I am getting a Single Snake in 21 days, but....

[Beardo]

just as easy to keep as a corn

I have to disagree with this comment. Ball Pythons need higher humidity levels than Corns do in order to maintain proper shedding cycles and they are also much more prone to going off feed than Corns are.

I also have to disagree that a short, stumpy brown snake is a "chick magnet." lol

 

[YouLosePayUp]

Well I have personally seen numerous males with a ball around their neck and 3-5 women standing around going oooh can I touch it (insert inuendo's here lol) Never once have I seen any male with a corn get the same attention. I will give you the higher humidity note, but I've never had a problem with the feeding maybe I just got lucky.


Cheers Trev

 

[KerstinP]

I have to disagree with this comment. Ball Pythons need higher humidity levels than Corns do in order to maintain proper shedding cycles and they are also much more prone to going off feed than Corns are.

I also have to disagree that a short, stumpy brown snake is a "chick magnet." lol

Actually misting a BP down 2x day during a shed si all it takes. BP require no more then 75 % humidity, but do need an undertank heater( no heatrocks or ceramic heatemitters, they'll burn themselfs!)other then corns which do well in room temperature. I would suggest to look at
www.bobclark.com/bcforums read thru the different threads, it's quite helpfull and informative. I do think though that BP r good for a novice snake keeper, since they r low maintenace and they only get about 4-5 feet( females get bigger) and r rather easy to deal with.
take care and good luck
K

 

[Schlyne]

Actually misting a BP down 2x day during a shed si all it takes. BP require no more then 75 % humidity, but do need an undertank heater( no heatrocks or ceramic heatemitters, they'll burn themselfs!)other then corns which do well in room temperature. I would suggest to look at
www.bobclark.com/bcforums read thru the different threads, it's quite helpfull and informative. I do think though that BP r good for a novice snake keeper, since they r low maintenace and they only get about 4-5 feet( females get bigger) and r rather easy to deal with.
take care and good luck
K

Bp's don't need 70% humidity all of the time. Too much humdity can lead to other problems. They do just fine in the 50-60% range when not in shed, and in shed you can bump up the humidty to 70-80% and they should be fine.

I love my balls ( ;P I'm sorry, that still cracks me up, since this month is the first month where I actually owned more than one ball python. I have other snakes as well.), but I agree that a corn is really the better starter. I'm not a colubrid fan, but they are easier to take care of.

 

[LPacker79]

I'd have looked at some of the small boa localities. I personally love hogg islands....

Corn snakes are hard to go wrong with... Beautiful and active...

Yes, I thought about suggesting a Hogg Isle, but they weren't on his list and I was trying to stick with what was. Personally, I have an 04 female Hogg Isle with very little speckling that's GORGEOUS! She's the lone snake in my collection that's not a Carpet python LOL.

She's also got a bit of a 'tude, and can almost certainly be counted on to hiss and strike at me when I open her enclosure.

 

[dangerprone69]

good lord man hes tryong to kill you.... lol but maybe you should get a retic heheheheh

actually, speaking of Retics a friend of mine is getting rid of his 12 footer . . . wonder why . . .

 

[Michael Jacobi]

just as easy to keep as a corn

I've been keeping snakes for 34 years and completely disagree with this comment (started with a ribbon snake at age 8 and have had between 1 and ~500 snakes at different times ever since, breeding over 70 species to date). If you're going to post your opinion as fact at least read the whole thread and provide reasons to substantiate your comments.

The fact is that a cornsnake is a temperate climate snake that is very adaptable to both temperature and humidity fluctuations - daily and seasonal. There is some margin of error that it will tolerate without ill effect. The ball python is an inhabitant of West African tropical forests and requires a very limited range of environmental conditions (temperature and humidity). Providing conditions outside of these specific parameters will typically result in respiratory disease, poor sheds and an increased reluctance to feed. Since the ball python has a naturally wrinkled brille it is important that the keeper inspects each shed skin to determine whether the brille has been shed. An inexperienced keeper might not realize that "eyecaps" have been left behind, and worse still, the python may shed the brille completely but the beginner might mistakenly believe it didn't due to the appearance and attempt to remove a spectacle that is intact with disastrous results. Ball pythons should be provided with a humid shelter containing damp sphagnum moss to ensure that they shed well and the humidity is high enough to prevent distress to the mucous linings of its respiratory system. (Schlyne is correct that constant elevated humidity is not essential and overly damp or humid conditions can lead to other problems, but wild ball pythons aestivate during drought conditions. I would argue that a humidity of at least 60% should be maintained, preferably closer to 70% and that an increase to 80%+ is recommended when the snake shows signs of eminent ecdysis. However, as with arachnids, these humidity levels should not be provided by restricting ventilation. A damp shelter as mentioned above, an evaporating water bowl and even live plants are better ways to provide essential humidity.)

The husbandry of a ball python is not necessarily difficult, and as my original post stated, they can be good snakes for a keeper with limited experience if attention is paid to every detail and housing with correct gradients of both heat and humidity is provided, but to say their care is as "just as easy...as a corn" is inaccurate/irresponsible.

As an aside, a soon-to-be eighteen year-old making a post requesting accurate information from experienced snake keepers prior to making a purchase should be applauded. Far too many people buy an animal and then research its needs later, if at all. So, kudos to you my young snakeman. I am sure you are bright enough to extract the good information provided by the majority of the posters in this thread and discount the rest.

Cheers, Michael

 

[Beardo]

Excellent post Michael. Could'nt have said it better myself.

 

[KerstinP]

I agree with the post above, and yes it is a very importend to research BEFORE you take the step of getting an animal....
Also something u wanna think about is the fact that snakes should be handled a lot if u want them to be docile, unlike spiders it makes all the difference with snakes, the more u handle them the better. At least with the once in Question (there r snakes where it don't matter, they're just nippy lol ) but in general, handling them a lot helps lol....(did with most of ours....)
Just make sure u know what urself getting into BEFORE u get a snake....

 

[Nivek]

Michael, I will look for you at the show (I also keep inverts), and hopefully I will find a nice cornsnake to take home with me also, lol. Spectacled cobras are only 20-25$? I thought venomous snakes would be more expensive, to turn away the impulse purchases lol.

 

[Michael Jacobi]

Michael, I will look for you at the show (I also keep inverts), and hopefully I will find a nice cornsnake to take home with me also, lol. Spectacled cobras are only 20-25$? I thought venomous snakes would be more expensive, to turn away the impulse purchases lol.

I used to breed and sell venomous snakes before moving to a state where I have been unable to get a permit. The problem with their market value is simple supply and demand economics. The demand is low due to the fact that there are very few places where you can legally keep them. Any dealer who follows the law has a very small group of potential customers. Of course, there is a black market and plenty of keepers breaking the law, but I will not address these offenders here. There are many rare venomous snakes that do command a high price, but anyone with the money (or that is foolish enough to run up a credit card balance) can buy an expensive python, whereas there are only a few specialized and well-financed individuals who can legally buy an expensive "hot" snake. If you are interested in what rare venomous snakes sell for visit my friend Hank Molt's site at http://www.globalherp.com.

Cheers, Michael