wanting to get a new snake

[MISKIE]

well what i would like to do is get a snake for my daughter for her birthday (she is going to be 11)she has came along way with holding the dums. and well she wants a snake of her owner but i would like something that is going to stay a little smaller then the dums because she is a little scared yet of holding the big girl i have and she is about 5 feet long right now. she is holding the smaller ones without a problum and her brother has a ball python. any sugestins would help

thanks
melissa

[greenman1867]

There are some amazing Corns out there, colors any 11yr old girl would love, and Corns are a little more handlable than most other snakes too.

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/show...&threadid=63504

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/show...&threadid=63502

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/show...&threadid=63501

[blackpine]

I, too, think that a corn snake would be a great first snake. They're colourful, easy to handle, and forgiving of husbandry mistakes. A friend of mine just got her first snake, a Miami phase corn, and she's very happy with it.

[Invictus]

I think if you buy your daughter a corn snake, it will give her more confidence. She can always consider a boa later. However, kudos to you for allowing your daughter to explore her fascination with snakes.

[tonyj]

How about a Spotted Python for your daughter?

I did a couple of 'snake and tarantula' presentations at a City of Calgary summer camp gathering a couple of years back, and whilst the kids were fascinated by much of what I took along, I found that the Spotted Pythons were the high point of the day for most of the children, as well as for some of the adults present.

The kids were in the 7-8 year old bracket (I think) and most of them handled the 'spotties' without any hang-ups. My 8 year old Grandson acted as my assistant, and his confidence in handling snakes and spiders no doubt helped the other kids to overcome any fear they may have had; although at that age many kids haven't been taught to fear, that seems to come later, passed on by adults.

The 'spotties' in turn show no signs of stress at these sessions, and to me they are well deserved of their reputation as one of the better starter snakes.

They are always on their best behaviour! Easy to keep, eat well, and stay reasonably small; usually around 4ft for an adult. They are also probably no more expensive than many colubrids.

[rwg]

My 5 year old handles all of our snakes. She handles the corn and the garters with complete confidence. All of the other's she is a bit nervous about. The little bulls are too hissy. The big bull is to large and active for her to control. Our puppy tame adult macklott's is just too large, and our female has a history of being nippy so even though she is pretty good, I always watch pretty closely when my kids handle her. Kingsnake has too strong a feeding reponse to be 100% trustworthy.

I agree wholeheartedly with Ken. A corn is something any responsible child could handle unsupervised with very little chance of anything going wrong. Kids will have a stronger sense of ownership and responsibility if they have an animal they can take care of completely on their own.

other Roy

[C.ADAMANTEUS]

I too go with the corn snake, or possibly kingsnake. Both easy to care for, good eaters, very handleable, and forgiving of husbandry mistakes, as stated above.
Rick

[Golden_Lotus]

Why not a small ball python? They are more easy to manipulate (much slower) than a corn.

[The Dragon Lady]

Yes but an 11 yr old girl is a Balls nightmare. Think about the animal first.

Just my $0.02

Shawn

[fishman]

Even though an adult Dum might be too large for her, a young Dum is small, and she can grow into it as it gets bigger.