Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am relitively new at keeping reptiles. I have recently seen my friends Rosy Boa and woundering if they are a good snake for beginners. Also what other snakes make good pets? I don't wan't somthing that gets big, 2-5 feet is about my limit.

Allthough I dont keep Rosy's for pets myself, I would say they do make great begginer snakes. If your not looking for a larger snake, a rosy is right for you. If you are newer to reptiles, I would suggest you do yourself a couple of favors.

1. buy a well started snake, atleast 6 months old and feeding great.

2. try and find a snake that is feeding on frozen/thawed as it will be easier to keep a steady supply of proper sized rodents, plus you have less heath/safety issues when feeding frozen.

3. if your buying on the internet, try and find a reputable breeder to purchase them from. I dont know who to suggest for rosys, but Im sure plenty are on the web.

If you need more help, or want to find out info on a potential seller, feel free to email me, and I will give you a link that you can go to and check references on people. I would post it for you here, but thats not allowed.

I hope this vauge info helps a bit

Mickey Hinkle
The Lizard King Reptiles

Rosy boas do make good pets from all I’ve ever heard or read. They are generally docile and pretty much stay in the 3’ range. Their care requirements seem to be pretty basic from what I’ve read and everyone I’ve ever talked to that owned them, loved them. A couple of other options are the Children’s and Spotted pythons, both also generally stay in the 3-foot range, as do the sand boas which also make great pets. All of them are pretty easy to care for and have good dispositions. Ball pythons are another option as they are very docile snakes that make great pets - though they get a bit larger and can reach 5-6 feet in length. Of course, there are also the tried and true corn snakes – very easy to keep, come in a variety of colors, and typically stay small (females in the 3-foot range, males in the 4 to 5-foot range). There are a couple of other types of boas that stay small – Solomon Island ground boas, Viper boas, and others in the Candoia family – but I wouldn’t recommend them as a beginner snake even though their care is pretty simple. And the Bromeliad boa - much more rare in the pet trade, but lovely and not really a beginner snake (just thought they bear mentioning). I hope this gives you some other ideas you may want to look into, but if you stick with the rosies you’re still looking at a great snake.

Raven