Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello there, I've kept numberous lizards but have always been fascinated by snakes. I was wondering if anyone knew of a not-so-popular breed that would be decent for a beginner snake keeper. i have all kinds of time to put towards keeping it so a breed that could be slighty harder than say, a ball python could still work out. Any help is appreciated, thanks
Bryan
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soad rocks

a rosy boa would be a great choice for someone looking to get into snakes. they are friendly great eaters and also pretty easy to take care of. mike

Look into the Genus Pituophis. This includes bull, pine, and gopher snakes. I'd say they are a step up from ball pythons, and they aren't nearly as popular as ball pythons or corn snakes. They also come in all different sizes and colors, for example a locality of bull snakes from Montana maxes out at a little over 4 feet while some bull snakes from Texas can get over 9 feet. I am personally a big fan of northern pines and I think they would be a good starter which require a little more work than ball pythons and corn snakes. Northern pines can get big, have really nice colors, and seem more laid back than some of the other Pits.

John

I've never personally kept snakes, but I've cared for a handful of species for the ENMU Natural Hisotory Museum in Portales, NM, back in the day. I'll agree that bull/gopher/pine snakes are very hardy, personable snakes that take well to handling (in most cases). We had some wild-caught bull/gophers come into the museum, and some of my college buddies kept WC gophers for a few months. HOWEVER, check your state and local regulations for native species and sizes! Many states have regulations on native species (MD is even considering adding pine snakes to their "list B" species because they are now considering them a "historical species". Some states, cities, and counties have restrictions on sizes. Baltimore, for example, doesn't allow reptiles over 5 feet long!

Katrina
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1.2 Eastern Muds - Fred, Ethel, Edith
0.1 Iguana - Tiffel
Foster turtles: More than I'd like the husband to know about.

Sorry, didn't mean to put that smiley face in there. That's a " plus a ).

Katrina

Here's some ideas...

blood, bismark ringed, spotted, childrens, savu, d'alberts pythons.

Pits, as stated above.

Taiwan, Vietnamese, russian rats

Rainbow boas

Some of these are great suggestions,....

blood, bismark ringed, spotted, childrens, savu, d'alberts pythons.
Pits, as stated above.
Taiwan, Vietnamese, russian rats
Rainbow boas

but I am currently caring for a cb and raised white-lip (d'alberts) and have dealt with a few wild-caughts and I would have to disagree about them being suitable for beginners.
They are very high strung, do NOT like to be handled, and will bite you if you give them a chance.
They are gorgeous, but not a snake for beginners.

A really gorgeous snake that is often overlooked and REALLY easy to care for is the Baird's Ratsnake. Some of the captive bloodlines are really spectacular.

Here's a list comparing and ranking some beginner species, some of which are common, and some of which are rare. The ones with the low rankings are good choices, the ones on the bottom with bad rankings are only put there for comparison (I would put white-lips down there as well!) -

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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Wow, Chris, what a cool spreadsheet! Did you build that?

Steve

>>Wow, Chris, what a cool spreadsheet! Did you build that?

Glad you like it.

Several years ago, I kept seeing all these "what snake should I get" or "is this a good snake for a beginner" posts on these KS forums and it made me start thinking about the types of snakes that make good starters.

I then started thinking about what it was that made a snake a good beginner and decided to try and quantify that in a somewhat objective format. So I made a list of snakes that I had kept and others that frequently get mentioned as starter snakes and rated each one on all of these variables. I then totalled them in such a way that the snake with the "best" combination would be the number one on the list. This is the result.

I've tweaked it a few times and people disagree with the placement of a few species or absence of others, but it is only intended to give people something to think about.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

that list is awsome, it should be spinned as the first post on general snake forum or put in the feature pages
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jake

my addiction:
0.2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
0.1 amelenistic corn snake (maizy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)
1.0 albino cal king (zeus)
0.0.1 wc garter (zim)
hybrid breeders association
hybrid haven

I love at the bottom the tree boa is marked as "demon" thats Hilarious!!!! I recently went to a petstore where they had 2 baby tree boas for sale, and the lady described them as "little demons" And they were!!
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MY SNAKES
1.0 Northern Pine (Oshy)
1.0 Hypo Bull (Irwin)
0.1 Ball Python (Nagini)

MY OTHER CRITTERS
1.0 Belgian Draft/Paint (Sherlock)
1.0 large standard donkey (Cleatis Jack)
3.0 alley cats (Caesar, Boomer, Phoenix)
1.0 Siamese (Pharoh)
1.0 Betta (Lewis)

garters and housesnakes arent that common and are great for beginners. but are allitle small.

personaly i think taking care of snakes is much easier than lizards, they have simple diets, eat less often, dont need uv and you dont have to worry about calcium. soif you can do lizards youll do fine with snakes and would be fine jumping right in to something more difficult. but thats up to you.

also you mentioned that you have plenty of time, thats the buety of snakes, they dont require much. i have 6, and im busy with my 7week old son. right now i only have a couple of hours a week forthe snakes.
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jake

my addiction:
0.2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
0.1 amelenistic corn snake (maizy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)
1.0 albino cal king (zeus)
0.0.1 wc garter (zim)
hybrid breeders association
hybrid haven

I recommend a Dumerils Boa.

They're beautiful, got a little bit of size & bulk (not too big & not to small), not hyper but not too laid back either, and have a bit of personality. And every other house in the neighborhood won't have one like ball pythons.

Spend all the extra time that you'd spend taking care of lizards on handling your snake, no matter what you get, and you'll be glad you did.

Have fun!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

The best snake I've ever had has been my northern pine, they've got great size, great eaters, and are very laid back,(at least mine is!) and I've never met anyone else in my area who has one.

My ball python has turned out to be the hardest snake I've ever kept, due to feeding issues.

I've never done well with lizards, so if you keep them sucessfully you shouldn't have a problem with any snake you choose!
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MY SNAKES
1.0 Northern Pine (Oshy)
1.0 Hypo Bull (Irwin)
0.1 Ball Python (Nagini)

MY OTHER CRITTERS
1.0 Belgian Draft/Paint (Sherlock)
1.0 large standard donkey (Cleatis Jack)
3.0 alley cats (Caesar, Boomer, Phoenix)
1.0 Siamese (Pharoh)
1.0 Betta (Lewis)

Thanks Everyone who replied, it's been wuite a while sinceI was back on theese forums and its good to see theyre still kicking. Through your posts I've decided On a Northern Pine or a blood python, leaning more towards the blood because I'm a fan of the bigger-bodied snakes. but thanks to all who posted
Bryan

Bloods are nice snakes, but I would recommend a Borneo Blood over a Red as a starter. Some baby reds are a bit snappy. Borneos are dog tame generally, although watch out around feeding time!
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas