Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmy01
Ball Pythons are most common because of their cuteness, crazy amount of morphs, and they are kinda easy to take care. But my personal favorites for beginners are cornsnakes and california kingsnakes. Cornsnakes are fairly docile, easy to handle and care for. Corn snakes are still one of the most popular pet snakes because of their demeanor, availability, and their color combinations. California Kingsnakes are pretty awesome too. They don’t grow too large, averaging 3 to 4 feet in length. You can house one in a 20-gallon enclosure with a screened top, a hide and suitable substrate.
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I would never keep an adult King in a 20 gallon. I wouldn't go smaller than a 40 breeder.
They're fairly active and will use pretty much all the room you offer.
My Cal King, Django, just passed recently (RIP sweet boy) and he was in a 4x2x2 enclosure and used every inch.
To OP:
It all boils down to what you want in a snake.
Bottom line, read, read and read some more. The better prepared you are the better the experience will be for you and for your new pet. I can't possibly stress enough the importance of being prepared.
I'll throw my two cents in on some of the species already mentioned.
BPs - they're the most common snake in the pet trade for a reason. They're easy to care for (IF YOU'RE PREPARED), maintain an easy to manage size, are known to be extremely docile, and handle easily due to size and slow moving demeanor.
Yes, they can be prone to food strikes. However, if you're prepared, this really isn't that big a deal. Snakes don't eat on a schedule in nature.
There are also feeding techniques that will drastically reduce the likelihood of food strikes. For example, my BPs both eat year round and neither have refused a meal in at least a year (yup, even through winter!!)
One major thing, besides feeding, that often turns people off of BPs is they can be a bit like "pet rocks" in that they stay hidden most of their lives.
Bottom line: great species that's very easy to care for. If you're looking for a relatively small, calm snake a BP may be for you.
Kings & corns - I'll start by saying I've kept both and no longer keep corns. Honestly, they're like Kings boring cousin to me. But that's just me. They are almost identical as far as husbandry is concerned. Both are SUPER easy and both are pretty forgiving of husbandry errors.
Both are typically fantastic eaters, but you'll sometimes hear Kings referred to as "garbage disposals" cause they'll eat just about anything, just about any time. I often joke they'll eat a slice of pizza if you dangle it with tongs, as long as it's meat lovers!! Hahaha. Kings have an incredible food response. Once they smell food that's ALL they think about. Both will be fine on mice their whole lives as well.
Both maintain a very manageable size and handle well. They are fairly active while handling, especially as juveniles. They can be a bit "flighty" and you'll often be doing the "hand over hand" constant moving thing while handling. They'll eventually chill and sometimes just plop down in your lap, but they typically are more active.
They are also EXTREMELY great escape artists and you need to be 10000000% sure your enclosure is escape proof. They can fit through the tiniest of holes and can disappear very easily and quickly.
Kings can be a bit nippy as juveniles, but almost always outgrow it with some size and confidence.
I just recently got into morellia and I am LOVING IT!!
My most recent additions to the family were a Jungle Carpet Python and a Bredli Python. I could not be happier! I am smitten like a kitten!!
They're both still under a year old, so I'm very much still learning, but these snakes are simply amazing.
With carpets there are several different localities that will offer animals in all different sizes. For example, Irian Jaya and Darwin's Carpets will too out around 4 feet. While Coastals can hit 10 feet. Many fall in the 6-8 foot range which is still super easily handleable by one person.
They tend to be fantastic eaters (mine are so far, zero refusals so far), are curious snakes without being overly skittish or flighty and their care is pretty simple as well.
I haven't ventured into boas...yet. But I've been around the hobby long enough that I've been around plenty and know that they're amazing animals and make great pets. You also have a lot of various localities that will offer different size adults. Some localities top out around 4 feet while others can easily top 10 and sometimes larger.
I hope this helps. And I can't stress enough, BE PREPARED. Decide what you're looking for in a snake. Then learn all you can and decide if you can responsibly and properly care for that animal for the next 20+ years.
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