Hi,
Hope I'm posting this in the correct area. My 11 year old son would really like a snake. I'm not so sure about this. I have a fear of snakes. I told him I would research and "Maybe" next year for his birthday we would get one (either that or he waits until he's 18 and gets his own place lol). Anyways, we're not new to reptiles. We already have a waterdragon and a 2 leo's.
Are there any snakes that are good for beginners? Not aggressive, don't get too big, hopefully eat nothing bigger than a fuzzie (frozen,thawed preferable). If any suggestions can you give me some good web sites to look at for care, housing requirements, etc.? He helps take really good care of his lizards but I know this is not something he is old enough to do by himself so I do have to be prepared to help when medical attention and stuff is needed. Day to day care of the leo's he does by himself. He keeps a log with temps, feeding, etc. I help him with cage cleaning for the leo's so I know this is something I would have to help him do. Of course he could hold the snake and I could clean. lol But when it comes to going to the vet he is in school most of the time so I take the girls (leo's) and Zilla (wd).
Anyways, any suggestions would be good. Like I said, we are only "thinking" about it at this time and I am definitely in no rush to run out and get one to make him happy. lol

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Char

1.0.0 Chinese Water Dragon - Zilla
0.2.0 Leopard Geckos - Geckie & Raven
1.1.0 Parrotlets - Tac & Fauna
3.0.0 Cats - Psycho, Fibber, Angel
2.1.0 Ferrets - Sunshine, Spaz, & Quazie
0.0.1 Bala Shark - Sharkie

The best beginner snake is a cornsnake. They come in a variety of colors, are generally very docile and easy to care for.
They will eventually take larger mice or small rats. -- I don't know any snakes that take fuzzies as adults.
Check out Rich's caresheet here: http://www.herpcenter.com/showthread.php?t=6976

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Andrea

Can anyone verify for me how good Royal Pythons are s beginner snakes? I have been told either corns or royals as I too am considering expanding into the snake section!! Thanks

I have a Royal and love him to pieces, but I would NOT recommend one as a beginner snake. They tend to be quite shy and they often refuse to eat and sometimes go on fasts for months.
This is always extremely frustrating, worrying and stressful for the owner... just check out the Ball Python section here on HC and read how many posts start with "Help, my ball python won't eat!"
They are great snakes but I don't think they're suitable for beginner keepers.

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Andrea

Great. Thanks. I'll check this site out. Do you know of any reputable breeders?

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Char

1.0.0 Chinese Water Dragon - Zilla
0.2.0 Leopard Geckos - Geckie & Raven
1.1.0 Parrotlets - Tac & Fauna
3.0.0 Cats - Psycho, Fibber, Angel
2.1.0 Ferrets - Sunshine, Spaz, & Quazie
0.0.1 Bala Shark - Sharkie

I second that! Cornsnakes are the tops as a beginner snake. They are docile, easily housed and feed readily on F/T prey. They are going to take food bigger than fuzzies eventually. Any snake that is going to take fuzzies alone as an adult is going to be very small. Too small to really be a good handling size for a youngster.
I used to suggest Ball pythons as a good beginner's snake but between their humidity needs and their feeding cycles I feel they are a bit much for a beginner. I have 2 and they are tops among my list of favorite snakes. However my male routinely stops feeding in November and doesn't feed again til March or April. Even knowing that this is normal doesn't stop you from worrying about it. I have been going through this for several years and every year I still watch them like a hawk for any signs of something going wrong. Some are a pain to feed to begin with and then when you throw in the tendency for them to fast for months during the winter it can drive you nuts! I still think balls are a great intermediate snake. Something to step up to but until you have a few snake years under your bet its better to start with something that is a bit simpler to deal with.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I recently got a couple of corns and adopted a ball python as a rescue and I love them all, I'd have to say though that the corn snakes are way easier than the ball python but that may be because he is injured and I have to give him medical treatment every 12 hours. I'd have to say you'd be best off starting with a cornsnake, they are really easy feeders from what I can tell and they are relatively simple to take care of for a snake.

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0.1.0 Brazilian Rainbow boa (Sakura)
1.1.0 Leopard geckos (Tasuki, Sango)
2.0.0 Ball pythons (Tsume, Kenshin)

I don't live in the US, so I couldn't advise you on breeders, but I'm sure someone else here can. One of the best places to find a lot of breeders is at Reptile Expos.
Good luck in your research!

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Andrea

I too prefer to purchase my snakes from breeders at expos. I like to personally handle animals that I intend to purschase both to inspect them physically as well as checking out their temperment.
A long standing staple of the cornsnake business is Kathy Love's http://www.corn-utopia.com/. In fact she wrote The Corn Snake Manual, the book most often recommended as a starting pont for perspective corn owners.
There is also South Mountain Reptiles and Serpenco.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

As the others have stated, the cornsnake would be an ideal starter snake. I have had snakes though that would fit your wish for something that wouldn't eat anything larger than a fuzzy and to me they are a gorgeous little snake that is surprisingly low maintenance and that is the Western Hognose.

http://www.herpnet.net/Iowa-Herpetol...ose_snake.html

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Fran
January 9, 1940 - June 1, 2006 (R.I.P)