Snake for Beginners?

Question

Im thinking about getting a Spider or a Snake.

I'm leaning to a Snake more...But they're both going to be first timers for me.

If i am to get a snake for the first time, what should i be looking for? I want something that is friendly, dectile, and inexpensive, non poisionus and good for first timers.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

I would recommend a cornsnake for a first snake. They are docile, don't get too large, are hardy, have a good feeding response and are very forgiving of husbandry errors. Almost all will take frozen/thawed mice without an issue and they are relatively inexpensive depending upon the morph you choose.  They can be easily housed in an inexpensive plastic rubbermaid tub for the first year of their lives and can live in a 20-30 gl. tank after that.  I do not recommend ball pythons for a first time owner. Although they are relatively docile, they do require larger caging than a corn and many have serious feeding issues where they stop eating entirely and will starve.  Not something a first time snake owner wants to deal with. They are also more expensive than your average cornsnake.  Make sure you buy from a breeder or from a breeder at a reptile show.  They can provide you a healthy animal that has not been co-habitated, give you feed and shed records with it so that you know when and what it's eaten.  Some of the large scale breeders such as Kathy Love or Rich Zuchowski might not have feed/shed records for you, but their animals will still be first rate.  You can find them on the internet and most of us will ship to anywhere in the US.

Answer 2

Hello; great question. :) Here is a list of some of my favorite snakes for beginners that match your description, along with why I chose them, and a care sheet on each species. I'm not sure what your definition of inexpensive is; so all of these snakes retail for 30-120 dollars on average, depending on where you get it, the age, the species, etc. :)

Rosy boa. They are small, very docile, calm, are great eaters, and are slow moving (and thus easier to handle than a lot of colubrids like King snakes and Corn snakes). They are also very hardy, low maintenance, come in lots of different colors and localities, and aren't prone to shedding problems.  

Care sheet: http://www.rosyboa.com/desertboas/caresh...

Kenyan sand boa. They have all of the good qualities of the Rosy like the gentle disposition, ease of care, small size, great feeders, etc, but the only problem that some keepers may have with them is that they spend most of their time under their substrate. For those who like to randomly walk by their snake's cage to check to see what the snake is up to and how it is doing, that could be frustrating for them.

Care sheet: http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/snake...

Corn snake. They are quite docile, low maintenance, great eaters, generally are great shedders, are a bit bigger than Rosys or Kenyans but not so big that they are awkward to handle, and come in a wide variety of colors. My only thing I'd worry about for a beginner with these guys is they are very quick moving and can be quite nervous as babies, so they require a bit more caution when handling.

Care sheet: http://www.anapsid.org/corn.html

Childrens pythons. They are very small (the second smallest python species in the world), are low maintenance, are great eaters, and usually have a great temperament. While I wouldn’t classify them as slow moving, they aren’t all that fast, either. However while I think that they are quite beautiful; some would consider them to be ‘bland’ looking, so if one was in search of a flashy looking snake, then these guys probably wouldn’t be for them.

Care sheet: http://www.tinypythons.com/caresheet_chi...

King snakes and Milk snakes. I lump both species together due to their similar appearances, temperaments and care needs. The only notable difference in their behavior is that Kings tend to be a bit quicker to settle down when being handled. Both are a bit bigger than Rosys, Kenyans, or Childrens (roughly the same size as a Corn, though may be bigger or smaller depending on the subspecies), are low maintenance, great feeders, and usually tame down quickly with regular handling. The problems with these guys are that they are another quick-moving species that tend to be nervous when young. They are also cannibalistic, so it is under no circumstances a good idea to put a Milk or a King in the cage with another snake if you wish to keep both snakes alive and well.

Care sheet (works for both species): http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/R...

Rough-scaled sand boa. These guys are a very small, generally docile, low maintenance species of sand boa. They are hardy and easy to care for, are great feeders, and are excellent for beginners. The only problems with these guys is that they are a bit harder to find than most of the others on this list, and like the Kenyans, they spend most of their time buried under their substrate.

Care Sheet: http://www.reptilia.org/care_sheets/snak...

Ball pythons. They are a normally very sweet-tempered, medium-sized species of snake that is quite popular with beginners. They are slow moving, beautiful and exotic looking, easy to handle, and reluctant to bite. Unfortunately due to their high humidity needs, shedding problems, and notorious issues with feeding, I would only recommend them to a beginner if they had done extensive research on their care and knew how to deal with the common problems that they may have with these guys. Better yet if they had a ‘coach’ of some sort, another Ball python owner who knew how to handle this species, and could tell you the best kind of caging for them, the best sorts of substrate, and what to do when the snake goes off of feed. If the person knew how to deal with those issues, then these guys make a wonderful beginners species.

Care sheet: http://www.anapsid.org/ball.html

Western Hognose Snakes. They are a usually good-tempered, low maintenance, small, amusing species that could be mistaken for a Rattlesnake if someone wasn’t well versed in reptiles. They are generally very sweet, tame down quickly, are great feeders, and are great shedders. They are mildly venomous, though not enough so that it could pose of any danger to humans. Not only are they reluctant to bite; their fangs are also located in the back of their mouth thus making it very hard for them to bite you unless you literally stick your finger in there. Even if they did manage to bite you; you’d have to let them ‘chew’ on you to get any sort of reaction at all. Generally the reaction from their venom in humans is mild irritation and swelling.

Care sheet: http://www.reptileallsorts.com/westhogno...

I hope this helps, and if you have any further questions at all on the subject or on any of the species I named; please feel free to message me and I will be more than happy to assist you. :)

Good luck!

Answer 3

the best pet snake would probably be a garder snake or cornsnake

they dont get big and are non-venimous. they dont get very big and dont need a huge cage. The garder snake can eat feeder fish witch u can buy at like petco. corn snakes eat crickets until they get big enough for mice. ( i dont like feeding a snake mice). so i suggest a garder snake cuz u can get a cheap little fish tank and just throw them into a little water dish. its pretty cool watchen them eat the fish. they only eat like twice a week. and u only feed them like 4 small fish at a time.

dont get a turantula cuz u gotta be real carful and they are boring

Answer 4

either a ball python or a corn snake is great.

Answer 5

How about just a garden snake?  I believe they are called garter snakes.  They are inexpensive and docile.  They eat crickets and I believe they stay fairly small.  They are sold at most Petsmarts also.  I remember I found a California Kingsnake a few years back at the barn that I ended up keeping for a week.  The thing had to have been at least five feet long.  My mom wasn't very happy :) .  I think they might be illegal to own, though.  Plus, I could not get mine to eat (that's why I let him go).  I love snakes..but spiders?  Not so much.  But one of my friends had a tarantula that I had to go search for after I accidentally let it out and they have really fun, sticky feet.

Answer 6

get a rattlesnake or a cobra or a black mamba. or a huge giant really big anaconda

Answer 7

a lot of people like ball pythons for first time snakes, however, ball pythons can be difficult eaters and they need the humidity just right for good sheds and so on...but they make good first time snakes because they are usually very sweet.  i personally think kingsnakes make great first time snakes.  they can tolerate a lot of handling and if they are handled a lot they stay very tame usually...if they do bite their bite is nothing...i got bitten by one and it felt like sand paper rubbing up against my skin...if you own snakes you will eventually get bitten bottom line.  kingsnakes are usually great eaters sometimes they go on 2 or 3 month hunger strikes but nothing like ball pythons who can go on hunger strikes for a year at a time.  also with kings you dont have to worry so much about the humidity since they are mostly desert animals.  just spray their tank once a week or twice a week and they are fine...i do this with my kingsnakes and they have great sheds.  cornsnakes are also good beginner snakes...they are usually friendly and pretty good eaters as well. and can tolerate handling.

Answer 8

Hiya !

For a first-timer - I recommend a corn snake or a garter snake - they're both fairly good for a new hobbyist !

HOWEVER - Before you buy ANY snake - PLEASE do some RESEARCH !  It is no good putting a new snake in a tank and expecting it to survive - it won't  There are DOZENS of reference books available on reptiles from the library.

You need to know:

What temperature range it needs

How high a humidity level

What food it eats (how much and how often)

What kind of substrate (species dependent) to use

What size vivarium he'll need

The location of a GOOD reptile vet

and that's just the basics !

I regularly get calls from the authorities to take in reptiles where the owner has neglected them through lack of knowledge !

Answer 9

ball pythons are good they are vry sweet  and pretty but they eat mice so if you don't like that corn or garder snakes are cool too