Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay. Here's my basic criteria:

1. Easy (low maintenance)
2. Docile (no biting or musking)
3. Colorful
4. Small to Medium

I'm looking towards more traditional animals (snakes only) such as:

Ball Python
Cornsnake
Milksnake
Ratsnake
Kingsnake
Hognose

The Ball Python seems to fit perfectly. The Pueblan Milksnake (favorite) musks like crazy. The Hognose just seems a bit too dangerous with my two year old daughter in the house.

I have experience with Ball Pythons and Pueblan Milksnakes only.

Can anyone recommend a good species? Why?

Thanks In Advance,
Chris
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mean people suck

you can not go wrong with the corn snake. it was my first snake. i now have 3 corns, a tangerine honduran milk, JCP, and a ground boa.
kathy love has a new revised book out that is great for anyone wanting to get into corns. i found the pueblans are such spaz cases when being held.( i held a baby which turned me off of getting one.) corns are much dociler and would be great for kids.
just my opinion.

And what is the musking factor with Cornsnakes?

Chris
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mean people suck

i have 3 and none of them have ever musked me. my milk did when i first got him as a baby. the other post suggested kingsnakes. i don't know much about them but the one he talked about sounds cool.

By the way...what morph of Cornsnake is that one?

Chris
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mean people suck

he's an amelanistic(amel for short) which means he lacks black coloring/pigments. their coloring changes as they get bigger. as a baby he was just orange and white. now he has some yellowing on him. there are so many differnt colors out there. your best bet would be to go to a reptile show/sale and you will see all kinds of snakes. look on 'events' to see if one is near you.

You can't go wrong with a Variable Kingsnake (Thayeri). They reach around 24-28 inchs, and are very, very docile. Did I mention they're very docile. They come in colors that range from solid black, to tri-colors like your milksnakes, and everything inbetween. Look over on the Kingsnake forum, and then click on the sub-forum, Mexican Kingsnakes. Check out the beauties they have posted on there.

1. Easy (low maintenance)
2. Docile (no biting or musking)
3. Colorful
4. Small to Medium

Yeah, cornsnakes fit all of your criteria with no musking. But, if you want something really interesting albeit drab in color, try a Children's python. They are easier than ball pythons and the size of a kingsnake, though thicker than a typical kingsnake. The babies are rather shy but the adults are very curious and really easy going. They are happy on mice their whole lives.

In the wild, these pythons are generalists and occupy anything from arid terrain to forest edge. As a result they are not picky about cage setups except that they need hide spots. They love to hide among rocks if you want to go natural.

Good luck.

>>Okay. Here's my basic criteria:
>>
>>1. Easy (low maintenance)
>>2. Docile (no biting or musking)
>>3. Colorful
>>4. Small to Medium
>>
>>I'm looking towards more traditional animals (snakes only) such as:
>>
>>Ball Python
>>Cornsnake
>>Milksnake
>>Ratsnake
>>Kingsnake
>>Hognose
>>
>>The Ball Python seems to fit perfectly. The Pueblan Milksnake (favorite) musks like crazy. The Hognose just seems a bit too dangerous with my two year old daughter in the house.
>>
>>I have experience with Ball Pythons and Pueblan Milksnakes only.
>>
>>Can anyone recommend a good species? Why?
>>
>>Thanks In Advance,
>>Chris
>>-----
>>mean people suck

Thanks for the suggestion! I do love the smaller pythons!

Chris
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mean people suck

Gosh! No matter what I think, I just can't seem to give up on my precious little Pueblans! How addicted I must be to those animals!

Maybe with a little more handling I can get my big female to settle down a bit and stop musking. I normally hear that they will settle down as adults, but she was a rescue found on the streets of NYC as a really large adult. Maybe she feels neglected and just wants me to prove my devotion first, huh?

(NOTE: I named her Annie. Get it? LOL)

So...it looks like I will be sticking with these little Pueblan Milksnakes after all. (These are one of my absolute favorite animals anyway.) Ball Pythons will always be a favorite. (It's hard to beat the many outrageous morphs and the puppy tame personality.) I may also look at Cornsnakes. (They also come in a variety of colors and patterns and from what I hear are also puppy tame animals. Plus that Amel is crazy cool!)

1. Ball Pythons
2. Pueblan Milksnakes
3. Cornsnakes

Since I'm a bit on the obsessive-compulsive side, I think three is the perfect number. Even if I wanted to breed/raise/own another of the suggested animals, that would make more than three...and that would not be good...unless I jumped up to five. Hmm...

Thank you all for your help, advice, and suggestions! This forum ROCKS! =)

Chris
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mean people suck