Thinking of getting a snake

[Millhouse]

Hi there snake lovers! I'm thinking about joining your ranks and becoming owned by a snake :). I've been doing some research on pet snakes and have gotten extremely interested in getting one but I can't seem to pick out a species good for me and my household. I want a snake thats good for a beginning reptile owner, small to medium sized, and slow moving in case it gets out of its enclosure and won't make me nervous when i hold it. I own 2 ferrets and a pomeranian. I plan to keep it far away from my ferret room because I'm pretty sure someone will get hurt or killed, not sure if it'll be the ferret or the snake depending on the species and I'm not entertaining the idea of testing to make sure either LOL. So any suggestions on what species would be good for me and my houshold would be great.

[SapphireWolf]

I don't really know much about snakes. I just noticed you were from Louisiana, I am too! You're the only other person I've noticed from here on this board. Goodluck on choosing your snake

[SnAkElOvEr13]

ummmm im looking for a pet snake too ive looked into garter snakes and they are alot more interesting then you think they dont take much space they eat things like guppies and they dont grow any bigger then 3 feet at the most!!!

[WingedWolf]

A captive-bred ball python would seem the best choice, given those criteria.

Get a locking cage, no matter what species you choose. All snakes are escape artists, and once they escape, they are EXCELLENT at hiding, no matter how fast or slow they are.
Ball pythons are definitely slower moving than other moderate-sized snakes.

A ball python will reach a length of 4 to 6 feet (very large females may reach 6 feet, though it's not common). They are heavy-bodied, so adults will eat rats. These can be purchased frozen, of course, just like mice.

While some species of garters only reach 3 feet, IMO the best pets (and the easiest garters to feed) are Eastern Garters, and they can reach up to 5 feet.

[Reptilian Guy]

I totally agree with WingedWolf, Ball python was my first Snake, and i got no problems with him.

[crazykid]

A ball python and a cornsnake would both be good first timer snakes.Ball pythons grow between 4-6feet (depending on sex). Corn snakes grow up to 6 feet ,but don't get as thick as ball pythons.Ball pythons are slow moving and cornsnakes are very fast,and sometimes jump.

[paulandashia]

I have 2 Corns. They are Beautiful, easy to care for, VERY sweet, and NOT at all agressive. Actually, it is VERY difficult, if not nearly impossible to come across a Corn that is even remotely "mean", even in the wild. (Actually, I have never even heard of one, and I know of a lot of people who have Corns). Some can be fast, but most are pretty mellow. I have a Male and a Female, and they are both lazy, spoiled and slow. Garder Snakes that are SUPER quick, AND, they can be nippy (Got 1 of those too). Corns can grow to an average of 4-5 feet (Females usually get a bit larger), but are NOT as plump as Pythons, and don't have that "Body too big for the Head" look..... (My husband has a 5 year old male) Corns are also WONDERFUL to have with children. We have a 1 year old, and the snakes do not mind him holding them and playing with them (Supervised of-course).
Whichever you decide on, Good Luck... :)

[Kizacci]

i was interested in gettin a baby corn snake for awhile, but my mom almost freaked out, when i told her i was thinkin about it. the thing im worried about it getting bit, but i dont think that will happen with the corns

dont boa pythons get very big too? they seem like a good choice, but kinda of big i think

how big of a tank will a corn need

[paulandashia]

I have 2 Corns in a 30 Gallon tank. If you have 1, it should be perfectly comfortable in a 20+ gallon. Just make sure you give it shelter and heat, and, even though it IS just a corn snake, Humidity is important, for Digestion, Shedding, and Health in general. They are NOT desert snakes after all.

I myself have a Girl that will not touch Pre-Killed food, and will only eat live mice, and ONLY in the light, and when the tank is dry...
And at the same time, in the same tank, I have a Boy that will NOT touch Live... LoL He ONLY eats Pre-killed, when it is dark, and WET in the tank...

So....

I feed my little girl first, and when she retreats into their cave to digest, I turn off the lights, mist the tank with warm water, put down 1-2 pre-killed mice, and my little guy goes to town. :)

No, you should not have to worry about a Corn biting you, they are VERY relaxed and easy-going snakes. Very Mellow. I have a 1 year old son, and they let him hold them and pet them, and play with them. They never showed any sign of agression. I HAD a 17-year old Corn that passed away least year, I had her since she was a hatchling, I got her when I was 10 years old. She taught me a lot. They make good pets for kids, because they do NOT have to be fed every day. On the down-side, Mom and Dad have to go and get the Snake-food... :) LoL :)
They ARE a bit more hyper when they are young though... But then again... LoL Which youngster isn't... :)

[Kizacci]

i have a question, after feeding the snake in another container, how long do you have to wait, to place it back into it's tank. and what does a locking cage look like?

[falcor]

My cornsnake bit me when she was a baby because I startled her. It did not hurt and she struck so fast I wasn't even sure she did bite me until I pushed on my finger and it bled. No biggie. Snakes are cool. I liked it when she would coil around my wrist like a bracelet.

[paulandashia]

Locking cage can be a cage, or a tank (Lock toop tank looks pretty mcuh like a regular tank). I have 2 Locking top tanks for my snakes. (30 Gallon). The tops slide off towards the front to open ,and slide back over the tank to close. I never had a problem with a snake getting out of a Slide-Top tank, so I do not lock it, but you can lock them, most of them will have a place where you can either place a lock, or a friend of mine just sticks a pen into it to lock it. :) I don't feed any of my snakes out of their tanks (Honestly), I have never had problems with aggression, and they are fed right inside the tank. I called a friend of mine who does thou, and she said that she usually watches until the "Food" dissapears down the snakes neck, and you can see it sliding down the snakes back. When it is at about the middle of the snake, you can GENTLY pick it up, and GENTLY set it back inside the tank. :)

Falcor - Sorry to hear about you getting bit. I know the Youngins can be a bit hyper. Both of mine were before they grew. :) But they are all mellow now... :)

[Kizacci]

so as long as you handle the babies, they should be pretty docile when they adults right?

is it ok to use gloves when handling them at first? and how do you pick one up? sorry for so much questions

[paulandashia]

Questions are good, you should always ask as many as you can... :) Better Safe than Sorry...
:)
Yes, you have to handle them, get them used to the fact that you are not a threat.. :) Even the most active of young Corns, should grow into a nice, calm, gentle adult.
:)
Also, remember to leave your snakes alone for a few days after each feeding. They can, and most of the time, they WILL regurgitate their food if handled within a few days after eating. They need to digest their meal first.
:)
You don't need any gloves. They do not carry anything on their skin that can make you sick. You pick them up gently and never squeeze too hard. Look for snakes (When you are picking yours out) that have bright colors and move around a lot. DO NOT get a snake that seems lathargic in any way (Lazy). That can mean it is sick. Look for any bumps on or under the skin as well. Look for any damage to the spinal-cord, any swelling to the eyes. Etc.
:)
I got my 2 Corns from a Very Respectable Pet Store. But even the best of the best will sometimes have damaged goods.
When I was getting Bowdee and Savannah, I noticed a absolutely GORGEOUS snake that I wanted to look at. I picked her up and noticed immediately that she was way too "relaxed" in my hand. I ran her thru my fingers, and noticed she had a few bumps along her spinal-cord and near the end of her tail. It almost looked like her back was broken in a few places, like someone dropped a rock on her or something. Anyhow, I picked out Bowdee and Savannah, because they were the largest of all the hatchlings, and the most active. The snake I looked at, the one with the "damaged" back, died, about 2 weeks later in the pet-store.[/COLOR]

[paulandashia]

Oh, I forgot... :)
:)
You can (Should) be able to have your pet-store sex your snake for you... It will help you with picking out your name... :)
:)

[Kizacci]

o, thanks, i mean using gloves when handling the young corn for the first time, cos they're kinda nippy at first, is that a good idea, or should i just handle them bare-handed and get ready to get bitten?

is petco a good place to get a snake from? but i think theirs is like 49.99, and it seems awfully expensive, any recomendations?

[falcor]

I personally wouldn't use gloves. Like I said, I have only been bitten once and it didn't hurt,...really, I swear. Besides, I don't think latex wouldn help much anyways and might? harm the snake. Of course, snakes can carry salmonela(sp.?) so you want to make sure you have some hand sanitizer by the aquarium and don't put your hands in your mouth or eye after handling the snake.

$50 sounds about right. I bought an albino and a snow (white and red) on sale for $40. I also bought a regular cornsnake at the same time but it died. We took it back and got another to replace it, but it died as well. So now we have Ichabod(Ikky) and Isaac(absolutely no idea the sexes of either) and they seem to like each other fairly well.

edit: I am not familiar w/Petco, but make sure you get at least a 7 day warranty.

[falcor]

Also, if you don't want to feed live mice, you will want to make sure they aren't fed live at the store. Some snakes refuse to alter their diets once they become used to it. (Although, I must say that my snakes are rather proficient killers.)

[falcor]

paulandashia- :crazy: yeah, my fault entirely... Note to self: if the snake has it's head reared back and looks like it doesn't want to be bothered, LEAVE IT ALONE!!! :duh:

[paulandashia]

Hey, we all make mistakes Falcor. :) Heaven knows I made plenty of my own... LoL
Kizacci, Falcor is right. 100%. You don't want to use gloves. I can pretty much guarantee that you wont get bit. It's REALLY rare. Young Corns are fisty, but VERY rarely are they nippy. And I am sure Falcor will agree that they grow into wonderful snakes when they mellow out a bit as they age. They usually do not bite. I have 2 regular Corns (Mine cost $100 each, maybe living in Alaska has a lot to do with it). And I have had them from hatchlings, but they have NEVER, EVER bit me, or even attempted to nip at me. They looked like they were threatning a few times, when I startled them, but even then, you do not want to teach the young ones that "being nippy", or looking like "you are going go strike" is going to stop you from interacting with them. You want to avoid using gloves, because they will not only mask your odor, but as Falcor said, they can injure the snake. You want to allow the snake to taste the smell of you, and to get used to you. :) They NEED to know that you are not a threat, and that is something that has to be taught from a young age... :)
:)
Really, I promise, Corns are fisty and hyper when hatchlings and young... But rarely nippy, and rarely bite. If you want to play it safe... It's as simple as making sure that you do not "startle" your snake. :)

[Kizacci]

ok thanks alot you guys :)

what about picking up the snake? do you pick them up from the middle? do the bites draw blood?

[falcor]

Well, my finger only bled when I pressed on it. It didn't hurt one bit. Just felt like she bumped into me. I was browsing the internet and came across this site: http://corns.esmartweb.com/diary.htm The first entry states that a cornsnake bit this person and it didn't hurt because it did not have teeth yet. So maybe it didn't hurt because she was a baby....? Dunno. I will say that I tried to pick out a pretty mouse at the store the other day and it freaked out and latched onto the skin around my fingernail. Wouldn't let go and I had to pull it off of my, blood spurting everywhere.... :rolleyes: well, you get my drift.

[paulandashia]

He he he... :) Falcor, you are 2 funny... :) I got a Rat that bit me once.! That can HURT.!

Kizacci...
Try not to pick the snake up by its head, or by the tip of the tail, other than that, mostly towards the middle is what I found to be most easiest and mine dont mind me too much... :)

[o0sapphirerat0o]

because corns are so active the bigger the cage the better (only one cage per snake).

Pet stores SUCK at sexing snakes, plus you do not know where they got them. I got my corn from www.cornsnake.net/net/cornprice.php3

He was excellent to work with, beautiful babies, and you can chose which sex you want.

Do you have everything you need for the snake?

unescapable cage
heating pad (to be put on one side out side of cage)
lamp dimmer (because heating pads can get well over 110 degrees!)
Digital thermometer(found at wal mart for like 10$, put in cage with probe over heating pad)
figured out which substrate you want (NO pine or cedar!!!! News paper, paper towel are good for babies as you can see it's poo, and if it is a "normal" poo. aspen, carefresh, and other things like that (no sand unless it is a specific sand burrowing snake)

vet lined up (one vet visit can cost up to 300$)
make sure the snake you want is legal where you live (some places outlaw snakes which occur naturaly in that state)

do you know the temps and humidity needed for the snake?

(sorry if already asked I'm an impatient skimmer!!)


BTW when my corn was 5 months old (that came from Don Soderberg the breeder from cornsnake.net) she was about 3-3.5 ft long and eating f/t 2-3 wk old rats (I bred my own). VERY active and VERY healthy.

[Kizacci]

so when you pick the snake up, do you have to let them see that you're about to pick them up, so they wont' be startled?

[o0sapphirerat0o]

yes and try to let them see your hands. Snakes are often picked up from above by predators and that is how they will see your hand.

(also another great website to go to is www.ssnakess.com they have people on there that has bred for years, and of course the people are great to! ;) )

[akbetta]

Wow...(LMAO.!!!) A Corn that is 3.5 Feet at 5 Months.?
You DID call the Guiness World Book Of Records didn't you..????

I mean, considering that it can take them about 2-3 years to Fully grow/develop, and they ONLY grow to an average of 4-5 ft when fully grown... And YOURS namaged to do ALL THAT in 5 months..???? WOW WOW WOW.!!!

And Already eating RATS.? WOW WOW.!!!

[akbetta]

BTW

I know of a number of REPUTABLE pet-stores, that get their babies from a VERY REPUTABLE breeder, AND can SEX them perfectly fine...

[paulandashia]

:)
I agree with you akbetta.
:)
I got Both my Corns at a Pet store, a VERY nice and reputable one, and they were able to sex them just fine.
I brought them home to a friend of mine (expert), and he re-verified the sex. The Store was right.
So I know as well that there ARE some great pet-stores that can sex snakes just fine.
I also met the person who bred the parents of my snakes. The Owner of the Store. VERY nice guy. :) I saw Their parents, and Loved their temperaments and dispositions...

I think people should stop generalizing and stereotyping... :)

[akbetta]

Yup. So did I. And mine were sexed correctly too.