Been thinking about getting a snake for a long. long time and i think im actualy going to do it. Was wondering what would be a good long lived, unique starter snake to get? Im realy into the exotic pets that many people wouldnt have or would ever see in their life. My main question is, my room is at a constant 80F degrees for my Ts. Would i need an additional heating device? any advice or good websites for info would be greatly appreiciated. also would like something somewhat handleable. not really a big deal if its agressive or not as long as it could be held once a week or so. Last question is, what to feed. Live VS Pre killed mice.
First snake?
- Thread starter K1j1m
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Check out the carpet pythons. They stay moderately small, and while nippy as juvies, most grow up to be handleable. They have very nice colors as well.
Live would be fine up to a certain point, but once the snake got bigger, I would feed prekilled.
If you dont mind a strictly display animal, I dont think you can beat a nice orange or yellow amazon tree boa.
Live would be fine up to a certain point, but once the snake got bigger, I would feed prekilled.
If you dont mind a strictly display animal, I dont think you can beat a nice orange or yellow amazon tree boa.
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A good started snake would be a corn or even a king. Maybe even a ball python if you want to go a bit bigger. Only thing is they aren't as uncommon as it seems you want them to be. You can always go for color morphs though to make them more exotic. Feeding frozen rodents of appropriate size is mostly recommended though I know someone will say live, but that's a whole other debate. Good luck with your search.
Jackie
Jackie
cool, ill check it out. thanks a bunch. Like i said nippy is no prob. i can handle a snake bite without freaking and throwing the snake hehe. My biggest concernt is the heating issue tho. like i said my room is at a constant 80-85f. I read from a lot of websites that thats were many snakes need there heat at.
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tsk tsk jackie. A yellow ball python is no more exotic than a brown one.
So many people get hung up on corns and ball pythons on as starter snakes that so many other good candidates get left behind.
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Definitely a good starting point for them. These two snakes I listed arent too hard to care for either which is another plus.
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Well Mike, I think a "yellow" (I assume you mean albino?) is more rare than a brown, hence the thousand dollar difference. Plus as you recommend carpets, some don't stay small and they get like 6-8 feet. Hatchlings are also quite difficult to care for.
Nippy from a small snake I can also agree is not problem, but when you get to a larger scale I think you might mind a little bit haha. As for the heating problem, you should be fine just keep a thermometer in there and make sure its habitat is just as warm. Each species require different temps so just read up on them.
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Most snakes are long-lived, and I have no idea what you mean by "unique." What makes one snake species unique and another not?
Corn snakes, king snakes, rat snakes, ball pythons, kenyan sand boas, rubber boas...there's more, I'm just too tired to drag them all out of my memory. Reptiles are not like tarantulas--though that's pretty high even for spiders, 85F is generally considered the safe upper limit, with 65 the low safe limit. But anyway, reptiles need a RANGE of temps in the tank. You can't have the whole tank one temperature, they need a warmer end and a cooler end. For instance, a ball python should have one end of the tank at 80F and the other at 88-90F.
So yes, you will need additional heating. Undertank heating pads are the best option, as heating lights will ruin the humidity in the tank and some snake species don't stay healthy with super-low humidity. Plus I consider heating pads less of a fire hazard than lights, which have bulbs that could shatter.
If you feed live rodents to a snake, you take the risk of ending up with this for a pet: http://www.proexotics.com/graphics/ball_python_live_prey_1.jpg
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I dont mean albino, i generally hate morphs(caramel, lavender, coral, etc) so I dont like using them. As for the general carpet yea, coastal carpets and such will get around 10 feet, but jungle carpets, and irian jayas make great pets. Hatchlings arent too bad to care for normally, but if worried the threadstarter can always get a subadult one.
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I can't recommend rubber boas enough, especially as a starter snake. Snakes like corns and kings and ball pythons all make good starter snakes due to their undemanding requirements, but rubber boas have them all beat in that category. They stay smaller, so they need less room and food, and their temp requirements are lower. A full-grown adult rubber boa can be housed comfortably in a 10-gallon aquarium, with the smallest of bulbs/undertank heaters.
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Yeah, rubber boas are amazingly good...the trick is actually FINDING any for sale! :wall:
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There's a breeder on kingsnake.com that has them for sale somewhat regularly. He has a pair of adults for sale right now, but more often than not, I see his ads for c/b babies.
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Unique and under $50 usually dont go hand in hand
Even WC ATBs will be more than that usually.
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Corns are hands down the best first snake IMO.
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Like the other person said, this isn't gonna happen. At BEST, you can order a normal-morph corn snake from an online dealer for like 20 bucks, but then you add in the overnight shipping...
You shouldn't be buying from petco or any chain pet store like that anyway, they'll overcharge you for animals that are almost without exception in poor health. We get more "my pet randomly died" threads in this forum that end in "well yeah I got it from petco" than not.
I agree. My friend bought a ball python from a pet store that died from not eating. I want to try and avoid this as much as i cant. Plus i realy don't want to buy something that is WC. Kinda have a grudge against creatures captured from there homes and sold to the first pet shop that pays. I dont really mind something average. just as long as its a great snake and someone easy to take care of. by unique i just want something thats not found normally in pet shops. thats all. not something thats unique in the hobby.
The thin that worries me about corns is i did some reasearch and some sites say the best temps are from 78-85, which is my normal room temp to begine with. im kinda scared that it wont have a cool side of the tank to cool down. not sure if thats a big deal or not but i figured i would ask you guys first.