Another new face

[Oh Clueless 1]

Hi... My name is Jessyca. I'm 29, married with 4 kids. I don't have any snakes yet. I am a fish keeper for the most part. But I am researching snakes in hopes of finding something perfect for my hubby who is very interested in them. He is pretty tolerant of my fish so I thought it would be cool if I could get him something he is interested in. I am thinking something that will probably get medium sized. Hopefully no bigger than 5 or 6 feet. Something that won't mind all the kids too much, being handled frequently, and won't eat the cats. LOL Maybe I want to much?? jk.

Anyways.... I am doing my homework.. Making sure I can find something that will fit our crazyness and getting together everything it will need. I am hoping for it to be a present for his B day which is the 21st of December.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...

[Quervo]

Okay .. I'll throw my 2 cents worth (or .. I guess two snakes worth) in. My two choices would be a ball python or a rosy boa. Both are very calm snakes and not prone to biting at all.
Both are very easy to keep and don't require any fancy setup.
Whatever you end up getting, make sure you get captive bred and not a wild caught .. not just for the environmental issues .. captive bred are much calmer snakes (usually)

[Tim_Cranwill]

Hello and welcome to the site!:)

[josefg]

Hello Jessyca, welcome to the forums!!

[sSNAKESs.com]

Jessyca, i would suggest a Ball Python to you... it is a great choice for beginners and if you get a CB baby you can learn as you go.. they are forgiving with hunsbandry errors and get to a nice hardy size of 3.5 feet or so.

[Shane Tesser]

Welcome....while your searching for the perfect snake, come and visit us in the fish thread...we have lots of great member and i think you will love it here! :)

[Alicewave]

I agree with a ball python or a Rosy Boa. I have no experience with Ball Pythons but their biggest draw back is that they go on fasts for LONG periods, like 9 months or more. Although, that was the reason I got a Rosy instead and he fasted for 5 months. My rosy also did bite at first but it doesn't hurt much and he tamed down in 4 days. Rosy's are very sweet and cool snakes otherwise.

[North]

Hello Jessyca.. and welcome , I agree Ball Pythons are a great beginners snake, to that list you can add Corn snakes as they are even easier (usualy) to take care of and you have a large selection of colors/patterns to choose from ... :)

[stormyva]

Welcome to ssnakess!
It is great that you are doing your research and everyone is right in the snakes that have been recommended, Corn Snakes, Ball Python, and Rosy Boas are all great beginners snakes.
A few of questions for you though:
Does you husband WANT a snake or is he just showing interest in one? A snake can be a 5 or more year commitment if it is cared for properly. (Some snakes may even live as long as 15 to 20 years.)
Are you ready to have frozen mice or rats in your freezer for feeding the snake and will you be able to handle the thawed rodents in your husbands absence?
If you answer yes to all of the above questions then welcome to your new addiction :) :) :) As many people will tell you with snakes you cant stop at just one!

[Oh Clueless 1]

First off thanks for the warm welcomes. I love message boards. LOL. I belong to one for south american cichlids (fish) at www.oscars-r-us.com. A small site but lots of expericnced fish keepers.

As far as my husbands interests I went ahead and asked cause I didn't want to get into a situation where I bought it for him and it becomes my "addiction". So the cats outta the bag. LOL He is in fact very interested but thought that with me being so interested in fish I wouldn't want to share tank space. So I think now its a joint project. I wish I could get him on the message boards but he is not a big computer fan.

As for frozen food all over the place. You should see some of the stuff I feed my fish. LOL Beefheart. chicken hearts, not to mention the worms, crickets and all the stinky freeze dried stuff I feed my fish. I should be able to manage ok.

I can totally understand the you can't stop at one. I guess thats MY main worry. I can't just have one fish tank either. I started with one now have three set up and working on a fourth. I guess me and hubby will be fighting for tank space. LOL

[Linds]

Welcome to the site!! I would recommend a rosy boa, sand boa, corn snake, children's python, or maybe even a colombian rainbow boa (though these require a higher degree of humidity than the other listed). I wouldn't suggest a ball python since they stress quite easily, if they are being frequently handled by children they may go off feed (which they will also do due to breeding behaviours, improper husbandry, etc), or if they become excessively stressed may even show signs of agression. Have a look through the forums, your sure to find loads of information on beginner snakes and all sorts of differnet species in there :D

Originally posted by stormyva
[B]A snake can be a 5 or more year commitment if it is cared for properly. (Some snakes may even live as long as 15 to 20 years

5 years would be a life cut very short for any snakie. 10 -15 for a colubrid, 15-20 for a boid should be expected, longer than that should be prepared for, as many snakes taken care of properly are exceeding 20 years of age nowadays. There are some Ball Pythons in the states still breeding and producing at 46+ years of age!

[Big Mike]

Welcome :cool:

Resaerch is important prior to getting a snake, so you'r on the right track. I'd suggest to get an enclosure set up once you have the kind of snake picked out but before you have the snake...just to iron out any problems with temp etc. Being a fish person, I'm sure you would do that any way ;)

Good luck

[Oh Clueless 1]

I have an empty I can't use for fish. Slow leak. I figured I would use that. Its a 29g which should work for a while. I have so many questions and I don't know where to post them. LOL

Heating for instance... I read everywhere no heating rocks. Heating tape I have never heard of. Where do people buy their food? I have been looking at snake profiles all day. I want them all!! lol Hmmm maybe I am in the wrong hobby. LOL

[Pixie]

Hi Jessyca and welcome to the group :)

Heed this warning carefully: Once you get a snake, many more will follow!!!!! By either your's or your husband's desire they are unbelievably addictive!!! Having said that, they are wonderful pets and an immense joy to have.

I've tried having fish myself but never got the knack of it, I take it my water wasn't right and I gave up rather quickly... After much $$$ spent and continual dead fishies no matter what I did and how much I read up on them, I guess it just wasn't for me!

The most fun with snakes is that you can take them out and handle them, I have my BP on my shoulders in front of the PC or the television often. My best advice would be to read up as much as you can about them before purchase and not to panic too quickly! As for good beginner snakes in my opinion (of course after lots of reading up on the species) would be: Corn snake, ball python, milk snakes. There are many more that would be great beginner species but I don't have any firsthand knowledge or experience so I'd rather not talk about something I don't know about.

Good luck and let us know what your choice will be along with pics of the new baby :)

Pixie

[lance]

welcome
well if you've read this far you probably already know what kind your getting
so just come on in to the chat and get some tips