I dont know!!!

[Hillsberry]

I know this is more of a snake website but I have a question for all of you. I am thinking of getting a bearded dragon but my dad said he would rather me get another snake. Well if I do get another snake I would get a Ball Python. So my question is which one should I get the bearded dragon or the ball python? You tell me because I dont know:nerd:

[SlimeyLimey805]

well, i am assuming you dont already have a bp? if you do i'd say go with the beardie because i think having a wide array of species in your collection is awesome. but i have had both a beardie and a BP in my time. the beardie didnt go so well. he use to seize up when he got excited and seziure. so i switched the calcium supplement and the UV light in an attempt to help. but it continued so i asked my local herp expert (the guy down at our local store, he's really helpful) and he said that it looked to him like it may have some sort of neuro logical problem. he suggested to keep up the calcium and whatnot in case he was mistaken. but one day i came home from school to find out that it was in vein. now this is obviously not a common problem. but it did help me realize that lizard care is even more different from snake care than i had thought.
my BP kali is a dream though. i got her at like a month old and she's never missed a meal (take that all those who say bp dont eat well) and she's excellent with people even my 17 month old niece loves her and pets her (under supervision) and she doesnt mind in the least (shes very gentle with the snake, and only the snake haha). i now know as an owner, why so many people keep balls, they are so gentle and even tempered. not to mention a fifty gallon tank is plenty for even an abnormally large BP. i have found that an UTH and repti bark mixed with a red clay pot seems to lead to a near perfect shed every time. i have found my Ball to be a low maintenance , and joy bringing addition to my house hold. she has even gone swimming a few times in my pond when we had a 110+ heat wave running through.
sorry about the long post, BUT i would personally say imho that the BP is a great choice, i love beardies, but BP are almost the perfect pet snake. not as in they're better than all others they are just easy to look after, not to big, not to small, and are gentle to boot. not to mention you can get some amazing morphs of them (mines a norm cuz i couldnt spend my entire budget on a morph and then have no tank for him/her haha) but bps are beautifully patterned and take well to human contact (dare i say enjoy??? no. ahaha) so i would say a BP. i am also assuming you are well aquainted with medium size constrictor care? which would make a bp all the more easy to transition to. keep us posted on what you end up choosing.
cheers, kyle

[Hillsberry]

OKay thanks! I did read the breadies are hard to have. The only bad thing I hear about BPs is that the will sometimes only eat live. And well I dont think I am ready for just feeding live. Plus with the beardie I do have school and the feeding would be hard for me. Does your BP feed on live?

[marvelfreak]

My BP will eat both. Their are some really cool morphs. Breadie are really great pets. Their very smart and playful. More maintance than a snake, but i think you would do just fine. Best of luck making up your mind. Besides oneday you'll most like have both anyway.

[Hillsberry]

Hahahaha! Very true I know I will have both. I think I am going to go with the Breadie. One my mom is like flippin out on me about another snake! Hahahaha! And I just want something a little different! I will have to post pictures when I get one thanks! :P

[emseeKAY]

beardies are awesome and so are bp's, my old roomate had a pair of beardies and we could take them out and chill with them whenever, they always ate well, and aside from a few instances were not very aggressive towards each other (bearing in mind he had a somewhat large tank with many hides so one of them could get away if need be) hes had his for about 7 years now and had them since they were very young. i'd go with a beardie just to mix it up a bit but a BP is obvi a solid choice as well, good luck with the decision hill!

[Geckogal]

I been busy with beardies last 3 years now so ill try and help you if you need advice.
One thing i do know is that they are definitely more work than snakes in general, they are to me the easiest of all the lizzards i have AFTER THEY STARTED EATING GREENS. Just do yourself the favour of getting one thats already eating its greens, before that stage they are a pain to take care of and more likely to die.
Currently i am struggling with a batch of 9 babies but im finally starting to master symtoms and treatment with these guys. Whole batch had calcuim deficiency and i manage to pull 9 out of 10 through without any broken backs.

[marvelfreak]

That a really cool shot Geckogal.

[Geckogal]

Thanks dude, got lots :) we should maybe start a thread on lizzard pics :)

[shaunyboy]

this is purely my own personal choice but i'd go for another snake.my reason for this is,i looked into getting a beardie for my youngest son last year.what put me off was:
1.it worked out at £40 per month for feeding a baby (gets a bit cheaper as an adult).
2.it needed a fair bit of daily work in said feeding,chopping salad,live bugs,powders to be used,etc
3.noise of the live food
4.being honest compared to snakes it was a lot of time consuming daily hard work.that realistically i couldnt have fitted in to my day.

i hope this has been some help in making your decision.go on hillary build up that snake collection of yours.just think your dads happy to get you a new snake any snake,so close your eyes and think "what have i always wanted ".then my friend you will have your answer.
cheers shaun

[emseeKAY]

you do make excellent points shaun, at least with f/t rodents you dont have to listen to chirping all throughout the night, at my gf's house we have a pair of red eyed tree frogs as well as a veiled chameleon both which eat crickets dusted with some calcium, however, we put cricket feed and water (which is like a gel substance) and some greens in there to gut load them, and keep them alive for a little longer, they are quite noisey at night and can sometimes smell quite a bit, if youre willing to deal with that, as well as cut up some greens and whatnot AND the dailey maintenance than a beardie does make a great pet, although you can never have too many snakes hahaha ive learned that hehehe:) of course id be the one shouting get a BRB!!! lol

[Will0W783]

Beardies are great but they do require a lot of work. They eat insects and pinky mice and greens, and they need UV light and they poop a lot. And beardie poop is some of the nastiest smelling stuff ever!! I had a beardie and she was great, but she was never really tame. I know most of them get very tame but mine never did, even with a lot of handling. They need very hot temps, even hotter than a lot of snakes. And they will require feeding every other day to every day. A BP is a great, intermediate snake. I say intermediate because I do not believe they are really good beginner snakes. They are often picky eaters and have more rigid humidity requirements than say a corn snake or carpet python. There are a lot of really nice BP morphs out there now, a lot of which are not all that expensive anymore. Just remember to keep humidity around 40-60%, and raise it up when the snake is in shed to 80-90%. I have had good luck with my BPs but I've seen the awful results of people not knowing what they were doing and letting the poor things get dehydrated. Hillsberry, if your dad would prefer you get another snake, why not do so? You strike me as more of a snake person like me anyway. I do think the BP would be easier for you and require less time every day. You might really enjoy a pastel or spider BP, both of which have come down in price a LOT in the last year.

[shaunyboy]

willow i'd forgot how nasty the tinyest bit of poop can smell.its got to be the worst thing ive ever smelled.at first i couldnt believe that such a little thing could smell so bad.

emseekay,thats exactly what i was on about.when i stay over at my mates it sounds like your in the jungle but without all the nice things to look at.

hillary dont keep us in suspense,let us know when you decide.
cheers shaun

[emseeKAY]

LOL EXACTLY! plus we've got an aquarium going so you can hear the splash of the filter going, sometimes i wake up singing "in the jungle the mighty jungle!" alot of times the RETF's start to call as well which is really cool but can get loud...VERY LOUD lol i love my animals but you always gotta weigh the pro's and con's of what you have to do for the animal to keep it clean and happy.

[Hillsberry]

Okay I think I am going to go for the snake. Just because I feel that I might not have enough time in my day for a beardie I mean I have school. Plus I love BPs. I love the Spiders. They are so pretty. My dad and I are going to my a rack for all my snakes! I cant wait to see. I have had tree frogs a long time ago. They were amazing! Something I will get again. But even though I have not had a lizard I feel like Willow said I am more of a snake person! :P

[Will0W783]

Here you go Hillary! ballpython777.com - Pastel Ball Python (http://www.ballpython777.com/pastel/pastel.html)

[marvelfreak]

kingsnake.com Classifieds: 09 MALE PASTEL BALL PYTHON-nice-$90-PICS (http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=32&de=755453) Ben Siegel reptiles. Check out his view all ads top right he got all kinds of ball pythons cheap. He 's the guy i got my borneo and bredli carpet from. I belive Willow said once she got one of her greentree python from him.

[Hillsberry]

Thanks guys. I am still thinking not sure if I was the Bumble Bee, Spider or Pastel. All are so different. But the Bumble Bee is my personal favorite. But they cost alot more then the Spider and Pastel.

[Hillsberry]

Another favorite is the Mojave. They are so pretty. Again they are pricey too.

[marvelfreak]

Another favorite is the Mojave. They are so pretty. Again they are pricey too. They are really cool looking snake. The highway ball my favorite.

[shaunyboy]

well hillary does your last few posts mean your definitely going for another snake ?

[Hillsberry]

Yes I am definitely getting a snake.

[Will0W783]

From your other post about GTPs and ETBs, are you also considering an arboreal?

[Hillsberry]

Well I dont think so. I mean I dont know if I am ready yet for one of them. I mean I dont know though. What do you think Willow do you think I should wait for one of those snakes?

[Hillsberry]

I read they can make good snakes if you do your "Homework". They say that GTPs should never be held alot because they are so delicate.

[Will0W783]

It depends on how much time you have. I got my first GTP when I was not terribly experienced, but I had read a LOT on them. My best advice is to get your hands on "The Complete Chondro" by Greg Maxwell and read it. It will give you a great in-depth look at the ins and outs of GTP owning. They require misting several times a day or a fogger to keep humidity about 70-90%. But constant dampness is not good either, so you want to let the substrate dry out at least once a day. Usually a more humid day with a dry-out period at night works well. They do not require quite as much heat as a lot of other pythons, but you need to balance humidity with air flow, as their natural habitat is tree tops which are quite breezy. They are not out of reach for anyone, as long as you are willing to take the time and money they require to keep.
Here's a quick rundown of what you can expect to spend on a GTP:
snake: $200-$500
cage (ExoTerra 18"x18"x24" arboreal tank)- $120-170
bedding": cypress mulch- $20
Repti-fogger: $50-60
water bowl, perches, fake plants- $50

For a first arboreal, you might want to look more at adults, as they are hardier than hatchlings. So that would be more toward the higher end of the mentioned price range.