Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Could anyone compile a good list of the smallest types of available pet snakes i would be able to find in the herp market?

As of now i only know of some blind snakes/rubber boas. But they are rather hard to come by.

Does anyone know of anymore?

There area a number of smaller snakes on the pet market, but most of them don't make the best pets. I guess the best smaller snake pets would include:

- males of some species of sandboa. Male Kenyan sandboas rarely exceed 24 inches long.
- male Western Hognose snakes are generally less than 2 feet as well.
- males of some species of gartersnakes stay small, although the most widely available species (i.e. through pet shops) aren't the best pet snakes. Checkered Gartersnakes are decent pet snakes if you can find them.
- some morphs of Rosyboa generally stay under 2.5 feet in overall length

There are a lot of snakes that stay between two and three feet in length overall that make good pets. You may not be able to find them at your local pet shop, but they are generally available online.

Here's a chart I put together many years ago trying to compare the "best" starter snake species based on a series of criteria. It also includes their max size, so I would say many of the species in the top half of the chart would be fine if they are small enough for you -

Ignore the second image, that only posted because of KS's stupid image photo posting mechanism that you can't undo/override if you accidentally choose something!

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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

"There area a number of smaller snakes on the pet market, but most of them don't make the best pets"

How very true!. I couldn't have said that any better Chris. That was actually my very first initial thought.

I've always liked your handy comparison chart too.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -Serpentine Specialties

Thamks guys for your help.

You really recommend retic pythons as beginner snakes? Dont they require alot of maintenance to ensure injury doesnt happen to the snake or the keeper?

I liked the chart but it seems it contained animals i already knew about. I guess there arent many other options available to me.

I was interested in green snakes for awhile, but i heard they are very active and need large terrariums to ensure they are in good health.

You really recommend retic pythons as beginner snakes? Dont they require alot of maintenance to ensure injury doesnt happen to the snake or the keeper?

No, I don't. I think they are a terrible choice for a first snake. I included them on the chart to see where and how low they would fall. I figured if I crunched the numbers and retics (or Green Tree Pythons, Anacondas, Amazon Tree Boas, etc) ended up near the top, the algorithm was flawed. So they are on there to show the opposite end of the spectrum and because some people consider them as a first snake.

I liked the chart but it seems it contained animals i already knew about. I guess there arent many other options available to me.

If you were already familiar with less common species (Dione's Ratsnake, Twin-spotted Ratsnakes), why are you here asking the question?

There are plenty of other options, but they are harder to find in the pet trade.

I was interested in green snakes for awhile, but i heard they are very active and need large terrariums to ensure they are in good health.

I kept a Rough Green Snake for years. IMHO, they make lousy pets. Sure they eat and are cool to watch, but they require more space than many larger species.

Shovelnosed Snakes, Banded Sandsnakes, and Groundsnakes will learn to eat crickets in captivity, but I wouldn't suggest one as a captive.

I guess the question to answer is why do you want a small snake? Most of the smallest species make poor pets. That said, I have kept Lined Snakes, Banded Sandsnakes, Groundsnakes, Nightsnakes and Shovelnosed Snakes in captivity. They just aren't very interesting captives (except maybe the Nightsnakes)

Get a male Rubber Boa. I had a cb male that was still eating fuzzies at 10 years of age and only as big around as my pinkie.

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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Well the reason why i want a smaller species of snake as a pet is because of visual appeal.

For me personally, im not attracted to the rich colors of corn morphs, etc. I like small snakes because i think they are cute.

On other more serious notes regarding why i pick small snakes: My area does have occaisional hurricanes and when i evacuate i dont want to have to leave my snake behind. NOR would i feel very good about cramming it into a small container with me to travel with. Do you get my drift kinda?

Id want a small snake so itd have a smaller container so that when emergencies happen, i can safely and comfor tably transport it out of danger.

Goign back to why i ask for different small snakes, i just wanted to know what else lies in wait for me to discover.

Are the big snakes like african rocks, retics, anacons.. Really bite prone becasuse they are aggressive or do they view humans as food sources?

Are the big snakes like african rocks, retics, anacons.. Really bite prone because they are aggressive or do they view humans as food sources?

Neither. Snakes bite out of defense, not aggression. The three you mentioned will often bite when they are young & small, eliminating the idea they view us as food.

~~Greg~~

Well i know snakes bite primarily out of defense but what wold be the explanatin for some snakes being more bite prone than others?

Wouldnt that qualify as some being more aggressive than others? Im sure snakes ahve personalities like humans do.

"but what would be the explanation for some snakes being more bite prone than others?"

That would simply go under the heading of...."MORE defensive"..

It's only perceived as "agression" by humans, and commonly thought of that way. The snake instinctively only has it's best interest of survival in mind. It's just that certain types and individuals have a more extreme instinct for doing so. It's really as simple as that.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Your description certainly makes logicL sense for smaller species but woldnt that point be moot in larger reptiles, especially anacondas and retics? Theyre either apex or near apex preds in their ecosystems arent they. Well with the exception of man.

There has to be some form of agression in snakes. As they are anmimals and all animals ahve aggression levels. Just comparing human warmongers and pacifists is an example of how aggression permeates throughout the natural world, no?

Most of the giants cannot eat an adult human. A 180 lb retic or burm can't eat a 180 lb adult human. Now if you put a hungry one with a human infant or small child all bets are off. But generally, a human adult is too big to be a prey animal. It could in theory happen sometimes with a really big snake (and I mean big for the species--a 200 lb one) with a smallish human (for instance, a friend of mine is 5'2" and maybe 140--he might be a doable if very large meal for a 200 lb python). But it's not typical.

And I can vouch, first hand, snakes will apparently do constriction as a form of self defense (although I don't know how to empirically test their motives)
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
1.3 African House Snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
1 corn snake
4.3 Florida Kings
2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
1 Argentine boa
1 Texas Rat Snake
1 checkered garter snake

Dear Trex, I like candoia paulsoni ( solomon island ground boa ).The males stay small-like 2 and a half feet is a big one.And it takes years to get that big.They start out very-very small.They are calm and like to just wrap on your hand.Not like some other snakes that are squirmy.I got mine from Dr. Josh Parker AKA Midgetfaded on fauna classifieds last year.I saw his ad again not too long ago again under " ground boas "in the classifieds-on fauna classifieds.These are captive born.I can't recomend(even though I have alot)wild caught ones.Some of these snakes also change color wich I find interesting.Also if fed they don't seem to mind being in captivity.jenni/

Interesting idea. I like the sound of that.

Do they ever appeare in kingsnake classifieds?

And what kind of terrarium wold you suggeste beste for them? I was thinking a 20 g long

You can find them on the kingsnake classifieds under (other boas).Listed as Solomon island or Halmahera.The problem is they are wild caught-scared-old-will not eat-and usually have parasites.My advice for a first snake is get a captive born baby-that is eating new born pinky mice.They are very small usually 6-9 inches.And if they are eating once a week for you-they are pretty much effortless and easy to keep.I keep my little ones seperately in 5-gallon cube glass/with the fancy double doors on the front.Also a repti-therm mini under-tank heater works perfect.I feed them in a deli cup at night-they allways eat.I can look for Dr. Parkers e-mail or you can also ask in the candoia forum if someone has any.Don't get a wild caught one-even if they claim it's eating-they lie-also dont get an adult snake they say is captive born-again they lie.jenni/

Thanks for this suggestion, i think im very interested in this one. I particularly like the "dragon head" look.

Do they requie and uvb bulbs like most lizards?

Also are the madagascar ground boas that i see soemtimes on KS classfifieds similar to the solomons?

No, Candoia don't require UVB light. Madagascar Ground boas are much more similar to Dumeril's boas that come from the same island.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Hey Trex,That last picture is of an adult wild caught female,males are usually less than half their size.They don't need a light,they prefer the dark and get all the warmth they need from an under the tank heater "U.T.H." These also work much better as they deliver warmth right to their tummy where it's needed for proper digestion.Recent genetic studies show the Madagascan boas to be very closely related to candoia.I keep several Dummerils.But I understand you want a small snake that does not bite.You might consider a rosy boa or a pretty corn snake.Corns don't bite often and don't hurt if they do,my candoia don't bite at all.Most rosies don't bite at all.Getting bitten by a Dumerils hurts. picture of my pink dumerils girl jenni/

Thanks both of you for the help with the solomon boa.

I guess i know my next target in herp keeping

Except that they cost alot lol..

My last candoia juvi was $50 plus $50 shipping.Doug is who want to answer questions,that guy knows damn near everything and is willing to share.If you google - Candoia Page -some guy (Jerry Conway) has written a good read about them with pictures.l'm in Oregon now "Rubber boa city" I do not think they should kept as pets, with so many other better choices.jenni/

50 isnt bad at all....

hmm candoias are looking very attractive to me atm

Thanks!

Lots of the smallest species (ground snakes, ring necks, night snakes, blind snakes, black headed etc) don't make the best captives. Some are hard to keep alive. Others, even though they're keepable, are just boring captives (and this is from a guy who has ball pythons).

Smallest good pet snakes, IMO would probably be things like checkered garter snakes, kenyan sand boas, ground boas (CBB only)possibly spotted pythons (males)...
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
1.3 African House Snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
1 corn snake
4.3 Florida Kings
2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
1 Argentine boa
1 Texas Rat Snake
1 checkered garter snake