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Snake addiction setting in...

lilwing89

lilwing89

New member
Every day since I got my okeetee corn a year ago, my desire to have another snake has grown stronger. And coincidentally, after a whole year of success raising him, I can hardly resist the urge anymore. So I've been doing my research, and I will probably buy one soon.

There are so many reasons why I went for a corn first - the natural, unmorphed coloration and long/thin physique caught my eye, docile nature and low maintenance requirements, along with the low price all made corn the best choice. Though I'd like to have more corns, I'm curious about other kinds of snakes... I would buy more than one snake, but I'm going to be moving soon and plenty of junk to relocate... my nomadic college lifestyle limits me to having few possessions and small to medium sized snakes (8-10 foot maximum)

Several breeds I've considered are:

Western Hognose
These are incredibly beautiful despite their small size. I'm mainly concerned about feeding issues, though. They seem like a lot of fun to tame, hahaha. I would be worried about the "regurgitation while playing dead"... sometimes it's difficult to tell whether a snake has digested his meal enough to be 'ready' for handling. I never realized they run for about $100 a pop, either!

Kenyan Sand Boa
Just like Western Hognose, these are very beautiful though they are so small. My main concern is the seemingly high-maintenance and setting up a worthwhile terrarium... I could simply invest in a timer+light/pad combo, I guess.

The ones above would be really great because they could probably live with a 10-gallon size terrarium for they're entire life, and I could simply buy a 20 gallon for my corn and clean out the old 10 gal for them.

Ball Python
Pythons seem like a great breed for beginner/intermediate, according to all the articles I've read - they live for quite a long time in captivity, they're docile, they just sometimes have problems feeding. I don't find them as beautiful as corns, though... because they have a short tail and seem to get kind of meaty... I like the corn's long slender body more, though pythons are beautiful in their own way.

Milk snakes
I like everything I've read and seen about these guys, just that they can be difficult to handle - musking and whatnot. In Youtube videos, they seem to be nervous and dart around really fast.

Can you guys help me make a decision or offer further species as a suggestion? Thanks!
 
What's wrong with another corn? :p

Considering I'm not particularly fond of any that you listed. Hoggies, venomous, and what if you're allergic? Sand boas, tiny. BPs, hard to feed. Milk snakes... can be nice. Get an adult though so you don't have to deal with the nervous stuff.

Carpet pythons are gorgeous, but get like 7 feet. There IS one sub species or something that gets smaller than the other carpets. Someone let us know on this?

What about rat snakes or dwarf boas (not "desert" ones (rosies, sands))?
 
Good luck controlling that addiction! I started out with a cornsnake and now I have an entire REPTILE ROOM in my house.

PS: When you take the next jump, pictures would be lovely! :D
 
Black milk snake. Big, beautiful, calm, easy feeders and require no heat (assuming your room stays consistently around the mid 70s.
 
Yeah we are keeping with corns for now, but we did add a Jungle (1/2 corn 1/2 king) to our group along with a Mexican Black King (MBK) we love them both. And our newest addition is a little leopard gecko because she doesn't require any fancy lights or really hot temps. Just keep in mind how much room you have when considering larger snakes, and what it costs to feed them.
 
I LOVE my BCI boy, He is slender, sweet-tempered, and pretty. He's also a great eater and an easy keeper. If you don't mind 7' snakes, I'd think that a BCI would be a great pet.
 
You'll find enthousiasts for every species you listed and more lol.
I'm particularly fond of my hognoses. Kings in all kinds of colours and patterns are great too. etc etc :D
 
ShenziSixaxis said:
BPs, hard to feed. What about rat snakes or dwarf boas (not "desert" ones (rosies, sands))?
Click to expand...

BP's are only hard to feed if you expect them to behave like your cornsnake. If you don't, they are extremely reliable and easy to care for. In fact, we have one BP that has never missed a meal yet-- I can't say that for all of our corns. They do require higher heat and humidity in order to shed correctly.

I concur with the rosie boa idea. We got our first Rosie last May at Repticon and he is so cool! Squishy, calm, wonderful snake that feeds well.
 
Milksnakes are flighty, but many will calm down as adults, and they are amazing looking colubrids that have the same easy care requirements that corns do. I've had sand boas and while easy to care for, they are burrowers and you will hardly ever see them out and about. And only the males stay small, I think a female KSB would easily outgrow a 10 gallon.
 
If you waited a year before getting your second snake, then i'd say that you don't have an addiction! You sound very responsible because i'm sure the urge must have been hard to resist.

You mentioned that you have a nomadic college lifestyle, so i would recommend getting a snake that is hardy, tolerant of lower temperatures, and basically has the same husbandry requirements as your corn because maintaining two temperature/humidity conditions adds a bit more complexity. Depending on where you live, I would not recommend a snake that requires a high ambient temperature because you may not be able to consistently provide what they need.

If you want to branch out to other species, then i would recommend kingsnakes, ratsnakes, and gopher snakes.
 
I agree that your current lifestyle would better suit another snake with the same care requirements as your corn. A Florida king would be my choice for you. They are inexpensive (unless you go for some of the fancy morphs, like peanut butter and jelly), easy to care for, make wonderful garbage disposals for anything your corn doesn't eat and have a fairly nice temperament for a king snake. They do tend to get a little bit bigger than a corn, but you can still use the 10 gallon for awhile before having to move it to a larger tank, and by that time, you'll probably be ready for your third snake. ;)
 
Kali said:
You'll find enthousiasts for every species you listed and more lol.
I'm particularly fond of my hognoses. Kings in all kinds of colours and patterns are great too. etc etc :D
Click to expand...

I found a local breeder that has Nuevo Leon King snakes that I really love thier colors, and I may consider adding one to my collection of 1 (corn) snake I have now haha.

http://www.alaskareptiles.com/10_Nuevo_Leon.html

Especially this little one
http://www.alaskareptiles.com/LMTg1002M.html

but atm I cant fork out $175 for a snake.
 
Thanks for all your suggestions thus far, guys! I'm going to have to do some research on rosy boas, I haven't seen many of these.

Even though I have a nomadic lifestyle, I'm pretty sure I can provide a sufficient range of heat/humidity for any kind of snake, though I typically prefer low-humidity species. I live in SD, where it gets pretty damn cold in winter, but even yet, Mr. Cuddles sometimes finds his viv to be way too hot, and I find him cooling off in the water dish or wrapped around the wall-mounted thermometers.

Western Hognose and Jungle/Inland carpet pythons seem to have the qualities I'm looking for. I'm planning on having a viv. in the livingroom when I move into my single-bedroom apartment, and carpets in particular seem to be a good "showing" kind. My corn only comes out at night, besides poking his head out to watch me occasionally. While I know I could afford it, I'm not sure if I wanna fork out all the dough for maintenance... a large, adult-sized carpet probably eats $20 worth of rats every month and would need at least a 40 gallon viv. Do I wanna spend that kind of money on a snake right now?
 
And the only thing I really don't like about Western Hognose is that they are rear-fanged and venomous. I've seen their attitudes in youtube videos... I know I could handle a bite - I've been bitten by other pets before and I'm not so new to snakes. Also, if I got a Western Hognose, I would probably buy another snake at the same time.
 
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