http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1431389,1431615
(great pic of child w/ ball python)

tricky decision: my advice would be to do a lot more research. So much research that when you here conflicting remarks you know which one's correct. I exchanged my kingsnake for a ball because the kingsnake wasn't taming up to being handled (struggled out of my hands, vibrated tail and flicked poo). I went 'shopping' and handled a ball which was so relaxed and gently curious that I knew it was a good pet for me. It could of been the other way around though, a lot depends on the personality of an individual snake.. so handle before you buy would be my advice.

Kingsnakes move faster in your hands, they pick a direction and go for it....thus they are more inclined to zip off between the sofa cushions...this can be fun and exciting, or can make you anxious and frantic depending on the owner.

Ball Pythons are a lot slower and although they do 'sneak off' they are more inclined to just sitting in your hands - they will stay still for longer and seem to have more of an air of patience around them. This can be relaxing, or mabe too boring for some people.

Personally I way prefer handling a ball because I feel more at ease. I have a corn snake and I thought she was the most gentle snake in the world until the ball arrived and made her look 'jumpy'. Ball's just seem to have a slower pace of life which is a nice trait for your pet to behold!

Ball pythons are slightly harder to keep than kingsnakes in my opinion because if you're recreating the climate of, say, Ghana, there's a lot more room for error than if you're recreating the climate of North America. Kingsnakes are hardier, and are inherently more robust to cold winters....so where an error (heating broke or something) will barely effect a king, it might damage a python, or at least put it off food.

Personally I wouldn't buy a python that's been powerfed - I'd get a captive bred hatchling which has fed well several times on frozen/thawed food. It will start small and grow with your little children... and you can rest assured that mistakes haven't been made in it's keeping that necessitate power-feeding.

'We also got told that king snakes are choosy eaters when young and die because of this' I think you can ignore advice like this. No-one would have one for long if this was true.

I'm a bit biased towards balls because I prefer their nature, I also absolutely adore grey-banded kingsnakes - they look fantastic!

Look at these care sheets in the links below, they may factor into your decision.

http://www.kingsnake.com/ballpythonguide/

http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/RMHPages/RMHkingsand.htm

Do the research!

Good luck and make sure the snake is right! No rush.

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