Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I want to get a snake soon but i have been intensely debating which to get.

I am not new to herp keeping, just to snake keeping. I have a 50gal tank setup waiting for an inhabitant.

I originally had my eyes set on corns but since theyre a dime a dozen, i was wondering what are some other good beginners?

I'd prefer a snake to be reluctant to bite. This is very important to me.

Ive made up this list so far with optons and their negatives:

Ball pythons, stopping feeding behavior
Womas, nippy and painful bites
King/milksnakes, nippy
Pine/hog/bullsnakes, hard to find (hogs are venemous?!)
Rosy boas, nippy
Sand boas, hide under the sand all the time.

I know there is no such thing as an animal without flaws, however are there any options that any of you would recommend?

My gray-banded kingsnakes are very calm and never have bitten, not even as babies.

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Kent

1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) corn snakes, 2010
1.1 Gray-banded king snakes, blairs phase, 2008
3.6 Gray-banded king snakes, 2011
2.1 Oregon rubber boas, w/c 20??

Hmm interesting.

I do hear people talking more about kingsnake bites compared to corn snakes. Out of the two which would you say is more docile?

Do kings/corns bite hard?

I like and admire all snakes and many species make good, calm pets that are a joy to interact with. But my main interest has always been boas and pythons of which I have kept all of my life. As for recommending a snake I usually say to go with a common BCI boa also called the Colombian boa. The males don't get too large and these snakes are interesting and appear to actually enjoy being handled. The Hog Island boa locale is a good choice as they tend to be an even smaller boa. The Hog Island boas are very beautiful and docile. Bill
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...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.

Columbian boas are the same as boa constrictors/red tails right?

I have always been scared of bein bitten by snakes. Ya ya i know its "wimpy" but im sure im not the only one who doesnt like getting bitten.

Columbians, being bigger than corns and ball python seem like they woukd have a lot of force and pain behind their bites.

In terms of temperament, are they any better?

Though often called "redtail boas" in the pet trade, the common or ColOmbian boa, BCI is not a redtail boal even though they have some what reddish tails. The true redtails, BCC, are from the Amazon Basin and other rainforest areas of South America and some Islands. These BCC from countries such as Peru, Surinam, and Gyuana, have the deep red tails and beautiful colors/markings that define the BCC species but they get bigger, are more demanding, and can have more of an aggressive temperment.

All that being said I raise both BCI and BCC and have never been struck by one. I find boa constrictors, when properly raised from a baby and handled properly, to be very calm and gentle snakes. Getting bit on occasion is part of snake keeping and it really isn't that bad. Learn to read a snake's body positioning and mood. Use a snake hook to touch the snake before picking it up so it is not startled or showing a feeding response and feed the snake inside of its cage and all will be well. Read every thing you can find on snake keeping and you are doing the right thing here asking questions. Bill
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...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.

What te is expanded name of BCC?

I know bci is boa constrictor imperator. I undstand animals bite, ive been bitten before by my leopard gecko. I'm not really scared of the shock factor, its just i have never been bitten by anythign larger than my gecko so i dont know how painful the bites will be. I dont want a snake that will inflict pain on me and the i would like to introcude it to.

On a sidenote, even the smallest BC varities wont be able to live in a 36x18x24 tank, right?

Some keepers house small snakes in large cages while others keep large snakes in moderate size cages. I have raised snakes for years in moderate size cages with no ill effects. Most of the time snakes are coiled up. Also the snake gets to stretch out when taken out. What is important is the cage needs to be large enough to provide a hot spot on one side and a cool zone on the other so the snake can choose its comfort zone at the time. A 36x18x24 tank can house a male boa. Feeding schedule and subspecies/locale will influence size. Bill
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...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.

What does BCC stand for when talkign about boas?

Correct me if im wrong, but arent hogg islands the smallest locality subspecies? I do prefer to keep a small snake in a large cage in order to give it more free roam when im not handling it.

If hoggs arent the smallest, which subspecies would be the smallest and best to fit in a 36x18x24?. L w h.

Is it hard to get a baby male because babies are unsexable?

BCC stands for Boa Constrictor Constrictor-the big, true redtails.

There are some even smaller BCI boa locales such as the Central America boas. I like the Hog Islands as they are on the smaller side and very beautiful and have found them to be docile.

It is very easy to sex baby boas and you should have no problems getting a male. Bill
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...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.

You say there are boas even smaller than hog islands? Im interested... Are they called anything specifically? Or are they just marketed as cemtral american boas?

Dont BC species need to have higher humidity than corn snakes because they hail from a tropical area?

I also recall you saying you have never been bitten by one of your own boas. Hwever, have you ever been bitten by a small boa/corn? How do their bites compare? I saw pictures of boa teeth and man do they look menacing lol.

The Central America boas that come to mind are those from Honduras, Nicaragia, and a dwarf boa from Mexico, Talahumera is the best I can do on the spelling of this boa locale. I can't vouch for CA boa temperment.

Boa constrictors being tropical do require more heat and humidity than corns or kings.

I have been bitten by carpet pythons, blood pythons, burmese pythons, and once by a baby reticulated python in a feeding error. The bite is not that bad-like a lot of needles. Of course, the bigger the snake, the worse the bite. How you react to the bite is important. If you take the bite with no reaction there is less injury. If you pull back/away the teeth will rip and cause more damage. It is just part of snake keeping. Bill
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...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.

Alright thanks!

Ill definately use your input!

I've been keeping snakes sense for 11, almost 12 years (Got my first ball python for my tenth birthday) I've been bit by a few snakes so far (Almost all being my falt) A hatchling cornsnake bit me a few times when I moved her from her egg box to a tote, she could'nt break my skin and I honestly did'nt know she was biting me. Was bitten by a 3ft ball python while feeding, she didnt wrap me and it'd didnt hurt that much but it did bleed, I've noticed with all snake bites they bleed alot but do little damage lol. I've been bitten by boas rangeing from a hatchling to a 6ft 15lb female (She bit me twice, think she dont like me lol) I've only ever been bit and wraped by smaller snakes, boas under 3ft and it hurt abit but not to bad, both times the 15lb female bit me she grabed me and pulled back, her bite did'nt even phase me (Once on the hand in feeding error and once on the arm while moving her from cage to cage) I would say that boas make good pets, but can be nippy depending on the breeder and handling. Ball pythons are calm for the most part, but as you said can go off feed for no reason. Corn snake bites dont hurt, even when larger and kings bites are about the same (Was once bite by a yearling king). But boas have always been one of my favorites, if you can get a hogg island or a CA like the other poster said, just make sure you get from a good breeder I've never heard of a mean hogg, but I have never owned one ether (Now Mr Kinky) CA I had one, he was sweet as can be, but so were his parents. I'd go for a boa if you can I have a rosy, hes the tamest snake I've ever had, and the oldest Rosy's are awesome and not useally nippy inless WC. SOrry to blab, just trying to be helpfull

Well your blabbing is pretty helpful indeed.

I think i have decided to get a corn snake because i feel that they will be more tolerant of beginner mistakes. At the same time, i like how most ppl say their bites dont hurt.

I do think ill move on to hog island boas when i get more room though.

I can only speak for corns and gray-bands. My graybands are calmer. Neither species has bitten me except as hatchlings. Then it doesn't hurt, its just funny.

I would think if you handled a wild adult of either species you might get bitten. As far as pain goes, I don't know.

Other species of kings might be more likely to bite than grayband, but I don't know for sure.

I had a 5 foot boa bite me years ago. It was a sudden strike that scared the crap out of me, but it didn't hang on. The bite wound wasn't too bad, maybe a little sore.
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Kent

1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) corn snakes, 2010
1.1 Gray-banded king snakes, blairs phase, 2008
3.6 Gray-banded king snakes, 2011
2.1 Oregon rubber boas, w/c 20??

For a beginner keeper, which do you think would be better? The king or corn?

I plan on buying a baby snake so i can hopefully get him used to handling and not have biting sessions go on. I have heard kings have voracious appetites and tend to misstrike more frequently than corns.

Testaments?

Again, I can only speak for gray-banded kings, not other species. Both my gray-bands and corn snakes were fine as hatchlings and not likely to bite. As far as appetites go, my corns have always been better eaters than my gray-bands. Thus they get heavier, in fact they can easily get too heavy in my opinion. My gray-bands have not.

Whichever you pick, make sure the baby is a well established feeder.
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Kent

1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) corn snakes, 2010
1.1 Gray-banded king snakes, blairs phase, 2008
3.6 Gray-banded king snakes, 2011
2.1 Oregon rubber boas, w/c 20??

Hmm, your one input in saying that corns will get heavier makes me a lot more likely to get a corn over a king.

Ive heard kings will musk. Do all colubrids musk?

I don't know. I have only been musked by garters and rubber boas.
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Kent

There are some cornsnake morphs out there that definitely aren't what I would call "a dime a dozen". Some Tessera morph combinations are in the $1200 range and the extremely limited available number of new "Palmetto" morph corns will be going for $4000 this year. The females are the less expensive ones..

There are many other corn morphs that aren't common at all either. I would highly recommend a cornsnake for your first snake, but probably not one that cost huge coins..

Below is a "Palmetto" cornsnake. It was named this in reference to the South Carolina (the Palmetto state) where the original morph male was captured.

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

"some are just born to troll and roll"

Yes i know of the different morphs and their rarity but the "exoticness" of corn snakes vs. Boas and such sways in favor of the other snakes, wouldnt you agree?

I do have to admit that corn snakes are really persuasive because they seem so easy to take care of in comparison to other species.

I do intend on keeping a bloodred morph if i so decide to go that route tho

I certainly dont think its 'wimpy' to not want to be bitten by snakes. That being said you should not fear any snake by reputation. I have seen plenty of 'friendly' snakes with attitudes and 'vicious' snakes that were calm as could be. The bottom line is if you keep snakes you probably will get bitten sooner or later and you just have to be ok with that. I dont enjoy being bitten but its not that bad and its a small price to pay to enjoy such beautiful animals. If your confident and calm any of your typical pet store variety (kings, corns, ball pythons, boas) should be or become calm and handleable. If they are 'nippy' it is usually when they are young which is very inconsequential. My advice, get whichever snake you like the most and get some experience with it. You will forget your fear of nippy snakes and really enjoy snake keeping.

Mm i guess. For you guys, the biting experience is synonymous with a "hill" isnt it? The fear of getting bit is the hard part (ascensions), but after it actually happens (apex), you are more calm (descension).

Heh, i guess i should just go ahead and "take it like a man".

Thanks for your advice