Oddball North American snakes?

[SerpentSteve]

Does any body keep any not-commonly-kept North American snakes? Just looking for something interesting and maybe a little more challenging as my next project.

[lady_bug87]

I have a bull snake. She's pretty alright

[reptiledude987]

The north american part is what makes this tricky. theres a ton of stuff uncommon in the pet trade but its from outside north america. the only thing I can think of thats not so common from north americe would be some of the crolatus stuff

[lady_bug87]

I missed the not commonly kept part. There aren't too many bulls out there but they're probably more common than you want.

[reptiledude987]

Originally Posted by lady_bug87

I have a bull snake. She's pretty alright

Just pretty alright?? I think my bull is pretty sweet. cant wait tillits big like ez's

[SerpentSteve]

Yeah. I've considered night snakes and maybe short tailed snakes. I plan on working with pygmy rattlesnakes later but as of now I have no place outside the house to keep them (I have a 2 month old daughter and I don't want to get them and them be in the house when she starts walking). I may have to just have to broaden my horizons and look into exotic stuff to. I just want something that won't get to big for the time being, as in under 4 or maybe 5ft, and a little bit different.

[RAD House]

I am assuming you are not looking for a hybrid, but just in case Imperial Pueblan milksnakes are pretty amazing.

[eminart]

Racers, coachwhips, pines, or nerodia.

[SerpentSteve]

Most of all of those genera are banned because they are native to the state of GA. The only snakes native to the state that I can keep are hots. As far as Nerodia, I have strongly considered N. rhombifer, but I'm not sure if they need a body of water or just a bowl large enough to soak in. My main issue is finding somebody that works with any of the snakes I'm interested in.

[SerpentSteve]

MesoCorny - I have nothing against hybrids, they just aren't my thing

[eminart]

Oh, you're in GA. Good luck.

[RAD House]

I figured as much. When I was looking for something different it was just what I found, so I figured I might as well suggest it. Also they are in no way a challenge to keep, so not really what you are looking for. I don't keep them but I have always found tri colored and certain eastern hog noses more interesting than westerns. In my opinion one of the most beautiful North American snakes are the buttermilk racers. You very rarely hear of anyone keeping them.

[PsychoSnake]

How about rubber boas?

[FWK]

I agree with MesoCorney on Eastern Hogs and Buttermilk Racers (any Racer really), though Eastern Hogs are said to be a pain because most refuse anything but toads. The only better looking Racer than Buttermilks are Speckled Racers, but their range in the US is limited range to deep south Texas and are illegal to collect. They are found as far south Columbia, maybe you could find an importer somewhere in between. Cat Eyed Snakes would be a similar situation. It would be very cool to see any Regina sp. in captivity but they eat only freshly molted crayfish in the wild. Mud Snakes would be cool as well but are also picky eaters. Night Snakes are interesting, as are Lyres and Patchnose. It would be great to see someone working with Eastern Coachwhips, there are breeders working with Westerns (mostly the Red Phase). Any of the Striped Whipsnakes would be great to see also. Nerodia can be kept much like any other colubrid. I bring up most of these critters because I'm interested in them myself. A few more:
Longnose Snake
Scarlet Snake
Glossy Snake

[SerpentSteve]

It'd be awesome to keep either Nerodia rhombifer or cyclopion, or even Regina grahamii if I can get my hands on them. I breed fish and crayfish so food wouldn't be an issue for any of them. The only problem is I could only keep those 3 species out of both of those genera because the rest are GA native and illegal. I found night snakes but they're from Underground Reptiles, and I haven't heard much good about them.