Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm fairly new to snake keeping. I have 2 corns and a milk. I was wondering if someone can tell me what kind of boa or python is also good for a beginner? I really like the carpet python's. Do they get really big? Nothing over 6-7 feet.

Hogg island, cay calker and central american boas are great for beginners. They tend to stay small, females will grow larger than the males but still rarely grow over 7 foot.

>>I'm fairly new to snake keeping. I have 2 corns and a milk. I was wondering if someone can tell me what kind of boa or python is also good for a beginner? I really like the carpet python's. Do they get really big? Nothing over 6-7 feet.

Cay Caulkers make nice little boas. My yearling is the sweetest boa I have. Used to be a striker, but with regular handling, she has become very tame. Still don't trust her anywhere near my face-but otherwise she is tame and has never actually bitten me.

Carpets can be nippy, even as adults. There are a few who do calm down though. You could try spotted pythons, they make good first-time pythons, as do ball pythons (but with ball pythons, they often have feeding problems.) Rosy Boas, Kenyan Sand Boas-both make good first-time boas.

-cat
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Boas:Colombians.Males are around 7-8 ft as adults but females can attain a good 10 ft.
Most island species stay relatively small(hog island boas,solomon island boas,etc).

Pythons:Ball pythons.easy to care for.Only get around 4-5 ft with some exceptions over 6ft.
Blood pythons.About the same care as the ball with higher humidity.Still within the 5-6 ft. range.
Childrens pythons.Stay small.Fairly easy to care for.
Spotted pythons.Again stay small,relatively easy to maintain.
Thats a selection of a few.Be sure to do as much research about whichever one you decide to get.Regards Bill McLeod

that would fit your requirements. The problem is actually PICKING one that would be good for a beginner. All snakes are different, MOST ball pythons are nice....*some* would kill you if they had it their way. Hopefully whatever you choose to go with is nice I would recommend a childrens, or a spotted python. If neither of them strike your fancy, a hogg island boa may be a little more to your liking. Hope this helps

If i was you i would look into a MALE BCI (not female), as you probibaly know males are smaler and in my experience male bci (if handled often) have great temprements and are great feeders. Buy it as a baby and give it nice steady feeding scedule and it souldnt exceed 6-7 foot. This may seem large now but as the snake grows you will grow more confident with it and it wont be a problem. I've kept some big Burms and Retics in my time and believe me, 6-7 foot is very managable. If i was you i would splash out and buy a nice Anery or something. go on Treat yourself!

Good luck!

docile, hardy and pretty straight forward husbandry requirements. it is said they are picky eaters, but i have never known this to be true.

I would recommend a young male Hogg Isl. Natural hypo, changes colors, nice attitude, and will stay within your size limit. Frank

Most of the male Bci will stay around or under 7 feet in length, the island varieties being a bit smaller. Solomon Island ground boas are good, small boas - males around 3', females around 4', give or take a bit on both - but be sure to get captive bred for a good docile snake, wild caught ones can be quite nippy. Viper boas are also fairly small (related to the Solomon Island boas) and are very neat snakes. The childrens and spotted pythons are both good and stay under your size requirements as do the different types of sand boas. I've heard mixed reviews on rosy boas as far as temperment - some swearing they're sweet, others swearing they're nippy - personally I don't have any first hand experience with them so I can't say. The jungle carpet pythons stay smaller but tend to be nippier (my jungle/diamond cross definitely is anyway), but I've heard that with work they'll calm down (still working with my girl). I also have a yearling Queensland carpet python who is very sweet but will ultimately get over your size requirements (up to 10' from what I've read, possibly more). Colombian rainbow boas are attractive snakes and more forgiving of husbandry errors than their Brazilian cousins and my male is a real sweet heart - I've never heard anything bad about them. Ball (or Royal) pythons are great snakes and are fairly easy to care for...once again captive bred will most likely give you fewer problems. I can't offhand think of any others, but this will give you some to look into.

Raven