Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, my son is wanting a snake for his birthday and he has posted on here once asking what would be a good one to start with. He is doing his research but I decided I would start helping him and it could something we could do together. Due to his mother's restrictions he cannot have anything over 5' foot or so and nothing that eats mice. So I'm thinking an insectivore would be an ideal snake. However I not certain what types of insectivore snakes there are and whether they would be good ones to start out with. Any tips would be welcoome.

Thanks, Roman

well there is no good beginner snake that eats only insects. if she will go with goldfish you could go with a garter snake, but they can be a little difficult at times. i would say get over the eating mice thing and go with a corn snake.

froggy
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The next time the shuttle lands, lets all get dressed up in ape suits and charge at the astronaughts yelling and ranting. That way they can try to figure out where they took a wrong turn.

Okay if I can convince her to lighten up on mice, what species of cornsnake is good to start with? And where is a good place to find care sheets on them?

Are you guys aware that having a mouse-eating snake does not mean that you have to feed it live mice? Most folks are buying frozen mice and thawing them out. It's clean, easy...really less of a hassle than the other dietary options when it comes to insect eaters. Yes, a cornsnake would be good. You don't have to worry about what "kind" of cornsnake...just what color you like. If there are any reptile shows that happen near you, that would be a great place to look (and also to buy frozen mice).
Otherwise, choose a breeder from the list on the main page. Petstore-bought snakes should be a last-resort. You will pay too much, and lots of petstores just don't have a good reputation for proper herp care. Good luck. Duffy

a mouse eating snake would be your best bet. Just buy frozen mice and thaw them out. And a corn snake is it's own species (Elaphe guttata guttata). There are subspecies of corn snakes, but stick with the regular corn snakes for more brightly colored animals. E.g.emoryi and E.g.meahllworum(sp?) are various shades of brown and gray whereas corn snakes can be all sorts of colors (mainly orange, red, etc).

I agree with all the posts below. HOWEVER, sometimes women can be a little difficult . If she doesnt give in to being ok with feeding mice, i suggest you look into (do alot of research on) either ringneck snakes or rough green snakes. The latter is a bit more common in the pet trade, but again, if you have another choice, dont buy from a pet store.
Good luck,
Kevin

It is true, they really dont make good pets, and they are not the best "First" snake. Insectivorious snakes like the green vine snake are lightning fast and fill bite and defecate when you attempt to hold them. They are also delicate and do not always do well in captivity.

Ribbon Snakes eat minnows and small goldfish, but are similar to the green vines in there temperment/personality.

The only option for you may be a garter sanke that allready has a little size to it. I had a nice red checkered garter as my first snake, and it was an awesome animal. It ate large goldfish and was about 4' long. It was very docile, and it became such a good pet to my family that my mother took it to the vet for surjery because it developed abscess.

A good garter snake to start off with would be any of the checkered (red sided or orange sided), as they get to 3-4 feet. The small ones are similar to ribbon snakes and really arent great pets
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Billy
Reptile World
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