Looking for a pet snake, need HELP!!!?

Question

I've been wanting to buy a pet snake for a long time but only now can afford to keep one. I have absolutley no experience with reptiles, except for a few geckos I've had for about a week. I wanted a snake that is under 8 feet long after reaching maturity and is active during the day, it can't be too big or my dad wont let me have it, any help would be really apprecieated!!!!

Answer 1

Corn Snake/Red Rat Snake.

Answer 2

hi a corn snake ball python king snake or garter snake would be perfect for you. Might I also suggest a kenyan sand boa or Brazilian rainbow boa. Research them and feel free to email me :)

Answer 3

I would suggest a corn snake.  They stay fairly small as far as snakes go, and they're not too difficult to take care of.  I would suggest that you research taking care of snakes on the internet and/or buy a book about it before you get a snake.  Reptiles require much different care than most pets, so it's good to really educate yourself before you get your first one.  Good luck!

Answer 4

Well for a "beginner or starter" snake I would recommend a ball python for many reasons. Then after, I would recommend a corn snake.

Some info on ball pythons: They are "docile" but would never recommend to be near children w/out someone watching because ball pythons or get head shy. Any quick movements can scare them so if a child is holding it, please be careful. Ball pythons tend to stay quite small(4-5 feet) so that's why they are considered as beginner snakes. But I'm just going to tell you that they aren't the bestest eaters in the world. Actually they are quite picky(i know i know it sounds bad but snakes can live up to a year without eating) So if there is something in the cage that don't like they probably won't eat. Or if they don't like the way you're feeding them. But they don't tend to bite or strike as often though which is good =] So in summary, The pros- stay pretty small and they are more docile then some others so don't need to be handle daily. Cons- They are head-shy and for the most part horrible eaters.

Care- They usually range from $15-90 depending on where you buy them at. If you buy them at Petsmart or Petco(NOT recommended) then they are about $80-90 but please don't buy them there because most of their ball pythons(well most of their snakes) suffers from respiratory infection. So buying from a local pet store would be your best bet. Or you could buy them from craigslist and usually people on craigslist sells everything(tanks and accessories) for around $100. Lastly if there is a reptile expo near you...you could buy the pythons there too. The cages alone would be around $50-100 depending on where you buy them. Craigslist is your best bet on this one. Food usually cost about $2-3 dollars a week depending on the size of your snake. If it is a baby ball python then maybe just $1 a week. I would also recommend you buying the feeders at a local pet store(it is way cheaper) or at a expo(cheapest) CAGE/TANK- Your best bet would getting a 55 gallon for when they are bigger but if they are a baby then a 20 gallon would do just fine.

http://www.reptilerescueca.org/Ball.html

Cornsnake: They are one of the best eaters I've seen other then king snakes and all that. They don't get to big(around 5 feet) and they are..I guess docile. You do need to handle then daily though just in case. So they would be use to being handle by people. Corn snakes would make an OK beginner snake but I wouldn't recommend children around them because they could squeeze them and most likely kill him because corn snakes have very small bodies. Pros- Kind of docile, excellent eaters, stay small. Cons- Does need to be handle often, not the best snakes to have around kids because of their size.

Care- Corn snake costs around $15-60 depending on what type of corn snake you want. Just a normal one is probably around $10.00 at least my corn snake was. (I already mention about the stores on the ball python's care) A corn snake would probably only need a 40 gallon tank for most of it's life but a 55 gallon tank would be just fine too. And same goes for the food(just like the ball python) You should only feed the snakes once a week.

http://www.cornsnakes.net/care.php3

They would be wonderful for you and your father. And they don't need such a large tank. =]

Hope this could help you!

Answer 5

Get a corn snake, they are the recommended type for a beginner. They come in a variety of colours and they are pretty easy to handle if you get one from a good breeder. Make sure you have enough room for a vivarium, they need a vivarium that is a least half their length. Don't forget as well if your squeamish, this isn't he pet for you. As young snakes they eat mice, dead frozen ones from a pet store, never, ever feed then live food as the food can bite your snake. They require their vivarium to be kept hot with a heat lamp which can be expensive to run. The need calcium supplements as well as there food. Liquid or powder is best but again this can be a little costly.  

corn Snakes can grow up to 6 feet long so this would be prefect for you, they usually don't grow thicker than a 50p coin. You feed them every 5-10 days depending on your snakes eating habits, time of year and if it is growing or not. They need their vivariums on a timer because in the summer they need more hours of sunlight than in the winter.

The best substrate to use would be dry wood chips (from a pet strore to gurantee they have been treated and are not sharp).

Answer 6

petco they have ball pythons  

Answer 7

your best choice would be a corn snake because they are hard to kill like it is easy to take care of and you don't need experience just look it up on the internet and buy them off the internet other wise it will cost you 50 or 70 bucks instead of 20 or even 10 bucks so ya hope this helps

Answer 8

Go to the pet store in your area and ask them if they have anything in that description.

Answer 9

the perfect snake for you is a ball Python

http://hubpages.com/hub/ball_pythons

http://www.kingsnake.com/ballpythonguide...

Answer 10

Garter snake, or cornsnake.  But research on them before you buy it, they are not like geckos, and if you couldn't keep a gecko more then a week read on the reptile.

Answer 11

I will give you 3 great beginner snakes that wont exceed 6 foot. My personal fav small snake would be a ball python they average around 3 1/2 feet and are very docile you can get a normal for like 30 bucks or go with a morph, they come in tons of dif patterns and colors starting from 100 bucks to 20 grand and more. Another great snake would be a milk snake they get around same length but not as fat they also are docile and come in quite a few colors, and a corn snake would also make a great beginner snake altho the longest they still average 5 feet or so. all these snakes are relativly cheap (minus the morphs) and are easy to handle and house. Witch ever you choose just check out as many care sheets on them as possible before you buy one.

Answer 12

Corn snakes rat snakes and milk snakes are great pet snakes there easy to take care of and only get about3- 4 feet long

also make sure you find out what size tank they need when to feed them what to feed them etc so that they dont end up dieing. Good luck

Answer 13

Get a Royal Python, get to about 3-5 foot and unlike corn snakes there have a nice ammount of thickness so there really nice to handle.

There tame aslong as you provide them with all there needs (not too hard). Make sure you do plenty of research before going in to buying anything.