I'm thinking of taking the plunge into....SNAKES!

[Slim2634]

Get some kind of colubrid. Look at corn snakes and kingsnakes specifically. They don't get very long, stay skinny, and don't need high humidity and temperature requirements. They also have tons of different colorful morphs that would stand out. With corns look at blizzard corns, albino, snow, and lavender.

 

[kearth]

gaboon viper

no No not as a first snake

And obviously I was wrong to suggest a ball python. I dont keep snakes at all so I was just offering what I thought might be good.

What about hog island boas? WOuld they be good or bad?

 

[Sylvias]

Another thing to add....
Hognose snakes can be good for beginners if you get one that is steadily eating mice. Sometimes they are difficult to get on rodents because they are specialized frog eaters. They are rear fanged and mildly venomous but getting that rear fang into you is a challenge for them. the vast majority of hoggy bites are harmless.
It's definitely something you should be aware of if you go for this species, but not something to obsess over and freak out about.
I also feel compelled to make sure that everyone here knows gaboon vipers are deadly >.> Have the largest fangs of any venomous snake and a nasty hemotoxin and cytotoxin to go with em. however if you're getting in to venomous snakes they are pretty easy, lazy snakes. All piss and vinegar but rarely bite.... but when they do it's gonna ruin your week lol

 

[Sylvias]

Hog islands would be about the same as a ball with the care of a red tail boa. They are a bit smaller than common red tails but not by much, still reach about 6 ft and have those boa muscles that make them a handful when they reach that size


If you did want to go with a constrictor type snake you could check out Irian Jaya carpet pythons. They are the smallest sub species of carpet python, topping out at around 6 feet. But they are very spindly semi arboreal snakes so they don't seem quite so big or so much to handle because they are rather slender.
These can be considered beginner snakes if you do your research but are a bit more fragile than the colubrids i already mentioned. They need high humidity and heat to remain healthy and should be fed strictly on rats. Most breeders try not to even start with mice because they get addicted and refuse to move up to rats later in life when they need to.

 

[chloe]

burm....although that would kinda ruin the size thing....shame really. perfect snake just too big.

 

[Sylvias]

Even without thinking of the size and cage requirements I wouldn't consider that a good beginner snake. They are so prone to respiratory infections due to improper husbandry it's almost inherent.

 

[chloe]

but if he cared properly then it wouldnt b a prob.

not being funny but we cant give him the best ideas for a snake based on if he doesnt look after it properly lol

 

[Sylvias]

This is true
Most people don't take care of them properly though and think they do. So many people talk to me about their burms being "talkative" or vocal..... burms shouldn't really make any noise at all if they are healthy. Obviously they can hiss if they feel need but way to many people keeping burms think it is normal to be able to hear them breath......


not to mention you can be caring for it almost properly... have the temps right, the humidity good, everything seems like it's alright and it still infection because of bad ventilation.

 

[chloe]

This is true
Most people don't take care of them properly though and think they do. So many people talk to me about their burms being "talkative" or vocal..... burms shouldn't really make any noise at all if they are healthy. Obviously they can hiss if they feel need but way to many people keeping burms think it is normal to be able to hear them breath......

mine wheezes occasionally. when i first got him i thought it was a RI but its just because although hes a slender burm hes still a big boy.
christ what kind of owner are u if ur thinking ur snakes vocal??? lol thats horrendous.

when i first got in to big snakes i looked in to all the 'killings' they had done.
most were due to people just owning them because they were 'cool' and obv not caring for them properly.
i spose it may be those kind of people that have 'talking' snakes.

 

[Sylvias]

Most likely, the occasional wheeze or "sigh" isn't a big deal. some snakes will breath louder when they are eating and thats perfectly understandable...it's just when it is constant with every single breath they take that you know it's a bad sign. And burms... if they get it once they are even more prone to getting it again and it becomes a chronic problem...sometimes regardless of the care given. Then god forbid they take it to an ignorant vet that just prescribes baytril every single time they go in -_-