My first snake

[draven419]

Hello everyone. I have been thinking about buying a snake for quite some time and had a few simple questions to ask.

A.) What kind of snake should I purchase?

I have heard ball pythons are good choices and a coworker of mine who raises snakes said that red tail boas are another good choice as long as I am willing to have something that grows a bit larger.

B.) I currently only have a 20 gal aquarium. (roughly 18"x24"x18") will this be big enough to start out with until I can buy something bigger?

C.) What wattage/size of heat lamp should I purchase?

Any information would be a great help and thank you in advance.

[morti]

Hi and welcome to redtailboa.net!

Ball pythons are alright, but they have a bad habit of going of food for the winter, and that drives people like me to distraction.

Boas are great snakes, but your co-worker is correct... they do get fairly large:



Have you considered a corn snake? I think they are awesome snakes and they don't get very big.

	Corn Snake The Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata) is a species of Rat Snake.

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[Snake18]

corns are a great starter snake. easy to care for and i beleive there is a care sheet on here.

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[Sakara]

I prefer boas honestly... I have a spider ball python that a friend gave me because he went on an 8 month fast last year, lol... They can be annoying with their fasting, but are still pretty cool snakies...

I have a bunch of boas... different morphs and localities and I love them all... You can get smaller BCI boas and as long as you buy from a good breeder I wouldn't worry about having a snake that gets a bit bigger... Also, if you were interested in a boa, you can get a male, which tend to stay a lot smaller than females... and also you can ask about the parents... TYPICALLY, smaller parents make smaller offspring... Just don't over-feed or power-feed them...

a 20gal will work for any of those snakes as a starter aquarium... Just make sure if you go with a boa or ball that you cover half the lid so that you can keep the humidity up... A boa will need a larger enclosure a lot sooner then the other 2...

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

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	Morph A morph is a color or pattern variation that is proven to be genetic. Common morphs include albino, anerythristic, gentically striped, Hypomelanistic, and many others. Morphs also include combinations of simple traits such as "Sunglow" which is Albino and Hypomelanistic. These traits may be recessive traits, co-dominant traits, dominant traits, or created through selective breeding (ie Pastel).

[John_White]

I would also suggest a corn or rat snake.

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[LooseAFur]

Black Ratsnakes are great beginner herp pets

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[draven419]

One more question does anyone know of any reliable breeds in the ohio area? I was planning on going to a reptile show but I would prefer a breeder

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[Icicle]

when going to shows just ask around, most of them breed there own snakes.

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[sFlsniper]

My first snake was a red rat snake!

good luck!

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[herpkid97]

I've heard corn snakes, western hognose snakes, BPs, Rosy Boas, and Kenyan, Egyptian and Indian Sand Boas are great beginner snakes!

	Corn Snake The Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata) is a species of Rat Snake.

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

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[HERPHAPPY]

Another less common (but affordable!) good beginning snake that can live in a 20 gal for quite some time is an Australian spotted python (Antaresia maculosa)! They are a tiny "tiger" as far as eating and actually PREFER frozen/thawed. (normal first food in the wild is lizards...they fear mice until they grow up some!) A good breeder will have them feeding on mice for you. I enjoy the one I have...she likes to climb/sit on her branches all nite and that is where she feeds. I use both a dimmed overhead lite (red or black) and a uth (she sleeps by day in hide box on the cage floor). They are quite nocturnal, and surprisingly strong for their tiny size! A big snake in a small package...

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	Under Tank Heater Under Tank Heater

[HERPHAPPY]

Originally Posted by draven419

....
A.) What kind of snake should I purchase?
I'd stay out of bps (I agree with Morti!!! I've kept many & want NONE!)
I would not start with a boa...they get too big for a beginning snake...you have much to learn first, they are more difficult to meet care requirements.
The best snake is the one that APPEALS to you, as you will be more inclined to take the best care of it for its lifetime...which may be 15-25+ years btw!
Corn/ratsnakes, & kingsnakes are great choices... (and spotted pythons? see my other post) Sand boas and rosy boas are small & cute, but a bit more difficult to start with.

B.) I currently only have a 20 gal aquarium. (roughly 18"x24"x18") will this be big enough to start out with until I can buy something bigger?
Yes...depends what you get as to how big they will get. My old corn snakes are 5'+ and ratsnakes typically grown to 6'+. Large kings get about 4-5'...

C.) What wattage/size of heat lamp should I purchase?
I use Flexwatt uth (available from Bean Farm online, etc) and lights depend on what you decide to keep: heat rises (so that helps warm the cage but is not very efficient) and most snakes dislike bright lights! When you decide what appeals to you (do alot more "shopping"...in books/online/in stores etc) we will be happy to get more specific on care suggestions!

Any information would be a great help and thank you in advance.

You're welcome!

	Corn Snake The Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata) is a species of Rat Snake.

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

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[SUAD]

Corn snakes are probably the best starter snake on earth, hands down. Good temperment, tolerant of temp fluctuations native to North America, good appetite, easy to house and breed, and they're active.

Avoid balls - they're ugly, more difficult than most people let on for beginners, and fairly boring.

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[Icicle]

Sorry for the off topic post


Now please read this thread.
http://www.redtailboa.net/forums/jus...rtb-worth.html
I will be posting this on everyone's thread until we hit our goal.

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[HERPHAPPY]

Originally Posted by Icicle

Sorry for the off topic post


.....

You're grounded!!!

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[VexalUntil]

Everyone else pretty much touched on the other questions, except the last one.

The wattage of light to use really depends on your house. For me when I was in FLorida I'd use 40w bulbs, sometimes even turning them off all together cause i didn't run the AC very often. In winter I'd use a space heater to heat the room up.

So if you keep your house at 78 or lower, then a 60 or 75 watt bulb SHOULD be fine. You really just have to experiment.

I like Herphappy's idea of flexwatt! I stayed away from it when I started out cause it was still kinda new and strange to me. But now I love it! Just make sure it's hooked up to a thermostat to control the temps.

Enjoy!

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[HERPHAPPY]

Originally Posted by VexalUntil

.....I like Herphappy's idea of flexwatt! I stayed away from it when I started out cause it was still kinda new and strange to me. But now I love it! Just make sure it's hooked up to a thermostat to control the temps.
Enjoy!

Hey, you think it was strange to you? Can you imagine the original manufacturers...it was designed for plant nursery usage, and here's all these funky reptile people clamoring for more of it!?! (In our litigious society, they were understandably hesitant!)

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[Aquarius]

I'm not a total beginner to this hobby, but I am still fairly new.

I thought I'd throw in my two cents because my family happens to have a ball python, a corn snake, and two red tails! Your decision weighs heavily on what sort of snake you're looking for. For example, I'm not a fan of handling the corn snake, she's very quick and kinda squirmy, not the relaxed feeling I get from my red tails. Ball pythons are very sweet and they get just big enough to be fun but not huge. I agree with SUAD though, I personally think ball pythons are boring to look at, but that's a matter of opinion.

If you're thinking about going to a reptile show I wouldn't go to purchase. I would check out the few types of snakes you're interested in first, maybe see if you can handle some of them. Then maybe make a purchase the second time you go.

	Corn Snake The Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata) is a species of Rat Snake.

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[HERPHAPPY]

Originally Posted by Aquarius

.....

If you're thinking about going to a reptile show I wouldn't go to purchase. I would check out the few types of snakes you're interested in first, maybe see if you can handle some of them. Then maybe make a purchase the second time you go.

Awesome advice....good luck fighting off those impulses tho... (Just saying...be prepared! It's tough!)

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[Sakara]

impulses? what are those

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