Snakes for kids?

[Terranaut]

At 8 yrs old mom ,dad or big brother/sister will most likely be taking care of it other than feeding and play time. I would first consider the child. Are they active or more the read a book/play xbox type. An active kid will apreciate an active snake like a corn or any colubrid as they like to roam about and can move very quickly. A more sedentary child might like more of a "lap" snake like a ball python or a smaller boa. I agree with getting a sub adult or even an adult snake. Plenty of them needing a good home out there on top of the other reasons posted. Find a snake that matches your little brother and both will be happy. Balls are a bit more work to take care of but again I doubt the 8 yr old will be doing most of it anyway. Regardless of what you choose I think 8-9 is the perfect age for a first snake.
Good luck and happy birthday to your lucky brother.

[candyraver69]

Originally Posted by Terranaut

At 8 yrs old mom ,dad or big brother/sister will most likely be taking care of it other than feeding and play time. I would first consider the child. Are they active or more the read a book/play xbox type. An active kid will apreciate an active snake like a corn or any colubrid as they like to roam about and can move very quickly. A more sedentary child might like more of a "lap" snake like a ball python or a smaller boa. I agree with getting a sub adult or even an adult snake. Plenty of them needing a good home out there on top of the other reasons posted. Find a snake that matches your little brother and both will be happy. Balls are a bit more work to take care of but again I doubt the 8 yr old will be doing most of it anyway. Regardless of what you choose I think 8-9 is the perfect age for a first snake.
Good luck and happy birthday to your lucky brother.

That is a very good point and I agree, but also keep in mind the difficult level difference. A ball python is very hit or miss for being a "forgiving" species. They love to go off feed when not in optimal conditions, and both balls and boas require a bit more difficult temperature and humidity level to achieve than an average colubrid.

Boosh, I suppose a question you should ask yourself is, what kind of experience do you have with snakes that you can be comfortable supervising the situation? If you are a novice as well, I think the corn route is still the best option. They are a happy medium of being semi-active, but not crazy fast like say a garter

The whole hognose thing, they are neat and can be great pets, but depending where you get one might be rather difficult to care for. If you decided to go with a hognose I'd be very choosey who you buy it from, making sure it's several generations captive bred. I've read some of the more wild ones only wanting to eat lizards for example.

[Ridge Runner_20]

I would look very closely at a Variable kingsnake. Also known as a Nuevo Leon or Thayer's kingsnake, they are small (3' max), very docile, and have beautiful coloration in any of their 3 color phases. Husbandry is also quite simple, as with most kingsnake species. They are readily available from several respected breeders on kingsnake.com, and make outstanding pets. My son has a 1.5 yr old male Leonis phase named Pedro, and he's just the sweetest animal ever! Good luck!

Pedro:



RR_20 (Mike)