Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I would like y'alls opinion on what the best snake for a classroom display would be. It is for a friend in another city, so nobody will be there to help her out. She wants these qualities:

calm - especially around elementary school kids
good eater
not too big
active

I would like to take a poll to see what species you think is best.

Please take into consideration that a bit kid would be a very bad thing not only for her, but for the future of herpetology in general. If y'all love herps like I do, you don't want to see kids turned off to snakes. So the whole point of this is to educate and fascinate kids with something they dont know much about. Maybe one of those kids will think twice before trying to kill the next snake they see . . . I am rambling now, but you get the picture.

Thanks,

Zane

Zane, i'd go with either a ball python or a corn. Ball pythons are extremly docile - only ever heard of one person getting bit. My old science teacher kept a bunch of snakes in her class and scared the living begeebus out of us as to what she would do if we ever messed with the snakes cage without her permission. Some girl did while she was out of the room and the bp bit her. But it was interesting how she was able to turn this into a disciplinary action versus the teacher getting in trouble.

any snake will bite if provoked!

Ball pythons every now and then get annoying as to they don't want to eat. Some can be very picky feeders, some dont.

Corns on the other hand aren't that hard to get eating. They are a LOT more active in the cage than a bp is. There are a lot more color choices, and I think they're just a more interesting snake.

Now both of these snakes are generally calm, but what your friend needs to do is take it home and keep it there for upwards of a month and make sure it's going to be docile enough to handle with kids. And suggest to your friend to let the kids take the snake out as a reward for good behavior. If they get rowdy, back it goes. That will be the first thing that will cause a bite - a bunch of kids around talking loud and moving a lot.

It shouldn't be a problem, I know theres a few people on the forums here that have snakes in the classroom. I know one guy over on the rat snakes forum who has a black rat snake he has in his class. You can get some ideas from other teachers im sure as far as the details go... but from what i'm saying i'd reccomend a corn snake first, a ball python second.
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Chondros and colubrids... my 2 favorite types of snakes!

"Life is hard. Life is harder if you're stupid." - John Wayne

I would definately go for a corn, sheerly for size, or possibly a small childrens python.

Whatever he gets, make sure it's gonna be small (and stay small), and have a good temperament.

I would buy a fully grown snake, so that it is well established, the size is guaranteed, and the temperament is already sussed out (like said in the previous reply, after keeping it at home for a while).

I would recomment keeping it in an enclosure with a curtain that can be closed for the main part of the day, and maybe even keeping it in an enclosure inside another enclosure, to minimise sound - 30 roudy kids is enough to stress ANYONE out! let alone a reptile.

Good luck - it's great to see more people viewing reptiles as pets, and not as evil-minded roadkill!!

Cheers.
Aaron.

Another thing i might add - possibly send a letter home asking for ALL parents' permission. If even one disagrees, and that kid happens to get bitten, there's gonna be trouble. And, of course, make sure it's locked! And, take into account, are any other classes going to be using the room? There may be other issues there.

The snake I use for humane education classes is a red tail boa. One thing I've learned quickly is to make children line up single file before letting them touch the snake - otherwise you have a mob of groping hands! This made my boa merely want to climb the doorway, which I kinda wish I could have done myself at the time LoL..

And make sure all children wash their hands before and after handling the snake!!

You never know who has a pet hamster ect at home & may smell like prey to the snake being handled. Also explain this to the children so that they understand the 'why' of washing before, you'll find that eager youngsters will be more than happy to oblige your request. Washing up afterwards is also something required, so that you prevent salmonella with a child that may snack on something later and transfer disease this way.

The ones that come to our animal control faculity are troops of boyscouts/girlscouts; and we (my partner) also take my boa to the elementary schools for an added treat to the normal quest of teaching children how to prevent getting bitten by dogs.
Usually the children send cards thanking us for giving the class (out of 95% of the kids, only 5% draw pictures of dogs and cats.... the rest draw pictures of the snake!)

I do agree with an eariler reply too... make sure the snake likes to be handled, and also be aware that snakes will not want to be handled after being fed, or while in shed.

Though most of the kids love seeing the boa, usually a smaller snake such as a corn could be less intimidating to a kid to actually want to hold. (don't want to scare off a future herper )

Hope this helps.

- S.Peters

THanks for all y'alls input!

Yes, pet hamster meets classroom snake would be a bad idea. Hand washing is a must.

The school my friend teaches at is a small private Christian school, so easier because:
- parents will hopefully be more open about having a snake, not b/c Christian, but b/c they know my friend well from church, etc.
- small class size - only about 12, so better for the snake's poor 'ears'.
- the classrooom is hers, so no worries about the snake getting molested without supervision. I still think a locka nd a curtain is a must though.

Thanks again and keep them coming!!

Zane

All mentioned are good choices. My wife worked with children for years and even though I am very partial to pythons I agree the corn or boa would be better. Ball Pythons are more active at night and spend most of their time hiding. Corns provide great color and activity where as the boa may handle the handling better (of course every snake is different with their temperment). I would also say be very careful of security with the cage. I went to a small christian school that had a wonderful boa in our science lab. I can not count the number of times it ended up in a habitrail set chasing the gerbils around... we went through many a gerbil. I can say with confidence that it was not an issue of the snake escaping on its own. So make sure that the cage has key locks!
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids