Why not a ball python?

[neromelano]

What do you look for in a snake that prohibits you from getting a ball python? Some like rare animals that everyone doesn't own, others like a bit more activity from their snake. I love venomous and cal kings myself. I get almost physically ill at the corn snake/ball python trend, although we may just owe our hobby to their popularity one day. Tell me what you like in a snake and why not a ball python.. :)

[infernalis]

http://www.thamfriends.com/mat.jpg


Personally I prefer active snakes, Our BP is a nice enough snake, but he spends all day under his hide.

My favourite is the Garter snake, they are hyper active, very curious and Diurnal. AND available in more colours than any others I can think of.

Plus they burrow, climb and swim..

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/thamnophis/82907-wayne-s-garter-snake-photo-thread.html


http://www.thamnophis.us/Macro/xmas1.jpg

http://www.reptard.info/garters/skyguy1.jpg

http://www.reptard.info/garters/skyguy2.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.us/2010/masubi.jpg

[NennaMeerkat]

Wow a BLUE!?!??! snake that is just freaking awesome. Looks like he got into a vat of paint LOL

I perfer smaller snakes and overall I like a snake that won't just "dash" out of your hands or do a leap from high up. We had 2 corn snakes for a while that when you got them out were CONSTANTLY on the move...kinda annoying if you just want to sit and chill. When I worked at a zoo several years ago the only ball python they had never liked me and always struck at me (snagged my nose one time) whenever I picked him up. Other people he was fine with though.

The snake I like the most is the Western Hognose. Fell in love with their charming features and quiet personality. They also are a rather "fat" snake than being rope like. From the two we had at that same zoo it seems they are also more docile and will just curl up and chill in your hands rather than constantly being on the move.

I will say this...Pibald colored ball pythons are GORGEOUS and if I ever get the chance I will own at least one. Here is a picture:

http://www.eclecticpets.com/images/piebald_python.jpg

I also LOVE the bumblebee:

http://www.exoticsbynature.com/tinley06/nerd7.jpg


It may be that people like the ball python because they can come so deserve in markings, colors, and patterns?

[silvsupratt]

i go with whatever type of mood im in at the time, thats why im building a large collection of a different variety.. if i want one to cruise around my arm ill play with one of my corns, but if we're just chillin i take out my young JCP which i dont really like doing all that much right now, so im looking at a couple BP's right now for that very reason

BTW gorgeous blue garter :O

[percey39]

Hmm with my pythons i love em BIG. As im from the land down under i can only keep native species, so for that reason i own scrubbies and olive pythons. I must admit though my true passion with snakes is in the venomous species. Im focusing mainly on building my collection of hots up a bit more so than my pythons.

We all start somewhere when we enter this hobby and for that reason corns and balls are great snakes for you guy's. Also with the amount of morphs available to you's there is no shortage of owning a different snake to someone else with these two species. Both corns and balls have some amazing looking animals being produced by many different and reputable breeders.

[Lankyrob]

I love snakes full stop really. Not many that i don;t like tho there are a few that i wouldn't necesarily want to own myself. I tend to prefer "normal" snakes rather than the morph's, especially with Balls.

Recently beginning to fall more for the lizard line of reptiles so the future may well be four legged!!

[Will0W783]

A ball python was my first snake, but I would not recommend them as a first to people just starting out. They are very very finicky eaters, very sensitive to humidity and temperature changes, very lazy. In general they are just delicate pains in the butt. That being said, I love my BP. But I prefer snakes with a bit more size and personality to them. I love all Morelia (my carpets are some of my favorite snakes) and the giants like retics and Burms are also very cool snakes to own. I had a superdwarf retic and she was very intelligent and curious for a snake, and I recently adopted a Burm so we will see how he comes along.

As far as colubrids go, I prefer the unusual. I own a male FWC and a female Spilotes and both are very neat snakes. I absolutely adore Spilotes- they are alert, intelligent, curious snakes that will watch your every move while you are in the room!

[shaunyboy]

because i'm a morelia addict

just gotta love carpets.....!!!

cheers shaun

[Will0W783]

Amen to that, Shaun! And Wayne, I totally want an albino checkered garter now. I saw one at the local pet store---DAY-GLO snake. I'm just afraid to have something that small. But someday....

[marvelfreak]

:)Hello and welcome!:) Med size with sweet color and active. Is what i look for in a snake. I love Carpet the great snakes of all time. With Rainbows and Bloods follow right be hide. I have had ball pythons and they're ok just not my cup of tea. Diamonds Carpet are the world most beautiful snakes.

[infernalis]

Maybe I'm a freak, but I have never met an ugly snake yet.

Even the oddest of snakes have a primal beauty that draws me to them.

No arms, no legs, yet they manage to subdue prey that has an advantage on them.

Arboreal snakes often grab birds from flight, Certain snakes can dive under water and grab a fish (try that with your hand sometime) Dekayi snakes extract snails from the shell with only their mouths, Garter snakes take down frogs (who can leap further than the snake is long with one bound), boas catch rabbits, etc..

So even though we will probably always have a Royal Python, I will certainly always have many more others.

I even have a certain fondness for "cranky snakes" Like my Black Racer. Not many people keep those, they don't like to be touched, they bite, but they are so intelligent and always aware of everything around that I will always keep at least one.

[Reptile_Reptile]

Maybe I'm a freak, but I have never met an ugly snake yet.Even the oddest of snakes have a primal beauty that draws me to them.
amen to that

[Aaron_S]

I keep multiple ball pythons and I don't recommend it for every new snake owner. As Kim stated they can be bad eaters and I find they tolerate handling less than a corn. Cornsnakes are the ULTIMATE beginner snake.

[BlindOne]

I'm not sure what it is, I have -zero- interest in BP's. Finicky snakes annoy me.

[Ch^4]

Maybe I'm a freak, but I have never met an ugly snake yet.

Even the oddest of snakes have a primal beauty that draws me to them.

No arms, no legs, yet they manage to subdue prey that has an advantage on them.

Arboreal snakes often grab birds from flight, Certain snakes can dive under water and grab a fish (try that with your hand sometime) Dekayi snakes extract snails from the shell with only their mouths, Garter snakes take down frogs (who can leap further than the snake is long with one bound), boas catch rabbits, etc..

So even though we will probably always have a Royal Python, I will certainly always have many more others.


Well said! Snakes are awe-inspiring and beautiful creatures, and as you mentioned, I don't think there's an ugly snake out there.

They are powerful, yet extremely agile and graceful. Their odd methods of locomotion are astounding. Tasting the air, "seeing" heat, controlling a highly complex muscular system like a flawlessly orchestrated symphony; truly spectacular and unique. And I almost forgot their individual personalities.

BPs are certainly not the best snake for a novice, but I feel they are fun and challenging to work with.....every experienced keeper should have a pair of balls! ;) (I was not trying to be sexist in any way, shape, or form...I just couldn't resist!)

[TylerWortman]

If I could have started all over it would have been with Garters. Wayne's collection is by far my favorite collection of snakes I have ever seen.

[Will0W783]

I agree Tyler...Wayne has some incredibly beautiful garters. I used to think of garters as the little green and yellow snakes that smell like pee, but there are some really pretty localities out there. I seriously want to get an albino checkered, but the babies are so small I'm afraid it would get out.

I also agree with Wayne that there are no ugly snakes. They are just all beautiful and amazing in their own ways. I love everything from tiny bumpy file snakes and small pythons like Antaresia to carpets! and the giants. I especially love unusual species that you don't see too often, like file snakes and Spilotes. I love the way snakes move- they are so graceful and smooth and relaxing to watch. It amazes me how they get along so well without legs. I love the colors and patterns and the way the scales feel, and their eyes. Especially the eliptical pupils of boids. All in all, they are incredibly wonderful, fascinating creatures and I imagine I will always have a roomful of them. I'll be the only Grandma around someday with a room of giant "snakey babies", lmao!

[Reptile_Reptile]

if i could start all over again i would get carpets

[Ch^4]

I would never give up my current collection to start over. I love my BPs, Cali King, BRB, Corn, and JCP equally! I would never buy a pet that has a 20-30 year lifespan if I didn't absolutely love it and want to love it for its entire life.

Why start over when you can simply add to your collection?! And besides, you have to start somewhere...I wasn't ready for a 6-8 foot carpet 15 years ago, but I am now! (And hopefully in a few years I'll be ready for a giant! :) )

[Reptile_Reptile]

good point. i would never give up maynard

[infernalis]

And I would never give up Kane either.

When I took him from that apartment I knew I was committing to a long term relationship, At least here he gets proper care, may not be my "top fave" but he's still my responsibility and will be until he passes away (or I do whatever happens first).

[Ch^4]

That being said, I must admit that I grow more fond of Wayne's garter collection every time he posts updates. They are beautiful snakes! When I have the time to properly care for one or more of the little buggers, I am almost certain that I'll add one or two to my collection.

Sky and the late Magma...AMAZING! (Come on, a blue snake--unique, rare, and wonderful.) And the jet black one (forgot the name) is truly a creature of beauty...

In all honesty, I'd love to own one of every species, even the hots (vipers are among the most vibrant and attractive snakes I've ever laid my eyes on IMHO).

Someday, someday...:) (or at least I keep telling myself that!)

[neromelano]

My four favorite snakes ... Cali Kings are just all about contrast, personality and active behavior. Black-headed pythons are another active snake with that beautiful jet black head and just love to prove their dominance. Ornate Cantils are thick bodied, arrow-shaped head classic pit vipers. Their beautiful! It's like if someone took their cottonmouth to pimp my ride it would come back an Ornate Cantil. Another great thing (since they are not active), they refuse to hide. Always out in the open flaunting their stuff. And the most favorite snake in my collection... The Coral Cobra. These snakes are unbelievable to me. They are very intelligent, very active, beautiful scalation and pattern/color, a cute little hood and a much milder neurotoxic venom than that of true naja cobra's. Thankful I live in Pa where they are legal and available at almost every Hamburg show. My collection 1.1 Cal King, 1.0 Black headed Python, 1.0 Ornate Cantil, 2.1 Coral Cobra, 1.1 Flame Kenyan Sand Boa, 1.1 Pygmy Rattlesnake and yes... 2.2 Ball python (pastel, spider and 1.1 het pied).

[infernalis]

So stop teasing us and break out the photos. ;)

[Reptile_Reptile]

yea for real lol i wanna see a coral cobra

[marvelfreak]

^ Like Wayne and JR ask pics please.