Thinking about getting a snake. Any advise?

blueshish

My husband and I have decided that we are going to buy a snake. My concerns are that we have 3 small childre, 4yrs,2yrs,9mo. I know that large constrictors, boas, pythons, can pose a serious threat to them so we have been discussing other kinds available as pets. Does anyone have any advise on what kind of snake makes a good pet when you have small children. I must admit that I really don't know much about keeping snakes as pets. Our 4 yr old does have his own gecko which he actually takes good care of. Fully supervised of course.

Any and all advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Aqueous · Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 4:34 pm Post subject:

IMO, Corn Snakes and Bally Pythons are good beginner snakes.

Ball Pythons get around 3-5' and Corn Snakes around 2-5'.

They're both pretty docile so either should be easy for you children to handle. Just remember to supervise Your the best

.

blueshish · Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 6:25 pm Post subject:

Thank you. I will look to see what is available in our area. Our 4 yr old just loves snakes. Last summer he brought in a baby rattlesnake. He caught it in the process of eating. That is enough to scare a person to death. Thank goodness he wasn't bitten. We have been teaching him to come get us before touching ANY animal he finds outside. He also watches Animal Planet quite a bit so he has figuered out that some animals can be very dangerous so don't touch them. He is famous for dragging in spiders, scorpians, various bugs and what not. Last summer was very exciting around our house!

A question on feeding. I have read several articles about feeding thawed mice. It seems many owners prefer this to live animals but the instances of being bit by mistake are quite a bit higher.Do you have any thoughts on this?

Aqueous · Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 6:55 pm Post subject:

I like pre-killed foods better as there is less of a chance of your snake getting hurt. With feeding small rodents there's always a chance of them attacking your snake.

You can use long handled tongs or forceps to feed pre-killed which makes it easier than sticking you hand in. Most snake owners I've talked to try not to touch the food with their bare hands as this can lead to the snake thinking that your hand is part of their dinner.

Here's a few sites that tell how to feed pre-killed food:

http://www.anapsid.org/prekill.html

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/snakes/f/snakefeeding.htm

http://lllreptile.com/info/library/general-care-and-husbandry/-/feeding-prekilled-prey-to-reptiles/