suitable snake???

[self confessed]

Hiya, Im hoping someone can give me some advice........... My youngest son is wanting a snake for his 5th birthday at end of this month, but can anyone suggest the best snake to get him please? He is used to handling my Royal and is great with him but was thinking that maybe something smaller would be best for him.

[Sziren]

I wouldn't say corn in this instance, as they are very slim and fast (sounds like an ad...lol). How about another royal or a rosy boa? Something slower and more heavily bodied?

[Bacardi]

something thats easy going and very tolerant of handling so id say a corn or as aove a rosy boa. Not many people know about rosy boas. Very friendly, placid and slow. Most never go above 3ft males around 2ft if not smaller. Coastals are bigger but still not large. They will tolerate handling and are easy to look after as long as there is no humidity. They are nocturnal but much more active than a royal. The easy ones to get are red and grey or black and grey/cream.


adult 2ft male mexican rosy boa



male coastal albino



what strikes people most is how rubbery they feel

[Bacardi]

something a little easier to get would be a house snake again, small and tolerant. We will be getting these in soon as well as garter snakes.

[self confessed]

Thanks for the suggestions....its been a great help. My son saw the picture on the home page of the albino garter snake and says thats the snake he wants,lol......so i have done a wee bit of reading up on it, but would rather hear from someone with experience instead of info from websites....

[Bacardi]

They are great wee snakes and unlike most their diet can vary from specific fish and small rodents. They also enjoy a bit of a swim so are quite comical to watch in their viv. Active and can be kept communally.

[denise]

We have albino garters, they are great wee snakes but can be very quick jumping out your hand and in general very fast when trying to get out the tub lol, they do settle down over time with regular handling.

But they are very easy to look after and have really nice colours as they are getting older

[self confessed]

Thanks for all the suggestions.....think im gonna get him the garter snake though. He will never be handling it without me there so i will make sure im ready for it incase it decides to get skittish I didnt realise they like eating fish....what kind of fish do they eat and do they eat them live?

[Bacardi]

i think, but dont quote me, its white bait. Best bet is sticking to the rodents though incase they decide they dont want to take them after having something better.

[Sziren]

Seen some people feeding their garters salmon. The same stuff we would eat.
Garters are great, comes in so many colours... and as Donna said, they can live together. The boy I know of, he has all his males together and all his girls together.