Wannabe Reptile/Snake Owner

DrgnRebrn · 01-30-16, 11:31 AM

Hello everyone! My name is Daric, aka DrgnRebrn (pronounced Dragon Reborn). Yes, I'm a big Wheel of Time fan, for anyone that may be familiar with the name.

I've always had a love for reptiles & amphibians. I spent almost every minute of my Summer days as a child, not to mention after school time, finding and collecting lizards, frogs, toads, & snakes from my yard, woods, and creek that I lived by. Growing up in the country in West-Central MO (Jackson County/KCMO area - Go Chiefs & Royals!), the variety of options were plentiful! I have never owned a reptile though, and have never kept one for more than a few days.

I have recently began to really want to purchase a pet snake, and in doing research came across this forum. I like how active the forum seems to be, and after browsing through several posts I decided to join and tap into the resource base here! I hope to graduate from a "wannabe" snake/reptile owner to a "beginner" snake/reptile owner very soon, and am looking forward to getting to know ya'll and utilizing your collective expertise.

Thanks!

~DrgnRebrn~

**EL Ziggy** · 01-30-16, 02:06 PM

Welcome and best wishes Daric. Snakes are great animals to keep. Hopefully you'll do your research, find the right animal for you, and join our snake keepers alliance

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pitontheprowl · 01-30-16, 02:16 PM

Welcome from Texas

DrgnRebrn · 01-30-16, 02:21 PM

Thanks! I've been doing research now for a few weeks, watching tons of YouTube videos, joined a couple of different reptile & snake-specific forums. I've a pretty good idea of what I want, but am not 100% sure yet on the species that fits best.

Albert Clark · 01-30-16, 02:51 PM

Welcome D, great to hear your story. Plenty of help here on the forum for you.

chairman · 01-30-16, 07:12 PM

Welcome Mr. al'Thor. Are there any snakes in particular that you're looking at?

REM955 · 01-30-16, 07:37 PM

Welcome.
Despite hearing how some are so finicky with temps and eating, you could get a "Royal" (ball) python.

I saw that you were a fan of them, I couldn't resist.

DrgnRebrn · 01-31-16, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REM955

Welcome.
Despite hearing how some are so finicky with temps and eating, you could get a "Royal" (ball) python.

I saw that you were a fan of them, I couldn't resist.

Royals are definitely one of the species I'm strongly considering. I'm actually debating between a natural Ball Python and a Hog Island Boa. I love the BP morphs - my absolute favorite so far is an Orange Dream Spider Yellow Belly, but will refrain from investing that kind of money until I am more confident in my husbandry skills.

**Minkness** · 01-31-16, 06:21 PM

I too will be getting ajog island (hopefully late summer this year). They do get bigger than BPs though, so keep that in mnd. Every one I have met has been super chill, and I personally love their natural colors. The only morphs I am aware of are hypos, reduced pattern, and hypo reduced combo (which iswhat I'm trying to get lol).

BPs are great as well. I currently have 2 and they are like night and day lol.

Good luck! Looking forward to your future posts!

macandchz · 01-31-16, 06:43 PM

dear drgn rebrn, welcome! i wouldn't have believed that i would ever be a snake mom but i've had my albino ball for a year now. it's lots of fun and a great learning experience. that's what's nice about this forum. there's some really total experts here, and then there's us newbies that just love snakes and want to care for them the best we can.

trailblazer295 · 01-31-16, 08:52 PM

Welcome, if you have any questions about species you're interested in feel free to ask.

When browsing possibilities keep in mind, adult size, adult cage size requirements, heating/humidity which can be more challenging in some areas if you're in a very dry climate, temperament, hardyness vs finicky. We all make mistakes and make more as newbies learning as you go some species are more forgiving to mistakes then others.

When it comes to larger snakes like a Hogg Island boa etc I'd recommend going to a store or expo and holding one or any boa half decent size just so you can feel yourself if you're comfortable handling a snake that big or not. Getting a baby that you can grow with is great but if you're not okay holding a snake longer then you are tall and thick bodied on a regular basis then best to stick to smaller species. It might take handling one a few times to feel comfortable.

DrgnRebrn · 01-31-16, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trailblazer295

Welcome, if you have any questions about species you're interested in feel free to ask.

When browsing possibilities keep in mind, adult size, adult cage size requirements, heating/humidity which can be more challenging in some areas if you're in a very dry climate, temperament, hardyness vs finicky. We all make mistakes and make more as newbies learning as you go some species are more forgiving to mistakes then others.

When it comes to larger snakes like a Hogg Island boa etc I'd recommend going to a store or expo and holding one or any boa half decent size just so you can feel yourself if you're comfortable handling a snake that big or not. Getting a baby that you can grow with is great but if you're not okay holding a snake longer then you are tall and thick bodied on a regular basis then best to stick to smaller species. It might take handling one a few times to feel comfortable.

Excellent advice! Thank you. I do have handling & feeding experience with larger Boas. My old roommate had a BCI Columbian Boa that he raised from a couple months old up to about 9 feet in length. Medusa was awesome, and I handled her quite a bit. As we were roommates for several years, I got to handle her regularly up until she was about 6 or 7 feet in length. After I moved out I handled her much less often. One of my reasoning for liking the BCI Hog Island is because it's considered a dwarf boa, with large males ranging up to about 6 feet and large females up to about 7. I know this can get muddled when you start dealing with the hybrid Hog's that have been crossbred with larger red-tail or common boas, so I'm really wanting to stick with a "true" BCI Hog Island.

That, or I am leaning towards the good old Royal "Ball" Python. I won't be using them as cool bracelets like Cleopatra did, but from everything I understand they are pretty much about as mellow as you can get with a snake.

**Andy_G** · 01-31-16, 09:40 PM

Welcome! Sounds like you're off to a great start with info. We are all here to help so don't be afraid to ask away. To be honest...most colombian females won't get past 7 feet either...but the mainland boas are much heavier bodied than the insular hog islands that you're considering.

trailblazer295 · 01-31-16, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrgnRebrn

Excellent advice! Thank you. I do have handling & feeding experience with larger Boas. My old roommate had a BCI Columbian Boa that he raised from a couple months old up to about 9 feet in length. Medusa was awesome, and I handled her quite a bit. As we were roommates for several years, I got to handle her regularly up until she was about 6 or 7 feet in length. After I moved out I handled her much less often. One of my reasoning for liking the BCI Hog Island is because it's considered a dwarf boa, with large males ranging up to about 6 feet and large females up to about 7. I know this can get muddled when you start dealing with the hybrid Hog's that have been crossbred with larger red-tail or common boas, so I'm really wanting to stick with a "true" BCI Hog Island.

That, or I am leaning towards the good old Royal "Ball" Python. I won't be using them as cool bracelets like Cleopatra did, but from everything I understand they are pretty much about as mellow as you can get with a snake.

You're welcome, if you like the look of Colombian BCI it's possible to have one as well. For example my little guys dad was about 5.5ft and the mom about 6.5ft from Nagy Reptiles. So if you purchase from a reputable breeder with knowledge of the parents you could still have a BCI that stays around the 6ft mark.