Noob to snakes and I have questions.

[Gourami Swami]

yes... a bit harder to find but the optimal first snake IMo would be a nice rosy boa.

 

[Tongue33]

Well I am going to go and hang out with a known and local breeder

I loved how complete this info was. And this is where I am going to get my snake most likely.

http://ballpython.com/page.php?topic=ballbasics

It's a toss up between these two so far

http://ballpython.com/pf_disp.php?snakeid=0710pastel35m2-7

And

http://ballpython.com/pf_disp.php?snakeid=0707pastel15m1-5

There are others in the same range that I like.. I just keep coming back to these two... Of course when I get there it could change... Still I like these young lads.

And they have awesome records. They are also suggested by some of the more serious local hobbiests that I only speak to online or occasionally in person.


So what do you think?

 

[cichlaguapote]

Second one is nice. But I really like #1. Should ask elevatethis on picking though as he breeds pastel's.

That breeder has alot of inventory and records kept for each though. Which is really really nice.

 

[Tongue33]

My bad now try

 

[cichlaguapote]

My bad now try

Yeah I checked back link works now. Post edited.

 

[Tongue33]

Ya I put the wrong link initially

 

[Kioka]

Sorry but a carpet is way to big for a child of that age...

I agree with Ophi on this one.
Ball/Royal python.
They tend to be a species that will just curl into a ball when prodded/poked by young hands (and mine too ) rather than bite and are nice heavy bodied yet gentle snakes.

You'd be lucky if a female reached 5 with royals, and its unlikely a male will reach four, but it could happen so me thinks male.

This is my female


And this is my young male


And my young male pastel, I could see you having fun with this one, theyre gorgeous!


imo they are the perfect boid, small, yet plump and for the most part extremely tolerant and docile. You can see what I mean by the males curling into a ball in the pics, they just do that when they have had enough or are scared rather than biting. Theyre pretty tough snakes when it comes to handling and theres not much damage small hands can do.

Corn snakes almost always reach over 4' and although they arent fat snakes they are still very active and large snakes to be handled.

If a royal doesn't take your fancy perhaps a kenyan sand boa? Rosy boa perhaps? Or of course a spotted python but I definately would not go with a carpet python..they just get to big for a child that age. Although beautiful snakes to keep...I couldn't think of a worse pet to choose than an adult carpet python tame or not even in a few years when your childs abit older...
Hope this helped.

Did you even read? I said Tongue33 should go with what HE want, not the child since he will end up taking care of it all the time. Anyway, he already settled on a Ball Python so why bother arguing anymore?

By the way, a lot of hobbyists I know personally have gotten Green Tree Pythons, Tree Boas and White-Lipped Pythons for their kids (5-12 years range). All of those are known to be extremely defensive. Now you can't tell them that it is wrong to give them those snakes. Why? The parents would end up taking care of it anyway until the kid got enough experience to do it on their own. Hell, a good friend of mine got his 6-years old a Amazon Tree Boa a few years back, and the kid is now 12 and does maintenance and feeding by himself.

Really, when the kid is that young, it doesn't really matter what they have as long the parents can take care of it. However isnce Tongue33 already picked Ball Pythons, then this whole debate is now pointless.

 

[Ophiuchus]

However isnce Tongue33 already picked Ball Pythons, then this whole debate is now pointless.

Indeed. For the love of crap, everyone, knock it off already!

 

[elevatethis]

Well I am going to go and hang out with a known and local breeder

I loved how complete this info was. And this is where I am going to get my snake most likely.

http://ballpython.com/page.php?topic=ballbasics

It's a toss up between these two so far

http://ballpython.com/pf_disp.php?snakeid=0710pastel35m2-7

And

http://ballpython.com/pf_disp.php?snakeid=0707pastel15m1-5

There are others in the same range that I like.. I just keep coming back to these two... Of course when I get there it could change... Still I like these young lads.

And they have awesome records. They are also suggested by some of the more serious local hobbiests that I only speak to online or occasionally in person.


So what do you think?

The Sutherlands are good people! Can't go wrong with them by any stretch.

As far as pastels go, the fact of the matter is that no matter who you buy from, they all end up losing the yellow and browning out with age. I've seen a few freaks here and there that keep their color; but for the other 99.999% of them, there's literally no specific "line" that holds up better than one or the other.

The Lemon line seems to make the brightest babies, but as adults, they are look just like the rest. And don't pay more for a "Lemon" or "Graziani" line pastel - maybe a few years ago the lines were seperate - but now with all the pastel and pastel combos being produced, the lines have been crossed every which way that there's no way to tell. All the "lines" are compatible anyway and its the same gene at work, its just in the early days the "lines" were different just because of selective breeding practices by the breeders who obtained the first few WC specimens shipped in from Africa.

When I shop for pastels, I look for the other traits that are going to stay with it into adulthood...reduced patterns, light colored eyes, blushing....once you've raised a few babies and start to see how their color and pattern changes as they reach adulthood, you can shop for babies much more effectively.

 

[Tongue33]

That's insightful!!

So the pastels.. Get thinner line markings??