Snakes

[somnus.]

Everyone has beautiful snakes!!
I'll be getting my first snake soon, just need to sell a few things so I can get the enclosure.
I went camping a few weeks ago ad saw an absolutely gorgeous little gopher snake, rosy colored with brown stripes turning to black at the end of the tail. Unfortunately everyone I was camping with was too scared to take pictures, and I didn't bring my phone.

[Mortveil]

I actually posted a couple of pictures of my cornsnake Noodle back in 2012 on this very thread, I still have him now but he's quite a bit bigger. Now that I have a job I finally convinced my parents to allow me to get another snake and so I went to the official IHS show in Doncaster (english reptile expo) and brought home an adorable western hognose! He weighs 28g and is a male axanthic 66% poss het toffeebelly.

[taurus ;]

Hey, I have a question. If I have a separate feeding enclosure for my snake, how large should it be? I always feed mine outside of his ordinary enclosure so he knows not to strike at anything entering that space, and so he doesn't accidentally swallow any of his bedding. I have a small tank (I think that's the word?) I use to feed him in and he's always done fine for it but now that he's getting a bit larger I'm concerned it might be too small for him to comfortably eat in. So does anyone know if there's some good ratio of the snake's size to the size of the feeding area that I should be gunning for?

Feeding in a seperate enclosure is not recommended by anyone experienced in snake care. Moving a snake from its regular enclosure to a different one to feed it is probably the #1 reason inexperienced snake owners get bit. Your snake is not going to think you are food, unless you smell like a rat/mouse or your snake is very hungry. If you don't want it eating bedding, put the rat ot mouse on a sheet of newspaper or even a napkin. With proper heating a snake should be able to pass/digest mostly all kinds of bedding, Khaa has eaten tons of aspen before being switched to newspaper, never a problem with him passing it.

[LeonHeart]

i'm wondering if i should get a juvenile ball python (58$) or an adult corn snake (also 58$) I like them both, but the corn snake is much smaller, and i want to get my money's worth.

[snowdrake]

i'm wondering if i should get a juvenile ball python (58$) or an adult corn snake (also 58$) I like them both, but the corn snake is much smaller, and i want to get my money's worth.

personally I always recommend corn snakes, especially for a beginner. they are easy to care for, usually very friendly and they eat like champions. they require less space than a ball python, making their enclosure less pricey and unlike bps they aren't picky eaters. many ball pythons will go off feed for weeks, sometimes even months, if anything is wrong with their temperature or humidity. all the corns I've ever known never did that. of course you have to take into mind that there are always exceptions!

adult snakes are often more used to humans and don't bite as quickly as a young snake.

if you are a beginner I'd say definitely go for the corn snake. if you have some experience with snakes already, you know what you're doing and want something a little bigger you can try your hands at a ball python.

[kivr & fireflii]

i'm wondering if i should get a juvenile ball python (58$) or an adult corn snake (also 58$) I like them both, but the corn snake is much smaller, and i want to get my money's worth.

I wouldn't worry about "getting your money's worth." You could easily find a juvenile bp or adult corn for less than $58 at a local reptile expo. The initial price is only a small part of it, though. If you do it right, no pet is going to be cheap. You have to also consider the cost of the set up (and running the electricity), cost of food over the years (ball pythons live 2-4 times longer than corn snakes, and they'll eat bigger prey as they grow bigger), how much space the enclosure takes up as the get bigger, vet costs (exotic vets cost more than a typical vet), the effort it takes to deep clean (sterilize and sanitize) the enclosure, what happens to the snake when you go to college/get your own apartment (that might not allow snakes)/buy your own house/etc.

Not to mention, ball pythons and corn snakes can have pretty different temperaments, grow to different sizes, different lifespans, a bit different husbandry, etc. Hinode hit the head on that pretty well. Ball pythons are very sensitive to their environment and husbandry, and anything that's a bit off can easily cause them to go off feed (or even get sick). A corn snake's care is much better suited to a new keeper, but a ball python tends to be more docile and less flighty. Ball pythons do grow much bigger than corn snakes, though, and as such will be eating larger prey (more costly) and needing a bigger enclosure (also more costly, and takes longer to clean). They also live much longer, which I mentioned earlier.

When it comes down to it, most people are going to recommend the corn snake (especially one that's already an adult). That's what I'd personally recommend, but some people have successfully owned ball pythons as new keepers. Either way, just be sure to do your research on each species and look deeper than how much the initial snake costs.
-fireflii

[taurus ;]

i'm wondering if i should get a juvenile ball python (58$) or an adult corn snake (also 58$) I like them both, but the corn snake is much smaller, and i want to get my money's worth.

I'd go with the corn, not only are they very forgiving husbandry-wise, they are also more social that ball python, they don't get overly stressed by handling like ball pythons do sometimes. Think about if you really want a snake that's going to hide all day and only come out for a short amount of time at night. Corn snakes are crepuscular, active at dawn and dusk.

If you do go with the ball python, make sure it is eating. If it hasn't eaten at least 3 or more times, I would not get it.

[NetalianSoda]

Lots of great info/advice in this thread! I've been to a lot of forum's and FB pages where they give terrible info and have horribly standoffish admins who will not listen to anyone they don't agree with. I only have one snake, a Lesser Ball Python named Norman. He just turned three July 28th.

[snowdrake]

Lots of great info/advice in this thread! I've been to a lot of forum's and FB pages where they give terrible info and have horribly standoffish admins who will not listen to anyone they don't agree with. I only have one snake, a Lesser Ball Python named Norman. He just turned three July 28th.

yes, the worst thing I have EVER read on an advice forum on snakes is that you should rub the f/t mouse with soap before feeding the snake. why? because it can smell. dude, not only can this litterally KILL the snake but it won't smell the mouse anymore and won't feed. In addition, are you seriously trying to tell me that you are too nosy to feed your snake? DUDE IT'S A GOSHDARN PREDATOR IT EATS MEAT AND IF YOU CAN'T STAND THAT THEN DON'T GET A FREAKING SNAKE.

Sry for caps it just makes me rly angry TvT

[NetalianSoda]

yes, the worst thing I have EVER read on an advice forum on snakes is that you should rub the f/t mouse with soap before feeding the snake. why? because it can smell. dude, not only can this litterally KILL the snake but it won't smell the mouse anymore and won't feed. In addition, are you seriously trying to tell me that you are too nosy to feed your snake? DUDE IT'S A GOSHDARN PREDATOR IT EATS MEAT AND IF YOU CAN'T STAND THAT THEN DON'T GET A FREAKING SNAKE.

Sry for caps it just makes me rly angry TvT

Wow that is terrible, idk how they have kept their snake alive with that info. That's another thing that annoys me as well, snakes have to eat and sometimes they only eat live. I've seen so many people freak out over that saying it's inhumane. Letting an animal starve because you won't feed it it's natural food is inhumane.