Whats it like owning a snake? I mean, what are they like. I was just considering a snake in the future (distant future, I'm already planning a B. dragon) my mom says shes dead set aginst letting me have a snake. But I've talked her into letting me have other animals she said she was aginst before. Oh, and what are good docile beginner snakes?
good docile beginner snakes: corns, rats, and kings owning a snake isn't any big deal once you are experienced. corns, rats, and kings are easy to care for. my parents have said no to practically every animal i've ever had. lol. when i brought my baby turtle home my dad said "no - i never said you could get anything like that. *where* are you going to put it? those carry diseases, you know! just what we need - another animal in the house! what's wrong with your frog?" now he hates when my turtle is outside because he misses him and he LOVES to feed the little guy! same thing happened when i got my gecko and my frog and he loves them, too. i'd have a snake if i had the money . . . awe heck i'd have TONS of stuff if i had the money . . . take your mom to a herp show and you can get your snake there. when she sees little kids running around with corn snakes and people carrying boas on their backs, maybe she'll chill out a little bit.
how dumb can you get....I mis-spelled vague in the title. Anyways! Cornsnakes look gorgeous! And thier small so maybe that would be a selling point to mom. Do people really breed ratsnakes? Aren't they larger tho? Oh! And I haven't seen many king snakes. Finally, I also heard that ball-pythons are good beginner snakes, that true?
Snakes are a very easy pet to take care of. Adults can be fed once a week. You should always keep a water bowl with them, but they won't die if they go a few days without. If you handle them on a regular basis they can be quite enjoyable, although you can never let them "run" loose. They don't poop very often. All they need from you is proper housing:a good substrate, a hide spot, and a source of heat are the basics.
lots of people say ball pythons are good beginner snakes, but i heartily disagree. they get big, require a pretty elaborate cage, can get pretty testy with you, and often quit eating for no reason. *definately* go with a rat or corn . . . or king. the great plains ratsnakes we have are the same size/smaller than most corn snakes. corns and rats are VERY similar in many ways. p.s. - i changed the 'vauge' to 'vague' for ya'!
LoL! Thank you! Seriously what are the benifits of rat and corn snakes? And do people really breed ratsnakes? See, since I'm going to get an adult B. Dragon, I have a 20 gal thats not doing any thign :mrgreen:
Corn snakes are so BORING. I got so sick of seeing corn snakes and ball pythons at the Daytona show. I think Western Hognoses make awesome first pets, and they are not mass produced like some other snakes.
i beg to differ...corn snakes can be very entertaining and they have some gorgeous morphs like candy-cane and leucistic. (see hummingbird i did research after the lecturing on how cool colubrids can be) here are some of the patterns http://www.snakesalive.co.za/designercorn.php
helmethead - many people think corn and ratsnakes are NOT boring - someone who is new to snakes, for example, or enjoys producing different colored hybrids may like them. i also enjoy them and continue to be fascinated by them. try not to be so . . . harsh . . . with your comments. rat snakes and corn snakes are very docile, easy to handle, don't need fancy enclosures or high humidity, rarely have eating difficulties, and stay small. and YES people breed rat snakes, frost! p.s. glad to see you're no longer anti-colubrid, there, klik! p.p.s i know next to nothing about hognoseds, but i have heard that they make good pets. i couldn't recommend one as a first or docile snake, though, since i don't know much about them. i'll have to look into them.
Boa: Really? Are you sure? Hummingbird: You know any breeders that would be good to get from? Seriosuly I have a tank thats like 75% done for a snake.
Oh hey! your right Boa, they are! I didn't know that. Then what makes a corn snake a corn snake? Is it the coloration? Or is it something peoepl just call both of them?
please don't be offended by my asking you not to be so harsh. if you hadn't used bold type i wouldn't have even said anything about your comment since, like you said, you were just stating your opinion. "I think corn snakes are boring" IS the way you should have said it.
Hi guys. Frost, I have only recently gotten into corns. I had a Ball Python a few years ago, and she was (apparently) one of the more well-behaved ones. But, I have to say that corns are my fave at the moment. They come in an astounding variety of colors, are easy to care for, and get quite affectionate as they mature. The younger ones can be a little 'twitchy' when being handled. This goes away with age and familiarity (is that a real word?). I got my first one about 5 months ago, and two more at a herp show a couple months ago. They are all eating as I type this. Before you buy a snake. go to your FLPS (Friendly Local Pet Store) and find out what kind of snakes they carry, if they have a dedicated reptile person on staff, and ask him/her any of the 'picky' questions you might have. This is how I started. I must have bugged my wife about 3 months until she caved, and in that time I rooted out all the info on corns I could find. Invest in a good book dedicated to corns only, not snakes in general. My opinion is The Corn Snake Manual, by Bill & Kathy Love. From what I hear, they are two of the most knowledgable people on corns, and possibly other types of snakes as well. I've only found this site in the last couple days, and already found out a thing or two I didn't know. As for Mom, well... Try to get her to go to a herp show, or at least the FLPS. If she's with you, and you tell the employee that you would like to look at the corns because you are still deciding what kind you want, she'll see you holding one and maybe you can get her to pet it. That's all it took with my wife. Now if I can just convince her to let me 'modify' our spare room into the herp room, I'll be set. Whoo, didn't mean to ramble. Good luck, and let us know what ya get! Brian
