Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone... I am someone looking for a first pet snake. I am not new to reptiles I started at the age of 8 with about 6 anoles and they are fine, im 16 now and have the most kick butt bearded dragon, and he is fat and in tip top shape..

I have been looking at snakes on the net and reading caresheets.
Which do you think would be good? at the moment i have one 10 gallon tank and a maybe... 25 gallon aquarium.
Thease are the snakes in the order id like the most..

1. ball python
2. corn snake
3. milksnake

I'm not really worried about having to set the tanks up im used to that, and im good with humidity, temp, etc....

What would you choose in my situation? (I also have a small fridge in my room now to keep mealworms in for my lizard so i can keep mice in them) ANYTHING would be helpful.. thanks.. i write too much lol

I hope you are saying freezer attached to your fridge...a refridgerator will do no good but a bad smell if you put mice in there. If you must get one of those snakes everyone is going to tell you to get a ball python because you are in the ball python forum. Then you will get some people that will tell you ball pythons are too hard for a beginner snake person since they have a tendancy not to eat and you should get a corn because it is easier (I have ball pythons that react to food more than anything else I own...in fact the only snake that has coiled me was a ball python and I had to put her under warm water to get her off since she was determined to eat my hand and would not let go even if I yelled at her and poked at her tail). I am going to skip milksnake because I have never had one and have no desire to...they are pretty and that is the attention I give them. I think ball pythons make you feel better about yourself because you have a python and you get to leave it at that when you tell your friends : ) You find corn snakes in a field right? So it looks like out of your three I vote ball python. But if I had to pick the best first snake I would say Chondro python...but I am posting this at 3:20 am

I've never had a corn. Balls and milks are both cool. If you want something super easy, milks are super aggresive eaters, but if you pay the extra for a captive born ball(which you should)you shouldn't have much trouble getting it to eat. Pythons also look cool because of thier thick bodies and menacing heads. Milks also can be cool conversation pieces because of thier resemblance to coral snakes. Milks are more active when handled, although they are still docile. Balls tend to just curl up when handled. Basically they are both great beginner snakes(assuming they are captive bred)so just get the one you want most.

well if you want something thick bodied and small you could always get one of the smaller boas, rosy boa, sand boa.

Or you could always get a western hognose. They have good temperments, but are awesome hissers (they are so small, yet when they hiss they sound like someone letting the air out of a car tire)and flare out their top part to look kind of like a cobra. And they are mildly venomous, but the most that would happen (unless you are super sensitive) is localized swelling to the worst your entire arm swelling.
Definitly a snake you would want to get from a reliable breeder though.

But out of the 3 you stated, I would go with a corn or milk snake considering the size of cages you have (are you willing to get something a bit bigger?) and with ball pythons you should be feeding them rats, not mice.
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1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn, 1.0 western hognose, 1.0 red blood

I have all three milks, balls, and corns. But my favorite by far is my Andean milksnake. They require no heat just temps in the low 70's to mid 80's and are extremely docile and great eaters. They reach lengths of 6 ft .

I have a ball and a corn (no milksnake experience, only kings). Based on your cage sizes I say a ball is out. Corns are excellent first snakes. I say corn!

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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

Thanks everyone.... I really appreciate it..

Now I have the three choices but I have grown attached to balls.. im DEF. willing to get a bigger cage, the only reason I have those size cages is because im moving my bearded dragon into a 4x3x3 foot melamine cage.

What do ya guys usuaully keep your balls in? (pythons u sickos)
I mean home made or aquariums

Thanks!!!!

P.S. I may just try the cornsnake first to get used to everything with a snake, used to lizards. But is it really that much different?

Corns are great, so many neat colors/patterns to choose from. You'd need a minimum of a 20 long for one. Tanks are fine with them.

My Ball Python is currently in a 50 gallon breeder reptile tank. Nice display tank, but because of temp and humidity requirements tanks can be a pain (more work), but worth it to me. The cheapest and easiest route is to put them in a rubbermaid or sterilite tub. I plan to get my BP a boaphile cage soon to make things easier.

I like the idea of getting both (spoken like a true snake addict)! Get the corn first, get it settled in, buy the setup for the ball and get it ready and then get a ball python, and then get.......

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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"