Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im bored and Ive been thinking about this for awhile.I am thinking about getting another snake.I do want a good display animal.I already have a really nice display with a Jungle carpet.
I was thinking maybe a hognose.

So in my experience a good display animal wont destroy the cage furniture too much. Will hang out once in awhile or move around during the day.

Ive come up with

Carpet pythons of various species.

Woma(but they are bigger, might destroy its cage a bit)

cornsnakes(at least the ones Ive had have been quite active)

Tree boas/pythons(personally dont know much about them but always see them out on a branch)

What about hognose or even a pair?
Anyone else think of a few more choices?

My corns vary in personality as im sure all snakes do. My rosy boa loves to come out and bask and climb around and explore and i made a really cool desert habitat for her.my bairds rat snake is also pretty active and loves to climb. Corns can certainty make good display animals. I have witnessed some that were very active. Most of mine remain hidden constantly. I have never kept any tree boa/python but i believe they hang out on a branch in the open which is pretty cool. Im not sure if they are active but ive seen some beautiful displays with live plants and a gorgeous green tree python. Extremely impressive display animal.

They are very cool looking snakes.Are they handleable?
They dont seem that popular even on the rosy boa forum why is that(just wonder if they have attitude or something)?

Since I originally was thinking either a woma or brb Ive since changed my mind again.I lost my sons cornsnake for him last week.So I will get something a bit less expensive and buy him a new snake at the next expo in March(he wants a hognose pretty badly).So I am still open to suggestions for a good display.

A rosy is on my list of considerations now.
A bredli(but the size is making this one a concern)
A kingsnake of some kind especially if I see a nice brooksi.
An everglades rat,perhaps.Its mostly a matter of what they
have available at the expo too.

I have a female 'bay of la' rosy and she has been calm since i got her as a baby. I am not a rosy boa expert but everything i have read points to them being very calm docile snakes. I have read several accounts of people being able to approach and handle wild rosy boas. Mine also never misses a meal. She is on par with any corn snake i have when it comes to thriving in captivity and she has a lot of personality like i mentioned. As to why they are not more popular in the hobby. Beats me. i have no idea. mine is a joy.

Rosies are very popular among locality enthusiasts. They are one of those snakes that has a following that includes a rather tight group of very knowledgeable people that routinely view them in the field.

Your Bay of LA rosy likely descends from stock collected decades ago in the height of the rosyboa rage. Rosies are among my favorite snakes for a few reasons. I was hooked when I first visited rosy habitat in the 90s. How those slow, docile worms eek out a living in the wild is quite fascinating. They are usually associated with rocky areas with high sun exposure. In some places, there are not too many visible rocks but there is usually rock under the surface, not always however. Rosies spend most of their lives underground and among the rocks.
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Mark

I keep reading that they burrow down and then you never see them?

Being that in nature they are very secretive snakes and stay underground or under the cover of rocks most of the time, one has to expect that rosies are not a display snake.

However, they seem to become quite tolerant in captivity and lose any fear of the keeper. A friend of mine has some that are very old snakes that he has kept in clear plastic boxes with no hides at all, and they have done great for him for over 15 yrs.

In captivity, rosies like it simple. Some crumpled newspaper on the floor, some belly heat and adequate food - a rosy will thrive for many many years.

If I was to use a "naturalistic" substrate for a rosy, I would search for granite-based soil if you can find it. I have tried everything with rosies, and my take is keep it very simple. I usually use dimpled craft packing paper as the substrate, with some crumpled newspaper over that, and I add a few small granite rocks I got from a low desert locality in So Cal where rosies occur. For babies I do not use granite rocks and instead put a small piece of PVC pipe or cardboard tube in the cage. That is it. Very easy. Mine will often hide under the newspaper with the tip of their snouts exposed, waiting for a meal. They are powerful constrictors and hit prey incredibly hard.
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Mark