Best Medium Sized Snake for fist time owner?

[sthall21]

Hello guys, I just found this forum today and had a quick question. I have gotten really interested in snakes the past few day and was wondering what the best snake for me would be.I have experience with other pets but not much with snakes. I have done a lot of research about snakes and know what it takes to keep one as a pet.

I want a bigger snake, something like a ball python. I would get a ball python its just that I've heard that they aren't very inquisitive. I went to my local pet shop and met a few snakes and I have to agree with people saying that ball pythons are like " pet rocks", meaning that they don't move much in your hand. I also got to handle a red tail boa and I very much liked that snake. It was much more curios and quite a bit more active. The problem is that I don't want a snake that will grow over 7 feet in length. I also don't want a skinny snake like a corn snake and I like the size of ball python.

What would be good snake that is 5-6 ft in length, thick, very active, likes to be handled and isn't too hard to maintain? I did some research and found that the Brazilian rainbow boa, woma python, and jungle python somewhat meet these requirements. Can anyone advise me of these snakes and maybe suggest some more?