Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am new to the reptile world, and though i have been researching extensively into which kind of snake i should get, I remain neutral, and there is no substitute for experience, so I am asking for help in choosing a snake. I'm not too picky, I just have a few criteria:

Terrestrial
Diurnal (not that big of a deal, but would be nice)
Docile
4-8 feet (i want something that I can HOLD, but not a small snake)
Color or patterns don't matter to me much
not too active or skittish, but not something that would make me constantly wonder if it died, for lack of movement.

That's pretty much it. Thanks

Hello, hmmmm i have a couple ideas..... mine are from personal experience....
I've got a Taiwan Beauty Rat Snake... they grow to 7-8ft sometimes 9... but they are a very slender snake, mine is between a golf and tennis ball at his thickest... He is 2.5 years old now and just measured at 6ft 6inches.... you dont need a huge enclosure for them either... up till now Ive housed him in an Exoterra aquarium thats about 1.5ftx1.5ft base and 3 ft tall, Im just now going to be moving him into something a bit bigger.
He is a fairly active snake, aside from when hes shedding or recently ate, mostly meaning he doesnt just sit there forever and look dead like you mentioned...
My personal snake is great for handling, he does like to move around a bit, will go into your sweaters wrap around your neck waist arms haha... even climbs up my head a lot. It does take a couple mintues to get him into and out of his cage because he is so long and its a very rare occasion that he is not wrapped around something lol. But other than than that he's great.
As for eating, my snake is a machine, and its very wicked to watch him eat! At his size now he is taking about 5-6 rats that are around 3-4inches long. anyways, not sure if that sounds like your cup of tea?

sorry to get into so much detail ill try and keep it short with the next two. I also have a black mexican kingsnake, they are a rather cool lookin little thing, solid black head to tail... they dont get huge mind you, maybe 4-4.5ft.... between the thickness of a roll of quarters and a roll of loonies. hes rather active too. i do have a rock for him to hide in and he spends a fair bit of time in it but if i go up to his cage he 99% of the time pokes his head out or comes out and does a lap or two around the cage. these snakes are known as nippy but i havent noticed it too much, I just got bit for the first time by him the other day and had i not been looking while he did it i wouldnt have felt a thing. Hes nice because hes not nearly as muscular as the others and so is generally easy to keep and hold of and direct and will just sit in your hands. These snakes are also quite vicious eaters and interesting to watch.

Lastly I have a ball python... these snakes are more like teddy bears i think. They get to arounf 4.5ft and vary in thickness but there are LOTs of pics if you want a better idea. I can sit down on my bed/couch and put the snake on my lap and not really have to worry about losing him for a long time! pretty slow moving and laidback snakes.. They also give off the look of a bigger snake with there thicker heads and bodies. The only downside with these snakes is they are finicky (sometimes seasonal) eaters.. if you have any more questions lemme know!

-Leigh
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Astin Leigh

1.0 Taiwanese Beauty Rat Snake (Dogg)
1.0 Black Mexican King Snake (WolfeGang)
1.0 Ball Python (as of yet unnamed)
1.0 Manx Cat (Simba)

Hey thanks, I'll consider it. That Taiwan Beauty Snake (is that what its called?) caught my attention. The only thing is that you described a fairly tall cage, 1.5 foot by 1.5 foot base and 3 feet tall? I don't want something that is going to need a lot of "roof space". I am in the planning stage of building a ~30 gallon tank, and the dimensions of that would be 36" by 18" base, and a foot high. Do they do well in long cages? And please don't be afraid to go in-depth. All the info you could give me would be great. Thanks.

Just an afterthought, but does anyone know what snakes are legal in Dakota County Minnesota (USA of course)?

Hey ... i started writing you a wicked long reply but i took so long between writing and working it deleted it.... anywho heres a good link and ill getmore into detail later on tonight.

Theres not alot of detailed info on the web for these guys but this one helped me!
Rat Snakes

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Astin Leigh

1.0 Taiwanese Beauty Rat Snake (Dogg)
1.0 Black Mexican King Snake (WolfeGang)
1.0 Ball Python (as of yet unnamed)
1.0 Manx Cat (Simba)

You know, I have just recently found out about Taiwan Beauty Snakes, but already they have piqued my interest. I need to find out more about them, but the internet isn't giving up much info about them without a fight. Do you know anything about them? What i would like to know, is what their general temperament is, how fast they grow, any "special needs", or anything related to care and behavior. That page that you linked to was interesting, but i mainly focused on where they came from, and how they were transported to other places, but what I need to know, is how well they take to handling, (i would probably handle daily, excluding feeding, and post feeding of course), are they calm or skittish, how available they are, expensive/cheap, stuff like that. Thanks for all the help people. I am lucky (at least for being in Minnesota), where i live within blocks of one of the only herp breeders in the lower half of the state, so i'll probably talk to her about it, although ill have to wait a week. It pleasantly surprises me as to how fast people reply. Thanks
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-Jacob
Proud owner of 3 lovebirds, and hopefully soon a snake (undecided as to what kind).

On second thought, what can people tell me on ANY of the beauty rat snakes? They all seem interesting, but i have read about some aggression issues. Is this bad, or is it just exaggeration, like everything else on the internet?
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-Jacob
Proud owner of 3 lovebirds, and hopefully soon a snake (undecided as to what kind).

Hmm... Compared to my other two snakes my taiwan is the most skittish but its not really a big deal... like if you touch his tail he might jump... aside from that hes great. He's the one that almost everyone of my friends have held.. I think that as long as you handle the snake enough you shouldnt have a problem with it. Mine was raised from a baby in a home that loved and respected and took awesome care of him and he is a great snake. He has never once struck at me. They can be territorial when in their cages but as soon as they are out they are fine as with many snakes. that link i gave you gave you an idea of temps... i usually kepp mine at 80 or just under on the hot spot and 73-76 on the cooler side... unless hes just eatin or its really cold that day hes usually half and half. A good way to get humidity is to put the water bowl over part of the warm spot... works well for me. Im not sure of availability of these snakes or price for that matter... i know that its a RARE chance that i would see one around where Im from but there are breeders. Im dont know much about the blue beauty rat snakes but they are also very nice looking animals! any more questions just ask.
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Astin Leigh

1.0 Taiwanese Beauty Rat Snake (Dogg)
1.0 Black Mexican King Snake (WolfeGang)
1.0 Ball Python (as of yet unnamed)
1.0 Manx Cat (Simba)

And a side note..

"In captivity some calm down to be nice pets, but others have been known to be quite temperamental even many years after capture." (www.answers.com/topic/beauty-rat-snake)
I think alot of places are talking about wild caught animals but unlike this website they forget to mention that... I dont know 100% BUT i have heard from people that many times when talking about skittish, crazy snakes they are talking about wild caught specimens.
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Astin Leigh

1.0 Taiwanese Beauty Rat Snake (Dogg)
1.0 Black Mexican King Snake (WolfeGang)
1.0 Ball Python (as of yet unnamed)
1.0 Manx Cat (Simba)

Hey thanks! I just had some concerns because I read that they could be pretty aggressive, and I would like to use mine for the hands-on activities at the Minnesota Herpetological Society. I like the colubrid look, cause it doesn't look like all the "scary" snakes you see on animal planet, and hollywood, and all the other sensationalist places that show snakes as mindless monsters, and that might help my mom and my best friend (who is terrified of snakes) accept my new friend a little better. I am open to any kind. Looks don't matter to me. In a different post, i even said that i like the natural versions of the ball pythons and corn snakes, better than all the morphs. I don't know why, but i just do. I live in Southern Metro Minnesota, and there are two places that deal specifically in reptiles: Leaping Lizards, of which i know the owner well, and Twin Cities Reptiles, of which i haven't been to yet. I could probably order online, but I hesitate to do that, because you never know what you are getting until you have already spent the money, and the person is too far away to go to and complain.
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-Jacob
Proud owner of 3 lovebirds, and hopefully soon a snake (undecided as to what kind).
If you would like to have a better conversation than email or posts, contact me via email: hydrazulu@hotmail.com to get my msn messenger name, or you could use my aim name, which is on my profile.

there are many options, but I recommend corn snakes for a first time owner...great size, great personality, many different color phases to pick from, and very simple requirements.
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-David

Check out my pet pics at:
http://www.myspace.com/obx_fisherman

1.0 ball python (Pandora - don't ask)
1.0 argentine boa (Prometheus)
0.1 hogg island boa (Andromeda)
0.0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (Inara)
1.0 kenyan sand boa (Diablo)
1.0 normal corn snake(Cypress)
0.1 amery. corn snake (Morgan LaFay)
0.0.2 baby corns (Romulus and Remus)
- 1 normal, 1 ghost
0.0.1 banded cali. kingsnake (Cain)
1.0 tangerine honduran milksnake (Narcissus)
0.0.1 snow corn snake (Valkyrie)
1.0 amazon tree boa (Pegasus)
1.0 colombian boa (Poseidon)
0.1 albino san diego gopher snake (Athena)
0.0.1 sandfish skink (Slick)
0.0.1 fire skink (Phoenix)
1.0 dog (Luke)

the wife's pets:
1.0 bearded dragon (Leonidas)
1.1 ferrets (Ares, Enyo)
0.0.1 betta fish (Captain Morgan)
1.2 cats (Galahad, Ripley and Sassy)
0.1 Boxer

I've thought about them, and they are still on the list, about 2nd or third, but they can be pretty active, and i want something that can be active at times, but pretty laid back. So far i've been doing all my research primarily on Corn Snakes and Ball Pythons, and Balls seem like they are a good choice. I still have plenty of time to decide, and I don't plan on rushing the decision. Pretty much my choice is between Balls and Corns, and its a pretty close race. I'm hoping that somebody will give me some good info that will sway me one way or the other, or give me a new choice too. Thanks for the input.

I have seen many hundreds of balls and corns...
I have by far been bitten more by skiddish corns than balls---

I am not personally into the "small stuff" ( i like burms and retics- hubby likes the 'condas) I am totally in love with ball pythons though- with all the color variety available today- they're just amazing!!!

good luck- but my vote for beginner snake is ball python- all the way- and I'd go up a few hundred bucks and get something a little more... colorful- My first was a normal- now we have pied, albino, axanthic, and a few others i'm eyeballing!!
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

Everybody is gonna think im weird cause of this, but...I'm not really "wowed" by the morphs of the ball python, or even corn snakes. Yeah. The only morph that actually made me stop and blink, was the flame garter snake. I personally think that the wild natural morph (technically not a morph at all), is the most beautiful of them all, and so far same with the ball pythons, although i can safely say that i have seen more morphs of corns than balls. The only thing that came close to the normal "morph" was the spider, and that is way out of my budget. The breeder that i go to for advice and stuff had it for sale at like $500 (?) and the normals were about $50 (?). Not entirely sure of the prices, but close if not exact. Honestly, corns and balls stay pretty small. I think that the largest ball i saw was 4 feet long, and same goes with the corn snake, but maybe a little smaller. I'm not a small person, and want a snake that gets a bit bigger than that. Corns never slow down and calm down, and ball pythons are a bit too small, although they are one of my top choices. I like the colubrid shape because i believe it is a little bit less threatening, and my mom is not a fan of snakes, so i was actually looking at rat snakes, and more specifically beauty snakes. The only snag, like i said in my previous post, is that i read on the internet that they are somewhat on the skittish and aggressive side. Can anyone confirm or dispel that? I want something that stays calm, and is docile, not just for me, but for my mom, and I want to be able to bring it to the "hands on" education activities at the Minnesota Herpetological Society. 5-7 feet is kind of the length i am aiming for. The beauty snake fit into that category, although it does get a bit longer, but by then i will be on my own, and better able to handle a longer snake. Does anybody that has had a few beauty snakes that can tell me about their general temperament?
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-Jacob
Proud owner of 3 lovebirds, and hopefully soon a snake (undecided as to what kind).

well, everyone has their own opinion, but I don't recommend ball pythons to people as a first snake. They are generally very docile, but can be finicky eaters, which can be very stressful (to you more then them.) They also have what I would consider intermediate level caging requirements: higher than normal heat, and moderate humidity except for shedding periods, which needs much higher. Younger corn snakes are pretty active and even skitish (as are all rat snakes) but they really calm down with age. They are also very hearty feeders, and rarely pass up a meal. Another one to think about is the hogg island boa...might be exactly what you're looking for
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-David

Check out my pet pics at:
http://www.myspace.com/obx_fisherman

1.0 ball python (Pandora - don't ask)
1.0 argentine boa (Prometheus)
0.1 hogg island boa (Andromeda)
0.0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (Inara)
1.0 kenyan sand boa (Diablo)
1.0 normal corn snake(Cypress)
0.1 amery. corn snake (Morgan LaFay)
0.0.2 baby corns (Romulus and Remus)
- 1 normal, 1 ghost
0.0.1 banded cali. kingsnake (Cain)
1.0 tangerine honduran milksnake (Narcissus)
0.0.1 snow corn snake (Valkyrie)
1.0 amazon tree boa (Pegasus)
1.0 colombian boa (Poseidon)
0.1 albino san diego gopher snake (Athena)
0.0.1 sandfish skink (Slick)
0.0.1 fire skink (Phoenix)
1.0 dog (Luke)

the wife's pets:
1.0 bearded dragon (Leonidas)
1.1 ferrets (Ares, Enyo)
0.0.1 betta fish (Captain Morgan)
1.2 cats (Galahad, Ripley and Sassy)
0.1 Boxer

yeah they were one of the ones i was looking at before. http://www.centralpets.com/ has an extensive snake directory. I don't know how accurate they are, but they are where i have been going generally to learn about a particular snake species.
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-Jacob
Proud owner of 3 lovebirds, and hopefully soon a snake (undecided as to what kind).

How threatened are they in the wild? I wouldn't want to get one if it could be going to someone who would breed it, and help the population. Also, if they are threatened, how hard will it be to find one, and if i do, will it be expensive? Because i don't have the money to spend a fortune to buy a snake, and the nearest reptile expo is in Chicago, which is more than a day's drive away, or a plane flight, either of which is not possible for me right now.
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-Jacob
Proud owner of 3 lovebirds, and hopefully soon a snake (undecided as to what kind).

If you are looking for an active snake, I'm not so sure a Ball Python is what your looking for. I dunno about anyone else, but the Balls that I have worked with have been far from active! I see them out of hiding for about 15 minutes at 3 in the morning to cruise around and take a drink, but the rest of the time they're pretty lazy!

Have you thought about a bull or pine snake? My bull snake is probably the most active snake I have right now, granted his attitude isn't the greatest, and I haven't really heard many good things about bull attitudes, most are a just little hissy at best. My northerin pinesnake however has been the nicest snake I've ever owned. He's a perfect size, at 6ft, about as thick as a paper towel roll at his thickest, and has the most docile, kitten personality I've ever known. He's the mascot for my educational program. Most of the colubrids also have fairly simple care requirements, and are fairly active.

I hope you find whats perfect for you, I know how hard it can be with so many options!!

Thank you for your suggestions. From what you said, i don't believe that a bull snake would be right for me. I want to participate in the Minnesota Herpetological Society's hands-on activities, and i don't believe that people would feel comfortable approaching a hissy snake. Pine snakes though, I have never thought about. That will change as soon as i finish writing this. I agree about what you said about Ball Pythons. I don't want a snake that will never move, but on the other side of the coin, I want a snake that will be calm enough to, like, watch television with, or sit through the MHS's hands-on activities, and be approachable. I like the colubrid look, not for me, but simply that it isn't as threatening-looking as the pythons and boas. Thank you all for all your help, and I probably won't be able to answer responses as quickly as i usually try to, because today I am getting the rest of the acrylic for the snake cage I am building, and i plan to be very busy on that . Please feel free to still respond, as I am always looking for more suggestions. Thank you all for your help.

-Jacob
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-Jacob
Proud owner of 3 lovebirds, and hopefully soon a snake (undecided as to what kind).
If you would like to have a better conversation than email or posts, contact me via email: hydrazulu@hotmail.com to get my msn messenger name, or you could use my aim name, which is on my profile.