Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hiya guys,

In trying to keep this post brief
My son wants a snake
problem is he wants a snake that doesn't eat small fuzzies
(we keep rats and he has a pet mouse)
he understands the "circle of life" but isn't quiet ready to feed a type of animal he keeps a pet
i know i need to get some books for us to read
but to be honest i don't know where to begin
there is SO much out there about snakes
it would help if i had a general idea about species

id love some advice from you guys about possible species fit his/our requirements:
(and if these requirements can realistically be met)
something we can handle
something that can eat fish
something not terrible demanding as to setup

we have a variety of pets here
dogs, cats, a mouse, ratty babies, rabbits, bearded dragon, legless lizard, pink toed tarantula , eastern ornate box turtle, fish...(im sure im forgetting something... shame on me huh)

he is young.. only 8
ill be the primary caregiver for the animal
he has had some exposure to a friend of my daughters boa constrictor(whom he loves..)

thanks in advance for your time in reading our post and for any thoughts or advice you can give

D

Try a garter snake, they do quite well on goldfish and earthworms. Otherwise a California king, or a cornsnake and feed pre-killed frozen. There are number of online places to buy dead feeders from. Make sure he washes his hands thoroughly after handling his pet rat/mice before handling the snake!

I would recommend another type of feeder fish for a garter because goldfish tend to carry higher levels of bacteria. Garter snakes and ribbon snakes get long, but not heavy. I feel they tend to be very skittish for a young person. Ball pythons are inexpensive, usually docile, and slow moving for little hands.. I feed mine frozen/ thawed mice.. downside may be that some go off feed during the winter.

I agree with Rick in part.

There are snakes that make decent pets that don't eat mice, but they aren't the best starter snakes for a couple of reasons:

1. Most of the fish eaters are messy! Snake feces doesn't ever smell good but when you smell the messy feces of fish eater, you will understand why so many people convert them to rodent eaters!

2. You have to be careful when feeding fish to avoid issues with thiamin deficiencies due to thiaminases in the fish, and goldfish are one of the fish that contain this enzyme.

3. Another problem with most of these fish eaters is that they are not bred in captivity as often and so you are going to be dealing with a wild caught snake. Furthermore, while some gartersnakes will eat fish, others get fixed on frogs or other prey and won't take fish.

4. Most insect eating snakes are fairly fragile animals. Things like Greensnakes don't appreciate being handled and an 8 year old is probably not patient enough or gentle enough for such an animal. And they also don't do as well in captivity.

You might consider a more hardy snake that can eat frozen/thawed rodents, like a cornsnake or kingsnake. Using pre-frozen rodents removes the killing part of the predation process.

Most of these rodent eating snakes are much easier to keep, more tolerant of handling by a child, and will produce a more positive first snake experience.

If you do decide on one of the fish eaters, I would go with one of the larger, sturdier gartersnake species such as an Eastern Gartersnake or (even better) a Checkered Gartersnake. Checkered Gartersnakes are generally more docile than Easterns on average although I have seen examples of both species that were dog tame and I have been bitten by both species.
Avoid Ribbonsnakes as a starter as they are more high strung and harder to deal with for a child.

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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

I agree with Chris, but I think the whole thiaminases issue is over stated. Goldfish and some other fish release this enzyme after death. If you feed live fish or from live frozen, its not an issue. The enzyme is denatured by freezing. I have raised many different species on gold fish without any problems. Definitely avoid ribbon snakes. The florida garter reaches a nice size as well, I had one that was as big as a corn snake.

Garters are a good starter snake. They will do fine on various fish and worms. There are a number of us garter snake breeders out here and have a good variety of normal garters along with various morphs. They are feeding well before being sold. There are links on my webpage for several other breeders also. they are easy to care for.
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Don
www.donsgartersnakes.net

well let me ask you guys this

and i realize opinions may vary greatly
but what would be in each of your opinions a good starter snake for a kiddo

again thanks so much
im heading to a book store this afternoon
and imma look for a book on garter snakes(figure ill start reading there ...)
mind you we aren't looking to purchase until November at least
as mr/ms snake(proper enclosure, etc) will be his birthday gift

thanks again for those who have "chimed in" already

D

go to www.thamnophis.com lots of info there!
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Don
www.donsgartersnakes.net

for a kid's first snake,i would go for a kingsnake or a corn snake.if you aren't too keen on feeding rodents,there's a product called 'snake sausages',which are essentially rodent hotdogs.well,maybe vienna sausages.anyway,some pet stores stock them,(frozen),and they are available online,too.i have personally never used them,but the people i know who have have gotten mixed results.either the snake will eat it,or it won't.i would start with a kingsnake,those freakin things will eat most anything.
stay away from milksnakes for a first snake,they tend to be a bit too squirmy for most kids.a king or corn will settle down alot quicker.
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My first snake was a Garter, when I was about 7 or 8 years old. The name I use here is the name that I gave to that snake.

From that snake on, Garters have been my favorite snakes.

The only other snakes that I have had were 1 California Kingsnake and 2 Gopher snakes (at different times), otherwise mostly I have had Garter snakes.

Snakey Lakey

Wandering Garter snake
Great Basin Gopher snake

Try and capture a snake from the wild that you know you can care for. A garter is the best choice. That way if your kid doesn't enjoy caring for it so much you can release it. But don't release it if you have had it for more than a few weeks, because they can get diseases while in captivity.

>>Try and capture a snake from the wild that you know you can care for. A garter is the best choice. That way if your kid doesn't enjoy caring for it so much you can release it. But don't release it if you have had it for more than a few weeks, because they can get diseases while in captivity.

I wouldn't recommend that.....in some states it's illegal to release them back to the wild, especially if this is your first snake. Some snakes don't adapt to captivity too well. You are much better off getting a captive bred snake. These are more suited to captivity and are already going to be eating.
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Don
www.donsgartersnakes.net

I would also stay away from wild caught (WC) because they can harbor parasites. I'm glad that you are reading and asking questions... the hobby needs responsible individuals, and not impulse buyers. Since you own other reptiles, I assume your little one is using hand sanitizer after handling reptiles.

Thanks again guys we are just getting settled from a move and i
came to see what you guys had to say

while we don't use hand sanitizer we do all wash thoroughly with soap and hot water(i am not a big fan of hand sanitizer for reasons i wont go into here but we have used it on rare occasion)any time we handle one of the pets
but i do appreciate you mentioning it

on a side note i feel like a bit silly my daughter's friend has ball python not a boa(talk about feel stupid for calling it the wrong species)
they fed her today(frozen) and he watched... i think he might be able to handle a rodent eater