Snake owners: tell me about them.

[GlassOnion]

I'm interested in getting my first snake. Either a snake, or a rat/mouse. But I think I'd enjoy a snake better. Problem is, I know nothing about keeping them for pets (well ok, very little aside from the basics; IE feed them, keep them warm, and don't keep small kids around them).

What kind of snakes are good first ones? Is there like, a Labrador snake? Also how expensive is the initial set up? What else do I need to know? (there's a broad question)


I found a snake advice blog thing but it wasn't really helpful, and I can't find much else about starting out with them. Either there's not real big snake communities (I usually search for forums to begin new hobbies) or I'm searching the wrong stuff.

It did, however, recommend a Milk, King, or Corn snake. I've never heard of the first two, but am familiar with the last one. That and a Ball Python have been two I've commonly heard referred to as good 'starter' snakes. Any truth to that?




By the by if you search Google images for 'snake', you can see a picture of a guy with a snake going through his nose and out his mouth. Pretty wicked. Better than some other 'snake' connotations that could've come up.

 

[Romy]

They are GREAT.

Unless you've gotten a brand new hatchling, most only need to eat about once a week (5-7 days, depending on how often it's pooping and what size meal you give).

That means, you can feed your snake, make sure his water dish is full and clean, then go on vacation for a week without having to hire a pet sitter.

The "lab" of snakes would definitely be the corn snake. They come in about a million color variations, and are not expensive to get from the breeder. You can get normal (wild) colored corn hatchlings that are het for a bunch of different colors for about $10-15 each from a good breeder.

They are pretty hardy. Usually if the power goes out for a little bit they can handle a temporary drop in temps without major problems. They also have one of the most docile temperaments. I could hand three adults to my 2 year old daughter and she would be able to safely and easily handle all three at once. They're big enough to look impressive, but not so big as to be a hassle at feeding time.

Most corns don't mind being handled, and I've owned a few that seemed to really enjoy it. But, they also don't seem to miss the handling if your life gets busy and you don't have a chance to spend time with them for a week or something. It's nice not to feel guilty when things get busy.

These two breeders have amazing animals. Don produces some really nice "old school" blood reds, and Kathy Love wrote the Corn Snake Manual.

Don Soderberg's
South Mountain Reptiles - Corn Snake Price List

Kathy Love's
Corn Snakes 4

And the cornsnake forum is pretty expansive, it has some great stickied FAQs about cornsnake care.
CornSnakes.com Forums - Powered by vBulletin

EDIT: Milks and kings are nice too. Depending on the species, some can be VERY aggressive eaters. Meaning, if your finger, the water dish, the rock in the corner, etc. smell REMOTELY like food, they are going to latch onto it. lol. Kings are cannibalistic too, so if you have more than one snake you have to remember to handle the kings first, before you get snake smell on your fingers...

Milks are more laid back, but some can be downright shy or stressed by too much handling. If you go that route, and want a snake you can hold a lot, I'd recommend getting an adult that isn't stressed by it.

Balls are WONDERFUL, but I'd recommend them as a second snake. They are very docile, but they are very strong. Also, they're a lot less flexible with their temp/humidity ranges. Lastly, many have food issues. Like, they won't eat for 2 years at a stretch. And that's pretty common. If you do get a ball, only get captive bred!!! I had to rehab a batch of imported adults for rescue once, and it was horrendous. And stressful. On us and the snakes. Every single one fasted for over a year and had recurring RI's, scale rot issues, etc.

 

[Crowsfeet]

I do like snakes, but as a ratty person, might I suggest attempting to find a snake who solidly eats frozen? You'll save a little suffering.


And, if you choose to go for ratties, get two Their enrichment seriously suffers if they're alone, and can even lead to health issues.


...but if anything, good luck with the snake!

 

[puppydog]

I highly recommend a corn for your first snake. They come in an amazing variety of morphs and are really laid back. Kizzie (my corn) is an absolute dream. She gets fed once a week and it is super cheap. She is gentle, never regurged, eats well and sheds nicely. I am aware that I have a laid back snake but I can't imagine it getting much harder this.

 

[GlassOnion]

I'll probably get a corn then. I do want a snake I can hold a lot though, as I like to handle my pets. Reason why I don't like fish: can only look at them lol.

How expensive is it to get a snake set up with a habitat? And what size of terrarium do they need (reckon this depends on size). We do have a 20 gallon (I think) fish tank that we're not using, but it's huge, and probably would not survive the move, so I don't think that's really an issue. I reckon the tank itself will be where the primary cost comes from, but how about heating lamp and....uh, whatever else snakes need? Gravel/rock/sand/wimmenz?


And I'm not really sure about the rats. I mean, they seem like cool creatures but I'd imagine you'd get pissed and pooed on a lot with them. Plus, don't they stink? And what if they don't 'take' to you and don't let you handle them?

 

[puppydog]

I don't keep my girl in a tank. I have read they don't like being exposed. I built her a plywood box. The size of the box depends on the size of the snake. They don't need huge amounts of room, especially if you handle them a lot. The easiest and cheapest substrate for a corn is newspaper. It doesn't look great but it works well. You can also use astroturf. I use jungle chunks in mine but I make sure they are kept dry. Corns don't like humidity.

They don't need basking lamps but you will need a heating pad. The pad should cover 1/2 of your enclosure.
A nice water bowl for them to lie in is a must and they like hidey holes. An toilet roll inner works well but you can also by little stone like caves for them.

 

[Chewbecca]

And I'm not really sure about the rats. I mean, they seem like cool creatures but I'd imagine you'd get pissed and pooed on a lot with them. Plus, don't they stink? And what if they don't 'take' to you and don't let you handle them?

I don't know about rats, but I'm sure it's probably not too different, but with mice you can work on hand-taming them.
Mine are pretty good about it already.
Unless you have a terribly aggressive rat or mouse, you'll be able to eventually hand-tame them.

But the biggest thing you'll have to decide is if you want a mammal or a reptile.
Because they're a WORLD of difference.

Mammals require WAY MORE interaction than reptiles do.
Do you want to pay required attention to your pet, or do you want to simply have an animal that you CAN pay the occasional attention to, but requires very little interaction from you?

 

[Taqroy]

We had a bull snake when I was growing up. My dad found him out in a field with a bunch of shovel marks in him so apparently someone tried to dig him up. He lived in our garage (with heat) and smelled absolutely awful. My dad said it was because he was scared of us but there's a good possibility he made that up....lol. I've been in houses that have lots of snakes and there is a mild smell but it really just smells like snake to me. Not uberly disgusting like our bull snake. We had another one called Jacob (Jake the snake) and he smelled fine. He was a baby though and also doubled as an escape artist so Mom eventually said he had to go.

ETA: I totally missed this.

And I'm not really sure about the rats. I mean, they seem like cool creatures but I'd imagine you'd get pissed and pooed on a lot with them. Plus, don't they stink? And what if they don't 'take' to you and don't let you handle them?

I don't have rats (yet) cause we're still waiting on the breeder but I have done a TON of research. They are supposed to be very easy to litter train and actually the ones we're getting will already be litter trained. Males do scent mark but it's not like full out peeing it's more like....dribbling. Lol. They don't stink if you clean out their cage regularly and there are tons of articles on trust training with rats. Although if you get one from a breeder it should have already been handled and they will tell you up front if the rat you are looking at has a bad personality or is really shy. Crowsfeet can tell you a lot more than me though! I posted this thread awhile back and it has some awesome info on rats in it.

 

[puppydog]

Another thing to look at is life span.

Rats 2-4 years

Corns 18-30 years.

 

[Chewbecca]

Another thing to look at is life span.

Rats 2-4 years

Corns 18-30 years.

hahaha, I was just going to post this.

That's the sad thing about the small mammals. They do NOT live long enough.

 

[puppydog]

hahaha, I was just going to post this.

That's the sad thing about the small mammals. They do NOT live long enough.

Great minds and all. :lol-sign:

 

[Fran101]

A lot of the boys in dorms and stuff have Ball Pythons.. and lets face it, if that troop of dodos can keep em alive then they shouldn't be that hard to care for lol and they all seem pretty easy to handle, they walk around with them and stuff..

I vote for mouse!! They are cute..small.. don't really need all that much. (tank, bedding, water bottle, food dish, food, maybe a hide a way,wheel..and they are set)
and they don't give me the creeps! nor does their diet make me want to hurl...

 

[Chewbecca]

But girl mice should ideally be bought it trios to keep each other company.
And males, since they cannot be housed with anything other than a female IF one intends to breed, need LOTS of human interaction in order for them not to get lonely.

I devote about half an hour every evening to interacting with my boys.
My husband I take each out of their cages every night, and let them walk all over us and interact with them.

 

[puppydog]

One huge thing to remember about snakes is that they require MUCH less care then mice or rats do. I ran out of correctly sized food for Kizz and no one had stock. I turned down her heating and when I finally got stock 17 days later she was fine and dandy.

 

[lizzybeth727]

And I'm not really sure about the rats. I mean, they seem like cool creatures but I'd imagine you'd get pissed and pooed on a lot with them. Plus, don't they stink? And what if they don't 'take' to you and don't let you handle them?

I don't know about snakes, but I had rats for several years. The good thing about rats is that they almost NEVER bite. That's what makes them such a good pet for kids, even when they get starled, woken up suddenly, etc. they don't bite. They might nibble on your fingers if they think you're food, but that's easy enough to remedy by hand feeding them more carefully.

It is important to handle them a lot when you first get them and when they're young, so that they will enjoy handling. But females aren't very "cuddly" anyway, they're very busy when they're out of the cage and don't sit around for long (not always, but most of the time). If you want rats that love handling, be sure to get a male.

My girls did mark a lot, that was probably the one thing that I disliked about them. Yeah, it was just a few little droplets, and it didn't smell, but still, it was annoying. But they NEVER pooped anywhere other than their cage, and I didn't even really "potty train" them.

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

I love my corn snakes, they're easy and incredibly low maintenance. They're basically bomb proof so they make a great first snake. I have a ball python but he's really picky about his food so I'd agree that a bp would be more of a second or advanced beginner snake.

My only comment as far as choosing is consider what your family will allow you to have in their household should you end up living with them again while you're not in school. My mother HATES rodents and snakes but she found snakes to be the lesser of two evils (I've had both as pets) And the plus side of snakes is that they don't smell like a male mouse could.

 

[Chewbecca]

People KEEP SAYING that male mice stink!
Mine don't!

Why don't my boys stink???

 

[PixieSticksandTricks]

And I'm not really sure about the rats. I mean, they seem like cool creatures but I'd imagine you'd get pissed and pooed on a lot with them. Plus, don't they stink? And what if they don't 'take' to you and don't let you handle them?

Well I have never owned a snake or any reptile.

I don't own rats. I don't really care for them. A bit too nippy for me.

But I know Mice can learn not to poo/pee on you when being handled. All of my girls are really good about not having accidents.

Female mice have virtually no smell. Males can be stinky greasy little buggers. But a drop of vanilla in their water cuts down on the smell.

Males should live alone. Unless raised with a male littermate.

Females should atleast live in a trio. They need company like air to breath.

Mice I have found are the easiest little furry animals to tame/handle. Females and most males won't bite unless in extreme pain. They will allow you to handle them without any nipping or aggression.

I have lived with hamsters, gerbils, rats, rabbits, and ferrets. Over the years. And Mice are by far the friendliest and easiest to handle.

I allow my mice 1-2 hours free roam time. Which means they get to come out and run around and play on the coffee table or book shelves. Mice are not jumpers from high spaces (high to them). Mine will stand at the edge and look down over the edge and then move on. They also enjoy time in the bathtub. With towels on the bottom for traction. They can't hop out of the tub and it gives them lots of room to run.

They also enjoy shoulder riding just like a rat.

They are generally cheap. Depending on color and coat type/pattern. They can range from $2-$5 from a breeder.

They have a short life span. Living up to 3 years at the most.

 

[PixieSticksandTricks]

People KEEP SAYING that male mice stink!
Mine don't!

Why don't my boys stink???

Your boys are probley not too territorial. Also having lived together pretty happily. I don't think they feel the need to mark their cages like crazy. My males I owned years ago weren't stinky. But they were both very docile mellow boys. I also had no females around.

Also im not sure about their ages. But young males tend not to stink much.

Male mice stink usually because they are marking their territory.

I think you just have two very secure happy males. Though don't be surprised once their settled in and mature if they get alittle more smelly.

 

[Chewbecca]

Your boys are probley not too territorial. Also having lived together pretty happily. I don't think they feel the need to mark their cages like crazy. My males I owned years ago weren't stinky. But they were both very docile mellow boys. I also had no females around.

Also im not sure about their ages. But young males tend not to stink much.

Male mice stink usually because they are marking their territory.

I think you just have two very secure happy males. Though don't be surprised once their settled in and mature if they get alittle more smelly.

Ah!
Just like once they're settled in they might start using their wheel?
Because they don't use a wheel either.:lol-sign:
And Henney sleeps most of the day. Maybe he's growing?
Oh, they poo and pee on us like crazy if we take them out. Especially Henney (he's older, we think, as he has more developed...boy parts, and he's bigger).

I love my mice. And I do not have snakes. But I do have reptiles.
I love both.
My geckos and tortoise are relatively easy to care for.
But I love that my boy mice will come out and greet me or get curious.
I also like that when I'm holding them they'll "brux" and show me that they are happy.
I just wish they'd live longer.