Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been trying to locate a place to buy any of the following snakes, but have not gotten ANYWHERE but have looked seemingly EVERYWHERE. Why are they so hard to find?

Idealy: Smooth Green Snake
But also: Rough Green Snake, Southern Ringneck,
Redbelly

As you can see I'm pretty much looking for a colorful, non-aggressive snake that is very very small. Thanks everyone.

Are you looking for someone local or are you willing to buy online?
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I am willing to buy online.

The short answer is you're looking for snakes that most people don't consider worth bothering with.

I happened to see one rought green snake and two ringnecks for sale at the tampa show a few weeks ago. I didn't ask the price of the rough green, but they were asking a whopping $2.00 each for the ringnecks and they weren't selling... I almost bought them...for our coral snake, but I didn't want to haul them around for two days...
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Larry D. Fishel
Side effects may include paralysis
and death but are generally mild.

One reason is that the snakes you list are native to just about every state - including virtually every state east of the Rockies. (Smooth greens are generally found up north, rough greens south. The various ringneck snakes are all of the same species, separated only by subspecies.) Many states have laws against buying or selling species that are native to that state, so in most states it is probably against the rules to sell the snakes you want.

The other reason is that the snakes you list, although in general very docile and very easy to handle, are also in general relatively undesirable as captives. Green snakes don't exactly garner the enthusiasm of breeders, who typically aim to produce interesting color/pattern variations among their stock. Green snakes, rough or smooth, are just that - green, patternless, and unlikely to ever be bred into anything very different. As for ringnecks and redbellies, they are generally very secretive snakes. That makes them undesirable as display specimens.

Redbellies, and to a lesser extent ringnecks, can exhibit a wide range of color in the wild. But they are usually quite common in the wild as well, a further nod against their market value.

I would check the forum on small terrestrial snakes (which I see you've already done), or consider finding one in the wild. Also note that green snakes are not necessarily "very very small." Smooth greens often reach a foot and a half, and rough greens frequently exceed 2 and a half feet (but are still as thin as a pencil).
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MichaelB

the petshop in Roanoke (that I dont really support) has a smooth green snake. The closer shop to me that I do support (see above) can get them in...
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