I really need some advice.

NorthcoastGirl

NorthcoastGirl

Proud Fish Geek
Oct 28, 2009
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The Rust Belt
I've been doing a bit of research on snakes lately, since we're getting my daughter one for Christmas. She's almost 11, but she's very responsible for her age when it comes to animals. What we're looking for is a good beginner's snake, that doesn't get too large, is native to the United States, and doesn't require rodents. So far, I've compiled a short list of snakes that fit into at least of those requirements:

Garter snake- that would be the most obvious choice, but I was surprised that common garter or ribbon snakes aren't too available.

corn snakes- gorgeous, docile, native- but they need rodents.

rough green snakes- the biggest con to this snake seems to be that many are wild-caught in the trade and therefore not the easiest snake to keep. Not recommended for beginners.


Does anybody have any experience with these snakes? I'm a rank beginner to keeping reptiles, and everything just seems really complicated! Does "gradient temperature" mean one temp on one side, a slightly cooler temp on the other? I know that snakes needs thermoregulation to stay healthy.

Also- what manner of enclosure would be recommended? Can you keep snakes in aquariums as long as they have a tight-fitting lid? If I decided to go with a rough green snake, would I place a heatlamp on just one side of the tank? I'm just so confused! LOL

Any advise would be welcome. Snakekeeping is a whole new world to me (and my daughter) and I want to do things right the first time!
 
IMHO, I would go with a corn snake. Yes they need rodents, but the rodents dont have to be live. Any snake tank needs to be a tight lid tank. A few of my friends stack things on top of the tank so they definitely dont get out. You put the het lamp on one side of the tank and then not on the other side IMO. I would go with a 20-40 gallon aquarium for a starter tank and take it from there. Make sure there are paces to hide, climb etc etc.
 
i would also go with a corn, but im a bit biased- i have 7 :D

garter snakes seem interesting, but yes hard to get. Corns are very easy to take care of, friendly with enough attention and like someone already has said- can eat frozen rodents ( which, trust me is a LOT different then feeding live. I LOVE mice and used to have some as pets, so it was hard feeding some of my other non corn snakes live prey, where as there is not "cuteness" attachment with frozen rodents at all.)
- cornsnake babies can be a bit nippy, just like all baby snakes, but with enough attention they will calm down after a while. :D

a 10 or 20 gallon tank is a good size and get either overhead heat (heat bulb) and an under tank heater. Only problem then would be humidity, but conrs don't need as much humidity as some other snakes. If you want to learn more about corns, check out either ball-pythons.net the people are very knowledgeable there and there are a few people working with garter and other native to US snakes who would know where you can get some :) a good cornsnake site would be www.cornsnakes.com. lots of good info to be found there!

hope that helps a bit :D
 
what is your definition of big? corn snakes can reach up to 4ft in length by my standards that not big my hypo red tail will reach 8 to 10 feet in length to me thats big
 
Bo_ said:
what is your definition of big? corn snakes can reach up to 4ft in length by my standards that not big my hypo red tail will reach 8 to 10 feet in length to me thats big
Click to expand...


4 feet is a bit bigger then what I'd prefer. But they have a ton of pros going for them. I'll be checking on the price of the arctic mice this week. Haha- no 8 to 10 long monsters... I have 3 cats and two pet rats, I wouldn't want a mishap!

As far as heating goes- are the heating lamps preferable to the kind you put on the base? And what type of lighting should I get? They have these all-in-one reptile enclosures that include everthing but the light. I'm trying to figure if it would be cheaper to buy the ready made cages or to just get an aquarium, then get everything else separately.


Aside from the rodent requirement and the size- corn snakes are looking like the top candidate. They're available in the stores around here, so no worries with the shipping.


thank you for all the replies! my daughter is uber-excited! (there's no way we could keep this from her, with all the preliminary planning) She's a budding herp girl, I tell ya!
 
Think about this a fully grown adult corn at around 4ft wont be very wide(guessing here might weigh 1500 grams) as for cats i would kick them out of the room when you are going to handle the corn. My cats are WAAAYY more interested in our corn snakes than in my boas(wonder why.....).. basically a fully grown corn snake looks like a rope(and we had a small incident the snake was not hurt)

played the Google game this might be helpful
http://ball-pythons.net/modules/Sections/index.php?op=viewarticle&id=12
 
Does not meet your criteria, but I can't think of a better beginner snake than a captive bred/raised Ball Python.

They're generally mellower than any Colubrid species I have experience with. Despite their bulk, they do not get as long as Corn snakes can, will often eat frozen mice or young rats, and are far less likely to bite than any other snake common to the trade (afaik).

Garter snakes on the other hand, are much higher maint. more likely to bite than many other species, are prone to smell issues w/ their preferred diet etc. etc.
 
Kenyan Sand Boas and African House Snakes are another good choice. Both stay under 4 feet, are easy to handle and are good beginner snakes as well. But, they both need live or pre-killed mice for food. Still, if this is your first snake then you can't go wrong with a Corn or Ball Python.
 
Squawkbert said:
Does not meet your criteria, but I can't think of a better beginner snake than a captive bred/raised Ball Python.

They're generally mellower than any Colubrid species I have experience with. Despite their bulk, they do not get as long as Corn snakes can, will often eat frozen mice or young rats, and are far less likely to bite than any other snake common to the trade (afaik).

Garter snakes on the other hand, are much higher maint. more likely to bite than many other species, are prone to smell issues w/ their preferred diet etc. etc.
Click to expand...

Ball pythons are good but dont forget they can go off feed for months at a time and it can be worry some
 
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