Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm looking to make my first snake purchase at the NE Reptile Expo this weekend. It seems as if the best "first snakes" are corn snakes, king snakes, milk snakes, or ball pythons. I really think I'll enjoy the heftiness of ball pythons over the long term (while they're still not overwhelmingly large). However, my impression is that they can get quite boring (the allusions to pet rocks). I'm looking for a snake that's:

- fun to hold and handle
- has some girth while not being too large as to require a huge tank
- is relatively active

Any recommendations/feedback?

>>Any recommendations/feedback?

I would be very careful of BPs at most expos. I would only buy a ball python that they will guarantee is captive BRED and born. Ask them if they bred and hatched the babies themselves. If there are ten of them in a 10 gallon tank, my money says they didn't. Many people will buy a bunch of cheap farm hatched ball pythons and take them to expos and sell them as captive born.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Snakes that fit your criteria include corn, rat and bull snakes. Though the bulls can be somewhat defensive.

Check out Gopher Snakes. Girthier than Corns, certainly more personable than BP's!

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Diego

Diego & Tiffany's Zoo:
SNAKES
4.3.0 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.1.0 Everglades Rat Snakes
1.0.0 Baird's Rat Snake
1.2.0 Trans-Pecos Rat Snake
0.1.0 Amel Pacific Gopher Snake
1.0.0 Het Amel San Diego Gopher Snake
2.1.0 Sonoran Gopher Snake
0.1.0 Amel Sonoran Gopher Snake
1.0.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
2.1.0 Gray Banded Kingsnakes (1.1 River Road, 1.0 Non-Locale Specific)
0.2.0 California Kingsnakes
0.1.0 Thayeri Kingsnake
0.1.0 Florida Kingsnake
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Dumeril's Boa
1.1.0 Rosy Boas (Mexican & Mid Baja)
1.1.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
0.1.0 Indonesian Dwarf Pacific Boa
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
1.2.0 Ball Pythons
1.0.0 Woma Python
1.1.0 Cape York Spotted Pythons
1.1.0 Macklot's Pythons
1.0.0 Western Hognose
0.1.0 Blacktail Cribo

LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
3.1.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.3.0 Leopard Geckos
1.0.1 Yellow Niger Uromastyx
1.1.0 Chuckwalla
0.1.0 Banded Gecko

FROGS
2.2.0 Southern Bell Frogs
1.0.0 Green Tree Frogs
1.0.0 Striped Walking Frogs
1.1.1 White's Tree Frogs

I second the Gophers! I have 3 Sonorans. Girthy, not as big as Bulls, and great temperament. They are a lot more fun than my Corns IMO.

Diego, you have some beauties there.

65465
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Diego

Diego & Tiffany's Zoo:
SNAKES
4.3.0 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.1.0 Everglades Rat Snakes
1.0.0 Baird's Rat Snake
1.2.0 Trans-Pecos Rat Snake
0.1.0 Amel Pacific Gopher Snake
1.0.0 Het Amel San Diego Gopher Snake
2.1.0 Sonoran Gopher Snake
0.1.0 Amel Sonoran Gopher Snake
1.0.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
2.1.0 Gray Banded Kingsnakes (1.1 River Road, 1.0 Non-Locale Specific)
0.2.0 California Kingsnakes
0.1.0 Thayeri Kingsnake
0.1.0 Florida Kingsnake
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Dumeril's Boa
1.1.0 Rosy Boas (Mexican & Mid Baja)
1.1.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
0.1.0 Indonesian Dwarf Pacific Boa
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
1.2.0 Ball Pythons
1.0.0 Woma Python
1.1.0 Cape York Spotted Pythons
1.1.0 Macklot's Pythons
1.0.0 Western Hognose
0.1.0 Blacktail Cribo

LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
3.1.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.3.0 Leopard Geckos
1.0.1 Yellow Niger Uromastyx
1.1.0 Chuckwalla
0.1.0 Banded Gecko

FROGS
2.2.0 Southern Bell Frogs
1.0.0 Green Tree Frogs
1.0.0 Bubbling Kassina
1.1.1 White's Tree Frogs

I also say corn snakes.

I don't have any but my sister has 3.

Her male Hercules is hefty and has plenty of girth at least 2" thick. He also has a great personality that makes him a pleasure to hold.
Her other 2, Adam and Eve, also are good to hold, but are not as big yet.

I have a BP and "pet rock" is not too far off most of the time. He is most active at night when all the lights are off. I hear him moving his hide box and stuff.
Also many Ball Pythons can be problem feeders, mine is.

Most corn snakes are great eaters, grow fast, and are easy to handle.

Hope this helps
AR
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Love snakes, the morph the merrier.

1.0 normal ball python Nicodemus
0.2 albino banana kings Dora and Queen
1.0 albino banded king Ace
and more to come...

Consider a spotted python. Much more active than a BP, enjoy climbing branches in the enclosure, max out around 4', straight forward husbandy, beautiful irridescence in sunlight.

rgds,
althea