Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i am getting my first real paycheck from my job on tuesday and i plan on buying some rattle snakes. i have kept such snakes as king snakes, corn snakes, gopher snakes, bearded dragons, i have also kept scorpions and brown recluse spiders. but what im looking for is a good starter rattle snake. from my post before a few of you were like "wow, thats one hell of a starter snake" and therefore i would like to know what rattle snake is the most tame (keep in mind i am NOT going to handle these without a hook) but i would just like a snake that is not going to strike at me every time i try to feed it, clean its cage, etc. i would also appricate a website or seller that offers babies of the snake you reccomend please! thank you all so very much! -matthew

I hear nothing but fond things of Crotalus lepidus, my experience is limited to California Crotalids though. I've also never had a Crotalus cerastes strike at me.

I might try an Arizona black tail (C.m.molossus) I had one of these that I had caught and it was super mellow and very beautiful. I have a pair of cerastes and they want to bite me every chance they get. I guess it all depends on the snake as well though. The cerastes is also a good snake to start with because they are small and do not have a very potent venom. Anyways good luck with your decision. Also pygmis are good rattlers to start with but they can be a bit snappy. Here is a pic of a cerastes just so you can see what they look like.

Jeremy McManmon

I have been keeping Western massasaugas and Western pygmies. They are both small and their venom yield/potency makes them among the "safer" starters. Don't get me wrong, being bitten by a venomous snake is nothing to take lightly, but Sistrurus (pygs and saugas) bites are certainly less serious than some of the larger rattlesnakes. The pygs are snappy and can be tricky feeders. The massasaugas are also snappy, but they are easy captives. Neither strike the hook or cage, but they are very alert and always poised. If I ever make a mistake, I'm quite certain I'll get nailed. Of course, individual temperment varies. One of my saugas is very flighty and will not sit still on a hook (and very secretive). The other is quite cooperative and is often wandering the cage. I have never kept sidewinders, but I have encountered a number in the wild, and they are just as ornery as pygs. If this is your first rattlesnake, I would highly recommend either a Desert or Western massasauga. Some of the larger rattlesnakes can be calm (blacktails and timbers come to mind), but their bites are very serious. Also, some of the people I've spoken with that keep a number of hots say that calm snakes can be the worst for a first time keeper. The reason being that you will likely become too complacent. Opinions vary, but in any case, stay safe. Shane

Good point about complacency. It probably would be a good idea to get a small snake (pigs, saugs, and sidewinders) that are not concidered to have a life threatening bite but will keep you on your toes. I dont know where you are at but copperheads are inexpensive and beautiful snakes that are considerd to have a mild venom as well. They my not be rattlers but they are hot and they could help you learn how to deal with hots before you get something that gets 6-7 feet and is fully capible of killing a grown man.

Good luck with your decision,

Jeremy

They are attractive snakes, but can also be picky captives (as wild-caughts anyway). I've heard far more complaints from A.contortrix owners than I have from S.tergeminus owners. Also, contortrix have higher venom yields on avg. than both western massasauga species. Shane