Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My daughter and I want to get a snake. It will be our first snake. What would be a good snake for us. I know cornsnakes are good for beginners but what else. I will read up on any snake I told about. I want it to be the right one.

Rosy boas can be good snakes. Some colubrids such as corns and kings can be a little high strung, though most are fine. Rosy boas hit about 3 or 4 ft max and are usually quite docile. They are native to the Western US and only require a 20 gallon tank. They come in a few different color phases and are really great snakes. Andy
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Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

That's great. I thought about that one also. The one reason I didn't want to here about corns is because there's a chance we might move to Georgia(not for a few years). There is a law against keeping any animal native to GA, no matter what their orgin or morph. If someone has any other ideas. I'm open to them.

Rubber or plastic. Seriously, don't even consider getting a live reptile for a child under 10. A very, very responsible 10 year old might be able to handle a corn snake, but it would be even better to wait until they're at least 12.

That having been said, since you didn't mention the age of the child: I recommend an African House Snake. It's a very easy to care for snake that you don't hear mentioned much. It's dark tan in color, yes--not spectacularly patterned, but pretty in its way, and very docile and an easy feeder. It fits the bill nicely of a good beginner snake that is not a native snake.
They're fairly easy to find captive bred online, if not so easy to find in pet stores and such, and they're not expensive.

Regardless of the age of the child, expect to assume responsibility for the care of the animal, and supervise your child when the child is handling or caring for it.

Look in the contents of the message...The person uses the term "we" implying it will be somewhat of a family ordeal. Andy
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Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

The fact that was going to be the caregiver was a given. She is 5 and already handles spiders, scorpions(with supervision) and mice. And ofcourse the snake will be where I can reach it and far away from the pet mice. But she wants to help feed and care for it. Regardless, the snake will be hers AND mine until she can care for it herself.

docile and not huge and generally good eaters. They want more heat than a corn but that is easy.
I would recommend a Children's Python too for size they are great though they can have an assertive nature and a bit more enthusiastic feeding response. My two are lovely and the ones I have met are nice.
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Sonya

I have 4 children, ages 10, 8, 7, and 4. After keeping a wild garter snake for a bit, we decided we wanted a snake in the house and purchased a Ball Python. What a great snake! They are slow (good for kids!!), rarely bite, and are easy to care for. We love Jake (yes, my 10 year old named him...) and look forward to getting another sometime soon. Maybe a girl??

Thanks for all the ideas. I wasn't sure what snakes were out there for the beginner. You've given me a few kinds to read up about. And if anyone knows of any others that would be good, let me know. Are there any tree boas that a young beginner and father might be able to take care of?

It was good to see someone else recommend a ball python. They are good, particularly if you get a captive born established young animal. To answer your question about tree boas...no. They are nearly all quite ready to bite the hand that feeds them or gets near them for any other reason.

~~Greg~~

Tree boas....yikes. They have a real reputation for being nippy and high strung. Not a good beginner snake.

A tame Brazillian rainbow boa isn't that hard to take care of with some research and sort of LOOKS like a tree boa, except that they don't climb (well, mine doesn't).

I'm not sure a 6-7 ft constrictor is a good choice for handling for a 2 year old. That's a bit too large. Plus, they're a bit delicate when it comes to humidity levels.

African house snakes are small and docile, and very easy to keep. They get about 3 feet. Corns get 3 to 5, the occasional rare one going up to 6...but they're slender, not heavy bodied.

Ball pythons go 4 to 6 I think.

The only reason I wouldn't recommend a ball python is because they have such variable temperments....they range from painfully shy to fairly outgoing, though they are seldom really nippy. But they can be troublesome feeders...a shy snake will not do well with lots of handling, and may fail to eat well and thrive under those conditions. It's hard to know the temperment of the snake before you purchase it. Some ball pythons hold up under lots of handling and are avid feeders, while others go off their feed if touch them too often.
It's a risky choice--you might luck out and get a great, docile pet snake, but then again, you might wind up with a problem feeder.

All animals have unique temperments. I highly recommend that for a first snake (or any other animal) you choose it in person, rather than ordering on line. Go to a place you trust that specializes in Herps, and visit a few times to find the animal that is right for you. Our Baby Ball was a month long process once we decided that we were ACTUALLY getting one. We started by finding a Herp place in our area (RI), and visiting, talking to the people, handling the snakes and getting to know the breeders. We ended up with an awesome Normal Ball that is a part of our family.

I would say a western hognose snake would mak a good choice also.
wayne

I have heard rumour that large reticulated pythons can be very fond of small children.... but seriously...

I don't think you can go far wrong with ball pythons. As well as being placid they're a physically robust animal and much less incined to be accidentally injured if handled overly roughly than say cornsnakes. Here in the UK they are a favourite at many zoo for introducing kids to snakes for exactly these reasons. Captive bred animals rarely pose any of the feeding problems that used to be associated with these snake when they were mainly wild caught. The reputation of picky feeder still remains but is largely unjustified. Any responsible breeder will have their snakes feeding well before selling them. For this reason it is always worth getting in touch with your local reptile group as invariably someone is breeding these in most areas. Buying from a hobbyist means you can usually see the parent stock and ask all sorts of husbandry questions to someone who knows what they're doing. Pet shop staff tend not to know the finer (or often more intrinsic) points of husbandry for the reptiles they sell and origins and feeding records are often hard to prove. You'll probably save yourself some money that way too as petshops really can charge laughable prices.

Other snakes which I have found to be calm, hardy and good feeders include the western hognose (don't know about issues of it being native though, and as it's rear fanged it may not be suitable for young children - no one ever told me that though ), as mentioned elsewhere sand boas and rosy boas are also both benign and simple to care for. Likewise I would agree that the best colubrid is the african house snake, an almost idiot proof snake if ever there was one. The many kingsnakes make excellent hardy pets also, although some may be inclined nip they're going to do a lot less damamge than a rabbit would as the jaws are relatively weak and their teeth tiny.

Finally, whatever you choose to get have a look in the relevent online forums here, you may be able to find some local to you who is breeding what you want on here.

Best of luck with your new pet, Lee.