On thy belly, thou shalt go

[ewurm]

I have been considering a purchase of a snake. I'm at the pre-goldfish in a bowl phase, so help me out. I want something that is small, easy to manage and won't kill me. Hit me with a flood of info please, I am not even going to ask the petfart employees, I want some expert advice, and I know there are some herp freaks here.

 

[Bsixxx]

corn snake, milk snake

 

[Behemoth]

http://www.corn-utopia.com/

I had fantastic luck with this lady. I recieved my cornsnake in a little styrofoam cup. The guy didn't want to eat for the first few days. I finally enclosed the snake in the cup again with a pinkie and it ate.

She has a wide selection. Very personable. It was a great experience.

 

[ewurm]

http://www.corn-utopia.com/

I had fantastic luck with this lady. I recieved my cornsnake in a little styrofoam cup. The guy didn't want to eat for the first few days. I finally enclosed the snake in the cup again with a pinkie and it ate.

She has a wide selection. Very personable. It was a great experience.

How big do they get, what sized enclosure, what other equipment do I need? And how about substrate? Like I said, total newb.

 

[Bogwoodbruce]

I would say that a cornsnake would be best. Ive got 3 corns and they are very easy to carefore and don't need a particualry large home.

 

[Behemoth]

I bought a small setup from Petco. Even picked up my substrate from their. Very affordable. These guys are light on the pocket in comparision on what I have spent to keep my catfish going.

The only thing that bothered me was the feeding part. When the darn thing didn't want to eat...it bothered me.

Anyway. You need a heat source and a tight fitting lid. At least a 20 gallon set up. An under substrate heating pad that fits just half of your enclosure. Something to hide under and a branch for climbing. I used indoor/outdoor carpet with mine. You can use pine shavings but not cedar. I believe cedar is toxic.

When we adopted our kiddos...the snake had to go...adoption workers and snakes don't mix.

 

[ewurm]

I bought a small setup from Petco. Even picked up my substrate from their. Very affordable. These guys are light on the pocket in comparision on what I have spent to keep my catfish going.

The only thing that bothered me was the feeding part. When the darn thing didn't want to eat...it bothered me.

Anyway. You need a heat source and a tight fitting lid. At least a 20 gallon set up. An under substrate heating pad that fits just half of your enclosure. Something to hide under and a branch for climbing. I used indoor/outdoor carpet with mine. You can use pine shavings but not cedar. I believe cedar is toxic.

When we adopted our kiddos...the snake had to go...adoption workers and snakes don't mix.

I already have pine bedding for my chinchilla. Tight fitting lid sounds good, I hate surprises. How much is all this crap going to cost? I have a tank, but I need a heating pad and a lid. And what do they eat? Crickets?

 

[Kioka]

Pine shavings are bad for animals, even rodents. Switch to aspen. You can even use newspaper or paper towel as well.

For beginner... either a small locale of boa from the northern part of Central America such as Honduras, Mexico, or Nicaragua, or a Spotted Python. They get to be around the same length as a Corn Snake, but the only different is the body mass. A Spotted Python has more mass than a Corn Snake, have similar requirement in temperature, humidity and enclosure size, and they are not as flighty while handling. Boa husbandry is pretty easy as well, they have a slightly higher temperature requirement of 75-92F, with 55-60% humidity.

I currently keep my fully-grown 5' boa, which he is big for a male considering most males of the Nicaraguan locale only get to be 4', in an underbed storage bin to give you an idea.

Which one is my favourite? My Nicaraguan boa, apart from a 9' Columbian female, is my favourite out of all the ones I handled in the past.

Basically snake husbandry is pretty easy, a water bowl, an enclosure with a tight fitting lid, a heating pad and two hides. By the way, most captive snakes eat mice.

My setups?

Heating Pad - $15
Tubs - $3 (for those shoeboxes) -$20 (for those underbed storage), depending on the size
Water Bowl - $1 (Dollar Store)
Newspaper - Free
Kitty litter bins (as hides for full-grown boas) - $5 each
Plastic saucers (as hides for hatchlings) - $0.25 each

 

[Bsixxx]

I already have pine bedding for my chinchilla. Tight fitting lid sounds good, I hate surprises. How much is all this crap going to cost? I have a tank, but I need a heating pad and a lid. And what do they eat? Crickets?

they eat pinkies, total cost including snake would be around 125-170 bucks, depending on lighting and everything else.


Basically all you need is a tank either 20long or whatever you want, a heat sorce(pads work great), substrate. You can use that hampster bedding or the wood chip stuff.

pretty much thats it, maybe al little water bowl or dish.

 

[big E]

I have been in this situation before, I am still considering some kind of snake myself and I have the same criteria to meet as you do. Everyone I ask says that a corn snake will probably be the perfect snake for a beginner, not too big, won't kill you, and very friendly. I think my only problem so far is with feeding it mice? Not that I am against it or anything, its just that its probably not my favorite thing to do? I am more used to getting animals OFF of live food I suppose? As far as cost goes, this is going to be NOTHING compared to keeping MOnster fish!