Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I would like y'alls opinion on what the best snake for a classroom display would be. My girlfriend is a 2nd grade teacher and wants these qualities in a snake:

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.

I would love to get her a western that is not a finicky eater, preferably an adult (that is a hint if anyone has one they would like to part with).

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

I am actually a Zoo Educator. I use several species of Hognose snakes in my Education Programs, specifically because they are laid back, and have NEVER tried to bite. I have 1 eastern, 2 madagascans, and 1 mexican, and have used westerns in the past. In my view (I've been doing this for 8 years), Hognoses and Corns are BY FAR the best snakes to use with kids. Ball Pythons are a close second, and grey bands work good. I stray away from Cal Kings or Prairie Kings - I have had those bite me before (never kids). If she does want to have a snake, e-mail me, and I can give you some handling techniques and crowd control techniques that work well for me.

Thanks,

Will

I'd go with a corn....I love my hog and they would probably be good, but corns are much better as far as visibility goes--hogs will spend most of their time buried if you let them, whereas a corn is more comfortable out in the open. I worked at a nature center with an educational collection of herps and by far the most popular animal was our amel corn. He was beautiful, pink and orange, and very docile. Even people who claimed to be afraid of snakes found they could muster the courage to touch him.
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Sue
currently living with me:
0.1 Western hognose (Sola)
1.0 Crested gecko (Gator)
0.1 Saharan Uromastyx (Brit)
0.1 beautiful kitty (Terra)

I'd hve to go with a western hognose..... when it comes to entertaining children and capturing their whimsy for serpents, no snake can come close to the hog's comic bluffing and puffing....

n/p

with their laid back demeanor. I am shocked that no one mentioned bull or gopher snakes. They are lots of fun. My dad had them in classrooms in the early 1950's. They are colorful without being genetically engineered. Sonoran gopher or cape gopher are two that are pretty and very docile. Just the regular bull snake out of the field can be a good display snake.

Mike B

I keep Hognose, Corns, Kings, Bulls, and Gophers. I'd go with a Cornsnake, least likely to bit or strike and easiest to take care of.
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Tim Madsen

Nobody cares how much you know,
Until they know how much you care.