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

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