Snake!

i know there not every 1's favourite and i didnt like them at first either but i think ive changed my mind and kinda fell for them and rearly want 1 now.
All started when i was at college the other day and it was the day we were getting there snakes out (i do animal care), i wasnt rearly looking forward to it but thought id take it in my stride and so i did, they were only corn snakes but the one was fully grown and i managed to hold it then after ten mins i didnt want to put it back and wanted to take it home lol.
so now i rearly want 1 but dont know an auful lot about them, i was hopeing i could take some advice off people on here which keep corn snakes or other similar snakes and also what people thought of them in general, either if you have one, have had one or just rearly dislike them.And if anybody has any good info on them on general care that would be great.thx.

Corn snakes are a good beginners snake, they come in lots of different colour morphs, are docile and fairly active and rarely bite. Here are a couple of good caresheets on corn snakes for you to take a look at as a starting point...
http/www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/RMH...MHnewpage11.htm
http/www.anapsid.org/corn.html
Another good source of information is this forum... http/www.thegeckospot.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl
I'm a member on that forum and there are several experienced keepers of corn snakes on there who would be more than happy to help you out with any questions you might have before you start setting up the enclosure and buy the animal.
Good luck!

Another great beginner snake, which is docile and stays fairly small, is the Rosy Boa (you should find info on kingsnake.com on this species as well). I got my Rosy after having lizards, and if I had known how easy it would be to care for, and how much cleaner a snake is than a lizard, I'd have by-passed lizards and gone straight for the snake

Corn snakes are indeed a really great little snake for beginners though, and probably more readily available than the Rosy Boa, but thought I'd throw it out there. Just make sure you do plenty of research on their care, and make sure you post some pics if you do decide to get a snake.

i have a corn snake he's about 4foot + really friendly and spends most of the time wrapped around my arm and shoulder was in my local reptile shop and there had a newly hatched beardered dragon thats what i would love to have once i have got all the bits for my spare 4foot viv

yep thx for the info and sites and i think i may join that forum in a few days xautomaticflowersx.it looks most likely il be getting a corn but il deffinately be looking into other begginer type species.o and your corn snake is brilliant woodie.

Snakes arent for me. I watched one eat a live mouse and that done it for me. Where I live they do not sell frozen mice and I cannot bare to watch anything be killed. So I sold my snake as soon as I got him. He got to stay ten minutes and He found a new home.

In the UK it is illegal to feed live vertebrates, so thankfully none of us will have to deal with that. Mice on ice! The best thing since sliced bread . Royal pythons are another lovely starter snake. They get a bit bigger and stockier and are a little more shy (which is why Americans know them as 'ball pythons' - when feeling insecure or threatened they will curl themselves into a ball rather than striking). I don't own any snakes, but have had some limited experience with them. Royals are my personal favourite... I think they have the loveliest faces . They are sometimes a little fussy with their eating habits though, which can be scary for the keeper.
Here's some information on royals...
http/www.anapsid.org/ball.html
http/www.anapsid.org/ballfeed.html
http/www.kingsnake.com/ballpythonguide/
Some info on rosy boas...
http/www.anapsid.org/rosyboa.html
And finally some information on corn snake colour morphs...
http/members.aol.com/guttata319/Hawkherp/morfs.html

A Royal/Ball python isnt a good beginners snake unless you are absolutely certain of your husbandry and have done as much research on them as possible, a corn snake is naturally a good feeder and generally forgiving in every aspect of care, whereas a Royal/Ball will readily refuse to feed when housed or cared for incorrectly

Here are two links to my caresheets on royal pythons and cornsnakes B)
Cornsnake Care

Royal Python Care

Snakes are a relatively easy to keep and maintain pet, they are cheap in the longrun and in my opinion are better suited as pets to us busy folk with modern lives. Try also joining theLivefood.co.uk forums, there are hundreds of people there who can help you gain the knowledge you will need and many breeders who will be more than happy to give you advice on setting out

Hope this helps!
Lotte***

Oooh, boy, snakes make great pets!

I currently have two. My first was a tangerine honduran milk snake, and the second is a kenyan sand boa. They are both very different. The honduran gets to be about 5 feet long. As babies, most milk snakes are fast, jumpy, and prone to pooping when handled, but most grow out of it. The Kenyans are small snakes that only reach a couple of feet. They are slow-moving and have funny wormlike bodies.

In my opinion, corn, milk, and most king snakes make great first snakes as they are generally friendly, don't have any extreme husbandry requirements, and are usually ravenous eaters. Most boas and pythons can be finicky eaters, which can be difficult for beginners to deal with.

Whatever kind of snake you decide to get, I would strongly recommend to purchase the animal from a respected breeder. I work in a pet store and see how they work... pet store snakes are very overpriced (and if they aren't, they're wild-caught), often sick or exposed to diseses or parasites, and have no history for you to work from. A breeder will know exactly what your snakes genetics are like, how it feeds, when it poops, everything.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your snake!

Here are pics of mine: the first is Hal, my Kenyan, and the second is Magma, my Honduran .

squeeker said:

I work in a pet store and see how they work... pet store snakes are very overpriced (and if they aren't, they're wild-caught), often sick or exposed to diseses or parasites, and have no history for you to work from.

Click to expand...

Beautiful pets there Squeeker


I would just like to point out that reptile specialist shops here in the UK are very very very different to what you stated about petshops, BCFC is in Birmingham (I assume in the UK!) and it would be relatively easy for him to locate a recommended shop that is known to be of good quality and sells a majority of CB snakes, with the help of someone like myself who works in trade here in the UK

Just ask me if you're interested BCFC

snakes are gorgeous
and after looking at all those pictures of corn snakes i want one too!
my landlord wouldn't agree though, boo.

i did meet a corn snake once, he was called Homer and belonged to a 6 year old kid i was babysitting (didn't really agree with that part, but his parents were a bit kookie like that ), he was gorgeous, very active and sweet natured. had to be to put up with a 6 year old and a 4 year old!!!!!!

ive gave it a lot of thought and wont be getting one till new year, theres a lot going on in my house you see around new year and x-mas and dont feel its fair.but been lokking into it, mainly looking at vivariums.found a shop around my area and he sells mainly reptiles so i hope he knows what hes talking about but i surpose il just have to trust him.just going to take it slow, do my reasearch to give the snake the best possible life with me. thx for all your help and will update when i am getting one.