Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am in the process of looking for a snake, i have never owned one before. Wondering what the best one is to get, have heard that corns, rosy boas and ball pythons are good beginner snakes. I've got a 20 gal tank. I bought aspen snake bedding, a basking spot lamp, small water dish, hiding place, and heat pad. I've read that uv is not needed for snakes, is that true? Any info would be great!

thanks

Corn snakes are definatly great for beginners. They tend to be even tempered with propper handeling. They are easy to feed, will offen chow pre-killed like crazy, some are real pigs . Another bonus is that corns come in so many patterns and colors that there is one for everybody.

King and some milk snakes are also hardy and easy to keep, but kings are much more likely to bite. I should know, many times my kings have mistaken my hand for the mouse at meal times, OUCH! Once a king I had came out of his container, off the shelves, acrost the floor and bit me on the big toe and tried to constrict my foot. I guess he did not see the mouse in the hemastat. I use a hemastat (like long tweesers/pliers) to hold the mice now and I don't get bit any more. Much. They get so worked up at meal times that some times they bite themselves.

Ball Pythons are one of my favorate snakes in the world. I have had one since I was 12. Balls are a little harder to keep. They can be finiky and not always the best of feeders. If you get a ball make sure it is one that is a good feeder to start. Balls are very nice to handle and have a low likelyhood of biting. Just be carefull when you are feeding that they don't see your hand or you don't smell like food. They are heat sensitive and if you are holding a food item that they smell they may aim at your warm hand insted.

Your set up sounds OK. Just make sure your high temp is right for the species you pick and they can get away from the heat if they want too. Always best to have it warm on one side and cool on the other so the snake can pick what is comfortable.

Snakes tend to like their hides to be cozy/snugg, try to pick one that is just a bit bigger than your snake. As it grows you may have to repalce it/them. Multiple hides are good, you can put one in each end of the tank so it can choose.

Hope this helps.
Best of luck and welcome to the world of snake-lovers!
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1 BP
4 Cal Kings 3 alb 1 het
3 Alb Corn
1 Rev Alb Nelsons

Thanks for all the info, it helps out alot! By the way that sucks what happened to your foot ouch! I had another question. I am debating on whether or not to buy from a breeder online or from petco/petsmart. In my opinion and what i've heard from others petco/petsmart is not the best place to buy from. But I would like to know what you think. There is only one local petshop around here, and they had no corns.

Thanks again

It is true that pet stores are not always the best places to get snakes. They often buy in bulk from breeders who sell cheep. This can mean that some of the snakes have never fed, are in poor health or have hidden health problems, or are of poor blood lines (in-bread).

However the same it true of buying off the internet.

Thats not to say all snakes in pet stores or on line are bad, just that you have to be carefull and know how to find a good one.

There are many breeders who are listed with this website that have excelent reputations. Look for one that offers a guarentee on feeding and or health.

Going to reptile shows is also a great way to find good snakes. There is a large selection, you can see the animals in person, and talk to the breeders. You can easily tell a good stall because it will be clean, neet, and well organized. Prices at shows are usually MUCH better than at pet stores.

Hope this helps.
A
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1 BP
4 Cal Kings 3 alb 1 het
3 Alb Corn
1 Rev Alb Nelsons

I bought my King from a local store that specializes in reptiles. He was very well socialized, in good health, and a fantastic eater. The store only fed him 2 pinky mice once a week, so he was underweight, but a few weeks of regular and generous feedings and he fattened right up. A specialty reptile store can be a great place to shop, as they tend to have greater knowledge of snakes and can provide you with more thorough info. When I talked to a gal at Petco about the rosy boa babies they had, she knew hardly anything; not much more than what the information sheet attached to the front of the tank said. The specialty shop was able to provide me with a ton of help and information, I felt pretty well prepared bringing my King into my home

Oh, and UV is good for all reptiles but you don't need to buy any special lights if you provide natural daylight. If your setup is near a window so it can get a little sun but not too much that will do. Or you can take your snake outside on a sunny day and hold it once or twice a week.

I like the out side choice, all snakes look more beautiful in the sun.

A
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1 BP
4 Cal Kings 3 alb 1 het
3 Alb Corn
1 Rev Alb Nelsons

There has never been any solid evidence that snakes benifit from UVA or UVB light. They don't need the UV to to absorb calcium D3 like basking turtles do. They get all the nutrients they absolutely need from feeding on whole food items. It's actually even becoming questionable that some turtles (snappers), and some lizards (monitors) that feed on whole food items don't need UV for absorbing D3. Many snakes are noctournal or spend the majority of the day hiding out of the sun.

I will not deny that there has not been any proof that offering UV will harm your snake. Just as long as it's not a crazy spectrum or consistantly on the snake 24/7. But given what definitive proof we have (that snakes live long and healthy lives without any UV light) I would not spend the money a UV bulb costs for a snake and I would not go out of my way to take it outside if it was terribly inconvenient.

I have a California King that's 6-8 months old and he's wonderful. Occasionally at mealtimes he gets a bit snippy, which is why I remove him from his 20 gallon tank and put him in a special 'eating' box; it's a signal it's time to eat, and he is only fed when in that box, never anywhere else. He's also fed via large tweezers, so my hands are out of immediate reach. This seems to have been effective, as he doesn't strike at me or my husband hardly ever. The few times he's stuck, he's not been very vicious about it and has realized he has one of us. He's always let go quickly, and has never broken the skin.

Kings are beautiful and inexpensive, both to buy and keep. I'm a 'newbie' snake owner, but I had several longtime snake owners and friends recommend kings, corns, and rosy boas to me as the best option for a beginner. So far it's been a great experience. I would tell you that if you have a heat pad, you shouldn't need the lamp too. I did that the first week with my king and he got a little too warm (though he's fine, he just didn't care for 85 degrees too much!)