Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i need some help guys help me decide between a ball or a corn. i like em both but can only get one please help and give a few reasons why. i already have its home set up. i have a 55 gal aquarium nicely decorated so it can feel at home and a under tank heater. but i need to know what kind to get. feel free to brain wash me. thanx in advance.

alex

I had the same problem, and I picked ball python, but I'm planning to get a corn also sometime.

Probably the biggest reason I decided not to get a corn snake is because I just don't want to feed them baby mice. It just kinda disgusts me, but I don't mind handling the adults. I'm a vegetarian so I don't see much of a difference between a hamburger and any other dead animal. Unless it's baby for some reason.

Ball pythons look more unusual and intresting than corn snakes in my opinion, but they spend a lot of time hiding. The corn snakes at petco seem to spend a lot of time hiding too, but they're a little less shy. By the way don't buy any animals from petco, they're EVIL.

Hey, I beg to differ with you! I bought my corn snake at Petco and she is really nice. Think about it....if you were a little baby snake in a cage with dozens of people looking at you, tapping on the cage wouldn't you hide?? I've read ball pythons can have feeding issues..meaning they go off feeding for months at a time. My corns eat well and are very handable. Of course the choice is yours.

Sorry, I didn't see this post before.

Anyway, both the corn snakes and ball pythons at my local petco are really sick an unfreindly. Therefore petco is evil. http://www.petcocruelty.com/

I'd say Corn. But I've never had either. Just going on people I've talked to and things that I read. Corns get bigger though.
Michael Fedzen
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Not really, both can grow to be three to five feet long.

A python as a first snake is controversial, but everyone agrees that corn snakes are great. I think people recommend them because they tend to have less problems than balls but I've educated myself pretty well about ball pythons so I don't think anything will come up that I won't be able to handle.

It's a tough choice, I love both of mine.

My cornsnake's positive points:

Eats pre-killed mice readily
Never bites or strikes me
He's not shy, but actively seeks you out if you open his cage
Easy to handle

My ball python's positive points:

Really stunningly attractive
A larger snake and thus really easy to handle because she's a bit slower than the cornsnake
I prefer bigger pets (bigger the better)
She gives a wicked good neck massage

The ball python has a negative point in that I've not been able to switch her from live mice to pre-killed thawed yet, it'll eat mice that have just been killed though. So you might want to ask the seller if the ball python you might puchase will eat pre-killed thawed rodents. I guess I'd probably choose my ball python over my cornsnake if I had to choose.

When you buy one, look at all the ones they have available, don't just pick the first one they show you. You're going to have it a long long time, so you may as well get the best looking one!

I would go with a corn snake... In the conditions you've set up for him/her, the snake will THRIVE. Corns are awesome because they're super handleable, very docile and well tempered, and incredibly easy to feed. I actually have fun with my corn at feeding time now... I take him out of his big home and put him in a 10 g tank with a metal top I keep especially for feeding. Then I open the latch and I dangle the mouse in using tongs and he STRIKES it and coils around it and then gobbles it up. (I feed f/t btw.) He's about 4 1/2 feet long and pounds back adult mice without a problem. Very cool...

Plus, my corn gets very active and is actually out quite a bit. I have him in my room, so there's no real 'traffic' except for me. And I think he's come to accept my presence. Often, rather than using his hide, he lays around on top of it. I use an UTH and a heat lamp to get the proper temps (just one or the other didn't work)... The only times he's really inactive is 2-3 days after feeding. But then I take him out for a little roam around the room (supervised, of course) and he's back to his regular self.

I myself was thinking about getting a ball python at one point but decided I'd rather get another corn snake or two. Balls are great, and I will no doubt one day get one, but colubrids in general have stolen my heart. =)

Stephan.

hahaha i had this same problem too i chose a corn for now...so far shes great too havent been bitten, she hasnt shown any agression what so ever and likes being handled this is my first snake too, thats why i chose a corn i will more then likely get a ball python soon tho and more i saw this really nice snake today, it was white and black pattern and i think it was a kingsnake not too sure tho

Yup, that is a tough question. When I first got into snakes I had to make this choice. It took me about a week to make my decision: ball python. I just really like their personalities. They are also very unlikely to bite so I like that (I am not saying that corns are out to get you though, they can be quite sociable). I also like the their coloration. I don't know what it is about them, they will always be my "first love". One of the other reasons that I went with a bp is that I was going to be on a three day road trip in about 6 months and I wanted something that would not get as stressed out.

I like corns though. I just picked up a "snow" corn. I really like her. They are pretty active but I have found that bps and corns are pretty secretive durring the day time. One of my favorite things about corns is that they have a GREAT feeding response! My little girl has never refused a meal, if you have ever experienced a bp (or any snake for that matter) that won't eat, you know how frustrating it can be. That is really the only reason that I can think of why a corn may be a better choice. If you get a snake from a local shop, ask if you can see it feed, if you can see it feed you are good to go.

Listen to the person you are talking to also. Do a lot of research first then ask the person a whole bunch of basic questions. If they know what they are talking about, you are in luck, chances are the snakes are in good hands.

One more thing on corns and bps: which are you more comfortable handling-more of a skiny snake or one that has a larger body mass?

Have fun, post some pics of what you get!!