Best small snake for terrified husband?

C

Cicada Hollow

New member
I am dying to have my own snake! I had them growing up but am now married to a man that is terrified of them. Since I'm terrified of spiders, I can understand his phobia. But, he's slowly progressed and has even held a snake, so we're making progress. (No, I'm NOT going to hold a spider!)

I'd love to have some suggestions on a small snake (no boas / pythons) that is good temperamented and would be a good snake for us to start with... I'll have to start with something pretty small if I'm going to get him hooked. I definitely don't want him to have a bad experience.

Would also be interested in worm snakes, like the eastern worm snake if anyone is breeding them?

http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/eastern__worm_snake.htm

Thanks in advance for the help!
~Dorothy
 
the moof

the moof

New member
egg snakes are supposedly great snakes to keep, and stay real small... i jsut dont know about how hard they are to keep...
 
C

Cicada Hollow

New member
I've been told that corn snakes can be tempermental? There is definitely a ton of them available at our local shows, but I've hesitated on bringing one home.

Not sure what an egg snake is, but I'll see what I can find on them. I'm not afraid to put some extra work into keeping one, I just need it to be docile for hubby.
:D
 
the moof

the moof

New member
egg snake is the egg eating snake of africa... i cant remember the scientific name at the moment... they only eat eggs... im not sure about their temprament...
 
Riverside Reptiles

Riverside Reptiles

Administrator (HMFIC)
Corns are the best beginner snake out there IMHO. And they come in lots of cool morphs to choose from. They usually have great temperments. And even if they do bite it doesn't hurt.
 
S

SDPete

New member
Just to chime in about the egg-eating snakes.. All I have ever seen were great bluffers, hiss, closed mouth strikes, etc.... not the best snake for someone who isn't too fond of snakes.... also not the easiest thing to get a steady supply of FRESH small eggs in a lot of places...
Cicada - enjoy what you get. I think rosy boas are great.. slow, stumpy (kinda cute)... they can be (not all are) nippy though if you don't regularly handle them, but most calm quickly and are a joy to hold.
-Peter
 
R

ryanm

New member
If it is size and temperment you want, look at childrens pythons, spotted pythons, stimsons pythons, or something else in that group. They stay small (max length 4 feet, about the same as a corn snake), and will likely have a better temperment than any colubrid. They are all in the genus Antaresia, and all have very simple husbandry requirements. They also eat (and, as a consequence, deficate) less often than colubrids. They make great pets.

Check them out here: http://www.vpi.com/5VPIBreeders/VPIBreeders.htm

I can recommend good breeders if you decide to go that way.

ryanm
 
Palex134

Palex134

New member
go for any of the milk snakes, king snakes if you want a little larger, and then obviously the corn snakes. You may also want to try rosy boas or kenyan sand boas for small, docile snakes, I had some KSB, they were great! Also, try ringneck snakes if you want to go small. A worm snake would be too tiny, and I doubt they are easy to care for, based on their size.
 
Hazpat

Hazpat

New member
Rosy Boas!!! best beginner snake by far, corn snakes are good but they arent cool.
Ive never seen a nippy boa from borrego, alot more coastals are nippy

heres one from anza borrego
boa45cy.jpg
 
the moof

the moof

New member
granted but she specified "no boas / pythons"... perhaps she was unaware that some boas/pythons are small? no idea...
 
R

ryanm

New member
Palex134 said:
rosy or ksbs are great!
Click to expand...
The problem with these guys is that they hide under the substrate all the time, so you don't really get to see them as often as other snakes. Most boas are either too large or too aggressive for her purposes. Colubrids are ok, but they just don't have the personality of a good python, which is important if she wants to get her husband hooked on snakes.

For personality, the best snake is a carpet python, like a jungle or Irian Jaya. I don't know anyone that has just one carpet (I have 19!). They are great because they are friendly, easy to care for, and since they are semi-arboreal they tend to spend a lot of time perched out in the open, which makes them great display snakes. But they do get bigger than what she is looking for.

So with all that in mind, I still think a small python like a childrens or a spotted would be the best small starter snake for her purposes.

ryanm
 
R

ryanm

New member
Rats, in general, are notoriously bitey. They like to chew on you. Many people keep rat snakes prior to keeping venomous, to learn how to keep and handle a fast and aggressive snake without getting bit. So I would have to say no. :p

ryanm
 
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