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I'd like to get a new type of snake that will be a bit more challenging. I've already made a small list of snakes that sound interesting to me, but I thought that someone could possibly point me to other snakes that I may not have thought of yet.

Basically I'd like to stick with colubrids, something that will get larger than say 5 feet as an adult, and something a little more exotic than usual, for example, some animals that I've already considered:

Beauty Ratsnakes (specifically the Cave Dwelling Ratsnake)
Red-tailed Green Ratsnakes
Tiger (Spilotes) Ratsnakes
Radiated Ratsnakes
Indigo Snakes

Thanks.
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alstiver@hotmail.com

1.0 2001 Coral snow cornsnake
0.1 2002 Pastel Ghost poss Het Amelanistic cornsnake
1.1 2002 Bloodred cornsnakes
0.1 1998 Het Hypo, Het Caramel cornsnake
1.0 2000 Hypo Het Caramel cornsnake

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>>I'd like to get a new type of snake that will be a bit more challenging. I've already made a small list of snakes that sound interesting to me, but I thought that someone could possibly point me to other snakes that I may not have thought of yet.
>>
>>Basically I'd like to stick with colubrids, something that will get larger than say 5 feet as an adult, and something a little more exotic than usual, for example, some animals that I've already considered:
>>
>>Beauty Ratsnakes (specifically the Cave Dwelling Ratsnake)
>>Red-tailed Green Ratsnakes
>>Tiger (Spilotes) Ratsnakes
>>Radiated Ratsnakes
>>Indigo Snakes

What about
Cribos....fun of indigo without the endangered legal issues
North American ratsnakes...Blacks, Everglades my males esp. are that big.
Can't think of many others that get that big colubrid wise.
I like Brazilian Rainbow Boa...long, thin boa...not giants.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

2nd for the gopher/pine/bull

n/p

I like the big, thick colubrids as well, and I'm considering a Florida Pine Snake, Cape Gopher Snake, or a Blotched Kingsnake (the intergrade between the Florida and Eastern King).

Well, to an extent, all reptiles are challenging. If you are truly looking for a challenge though, I would go with a member of the Drymarchon complex (indigos and cribos)
I would suggest you acquire a D. c melanurus (black-tail cribo) or D. c unicolor (unicolor cribo) as both are quite docile and can reach lengths well over 6’.
The challenge comes from feeding and maintenance. Drymarchon will eat you out of house and home and require enclosure cleanings at least twice, usually three times, weekly.
The Pituophis complex (pine, bull and gopher snakes) make up a great group as well, but they do not require the amount of maintenance Drymarchon do.
Of course, you can do what I have done and acquire both!

Jeff

I'll probably end up with some type of Beauty Ratsnake, but I appreciate everyone's suggestions.
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alstiver@hotmail.com

1.0 2001 Coral snow cornsnake
0.1 2002 Pastel Ghost poss Het Amelanistic cornsnake
1.1 2002 Bloodred cornsnakes
0.1 1998 Het Hypo, Het Caramel cornsnake
1.0 2000 Hypo Het Caramel cornsnake

Even though they don't get very big, The scarlet kingsnake is very beautiful and exotic. Also, you'd have to work very hard to get him to allow you to handle him. (They are normally very squeamish unless handled often. Another challenge is that unless you would like to feed him lizards and other snakes (his natural food items) you will have to work to get him to take pinkies and other mice. If you do want one you could try scenting the pinkies with lizard until the snakes aquire a taste for mice.

Russian ratsnakes!! big, beautiful and not extremely common yet still sparingly available. and did i mention beautiful? coolest looking ratsnake out there!

First of all, I'd say that I am a big fan of varied collections and own everything from turtles to frogs to monitors and of course snakes. I really find my large bullsnake to be a challenge with his quickness, size and feeding aggressions.
However a point that I would like to make is that as exotic as we extend our collections, the challange is never lost with what may be considered mundane by many. A question I always ask myself is not "is my husbandry good/adequate?", but "how can I make my husbandry better?"
Often the largest challenge for a herp keeper is stepping up into a naturalistic environment. Once done, you will realize that it just gets better and better.
Of course there's pro's and con's to the extra upkeep, but if it's a challenge you seek, this one will benefit you and your snakes the most!

of large scary colubrids myself, may I recommend the Chinese king ratsnake (Elaphe carinata). I think one would give an indigo a fair fight (an adult indigo would win, I think, because of a size advantage). Beautysnakes are pussycats next to them. CB king rats aren't necessarily aggressive towards people, but they still LOOK really angry. And they'd be tough to handle if they were having a bad day. Husbandrywise CB king rats and beautysnakes aren't really any harder than american ratsnakes.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

I have 1.1 white liped pythons. They are a magnificent golden irridescent. They feed well, have a few specialized needs, are healthy in every way, might reach 8 ft., now for the challenge. They are quite nippy! So I use gloves until Ive had them out for a few minutes. But they are so incredibly beautiful, that they are hard to resist. I can send a pic if you like.
Tony.

The water python is almost as pretty: