Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all--

I hope soon to be getting back into snake-keeping, in a small way, and I'm considering picking up another snake or two to add to my mini-menagerie (one cornsnake, a trio of ball pythons, and one bizarrely pissy Boa constrictor ssp).

However, I really don't need another "pet" snake. It seems to me that if I really want to expand my collection, I should do so with a species that actually needs to be kept and documented.

So here's my question for the group (keeping in mind that I have no room for truly big critters, no training or inclination to mess with venomous, and a reasonably small budget):

What species, available in (even if not native to) North America, would be a good candidate for keeping and study? What species, in other words, is under-kept and/or under-studied and would therefore benefit from some attention?

Thanks in advance.

Wayne

Wayne,
That is a very interesting question and one in which I have thought about for myself. I have other projects and may never get around to it. But how about this:

Water Snakes: Keeping and breeding them and seeing if the will thrive on rodents like Cottonmouths and Cantils do.

Patchnosed Snakes: They are beautiful and very underrated.

Racers: Another underrated snake that can thrive.

Glossy Snakes: Easy as a Corn Snake to raise but never caught on.

Shovel-nosed Snakes: They were awesome when I kept them. They hide under sand and then shoot up and chase crickets. If you could breed them I think they will be a big hit in pet stores.

How's that for starters? Keep us posted on what you do.

western fox snake,underated and misunderstood.has a bad rap on being hard to breed,easy to breed as corns IF you give them cold and long brumation.great to work with and easy to keep.have fun!

You said no venomous, the snake im going to recomend is a rear fanged venomous snake, but its not oign to send you to the hospital if u get nicked.

the vine snake, you said you want something you keep records on and need time to keep and mantain. They can be crappy eaters. You can spend time trying to get it to take a mouse instead of lizrd. You can do experiments on scenting mice with dif. feeder lizards, anoles, house geckos ect.

Thanks for the suggestions, Dan. The glossy & patchnose snakes look particularly interesting. This is still a hypothetical situation, but I'll let you know any developments.

Any other suggestions out there? I recall hearing about African House Snakes a few years ago, but don't know if they've blossomed (so to speak) in the trade or not.

Wayne

Not as exotic as the others but worth a thought are the insular boas.

Here's a couple North Americans I'd like to try if I had the guts:

Longnose Snake Rhinocheilus leconti ssp.
Speckled Racer Drymobius m. margaritaferous
Rainbow Snake Farancia erythrogramma ssp.

I'd also like to try the Glossy and Patchnose Snakes mentioned above.

Cheers,

John D
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I am so not lesdysxic!

0.1 Creamsicle Cornsake "Yolanda"
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake "Steely Dan"
0.1 Desert Kingsnake "FATTY"
0.1 Black Rat (WV Rescue) "Roberta"

I suggest an egg-eating snake. That would be a challenge and interesting to study!
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1.0 Spotted Python
1.0 IJ Carpet Python
0.1.1 Ball Pythons
0.1 Macklot's Python
1.0 Variable Kingsnake