BP....or corn??

[joes2828]

Who here would recommend a ball python over a corn, and vice versa?

 

[pitbulllady]

Who here would recommend a ball python over a corn, and vice versa?

I'd recommend a Corn, especially if you're a first-time snake owner. Ball Pythons have some more stringent requirements than Corns, such as heat and humidity, which requires more supplies. They need to be kept much warmer, so auxilliary heat sources are a must unless you keep your house around 90 degrees F. Without proper humidity levels, they will have respiratory issues and trouble shedding their skin, especially their eyecaps. And then there is the fasting thing; nearly all Ball Pythons undergo a period of fasting for several months out of the year, which can be frustrating since you don't know when they will eat and when they will refuse food. Some Ball Pythons are also rather picky about what they eat, and I've found those who readily accept frozen/thawed food items to be far less common than those who will only eat live prey. If you check the BP classifieds section on Kingsnake.com or Faunaclassifieds.com, you will see that most ads specifically mention what the snake in question is eating, and that most also specifically state that the snake is eating live mice or rats. Even the captive-bred morphs tend to be a bit more fussy about what they eat than most other Python species. I've had numerous BP's that I wound up selling or trading because they'd only eat live and would ignore even a stunned mouse or rat, and they weren't fooled by jiggling a rodent by the tail, either. That's one of the things I love about my current Ball Python, a "Green Ghost"-that thing will eat just about anything! I wouldn't trade him for a Boelen's Python if someone offered, just for that reason, given my experiences with Ball Python pickiness in the past! He CAN be a "git", as they say in merry old England, and he's quite cage-aggressive, so personality-wise, I'd have to count that against him, but just the fact that he'll eat a frozen/thawed rat is enough to forgive the occasional mood swings.

Corns, on the other hand, usually readily accept frozen/thawed food items, even wild-caught Corns. They do perfectly well at normal household room temperatures and in fact, mine tend to go "off-food" if the room temp is above 80, since they normally "estivate" when the summers around here really crank up and you only find them in the cool of the night after a rain. Both Balls and Corns are available in pretty much any color and pattern you can think of, but Corn morphs are usually a lot less expensive than the Ball morphs are. You do get biters in both species, but trust me, a bite from a Corn pales in comparison to ANY Python bite, owing to the larger teeth that Pythons have, and that includes Balls. I have a large male Corn who is not only a biter, but a chewer, who hangs on and chews for all he's worth, but I pretty much ignore him and he eventually will just give up, for the time being. His bites are more of an annoyance than anything else, but I avoid letting the Ball Python tag me if I can, because he HURTS! He's the only snake I've got that I sometimes have to resort to using the snake hook to remove from his cage, and I keep Water Snakes and Coachwhips. I'd really have to consider Ball Pythons to be more of an "intermediate" snake, in terms of experience; they don't require as much specialized care as say, a Green Tree Python, but they certainly require more than a Corn or most other Colubrids, and even a bit more than most Boas.

pitbulllady

 

[joes2828]

^^ Great reply, thank you very much.

 

[Talkenlate04]

I would take a BP over a corn any day, but part of that is corns bore me to death. A BP was my first snake and I find them to be pretty bullet proof in the care department. All of mine will take frozen thawed prey or live, pretty much whatever I offer really. I don't find their housing requirements overly complicated ether. I started with a hatchling that was 60 grams when I got her in Feb, She is over 900 now and thriving. I do not find any part of keeping a BP difficult. Fasting does not bother me because all you need to do is supply fresh water and monitor their weight loss. I had one female drop 300 grams through the tail end of winter and came to me with a bad resp infection but snapped out of it in late spring and rebound completely plus another 400 grams.
I would consider BPs great started snakes personally.

 

[Bazzgazm]

I did jungle carpet python. Mainly because i wanted something 6ft range and a bit more interesting.

If you go ball. definitely invest in a color morph you enjoy.. mojave, spiders, even lessers or pastels... not very expensive but alot more interesting.

Corns have alot of morphs... but just don't do it for me.

so if it came down between corn and ball. i'd have to go ball python w/ a color morph like mojave or whatever your taste is.

 

[kevin91172]

I'd recommend a Corn, especially if you're a first-time snake owner. Ball Pythons have some more stringent requirements than Corns, such as heat and humidity, which requires more supplies. They need to be kept much warmer, so auxilliary heat sources are a must unless you keep your house around 90 degrees F. Without proper humidity levels, they will have respiratory issues and trouble shedding their skin, especially their eyecaps. And then there is the fasting thing; nearly all Ball Pythons undergo a period of fasting for several months out of the year, which can be frustrating since you don't know when they will eat and when they will refuse food. Some Ball Pythons are also rather picky about what they eat, and I've found those who readily accept frozen/thawed food items to be far less common than those who will only eat live prey. If you check the BP classifieds section on Kingsnake.com or Faunaclassifieds.com, you will see that most ads specifically mention what the snake in question is eating, and that most also specifically state that the snake is eating live mice or rats. Even the captive-bred morphs tend to be a bit more fussy about what they eat than most other Python species. I've had numerous BP's that I wound up selling or trading because they'd only eat live and would ignore even a stunned mouse or rat, and they weren't fooled by jiggling a rodent by the tail, either. That's one of the things I love about my current Ball Python, a "Green Ghost"-that thing will eat just about anything! I wouldn't trade him for a Boelen's Python if someone offered, just for that reason, given my experiences with Ball Python pickiness in the past! He CAN be a "git", as they say in merry old England, and he's quite cage-aggressive, so personality-wise, I'd have to count that against him, but just the fact that he'll eat a frozen/thawed rat is enough to forgive the occasional mood swings.

Corns, on the other hand, usually readily accept frozen/thawed food items, even wild-caught Corns. They do perfectly well at normal household room temperatures and in fact, mine tend to go "off-food" if the room temp is above 80, since they normally "estivate" when the summers around here really crank up and you only find them in the cool of the night after a rain. Both Balls and Corns are available in pretty much any color and pattern you can think of, but Corn morphs are usually a lot less expensive than the Ball morphs are. You do get biters in both species, but trust me, a bite from a Corn pales in comparison to ANY Python bite, owing to the larger teeth that Pythons have, and that includes Balls. I have a large male Corn who is not only a biter, but a chewer, who hangs on and chews for all he's worth, but I pretty much ignore him and he eventually will just give up, for the time being. His bites are more of an annoyance than anything else, but I avoid letting the Ball Python tag me if I can, because he HURTS! He's the only snake I've got that I sometimes have to resort to using the snake hook to remove from his cage, and I keep Water Snakes and Coachwhips. I'd really have to consider Ball Pythons to be more of an "intermediate" snake, in terms of experience; they don't require as much specialized care as say, a Green Tree Python, but they certainly require more than a Corn or most other Colubrids, and even a bit more than most Boas.

pitbulllady

Yeah,what she said I totally agree.I have 2 balls and 2 corns.the corns are easier to take care of.I had a heat source for the corns but took it away because they never used it.

 

[Mina]

It depends on what you like and what you are up for. BPs are a bit harder to take care of and require more in the way of heat and humidity. Both have good attitudes for a first snake. BPs are larger in girth than corns, and tend to be a bit calmer when handled, although an adult corn that is used to being handled is nice too.
I love them both, and I, personally, started with a BP. Followed quickly by a corn.
Both are wonderful and I think you need to just go to some breeders, look at and handle some babies, and make the right decision for you.

 

[the toe cutter]

Do you want an active display animal, or a reptile that is just going to sit curled up in its hide all day? If the one that sits in its hide 80% of the time is what you are looking for than go with the BP. If you want something a bit more active go with the corn. Either way just buy a healthy animal, they are both about the same other than heat requirements and color/pattern morphs. It will really just come down to your preference. Both are 10$ snakes.