Reptile & Amphibian Forums

that doesnt mind handling and doesnt hide all day.
I already have large snakes and want something that wont need to be in anything larger then a 20g or less.
I had a bad experience with a hognose(noneater, I tried everything too)I ended giving away, but i really loved the size and look and activity..But I want something that wont go on a hungerstrike(I had to buy 5 dollar anoles for him).I might try them again someday if i can get a good established eater.
I been tossing around a sandboa but dont know if they hide all the time and need so how big they get.
Anyway suggestions would be great.
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I believe Sand boas are going to stay hidden pretty much most of the time, but for size and handling, they are a good choice. You might want to check out Mexican Milksnakes. Gorgeous colors, range in size at around 24-30 inchs as adults, calm when being held, (all of mine have been), eat like there's no tomorrow. The only blemmish I can think of is they may hide a bit more then you might like. Here's an older pic of my 2007 female. Steve

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"Book ‘em, Danno”

Well, as Steve mentioned already, most of the milksnakes(triangulum) are generally pretty nervous, ESPECIALLY young ones, although there are just a few that are generally a little less so, such as the Mexican Milk. Some of the slightly smaller common Kingsnakes(getulus) such as the Mexican Black King(MBK) might be what you are looking for. They generally have a good calm disposition, eat VERY well, and are usually very calm when being handled. Of course as in all animals, there can be exceptions. I've had fabulous experience with MBK's in the past.

best regards, ~Doug

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Maybe mine was an exception to the rule, but I had a MBK that was HUGE. A good 4.5 - 5 feet long, and thick too. Very cool snake and pretty active, but he required a bigger cage than a 20L. I had to custom build him one about 4 feet long...

Yes, the one you had was apparently an exceptionally big one. Adults usually reach a length of aroung 36 to 40 inches, rarely much larger.

best regards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

My thayeri is a complete joy. He seems to have topped out at about 32 inches, and is beyond tame. For a snake, he spends a good amount of time cruising around his cage. He's eaten f/t pinkie rats or f/t small adult mice from the day I bought him. No switching over or scenting or anything like that. He's one of the only snakes I've encountered that actually seems to enjoy being handled rather than just tolerate it. In fact, when I open his tub he calmly slithers out onto my arm and eventually settles around my wrist like bracelet. He's great with kids and doesn't get spooked. I bought him as a small adult from a pet shop, and it was his personality was what hooked me.
And, of course, thayeri come in several different colors and patterns (leonis, milksnake phase, black, etc.) Mine is a dark milksnake phase. His colors aren't as striking, but he does glisten in the light. I recently showed off my entire collection to some friends, and my thayeri was the one that they were most taken with.

Good luck on your search!

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1.1.0 Hondurans Het Amel
1.1.0 Hondurans Anery, Het Hypo
0.1.0 Honduran Hypo
0.2.0 Pueblans
1.0.0 Thayeri MSP
0.0.1 GBK Blair's Phase
1.0.0 California King
0.0.1 Speckled King WC
0.0.1 Jungle Carpet
0.1.0 Ball, Normal
0.0.1 Sulcata
0.1.0 Girlfriend, Caucasius Mexicana, Fiancee Phase

I have a nice list of really cool small snakes
African housesnakes-(They breed prolifically)
Puget sound Gartersnakes-(beautiful and dont musk)
Flame garters-(expensive but worth every penny)
Oregon red sided Garters-(average price all garters adapt to a rodent diet fairly easily)
Lepord rat snakes
Emory ratsnakes
Twin spotted ratsnakes
Rough green snakes-(drawback they eat insects, so they need uvb)

there's not any that I can think of that fit all four criteria (small size, docile, visual, good eater)
There are many choices though, and here's a few that I have experience with.

I think the corn snakes come the closest as they can be kept in a 20 gal, are extremely friendly, can be active during the day (more then most others, but still not real common to see them out) and excellent eaters.

Sand boas are great too; male East African (or Kenyan) sand boas only get about 12-14 inches and can live in a 10 gallon with deep substrate. the females need a 20 gal. They are friendly and small, but constantly hide in substrate with only the top of their head showing, and can be finicky eaters at times.

Several of the kingsnakes and milksnakes are also good possibilities...they tend to be more nervous and shy as babies than the corn snakes, but usually get calm with age and size

here's a pic of my banded cali. kingsnake...he's pretty active during the day, more than other kings I've seen.

and this is my tangerine phase honduran milksnake

Another option are the tree boas, particularly the Amazon tree boas...they need a little more space as adults, maybe a 30 gal tall would be sufficient, and you could stand it on one end to add more vertical height (also takes up less space then a 20 gal in terms of area it needs to sit on). They are beautiful snakes and come in many different colors. They are fairly small, and generally good eaters. They are the BEST when it comes to display! They spend most of the day out on a perch and mine really only uses the ground hide boxes during the night. But, they are NOT very friendly, in general and are more of a display pet than anything else. I have seen a few that were tame, and we're working with our baby yellow ATB right now, but my two adults will bite like crazy when I reach in to get them!

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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)
0.0.1 colombian boa (Athena)
0.1 hogg island boa (Andromeda)
0.0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (Inara)
1.0 Dumeril's boa (Hannibal)
1.0 kenyan sand boa (Diablo)
0.0.1 normal corn snake(Cypress)
0.1 amel. corn snake (Morgan LaFay) RIP
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)
1.1 garden phase amazon tree boas (Pegasus, Lenore)
0.0.1 baby yellow amazon tree boa (affectionately called
Snuggles)
0.0.1 albino san diego gopher snake (maybe Octavian)
0.0.1 sandfish skink (Slick)
0.0.1 fire skink (Phoenix)
1.0 bassett hound/black and tan coonhound mix (Luke)
0.1 Boxer (Zoe)
1.0 bearded dragon (Leonidas)
1.1 ferrets (Ares, Enyo)
1.2 cats (Galahad, Ripley and Sassy)
2.0 rats (Pan, no name yet)

Garter snakes are excellent smaller snakes...very active, easy to feed, varied diet, and as colorful as any other snakes out there!!

Have you considered a Western Hognose? They are much easier to switch to rodents than Easterns and have pretty big and bold attitudes for such small snakes.

Also, there's Rosy Rat Snakes, African House Snakes, and Mexicana Kings that you might want to look into.
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Diego

Thanks all, I will keep thinking about it for now.I like the Amazon tree boa but dont want anything that cant be handled.I might look into garters actually, its one I dont know much about.
Might be fun looking them up.
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I would have added garters to my comment above, but I figured they might be on average too jumpy for what your looking for. Pictured is my 07 Blue Stripe (t.s. similis) and 07 female plains garter.



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"Book ‘em, Danno”

is that a florida blue stripe, or a puget sound?
cheers
mike
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Jayne "The Hero of Canton", Ball Python
Edmund Slackbladder, Mexican Kingsnake
El Diablo "They haven't built a cage I can't get out of" Pueblan Milksnake
(Currently serving 25 to life in a Maryland Supermax)

Check out Scott Felzers website. He is always posting under the gartersnake fourm. He is the Garter Guru. I have done business with him before and he is one of the most honest guys in the business and all his animals are top quality. His Gatrers will blow your mind.

What about Childrens or Spotted pythons?