Quote:
Originally Posted by mr_weatherby
Hello all, I'm Ryan from Colorado. I've loved snakes my whole life but only recently have I started researching and learning about them. I don't currently own a snake, but I will soon. I'm trying to learn as much as possible before I jump into anything.
I'll probably mostly drift around on here reading posts and what not.
Nice to meet everyone.  |
I used to work in a pet store in the reptile department. Picking a first snake is a big decision. There are several questions you could answer to help people point you in the right direction.
1. What is your budget for the snake+ enclosure+ supplies? This includes the price of the snake, the price of the enclosure, supplies like objects for cover, a water dish, heating, and so on.
2. Do you live in an area where there is a reptile club you know of or where there is a large hobbyist trading community? For example, here in Toronto, there is a large community of both reptile and tropical fish breeders and they talk to eachother and potential customers via a number of local forums online. If you live in an area like this, you'll get a better price, as well as possibly access to some less common species.
3. Do you want a snake for holding? Or just for looking at? There are some great snakes for interacting with that tolerate handling well and are highly unlikely to bite. An example would be a ball python.
There are also snakes that don't tolerate handling and stress well and are best left alone, like the Green Tree Python.
4. What level of complexity do you want in setting the enclosure up? The Ball python is fine in a simple enclosure on a newsprint bedding with a heating pad, a hide, and water. The Green Tree Python requires a larger enclosure which has branches for climbing on.
5. How much space do you have for the snake? A Cornsnake can be kept in something with the footprint of a 20 gallon aquarium. An adult Burmese Python needs a large walk-in closet.
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