For a small beginner snake, I think rosy boas and sand boas would be ideal. A western hognose that is an established rodent feeder might also be a good choice.

Most of the insect eating snakes have somewhat specialized care requirements, and most are only available wild caught. There is a much lower margin of error with these snakes and there is also the hurdle of acclimation to overcome. Most do not tolerate handling. The shovel nosed and ground snakes are also burrowing species (you'll almost never see them).

Rosy and sand boas, stay small and feed readily on rodents. With minimal searching you should even be able to find one that will take frozen thawed. Most are also fairly tolerant of handling and are rugged enough to do fine even if everything is not perfect immediately. Western hognoses can be a little trickier and are known to fast, but an established rodent eater shouldn't give you any real problems. A 20 gallon should be enough for even the largest rosy. Male sand boas and the smaller desert races of rosys can even be comfortably housed in 10's.

Take a chance to browse through their respective forums. If they are not for you, search this forum and its archives for the invertebrate feeders you're interested in and feel free to ask more questions.

-Alice

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