I want to know what would be a better pet. A red tailed boa or a ball python? what size do red tails get? which eats better? and any other comments anyone has would be greatly appreciated. Stormyva if you have a suggestion on any other python or boa that would be a good pet please post. Thanks in advance
is this your first snake? if so, you do NOT want a red tail *or* a ball. have you read any of the threads below about good beginner snakes? i would highly recommend a corn snake, rat snake, or king snake. they are completely awesome AND easy to care for. pythons and boas can be trouble - even for those who are experienced with snakes.
Ok I have to disagree with Hummingbird Redtails and Balls are wonderful snakes and are ok for beginners I started with a Ball and got a redtail a year later and had wonderful luck with them I was never bitten never had problems with them eating and they were my babies my Daughter grew up with our redtail and has held him all her life. he is now doing school shows and Demo's with a guy here who teaches about reptiles because we didn't have room for him in our old place but I am working on setting up to get another one. Just remember that Redtails get pretty big 7 to 10 feet and need lot's of room. And just fyi I have been bitten by many corn snakes and king snakes they are vicious compared to my Balls.
There are so many opinions on what a good starter snake is It really depends on the person getting the snake and the commitment level of that person..... If it's a teenager looking for a first snake then a corn, king, or some other colubrid... they are small, easy to keep, and most of all easy to place in a new home when the person "moves on". Colubrids arent for everyone though... they can be nippy, flighty, and are not going to "hang out" and watch TV with you like a BCI might. An adult or young adult that is in a stable situation and has some room.... then a BCI might be a choice for a first snake. They are hardy snakes and do well with long handling sessions. They do tend to get large and will need more room than a colubrid. A male BCI is going to need a minimum of a 4x2x2 enclosure. A cage that size can not easily be hidden in most college dorm rooms. A 7' female BCI can be very intimidating to someone that is not experienced with herps which means it can be a lot harder to find a new home if one ever needs to be located. Some other snakes that I would recommend as starters are Rosy Boas, Childrens Python, Spotted Python, and Irian Jaya Carpet Pythons. I do not recommend ball pythons as starters. There are a lot of wild caught and farm bred animals in the market that are picky eaters that give BPs in general a bad reputation. BPs are also more prone to dehydration and shed issues from improper husbandry than most of the other snakes I listed. Another reason is that they don't take to handling as well as the other snakes mentioned. They are not a hard snake to keep by any means but a keeper must be at an experience level beyond that of most people that are just getting in to the hobby. No matter what snake is chosen it is important to remember that the animal that you are buying is one that is going to live 15-20 or more years and will need to be properly housed, cared for, and fed for that entire time.
i am 16 right now. my commitment to my animals is like you wouldnt believe. for the last 2 weeks i have been trouble going to sleep so i sleep at either 5am or 6am but i still wake up every morning at 7am to take out my parots and play with them for 2hours. then i cut up a fresh salad for my iguana. i take him out for an hour because he doesnt like being held considering i am in the process of taming him. my 2 leopards geckos always have mealworms in a small bowl in their tank but at 11 every night i go and take out worms and place them in front of them or i let the worms wonder in the tank and watch my leos chase them and when they are done i take them out until midnight or sumtimes i take them out during the day. my turtle i feed every other day 10 comet fish and i make sure his tank water is clean and there aren't any big "presents" he left me in his tank. i clean out all of the enclosures every saturday. thorough cleanings are done every 3 weeks. i work at a phone store modifying nextel phones, i work at the VIP country club in New Rochelle and i sometimes work with my dad doing carpentry or plumbing. im 16, love animals, can modify a phone anyway imaginable, put up sheetrock and tape it up so all gaps are filled, and i know how to install a bathtub and hook up the pipes for the water. i am committed to anything i do. the ball python i would purchas (if i do get one) would be at the next reptile show on July 18th in White Plains, NY.
klik... It sounds like you are really committed to your animals! You also have a lot of animals that you will have for a long time! One thing you need to think about before acquiring a snake is where are you going to be in two years, or five years, or ten years and will you be able to care for that snake. Ball pythons are pretty cool. If you get one talk to a GOOD breeder and make sure you get a well established captive bred baby and you should be alright. A couple other snakes you might want to consider, although they are more expensive than a BP is the Boa C Amarilli and the Hog Island Boa (BCI). Both of them stay smaller than a Colombian BCI and are pretty easy to work with. What kind of mods do you do to the nextel phones? I have an i90c that I have been looking around to see if I can change out cases and face plates. It looked like the spring assembly for the flip up part was a booger to work with so I never got to far into it. What do I have lets see....... 1.2 Hog Island Boa 1.1 Colombian Boa 1.2 Amazon Tree Boa 2.2 Emerald Tree Boa 0.2 Dumerils Boa 1.0 Irian Jaya Carpet Python 1.1 Horned Mntn Dragon 1.0 Irian Jaya Blue Tongue Skink 1.0 Pain in the butt always shedding long haired Cat 0.1 (Dog) Pomeranian I think that about covers it.
thats a lot of snakes lol. i change housings (cases), front and inner panels, add lights, add ringtones, make the keypad and status lights dance with the ringtone by editing some hex on the software of the phone, invert screens and thats about all i have done on an i90. i have put many i95s into i90 housings, and i have to say thats my favorite mod to do because watching the reactions of others is awsome :-D.
Sounds very interesting.... I came across some neat stuff that could be done with cell phones. It never ceases to amaze me the stuff people will "mod"
i still do NOT think that balls or red tail boas are good beginner snakes - even for a "committed" teenager. just because you think it's cool and because you have parrots does not mean that you can take care of a 6 foot snake. corn, rat, or king. IMHO.
i have a modded xbox as well and i modded my cousins :-D. i have also done mods on other things but it is illegal for me to say. to put it safely its a box that can be DIRECTly placed on top of your TV without extra heating.
where does me owning parots come into why i should get a snake? and no i am not getting it because i "think it's cool". i would get one because i have really gotten into snakes. you don't know at all except for what i post about me on this site so you really are not someone that can tell me what i am capable of taking care of.
if you have "really gotten into snakes" then you should know how awesome corns, rats, and kings are *and* about how difficult large snakes can be to care for. you should also know that a first snake should not be one that is difficult to care for and that you should work your way into keeping snakes. also, if i (and everyone else here) "don't know you and what you are capable of caring for" then why are you asking our opinions? if we "don't know what's best for you", then just decide all by yourself.
i am asking what would make a good starter snake...as in which is a good eater, which is most docile, which is handable. i like bigger snakes because they demand more respect than a smaller corn, rat, or king snake. its like a venomous snake knows what it has and knows it is respected for that and a larger snake (python/boa) knows it is powerful and knows it is respected. kings are nice looking and are respectable but there is not much power. i like the fact that if i mess up and anger my snake it can hurt me, because that will be its way of telling me "Kev you f**** up".
and i told you that kings, corns, and rats ARE the best beginner snakes because they DO eat good, are docile, are handleable, etc. all the things you mentioned. BUT neither red tail boas OR ball pythons are the best beginner snakes so i cannot reccommend either to you. if you're willing to get bitten as your 'training', all power to you. and you *are* interested in getting a ball or red tail because "it's cool" - you just admitted it (even though you denied it previously). if you were only interested in "the best beginner snake" you'd go with something smaller, better eater, etc BUT you are interested in "the best beginner COOL snake" (whatever your definition of a "cool snake" is) - a totally different question. it seems obvious to me that you are interested in a snake that you think you can "show off" to your friends instead of one that you think is a "wussy snake". got news for you - there is NO "wussy snake". you say that if you "mess up and anger your snake" that it may bite you and teach you a lesson, but what if you mess up and it gets a respiratory infection or stops eating or something? sure you've learned a lesson, BUT THE SNAKE HAS SUFFERED FOR IT, not you. i certainly didn't say you could *never* get a large snake - i would just recommend that you start out with something a little easier. get a rat or corn snake or something. once you've owned it for a year or 2, get a big guy. if you wanna learn and to do things right, what's the hurry? oh yeah . . . 'the hurry' is the fact that you want a "big cool snake" right away . . . well you gotta take algebra before you can take calculus . . .
if it did get any illness of anysort then i would take it to the vet and i am willing to spend my money on the animal. if it stopped eating then i would bring it to my friend in new rochelle because he has experience with ball pythons as well as red tails. and no it isn't a cool factor. where did i say i want a big snake because it is cool? being interested in a snake that suffocates its prey and has power to do so much more is interesting on other factors other than cool. but i am not going to argue any more. you're entitled to your opinion as am i.
but you have to admit that you think a snake that suffocates its prey and has power is cool. so you DO want a cool snake. everything in my last post still applies, but we'll just agree to disagree.
ok i'll admit it is cool that the snake suffocates its prey...but its even cooler to watch a kingsnake eat another snake.
