Allthow I cut every corner imaginable and $1 200 was the best I could do.

You PPl preach Reserch, Reserch, Reserch and yet I put up how much My animal Costs me in its first year and now I am the one that is the bad guy. I am proude to say I spent well over $1 200 a year on one snake Makes me feel like i am doing a good job I am sorry but that is just the way I am.

[Bighead]

Sorry if I came off harsh too. It's not that I disagree with anything you're saying. It sounds like you take very good care of your snakes. It just seemed overkill. I think a response like that would have been completely warranted if he had said something like he wants a snake that gets over 15 feet but isn't sure where to get a heat rock big enough, wants to know how many mice it will eat when it's that big, and wants to know if he can do it all for $100. I just felt bad for him.

[djc3674]

That is what it cost me in one year if ppl are cheaper then me then go for it your animal not mine. Allthow I cut every corner imaginable and $1 200 was the best I could do.

It's not a matter of being "cheap". It's what is practical and what is not. I don't see a need to buy all that pretty substrate or hides. My boas crap and pee in their hides, under the newspaper or in their water bowls. I find it easier to just dispose of the newspaper and cardboard hide box and put in new ones.

I can see spending $1000 or more for the people that have larger collections or giant boids. For someone with one boa, they would have to try pretty hard to spend a grand in a year. Atleast until they are full grown and eating rabbits.

I myself have 3 snakes, one of which is a BP and it hasn't eaten since Sept...talk about low maintenance..lol I spend about $30-$40 a month on food for my other two snakes. My hoggie gets a small rat per week and my adult BCI gets 3 jumbos a month. IMO that is plenty, some can argue that they can eat more, but I just don't power feed my animals.

[AnniesMom]

I don't think that it is all that hard to spend $1000 a year on an adult BCI. Mine has cost me more than that already and I have only had him 6 months. Mind you, that $1000 in vet bills. Lets not add in the food, custom cage, heating, electrical, etc etc etc. I don't think that snakes HAVE to be expensive, but they CAN be expensive.

Marc: You pay $10 a bunny? How big are they? Live or dead? I pay $1.25/lb for rabbit from a bunny breeder here in BC. She breeds for human consumption and sells them to be whole and frozen.