# Sticky  Beginner snake species



## CrocKeeper

This comes up frequently enough now that I felt I would begin pinning some different stuff....

Thinking about a snake? Cool welcome to a growing number of pet owners...but there are some caveats: 
Snakes are not "smart" they way dogs, cats, mice, birds, etc.. are. They have a primitive brain and lack the parts nessecary for thought as we would define it in ourselves. What this means is it will never love you, know you or be your best friend!









Does that mean they are not good pets? No, what it means is if you want a cuddly overhandleable animal, get a cat or a dog or a bird. Snake are wonderful captives and are as much fun to watch in well maitained enclosures as fish are. They come in all sizes, shapes, and colors; so it is essential you do some homework antepurchase.
Purchase captively produced animals, save attempting to work with imports until you are more experienced at keeping snakes.

Best "first snakes":

Small species: *Rosy Boas (Lichanura trivirgata)*, Royal (Ball) Python (_Python_ _regius_), Red Rat Snake (Corn Snake) (_Pantherophis_ _guttatus_ _guttatus_), Great Plains Rat Snake (_P_. _g_. _emoryii_), California Kingsnake (_Lampropeltis_ _getulus_ _californiae_)

Medium to Large species: Columbian Boa Constrictor (_Boa_ _constrictor_ _constrictor_), Bull Snake (_Pituophis_ _catenifer_ _sayi_),

While this is by no means a list of all species possible to obtain in todays marketplace, it is a list of the species I feel comfortable telling beginners to attempt to keep. They are all of different habitat types, and needs but these are good choices to start with and begin studying to narrow down for your ultimate selection.

I do not recommend anything really large to beginners, and while undoubtedly many pet stores tell people Burmese (_Python molorus bivittatus_) and Reticulated pythons (_Python reticulatus_) are good choices, this is simply untrue and unethical. The recent surge in "morphs" has made retics available to many unexpecting newbs and then they are looking for homes for the animals that quickly outgrew the capacity of their surprised owners.

Venomous species are *NEVER* an option as a first snake, even opisthoglyphous species.
Aside from legal issues most areas have, there are things like Aphis permits needed for antivenines (which are not cheap), insurance policies, special facilities, caging, tools, lists of physicians who specialize in venomous snake bites, emergency room packets outlining procedures in case of the accidental bite an so much more....


----------

