Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm trying to decide between these 2 species. Please give me your opinion on the pros and cons of each species (i.e. biting, handling, size, enclosure, feeding, purchase price, color variations, etc.), especially if you've owned both species.

There are no real cons to cornsnakes if you are interested in that type of species (ratsnake, long and kind of thin, likes to climb, etc). They are available, inexpensive and colorful with many variations.

Rosies are not as personable and can be more prone to stress if handled too much, though most get over that with time; they like to hide and can be more seasonal in their feeding response. I like rosies because their natural history fascinates me (they are a southwest snake and I live in the southwest..).

So get the one that you are most interested in. Both can make great pets, with rosies requiring a bit more attention to heating setup I would say, but still very simple to achieve.
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Mark

corn snakes cost less, but they are better secape artists. both are happy in a 20 long aquairum. corn snake will get 4 ft, the rosy 2-3 ft i think. the rosys like to burrow so you may not see one that often. although if you give corn snakes enough bedding they will also burrow, and if you give them places to climb they will climb. but both species are generaly calm and not known for biting but keep in mind corn snakes have a really strong feeding responce and once they are in attack mode they will bite anything warm.