Choose Your First Pet Snake

Choosing your first pet snake can be a nerve wracking process. Getting your pet and the equipment right the first time is the easiest way to ensure a long and happy relationship with your new slithering friend!

Steps

Choosing the Right Breed

  1. Know what you want in your snake. Here are some options you can consider:
    • There are small snakes, and big snakes. Big snakes can be 30 feet (10m) long, most people want a smaller snake. Smaller snakes need smaller cages and eat less food.
    • Many snakes eat mice, you might prefer a snake that eats fish or snails or other. It is much easier to own a snake that eats frozen food rather than live.
    • Some snakes are easy to handle, others not so much. Think about how much you want to play with your snake.
    • Some snakes are venomous. OK, most people would not buy a rattlesnake or a cobra.
  2. Choose easier snakes for simpler care. There are a couple of beginner snakes that you should think about for your first pet snake. These are snakes with a calm temperament and are fairly easy to look after.
    • Corn snakes are perhaps the easiest of snakes to care for and can be held and tamed very easily. These are an active and curious species which will like to slither around and check stuff out.
    • You could also take a look at Ribbon snakes, Black Rat snakes, King snakes and Milk snakes which also have similar personalities as members of the Colubrid family.
    • If you would like a snake that is less active and slow moving, a great choice is a Ball Python. They do not get very big and will enjoy just sitting in your hands or hanging around your neck.
  3. Choose snakes depending on whether you have children in the house. Children will often benefit from different kinds of snakes than adults. The minimum age for a child to have a snake it about 5.
    • Corn snakes and Ball Pythons are great choices for kids, since they are friendly, slow, don't get that big and are fairly robust.
  4. Know what kind of snake you are getting. If you are not purchasing from a reliable source, you can find a lot of snakes appear to look the same and it can be difficult to know exactly what species of snake you are getting unless you seek professional advice.
  5. Know which snakes are no good for new owners. Anacondas, reticulated pythons, venomous snakes and Take Care of a Large Python or Boa can be dangerous animals if proper care and locked enclosures are not provided. It is best to leave these species for more experienced keepers. You will also find that these have very specific care requirements meaning that the smallest of mistakes will result in an almost catastrophic accident!

Making Sure You Want the Breed of Snake You Choose

  1. Check the life span of the breed of snake you have chosen. Before you decide upon having a snake as a pet, remember that some species can live over thirty years, making this a lifelong commitment that you should be one hundred percent sure about.
  2. Make sure you can take care of the snake. Different snakes have different needs for equipment and feeding. More advanced snakes need monitoring of temperatures, humidity and complicated feeding that you need to take into account. Research is essential and is the first step that you must take.
    • Corn snakes and Ball Pythons are equally friendly, but Ball Pythons can not tolerate temperatures below 75 degrees F (24 degrees C). If your house gets cold, would need heating for the Ball Python's cage.
    • Asian Vine Snakes are very interesting, but they only eat lizards. Buying one would involve quite a chore in keeping it fed.

Choosing the Right Place to Buy Your Snake

  1. Check wild caught snakes for local and federal laws. On occasion, a child brings home a snake caught in the wild, which turns out to be an endangered species! Check with your local humane society or the Department of the Interior[1]to check.
  2. Choose a legal breeder or pet store. Exotic animal smuggling is a large business and can contribute to the extinction of endangered species.
  3. Watch for behavior issues for smuggled animals. Animals that are wild caught and smuggled across continents have the following issues that you may notice:
    • You may see increased aggression. A wild captured snake will be stressed out and unsure of the new smaller surroundings. This can make the snake scared of you and be more aggressive.
    • You may have trouble getting a smuggled animal to eat due to its stress level. Secondly, it may not eat until it is adjusted to captivity.
    • You may find parasites in snakes that have been living in the wild and may need expensive treatment by a veterinarian.
  4. Know that getting a captive born snake from a a reputable breeder is best. Even when you get a snake from a friend of a friend and you do not know how badly or how well the snake has been treated, making long term implications for future care of the snake.
    • Craigslist is full of people trying to get rid of their snakes, but for reasons above is less good than other places to get a snake. Still, many times you can get a snake for free there.
    • Reptile shows are fun places to get your snake, and the exhibitors are knowledgeable compared to pet store employees. Still, it is hard to decide which are the reputable breeders and which are not.

Taking Care of Your New Snake

  1. Read up on the care and feeding of your kind of snake. There are many related wikihows for all kinds of snakes that you can read. It is also great to chat with other snake owners and learn from them.
  2. Watch online videos on snake care.
  3. Take good care of them. Snakes are wonderful creatures if you take care of them and make sure that they are fed correctly, homed correctly and handled in the right manner. Research cannot be stressed enough; the more you know, the higher the chance that you will get everything right and the longer and happier relationship you will have together.

Tips

  • Docile snakes such as Garter Snakes , Corn Snakes and Ball Pythons are great starter snakes for kids and adults.
  • Ask other snake owners about their snake, how to look after it and also any problems that they may have had.
  • If you like snakes, research them and make an educated choice of purchase. They are a big responsibility. Don't forget that many people are afraid of them. Be tolerant and respectful.
  • Use various sources such as publications, websites and forums to research different species and also to find breeders in your area.

Warnings

  • Remember, anything with a mouth can bite. Even though there are several species so docile that they will probably never bite, there is always a chance for a feeding accident. Use tongs when feeding so your hands are away from the snake's mouth. Always wash your hands after touching rodents or birds before handling your snake so you don't smell like food. It is possible that your snake could smell these animals on you and decide to bite first and ask questions later.
  • This is a long term commitment and if you cannot commit thirty years or so to the animal and its care, you should not be getting one!



Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ www.fws.gov/endangered/map/index.html

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