Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Unfortunately my 12 year old iguana recently passed away. Now I have a 4X6X8 foot screen cage. The screen has 1" openings which leaves out most colubrids for escape reasons. Looking at aboreal boas or pythons but am hesitant due to there aggression. Can anyone suggest a snake that could be frequently handled, not escape through the screen, and would take advantage of the 8' vertical space? Also no constrictors large enough to pose a threat to me or my family (wife 10 year old son). Thanks.

I don't know if you could keep any snake in a screen cage. You need to be able to provide heat and humidity. I'll leave that issue to the experts.
I have a jungle carpet python that is real nice. I got her last year in November and she has been a real nice snake for a pet. I've read they like to climb and mine will occasionally.Esp when she's hungry. She sets on her branches 'waiting' for a meal to come along. I have her in a 40 gallon breeder size tank right now. She is due to shed and is going on 4 1/2 foot to 5 foot now. From what I've read they max out at 6-8 foot. She was just about 3 foot when I got her. As babies JCP tend to be nippy but most calm down and don't mind handling.
I have corns and a milk and wanted a big snake but not a BIG snake like berms or retics. Also JCP are not a big around so they don't take up as much room as say a 6 foot ball python.

I can handle the humidity with a humidifier and the heat with a basking bulb as I did with my iguana. As large as the enclosure is are there any snakes that could be safely kept together? What about balls? Are they known to climb? Would love to put my corn or king in there but they would easily escape through the mesh.

sorry but i don't know that much about ball pythons. I have read they can be problem feeders. I know kings eat other snakes in the wild so they need to be kept seperate. As far as keeping different kinds of snakes together...thats always a bad idea from the posts I've read here. Hopefully some one with more know how will post a message for you reguarding snakes that climb. I think the carpet pythons are more arboreal then others.

Kings eat other snakes. Keeping multiples of the same species can be a bad idea, let alone keeping different species together. Balls do like to climb a bit - I think more so when they are younger. However, they can be clumsy and that height would worry me. The first snake that comes to mind to me are the Jungle carpet pythons.

Snakes are great escape artists - make sure that screen is extremely strong.
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I have a five foot red-tail boa that has never so much as made me think it was going to bite. If you can find one that has been handled occasionally you'll be fine. As for your son, just warn him not to put constrictors around his neck or not to take the snake out without supervision. I'm due to have my baby in less than 6 months and 5 of my snakes are over 4 feet. Its a matter of supervision and instruction. good luck with whatever you decide on but don't discount a snake because it has a bad reputation. Any snake will become used to being handled eventually.