Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been collecting snakes with my 6 year old daughter for many years now. We catch them, keep them awhile, then let them go.

Many of the wild snakes we catch (mostly garters, browns, milks) are difficult to please (don't want to eat, etc.).

My daughter woulduld like to have a "full time" pet snake. Any recommendations? Obviously, because she is only six, I am looking for a DOCILE species that does not mind being handled(she will only handle it with adult supervision). A species that is typically hardy, relatively easy to maintain and does not end up 8 feet long would also be a plus.

Any suggestions? Thanks

again i would have to recomend the corn.other good ones would be rat,king and house snakes ,if you can get a captive bred one the better....thease in my opinion would make the best beginner snakes ,also there is absolutly loads of info on thease species readly available on the internet.....welcome to the world of snakes and good luck...
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no way the way no limit the limit

Our first (other than wild caught) was a Ball Python. What a great snake! They are not snippy, easy to care for, and only reach an approximate size of 4-5 feet. They are slower moving than the corns and such, making it easier to handle for a younger child. We also just purchased a corn snake, and he's loads of fun, too, and just as easy to care for.
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1.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 corn snake
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 fish
1.2 cats
3.1 kids
1.0 husband

i love my little baby ball python! HES AWESOME.

GET A BALL PYTHON!!! NOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!! they're realllllllllllllllllllllly REALLY cool. and cheap! and easy to care for! and very gentle! and they aren't even that big! i like ratsnakes too, especially red ratsnakes (corn snakes).

i agree ball pythons are great and fairly easy to care for.... however and i say again this is my opinion, i would not recomend it as a fist snake unless whoever was aquiring one did a good responsible amount of research first.........
1,they often are notoriously fussy feeders
2,can be easily stressed through over handling
3,and are mainly nocturnal (generaly),
when looking for a beginner snake for children i always take into account the time the child wishes to handle and observe the reptile..not much fun to observe a sleeping python for a child....remember if its a childs snake they will want to handle it alot........
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no way the way no limit the limit

I would suggest a Rubber Boa. They aren't the easiest captive bred to find, but you can find them in the wild pretty easily or they will show up every now and then in the classifieds of this site. They are really easy to care for, only grow to about 2' and are considered by many to be the most docile snakes. They aren't the prettiest snake in the world, but are beautiful in their own respect. Rubberboas.com has tons more info on them.