Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello corn snake crazy people. Couple of questions for all the colubrid fans out there. I have 10 corn snakes, love them to death, love breeding them, but i want to get into another form of snake, and I was looking into Garter Snakes. Anyone out there have any thoughts? Is there a better snake that is as fun as corns? I mean, I have females that are normal, anery, ghost, and motley, I have males that are snow, amel motley, oketee, and creamsicle, and they are all great, and I can really do some strange breeding with them, but I saw a albino garter snake that was just beautiful, and I was wondering if anyone out there has other snakes... Any thoughts would be helpful. thanks!

p.s. The pic is my ghost eating, she's a pig.

I have 1 Corn snake, (an adult normal female) and am going to be getting an adult male soon to breed with her.
I also have a Ball Python, and she is an awesome snake!!

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-Lauren

~ Lauren's Lizards ~

groups.yahoo.com/group/LaurensLizards

I have corn snakes, garter snakes, and several of the North American Ratsnakes (other than corns). I like the garter snakes, but I really love the various North American Ratsnakes.
If you love corns, the other N. Am. Ratsnakes would be worth looking into. It really depends on what you are looking for, of course. What qualities do the corns have that you are looking for in other snakes? What are you looking for in terms of a change of pace? That will start to steer you in a direction.
If you want snakes with similar care requirements, other ratsnakes may be a good choice. Many are bigger than corns, but some are pretty close in size. You are right...the albino garters sure are pretty snakes. Young garters are fish and insect eaters, switching to pinks as they get bigger in many cases. I have one that is eating pinks now, and one that never switched over from minnows. Good luck with whatever you choose.
Check out the garter and the ratsnake forums, among others, for more ideas. Duffy

I'm actually looking for a smaller snake, not a bigger. I really like all these suggestions though, kinda cool to know what everyone has. Here's my situation. I have two leo geckos, and all my corn snakes, but I want a baby snake that can live in a ten gallon for a while. I like the aquatic nature of garters, and I really like their look, but I don't know how big they get. I've tried the garter snake forum, but with limited success. Not a lot of posters in there, tons more here. Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

AJ

Garters will be a good bet if you want a smaller snake. On average, they will be somewhat smaller than corns, although they can eventually get almost as big. A baby will do well in a 10 for quite some time, and if the albino garters caught your eye, check them out. Find out what they are feeding on when you get them. Where are you located? I saw some great albino garters at the Ohio show a few months ago for $45.00 Pretty tempting.
My two are "normal" colored ones that a wild-caught female had shortly after being taken in as a pet. So, even though they were born in captivity, they are the closest to "wild" that I have in my collection. Yup, the garter forum is kinda slow, but don't give up on it. There's some decent advice to be had over there. I will keep an eye open for your garter posts and try to answer if I can. Duffy

I felt the same way. I have several different species of snakes and love them all as much as my 11 corns. I'll go down my list:

My 1st recommendation is PITUOPHIS (pine snakes, bull snakes, gopher snakes). I have a pair of N.Pines that are awesome! Only problem is that they will grow large and will need larger enclosures. These N.American colubrids are fascinating...Check out the forum on this site for pics posted...There are a lot of different color morphs out there. I plan to expand with some bull snakes when I move in another year and have more room. While there are not many breeders of Pituophis out there, the ones around seem to be quality.

Second, I tend to favor pythons more than boas and have ball pythons (which are ok), Green Tree Pythons (that don't really move from their perch), and Ringed Pythons which are my favorite since they have as much personality as my corns. They are not too large (compared to burms)...just a little bigger than ball pythons. Some people complain that their temperament is bad, but mine are easy to handle and are always out of their hide boxes looking for attention.

As far as boas, I have Brazilian Rainbow boas (which are pretty but seldom out from their hide box and a solomon island ground boa (candoia) which are way too hard to keep alive and feeding.

Otherwise, I would maybe think about kings...I picked up a pair of grey banded kings recently but am having trouble getting one to start eating (they are known-problem feeders). Most of the other king snake species are similar in care to corns though.

I may get other rat snake species when I have more room. Check out ALL the forums and research research research!!!

Post some pics once you decide to make the leap.
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BAHUMBUG

It's hard to beat Mexican Black Kings.
Their care is virtually identical to that of corn snakes.
They are very cool because they are totally black.
As adults, they seem to enjoy handling.

Tim

Third Eye

If I ever venture outside of corns I'll be getting mexican black kings! To me they look like mini eastern indigo's, and I would love to have a pair of those! But I believe they're endangered so I'd need special permits and stuff, not to mention bigger cages and more $$
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Dianne
AKA IcedGoddess
0.1 Snow (Ruby)
1.0 Anery A (Breaden)
0.0.4 Normal het-snow (no names yet)
1.1 Bloodred (Vlad the Impailer and Natasha)
0.1 Anery Stripe (Morticia)
1.0 Candy Cane (Kane)
0.1 Amel (Christine)

1.3 Cats (Alexys{f}, Mikki{f}, Timothy{m}, Seven{f})
0.1 Child
1.0 Boyfriend
IcedGoddess Creations
Castle Serpents

Ball pythons are great snakes
they are very fun to keep and handle
if your not bent on staying with colubrid get a BP
if you are bent on staying with colubrid's I would suggest a milk snake I used to have one and loved it. Got rid of it because of space.

I have two corns and a ball python - they are all great snakes but there certainly is quite a difference between them. The corns are very quick and agile, still just a tad nervous when I first take them out of their cages (they are still babies, and getting calmer all the time). The ball is very mellow and laid-back, never gets in a hurry (except at feeding time!). He even "asks" to come out when he's in the mood. Some day I'd like to get a white-sided black rat snake, they are beautiful, robust snakes that get a little bigger than corns. I really like the cape gophers, too, but I think it might be a little too warm and humid here in Fla. for them.

PYTHONS! I have 2 corns, an amel and a ghost. Also have a milk, honduran tangerine dream. He is very pretty. I recently bought a Jungle Carpet Python. I wanted something that was long but not to long. Jungle Carpets are so cool! I purchased mine at a local reptile/fish store. The previous owner was a school teacher so 'Safari' is very tame. I've read they max out at 6-7 feet. I want more!! But running out of space..

Garters are very colorful and smaller than corns, but in the research I've done on them ...their life span is much shorter.
I have corns, Black Mex King, 2 Hondo Milks, Albino King, Nelson Milk, Sinaloan Milk, Everglades Rat, Texas Rat, Pueblan Milk,& a Columbian Boa. The Hondos will get larger than the corns. The Sinaloan will stay 10 Gal size for 2yrs than he will start growing pretty large. They are very pleasant. The Nelson milk is not a very large snake, and either is the pueblan. Both Rat snakes will get larger than corns by a few inches. The Black Mex King is a very nice pet. Loves attention and a great eater.
The Boa is about 6.5 ft. and needs some room and a little more heat. Good Luck. It all comes down to what YOU like the best.
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All creatures great and small we are to care for them all.
5 Corns,7 Kings,4 Milks, 1 Everglade rat,1 German Shephard,1 Cairn & 1 Giant Schnauzer