Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all, I own some hamsters, and a few Leopard Geckos, but now I want to get a snake. So since I already have geckos, and such I know what kind of mess you can get yourself into without being properly educated on species and needs for a reptile.

So, I'm here.

I was thinking of something that may be able to live out its entireity within a 20-40 gal tank(not sure how that breaks down in exact measurements, sorry) Of course something that looks nice, and easily tamed(is that possible?)I'm a sucker for cage decor, so something that likes cramped spaces would be okay also...

Anyone have any suggestions, advice, links, etc? Thanks in advance.

Ball Pythons makes excellent beginner snakes. They stay small, like small spaces, and are very docile. The hardest part about them is keeping proper humidity and temperatures.

Just make sure you do some research on them before you buy one, and all should be well.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Chris

I say albino california kingsnake...awesome snakes, docile, great eaters, awesome coloration and relativly small size..and corn snakes.. or a pueblan milksnake,, and one more western hogs.. are great little pets.

Most kingsnakes you can have in a 20gallon long their entire life. I've got an adult female gray banded kingsnake that lives in a 20 long and she's doing fine. Ball pythons are great beginner snakes and could live in a 40 breeder. Corn snakes could live in a 30 or 40 gallon depending on male or female and they're very common so you could get one of the more interesting color morphs for only a little bit more money. I'd personally go with some form of a king or milk snake. They remain pretty small even as adults (mine's about 4' long) and are easy to handle and tame extremely quick. Good luck.
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1.0 Anery Columbian Redtail Boa
1.0 Striped Irian Jaya Carpet Python
0.1 Gray Banded Kingsnake
1.1 Ball Python
1.0 Sunglow Striped Corn
1.1 Leopard Gecko (Male-Albino, Female-Reduced Pattern)
Various Fish

The classic recommendation and my first thought is a cornsnake. Hardy, colorful, medium size, usually docile. If you add some really stable branches to the setup, I've heard corns really enjoy climbing. They should be able to give you details at the cornsnake forum.

Kings are also generally hardy, colorful, medium sized (depends on species) and docile, but once in a while, you'll get one with a verrrry strong and indiscriminate feeding response. Like mine. She's gorgeous, fun to watch, but she occasionally mistakes my hand for a mouse. It's not fear or agression on her part, she's just eager to eat and not too bright.

Ball pythons are very mellow, have lovely patterns and frankly, incredibly cute faces. Only catches is they aren't very active and they've been known to fast. Happens a lot more with WC than with CB and isn't too detrimental to the snake, but could give a novice the fits.

Other manageable species to look in to may be sand boas, garter snakes, smaller species of gopher snakes, and some milk snakes. Be sure to get something captive bred, from a reputable breeder, and well started on f/t (frozen/thawed) unscented mice. And you probably know this, but get the entire cage set up well ahead of time because it took me four days to figure out how to fully set up a temporary enclosure! (I'm clever )

One link is www.anapsid.org tons of articles there. Good luck!
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0.1 chickens (Condor)
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave, Lucy & Amy)
0.1 Halflinger horse (Crissy)
0.1 Normal phase California Kingsnake (Sophia)
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human

In the end it all depends on what you personally like. Balls are great starters, they're a smaller python (3'-5') and incredibly friendly, but can be very picky eaters and often fast during the winter in preparation for breeding season. Corns are great as well as they are common, friendly, come in various color morphs and are easy to care for. Garter snakes are common but tend to be very nippy and try to bite alot as a self defense mechanism. Sand boas are small and friendly but you don't see them much because they're usually burroughed into the sand. Rosy boas are another small python that usually grow to about 3' and have different patterns than ball pythons. King snakes are about the same length as balls, but alot thinner and are usually friendly, but if extremely hungry could mistake your hand for a mouse and cannot be housed together as they will eat each other. Milk snakes are about the same as king's just not as likely to eat each other. Do your research, figure out how much you can spend, figure out what you'll need to house it before you buy it, have your cage setup before you get it, check your snake out before purchasing it and then you'll be set. Good luck, let us know how it turns out.
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1.0 Anery Columbian Redtail Boa
1.0 Striped Irian Jaya Carpet Python
0.1 Gray Banded Kingsnake
1.1 Ball Python
1.0 Sunglow Striped Corn
1.1 Leopard Gecko (Male-Albino, Female-Reduced Pattern)
Various Fish

First off, I am going to disagree with several of the previous respondants - Ball Pythons are NOT good beginner snakes, especially at this time of year!

The problem is that while they are cheap and readily available, they require certain things that inexperienced snake keepers are unlikely to provide (correct and constant temperature gradients, secure hide boxes). I properly cared for Ball Python is one that you never see out crawling.

The other problem with BPs is that many of them are either wild caught or wild farmed (and sold as captive born). Most of these snakes don't fare well in captivity even under the care of very experienced keepers. It is true that captive bred and born BPs are easier, but they still require careful attention to environmental conditions about which other snakes are more forgiving.

The reason now is a particularly bad time to get a BP is that 1000s of the farm hatched BPs are flooding the market at this time of year and being sold for $100/dozen. So Petsmart and other stores are stocked up with cute baby BPs at around $29.99-$39.99, most of which are destined to die in captivity in the next 6 months.

If you want a python or boa, there are dozens of species which are better suited for beginners. I think a Spotted Python or Children's Python is the best starter boid. Hardy, small and docile snakes that eat readily all year long.

(I have kept all of the animals I have mentioned above and below).

Here are a few other suggestions -

- Cornsnakes

- Common Kingsnakes (I think FL Kings make better pets than Cal Kings although they may get a little large for a 20 long)

- African Housesnakes - cool little snakes that are really easy to keep and breed. Also somewhat unusual (not everyone has them!)

- Rosyboas

- Common Ratsnakes (Black, Yellow, Everglades, Texas Rats)

- Baird's Ratsnakes (awesome animals that still aren't very common in captivity and that really can't be fully appreciated in photos, they are much prettier in person. Hardy, inexpensive, docile and very handleable.)
Here's a pic of my Baird's Rats -

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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, TX

Thank you all for all of your suggestions. I was first straying toward the Ball Python, but now I do believe that I will try and come across a nice Kingsnake. Of course this won't be a for while, atleast until I can get a cage setup and 'running' smoothly.

Thanks again.