What snake should i get?

I got my snake in March, and did plenty of research both online and off line. I believe I made the right choice.

I recommend a King snake, such as a California Kingsnake. They are very easy to keep and generally grow to four or five feet, which is a nice manageable size for a snake. They are pretty tolerant of mistakes, and are very easy to feed.

The Kingsnake is very easy to tame, and has a curious nature, and likes to roam around the cage exploring. They should not bite or be aggressive unless you do something pretty stupid.

You are going to need to take a trip to Petsmart and buy a cage. They offer 20 gallon tanks with a mesh top. These are perfect for a snake, and will probably be as big as you will ever need. They don't cost too much either.

You will need some kind of substrate on the bottom of the cage. Newspaper is cheap, but doesn't look too hot. Aspen is often recommended, but my snake didn't seem to like it, so I use Reptibark now. The substrate in Petsmart usually has a chart on the back to tell you what snakes it is appropriate for.

What I did was purchase a heat lamp with a 75W reptile spot bulb in it. Placed on top of the cage this generates enough heat to make one end 85F or so, while the other end remains at room temerature. Snakes cannot regulate their own body temperature like humans, so they need to be able to move to a warm place or a cool place to get to the temperature they want.

I also got a moonlight bulb that reptiles think is moonlight, which comes on at night. I have them on an electronic timer so that every 12 hours it switches between the two. The heat bulb sits on the cage, and the moon bulb is in an angle lamp to shine on the cage at night. My snake can climb a fake tree and get pretty close to the moon bulb at night if he wants to warm up. But generally the cage is going to cool to about 70F at night.

King snakes are really not that fussy about lighting, but you do want to have a natural night day cycle.

The cage should have at least two hide areas. This could be a small cardboard box, or something more sophisticated like a fake rock with a hole in. There are a variety of choices at Petsmart. Examine any of these toys carefully to make sure there is not a hollow bit where a snake can crawl in and hide. You want to have full access to the snake at all times. You don't want it getting stuck in a fake plastic tree branch and not be able to get it out! Place a hide in the hot part of the cage, and one in the cool.

A young King snake will eat tiny 'pinkies.' You can get these from Petsmart, but I found a great web site to order them from. They are much cheaper than a pet store. They will send you a bag of them which you can keep in a ziplock bag in your freezer.

Right now I feed my snake twice a week, but fully grown snakes may eat every two weeks.

I take 2-4 pinkies (depending on the size of them), and drop them in a disposable plastic cup containing very hot almost boiling water. After 10 minutes, the pinkies are thawed and ready to eat. Then it's just a matter of dangling the pinkie into the cage with some tongs. My snake is a really good eater as long as he isn't in the middle of a shed cycle. Then he just wants to be left alone.

You need to keep fresh water in the cage at all times for the snake to drink. It's also a good idea to mist the cage to get the humidity up a little when the snake is shedding.

You can put a thermometer at both ends of the cage so you know what the heat gradient is, and you can also get a humidity gauge. Although King snakes don't care much about humidity, unlike some snakes.

From my personal experience, which is fairly limited, a King snake makes a great pet. I take mine out and hold it every night, except the day after feeding day. It was a little timid at first, but is very friendly now. It's not going to act like a kitten, but it is certainly tame and easy to handle. It has only bitten me once, which was the day I got it. The pet shop had not been feeding it frequently enough, so it decided to try and bite my little finger in the hopes it was edible. It certainly was not an aggressive act, and given that these snakes barely have any teeth it did not break the skin.

When I was snake hunting my short list was:

King snake

Milk snake

Corn / Rat snake

Ball Python

Between all of these snakes there are an amazing assortment of patterns you can get. Some breeders have some beautiful examples.

All of those snakes grow to be about 3-5 feet long. The Ball Python will end up fatter and with a bigger head than the others.

When it came down to it, I spoke to several people who said that the ball python can be just a little boring, preferring to sit around most of the time and not move. The others on my list are more curious by nature, and tend to be a little more interesting. In the wild the python will often just sit around and wait for prey to come to it. The others on my list search for prey, therefore you'll see them move around a lot more in the cage, which is more interesting.

Any of those snakes on my list would make a great beginner snake, from what I understand. Although I believe that a ball python is a little more touchy when it comes to eating and humidity requirements. All of those snakes should cost between $25-$150. You can pay way more for very unusual markings. The cage and accessories are going to run $100-$200 or so, depending on how elaborate you want to get.

Make sure you get a captive bred snake from a reputable breeder, and be sure they are not having any problems feeding it.

That's about it. I'm really pleased with my choice. My snake is currently exploring his cage as I type this. I have him right next to my computer desk in the study, which makes for something interesting to look at when I am working.

I think that snake ownership is a really interesting hobby, and very rewarding. I am currently looking after a snake for a friend who is on a trip. He has a full grown milk snake, which has a wonderful temperament.

Do the research, take your time, and remember these snakes can live 20 years, and you are going to have to feed it regularly, and take care of it for many years to come.

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I would recommend a cornsnake. They are easy to care for, get about 4-5 ft. long but are slender and can be housed for their lifetime in a 20 gl. tank. I sell hatchlings for $40-$55 depending upon the markings and sex. Females are more than males due to their ability to produce young. I have a care sheet on my website for them if you want or you can go to www.cornsnakes.com and use the forums there. It's the best place to get all the info you need, with a complete FAQ section and a search function to look up questions that have already been asked.

ball pythons are good because they get big, but not HUGE. about 3-4 feet is all. as long as you handle them and feed them once a week, they are quite friendly and like contact with people. my cousin's even plays nicely with the cat. the cat has been in the tank with the snake, and has bopped it in the head a few times when i was playing wit the snake... and the snake handled it just fine.

U should get a corn snake....they can only grow to 6 feet(rarely)....the normal size is 4 feet....corn snakes need there cages cleaned out every month....including 1-2poops...corn snakes at petco cost $15-30...corn snakes are mellow snakes and will let u handle them....I suggest a 10 gallon fish tank...they need woodchips as bedding....wen corn snakes are very young get 1 pinkie(baby mouse) wen they get bigger get them 2 pinkies..... wen they go to next stage get fuzies(mice with fur...babys still) and finally u should get frozen food for ure pets safety...

get a boa like a red tail Colombian boa it will get med size but only as big as you feed it and keep it it a medium aquarium. They bite the very least of any snake and are super easy to take care of you feed them 1 mouse every month and change their water bowl every week. they should be from $100 to $300 dollars depending on how small you buy them from the start.

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

corn snake is probably the best choice even a large adult corn can can live in a 20 gallon tank and wont ever get big enough to start eating the most expensive food like jumbo rats and rabbits they are also an excellent choice because they typically dont mind being handled stay very unaggressive after you get them used to being handled .you very rarely have trouble getting them to eat like is common with ball pythons .

a corn snake. all u need to do is feed him a 6pack of mice on ice a day and he's good. and i have no clue how much he costs!