Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I am new to snakes, have never owned one before, but Im interested in having one now.

I need to do some research, however. Does anyone know of a breeder/hobbyist/whatever in my area (Seattle WA) whom I can talk to to learn about if a snake is for me, and if so, what species would probably be best. Or heck, even a website or something with species information would be great. my yahoo username is dual_flame so feel free to IM me, too. Thanks!

Amayon

Hi, I am new to snakes, have never owned one before, but Im interested in having one now.

I need to do some research, however. Does anyone know of a breeder/hobbyist/whatever in my area (Seattle WA) whom I can talk to to learn about if a snake is for me, and if so, what species would probably be best. Or heck, even a website or something with species information would be great. my yahoo username is dual_flame so feel free to IM me, too. Thanks!

Amayon

I just recently got into owning snakes about 2 months ago. This website has a lot of information on differen breeds, cage requirements, feeding, breeding, and whatever else you want. Also just try reading various threads, you'll learn a lot that way.

I read into it a lot so i'll give you some information that made me decide to keep two mutations of black ratsnakes.

1) the snakes are not harmed in any way by the different colorings (unlike fish which are injected with dye, or have dye in their bodies from other methods).

2) the variety of morphs out there for the black ratsnake is amazing. you can get anything from pure white to black, orange, purple, etc....

3) they are active. this was a plus to me. i didn't want a snake to lie around its tank all day and do nothing (however babies will do that i've found out.)

4) they are easy feeders. For the most part, you don't have to beg and plead with them to eat, one of mine will snatch the mouse out of my hand if i dangle it by the tail...kinda fun to watch

5) their size is not too too bad. black rats have known to get as long as 108 inches (record), commonly grow to 7 feet, mostly stay around 5. they don't grow large in girth like a python will, so they don't weigh all too much.

6) depending on the mutation, you can get them very reasonbly priced. I have a licorice stick black rat snake, I bought her when she was 1 year old, for $125. The licorice stick is not a very common snake, thats why it's more expensive. However, you can get a regular black ratsnake for $25. I also have a regular black ratsnake I paid $35 for because he has the genes to produce licorice sticks...but it's really hard to breed them. lots of work.

Then info on other snakes.

I nearly bought a pleubian milksnake. I chose not to for a couple reasons. 1) they are very hard to handle when young, and more difficult to handle grown than a grown black rat. 2) they eat other snakes. I've found out that most people don't reccomend you keep more than one snake in the same cage for they are loners naturally in the wild, but if you had to...you can't keep them together. Plus if you have two, and handle one then the other, the second will try to eat your hand, finger, whatever smells like that snake.

Pythons and Boas:
these snakes are lazy. that right there is a big turn off for me. another thing is that they grow larger than a black rat...around the same length i believe, except for the fact that they grow 4x the girth, making 'em heavy as heck. i had to go pull a female red tail boa off my friends nuts a couple weeks ago...crawled up his shorts and decided he was pretty yummy. he's a pimp that kid i'll tell ya what....lol.

Garter snake.
These are great snakes it seems like, they don't grow as large as black rats, and they don't eat mice. they'll eat fish, tadpoles, baby frogs, etc...depending on their size. I nearly bought a red spotted garter, but someone bought it out from under me.

I was really skeptical when I was told to try the classifieds, but when I did I emailed some breeders with questions, most were more than happy to help me with the questions. Shipping was fast, and very easy.

Good luck, keep us informed on what you decide on!
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

Not all fish 'morphs' are dyed, there are many legitimate albinos. Corys, plecos, barbs, oscars, ect. have morphs just as 'natural' as any snake morph. Of course the goldfish morphs kind of stretch anyone's definition of natural, but you get the idea. Just avoid things with the words 'painted' and 'jellybean' and you'll probably be ok. (I'd like to meet the genius who decided that Botias weren't colorful enough. But that's another rant)
Also, keeping two adult black rats in the same cage and then trying to seperate them for feeding is not my idea of fun. They're very intelligent snakes that know when it's feeding time and get excited about it. Also, my IJ carpet python is at least if not more active than my black rat snake. (but BRS are still the roxor in my opinion) I guess I'm anti-spoiled, I keep a species of African snake that I NEVER have seen moving around, for the 6 months I've had her. So snakes that change positions above the substrate occasionally are pretty exciting to me.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

Yes there are ture ablinos out there, and most fish that are died are albinos.

for more infor check out http://www.deathbydyeing.org/
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

There are just too many species of snakes to direct you to websites. The best thing to do is to pick some species, learn about them, ask questions and see if they are right for you.

If you tell us what your requirements are (size, activity level, tempermant, tameness, diet, color, price, etc) we can better give you some ideas to start with.

Without knowing what you're looking for, I'd right off recommend a cornsnake - don't get too big, docile, aggressive feeders, inexpensive (even a lot of the great morphs), and come in a lot of great colors.

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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"

0.0.1 Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Irian Jaya BlueTongued Skink

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

gotcha. Im really looking for something medium sized, sturdy, nice, easy to handle, feed, etc, and handsome.

I ADORE the rainbow kingsnake. would this fit my needs(i would only have the ONE snake, I dont want more than one), do you think? If the black ratsnake comes in all diff colors Ill check that out too, see if any strike my fancy. Where is a good place to get a snake? (Obviously not a petstore lol)

Thanks for the replies!

Amayon

I've never heard of a rainbow kingsnake - do you mean a rainbow boa?

It's best to buy direct from a reputable breeder. Once you decide on a species we may also be able to recommend breeders who specialize in that species.

Black ratsnakes are basically black (hence the name).
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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"

0.0.1 Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Irian Jaya BlueTongued Skink

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

There are several black rat morphs to choose from. I have an albino thats pink and red. The pure white b/r is a beatiful snake, I like the white sided also.

this picture was put together by mike...i think it shows you some common mutations of the black ratsnakes.

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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

Sorry, I was thinking Mexican Black Kingsnake when I said they only come in black. Guess I've got my little guy on my mind!

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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"

0.0.1 Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Irian Jaya BlueTongued Skink

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

yikes. yes i do mean the rainbow boa, this this http://www.pythons.com/hamper/ec1a.jpg, I like those black pencil-like markings and the iridescence of the whole snake. Boas in general are a good bet, correct?

If no one has any reason off hand why this species is a bad one for beginners, then I think this is the one I like.

What are the initial needs and costs? Obviously stuff like:
glass aquarium
heat lamp
stuff for in the tank? (have no idea!)
what else? food, obviously I will need to find a pet store that sells whatever rainbow boas eat. What sort of hygene supplies are needed? or do you just clean the tank with bleach water every so often?

I will be handling this snake often, it will probably go everywhere with me, so Im confident I wont have any biting or aggression issues. I know to buy from a good breeder or hobbyist, not a pet store lol.

Aside from all that, any essential advice for a newbie? any big "donts"? Thanks for everyones help!

Amayon

That's a Brazilian Rainbow boas - and they are beautiful. While I have no personal experience with them, I can tell you what I learned when I researched them:

Do not put them in a glass tank. These snakes need high humidity (70%) and glass tanks are notorious for having problems maintaining high humidity and the temps.

Here's some info (and hop over to the boa forum for help from those who keep them):

http://www.corallus.com/cenchria/
http://www.qualityrainbowboas.com/
http://www.rainbowboas.com

Also, just go to google.com and do a search and you'll find a lot of info.
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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"

0.0.1 Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Irian Jaya BlueTongued Skink

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

not a glass tank? what other kinds of tanks are there? acrylic? Ill check out those links and post if I have more questions I was actually a tad pleased to see that brazilians like humidity, because i have two humidifiers in my home that are always on (I like it humid, too), so even out of the tank, the snake should feel comfortable. Thanks so much for all the info, you guys are great!

Amayon