new to snakes - green colored snakes?

Terezi · 01-11-15, 08:27 PM

This is such a weird question but are there any green colored snakes/morphs that would be suitable for someone who hasn't owned a snake before?? (but has certainly done plenty of study on the snake)
All the snakes I'm finding do not like to be handled or they are for very advanced snake owners.

i would like a snake i could hold since it is a great anxiety reliever for me. ...also i just really like the color green

**Minkness** · 01-12-15, 08:25 PM

Not that I know of...

Some good starters are ball pythons, kings, rats, corns, milks, hognoses, and a few others depending on your capability to provide proper housing.

eminart · 01-12-15, 08:29 PM

Maybe a rough green snake, but I don't think they're particularly good for handling. (But probably better than the tree pythons and boas I'm sure you were looking at)

**Minkness** · 01-12-15, 08:30 PM

I've heard they are nippy and stress out pretty easily...

Maybe the red tailed green rat snake? Not sure in their temperment though.

eminart · 01-12-15, 08:34 PM

I'm interested in rhino rat snakes myself, but maybe not the best choice as a first snake.

eminart · 01-12-15, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minkness

I've heard they are nippy and stress out pretty

Maybe, I don't know. I've caught several of them. I kept one for a few days when I was a kid. I don't remember them being nippy, but like I said, they're probably not great for handling.

Kuamata · 01-12-15, 08:45 PM

As far as beginner snakes(normally colubrids), I don't know of any green varieties that are also tolerant of handling...

PS: Did you get the name Terezi from where I think you got it? If so, awesome, she's my fav.

Jrich · 01-12-15, 09:47 PM

Green snakes are usually better off not being handled often because they get stressed out. I would look into rhino rat snakes, they require a high humidity but they seem to have a good temperament. Do some research. I was interested in the red tailed green rat snake but after some research, they seem to require an advanced level of care with their needs and temperament. Best of luck. I always found the Kenyan sand boas make me happy no matter what because of their silly faces and great temperament.

toddnbecka · 01-13-15, 01:07 AM

Rat snakes are generally the most tolerant of handling among the green snakes I've read up on, but also quite expensive when they are available and usually have more exacting care requirements than the more commonly available species that are usually recommended for new owners. Also keep in mind that captive-bred are preferred over wild-caught snakes of any species because they're usually much less difficult to maintain.

Bandit · 01-13-15, 06:13 AM

I've tried my hand with rough green snakes. Nippy? Not quite. However they don't like to be handled very often. They stress out very easily and there's a good chance it will die, possibly not even by your own fault. Sometimes there's just nothing you can do that will make them comfortable. I have found that the best thing to do is give them a decent sized enclosure and put tons of pants in (I use artificial). I'll post pics of my setup later today.

**millertime89** · 01-13-15, 07:57 AM

Rhino rat is probably the calmest. Two other alternatives that can be tamed down with some work are Baron's racers (Philodryas baroni) or Vietnamese beauty snakes (Orthriophis taeniurus callicyanous). Both of those can have blue to green coloration.

Obsidian_Dragon · 01-13-15, 10:53 AM

What...shade of green are you looking for?

There's green and green-ish garter snakes. Checkered is olive-y green. There's some green phase Chicago Garters, I think. Axanthic Plains Garters have a neat green dorsal stripe? Florida Garters can be green...uh...

Blackbelly Garters can be green, and Scott F has them on his expected list this year.

...yeah! So. Green snakes. Garters are pretty hearty and easy to care for. Not all of them tolerate being handled, but not all of anything tolerate being handled. They definitely CAN be cool, mellow snakes who are fine with it, though.

Sometimes the breeders sell off adults to make room for hold backs, too, and then you know their adult temperament.

**Tsubaki** · 01-13-15, 01:40 PM

How about beauty rat snakes? (Orthriophis taeniura friesei). They're green with dark green/white/black markings. If you do your homework, and are not easily spooked. They could work fine as a first snake, Easy care, little health issues, good eaters. They are known to be a bit feisty, and are somewhat larger than average corns/rats (Not thát big, very slender, easy to handle alone). You could start with a male (smaller) with a known good disposition, if you're interested in the species. I've seen plenty who were easy to handle. Good luck finding a snake you like

Roman · 01-13-15, 04:44 PM

Green snakes for a beginner is a little difficult, because most of them are tropical and arboreal (living on trees most of the time) snakes. They require more care than your usual “beginner snake” like cornsnakes, kingsnakes or milksnakes, they need constant high temperature and humidity and are affected much more to variations than a snake from more temperate climates. It is certainly not impossible to keep them even for a beginner, but I would not recommend it.

A red tailed green rat snake (Gonyosoma oxycephalum) or a rhino rat snake (Rhynchophis boulengeri) or barons racer (Philodryas baroni) love to climb, so you should keep them in a tall enclosure, for an adult snake it should be about 4 x 2 (3) x 5 ft with lots of branches, some plants, good lighting (works also to heat the enclosure) and daily spraying of water to keep the humidity up. I keep all three of them and they are great, active snakes if they have enough room to move around.

Arboreal snakes tend to be more prone to bite first, ask questions later, but they are not really aggressive.

A rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus) is not a tropical snake, but it feeds on insects, so from all accounts it seems to be difficult to keep them alive for a longer time, but I have no personal experience with them.

So my recommendation would be to start with something more common to get some experience and learn the daily/monthly procedures of keeping snakes, than expand your collection with something green.

@Tsubaki beauty snakes are great and are suitable for beginners. My male grew up to 2.4 m (ca. 8 ft). In most cases he was easy to deal with, but sometimes he got his moods and would bite everything in reach. When he died in 2013 I had him for 19 years and he was at least 22 years old.

To give you some impressions, here are some of my snakes (my Rhynchophis and Philodryas are still young, they are far from adult yet)

Gonyosoma oxycephalum

Philodryas baroni

Rhynchophis boulengeri

Roman

IW17 · 01-13-15, 05:46 PM

It should be brought up that barons racers are rear fang venomous. Out of all these snakes I gotta vote for the Taiwan beauty. Green tree pythons/emerald tree boas are more advanced and not generally a snake you'd handle. Red tailed rats are often wild caught and notoriously angry. Barons racers are venomous. And rhino rats can be quite pricey. Taiwan beauties cover all categories. Fun to watch. Big, but not too big. Cheap. Good eater. Active. Usually handle able.. The list goes on. Hence why they are in my top three snakes to own.