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PhilZ

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Berwick, Victoria, Australia
Hi all, i am very interested in getting a begginer snake. i want something that can tolarate being handled and not one that needs a big container. i am willing to take a few hours a day and almost all day seting it up, i have been looking at childern and spotted pythons because they say they are good to handle but can be a bit snappy as juvies. i like the look of spotteds but havnt seen em at pet stores. i shouldbe able to get one by the end of the year. if i get a suggestion i will spend many hours researching but i still would like tips from this website. if someone keeps childrens and or spotted it would be nice to get some experienced info.
Thanks, Phil


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When people say 'beginners snake' spotteds usually spring to mind, but anything from the Antaresia family would be a good fit by the sounds of it. Stimsons pythons are beautiful of which there are very nice varieties (wheat belt, sand fire etc)... Antaresia are good because even as adult snakes, a '2ft' housing is adequate. They would spend 12-18 months in a 'click clack' or two which is basically a clear food or storage tub. Before you get anything be sure to read and read. Buy a book, don't just surf the internet and have your setup ready and running smoothly prior to picking up the animal


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Also dont forget about the womas ;) tanami womas dont get too big and they are great to handle and LOVE food. They look awesome too.
 
I found that all of my snakes were beginners when I got them and all had to learn how to be a snake. Sorry about that couldn't resist but as for your question I found that most pythons are great beginner snakes as long as enough research is done into them in general and specifically the breed that you choose. I think that there is no point point in buying a 20 year investment just because it is supposed to be easy and you are better buying the python that you really want. You need to think about what qualities you are after in a python and what colours you like then pick. There are some obvious choices that are not for beginners but you will find them out with research. Have fun looking and choosing.


P.S my spotted(first snake as suggested by everyone) was the spawn of the devil until about 3 years old and then settled into a very relaxed python. Most young snakes will be defensive due to them being small and scared of this giant that is reaching in to get them.

Also you can get a run down on some common pythons in an article by Doc Rock called "Road testing Aussie Pythons" it is a really good read but unfortunately I can not paste the link up because it is from a non-sponsor site.
 
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Like andy said I think any python can be a beginner. My first snake was an olive python that grew into a monster but only ever bit me once. But if you don't want a big snake any of the above mentioned would be fine.
 
If U want a smaller snake get a WA woma there smaller than tanami womas and are great beginner snakes
have really nice colours too
 
Look a handful of pythons you like and go from there do you homework And pick the one that suits you the best !!!
 
I pretty much had my heart set on a black headed python but after a bit of research I fell in love with womas. I came across an adult Uluru woma for sale who I knew I had to have. He was 3years old at the time, 1.5m long and had received very little handling, which didn't really bother me as I was prepared for him to be a display animal. Strangely enough he turned out to be the perfect beginner snake, and is probably my most placid one.

Best advice is do your research and don't settle, get one you really want.
 
Womas are cute, rather small, good to handle and good feeders. But as the others said choose the ones you like and do some research
 
Another vote for the Woma. My Tanami was my first and beginner snake and I would never part with her for all the money in the world. As a beginner; she copped everything under the sun. She's never once bitten or struck - best python ever :D


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Ok I'll jump on the woma wagon as well. They're great! However it's probably important to note that even though the Tanami only grows to about 1.5m they do most of that growing in the first year.
 
I'm confused. I love womas and they are a great first snake, but I've NEVER seen one at a pet store before
 
I'm confused. I love womas and they are a great first snake, but I've NEVER seen one at a pet store before

And you won't in QLD. From my understanding pet stores are only allowed to sell Spotted, Stimsons & Childrens Pythons.
Anything else you'd have to get from a breeder.
Am happy to be corrected if i'm wrong.
As for a great beginner snake, can't go past a Stimmy IMO.
 
Your right [MENTION=39485]PappaSmurf[/MENTION] and the woma python in Queensland is classed as threatened which can mean one of three things , extinct in the wild , endangered or vulnerable and whilst classed as this there would be no chance of pet shops selling them even if they started to sell other species. This also means without upgrading your license which is quite easy once you pay a fee you are only allowed to keep two threatened snakes. The GTP is the other threatened species in Queensland.
 
I personally think that the idea of buying a snake that doesn't grow very big for a beginner is false logic because if you buy a hatchy, by the time that it gets any real size you won't be a beginner anymore, you'll have a year or so under your belt by that stage. (Olives are excluded from this)

So disregarding the idea of a smaller growing snake as it's a mute point, it really comes down to two things as far as I'm concerned.

1.
The level of care required for the snake. ie you don't want to worry about humidity or any over the top straight up.
Fortunately most australian pythons are very easy to take care of, however there would be a few I'd recommend to wait for a while.
Green Tree Python,Water python and as I said olive as they do grow fairly big fairly quickly.



2.
So the big question that needs answering is which snake is most likely going to have a nice temperament.
I'll start by saying that all snakes like most other animals have individual personalities.
So there is no absolute answer, however some species must just be genetically inclined to be more relaxed and less food responsive and other species the exact opposite. There are exceptions to every rule however these are in my opinion some to avoid and some to look into.

Stay clear of Jungle pythons, Scrub pythons,olive pythons and green tree pythons as they can tend to be a little bitchy at times.
Some of the above also have genetic traits line bred into them that put simply means they are literally retarded them to the point of having a high chance of being an aggressive animal.

My choice would be a bredli as they can be absolute puppy dogs and handle brilliantly. I've had a bredli for over a year now from a hatchy and have literally never been bitten or struck at by this snake and it has never had any issues feeding.

As far as I'm concerned bredli is really the only one that sticks out as being overly puppy like and many many people report the same traits.
That being said any Anterasia or woma would be your best bet after a bredli in my opinion.

I have a spotted for a while till I gave it away to a member on here when I was moving and it had a strong food response and would latch on 50% of the time I went to handle her. She was a little flighty aswell when out and didn't like any fast movements. That's my personal experience I've also got a close friend who has a spotted that's a total bub so it really comes down to the specific snake you end up with.


Something I'd also like to make you aware of for you and your future snake/s sake.

There will be some people that may have many years of reptile husbandry under their belt however are full of stupid ideas and incorrect facts. Yes it's true that you'll only learn with time however if your vacuous to begin with it doesn't matter how long your given your always going to be stupid and full of false information, that coupled with speaking with authority is a dangerous combination.

So just be aware that just because someone on a forum tells your something don't take it 100%, take it as a guide and go find some facts to back up what they are saying.

That being said, there are some very intelligent and wise members full of wisdom on forums that will provide you with the best information you'll get anywhere, kidna like reptile Yoda's if you will

Stupid people are everywhere, just be aware of this.

Have fun choosing which snake to buy :)

peace
 
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I personally think that the idea of buying a snake that doesn't grow very big for a beginner is false logic because if you buy a hatchy, by the time that it gets any real size you won't be a beginner anymore, you'll have a year or so under your belt by that stage. (Olives are excluded from this)

So disregarding the idea of a smaller growing snake as it's a mute point, it really comes down to two things as far as I'm concerned.

1.
The level of care required for the snake. ie you don't want to worry about humidity or any over the top straight up.
Fortunately most australian pythons are very easy to take care of, however there would be a few I'd recommend to wait for a while.
Green Tree Python,Water python and as I said olive as they do grow fairly big fairly quickly.



2.
So the big question that needs answering is which snake is most likely going to have a nice temperament.
I'll start by saying that all snakes like most other animals have individual personalities.
So there is no absolute answer, however some species must just be genetically inclined to be more relaxed and less food responsive and other species the exact opposite. There are exceptions to every rule however these are in my opinion some to avoid and some to look into.

Stay clear of Jungle pythons, Scrub pythons,olive pythons and green tree pythons as they can tend to be a little bitchy at times.
Some of the above also have genetic traits line bred into them that put simply means they are literally retarded them to the point of having a high chance of being an aggressive animal.

My choice would be a bredli as they can be absolute puppy dogs and handle brilliantly. I've had a bredli for over a year now from a hatchy and have literally never been bitten or struck at by this snake and it has never had any issues feeding.

As far as I'm concerned bredli is really the only one that sticks out as being overly puppy like and many many people report the same traits.
That being said any Anterasia or woma would be your best bet after a bredli in my opinion.

I have a spotted for a while till I gave it away to a member on here when I was moving and it had a strong food response and would latch on 50% of the time I went to handle her. She was a little flighty aswell when out and didn't like any fast movements. That's my personal experience I've also got a close friend who has a spotted that's a total bub so it really comes down to the specific snake you end up with.


Something I'd also like to make you aware of for you and your future snake/s sake.

There will be some people that may have many years of reptile husbandry under their belt however are full of stupid ideas and incorrect facts. Yes it's true that you'll only learn with time however if your vacuous to begin with it doesn't matter how long your given your always going to be stupid and full of false information, that coupled with speaking with authority is a dangerous combination.

So just be aware that just because someone on a forum tells your something don't take it 100%, take it as a guide and go find some facts to back up what they are saying.

That being said, there are some very intelligent and wise members full of wisdom on forums that will provide you with the best information you'll get anywhere, kidna like reptile Yoda's if you will

Stupid people are everywhere, just be aware of this.

Have fun choosing which snake to buy :)

peace

I know you said there are exceptions to every rule but would like to mention that I own a GTP and found it to be very placid during the day and very food orientated at night time. I wouldn't consider it bitchy or aggressive and from speaking to others who own GTP's their snakes are the same. I agree with a lot of what you are saying but wanted to "defend" the nature of GTP's , I also probably wouldn't suggest them as a first python I would have to say that after the hatchling stage I have found that they are not hard to keep with the proper research.
 
Stay clear of Jungle pythons, Scrub pythons,olive pythons and green tree pythons as they can tend to be a little bitchy at times.
Some of the above also have genetic traits line bred into them that put simply means they are literally retarded them to the point of having a high chance of being an aggressive animal.

I have to defend jungles a bit here... I have limited exp but tbh my jungle is just as placid as my woma - neither are 'cage defensive' or aggressive at all.
 
the reason i want a small size snake is lack of space, i have my current lizards in my bedroom and wont change that for a while, so a childrens/spotted/stimsons ect. if i could it would be nice to get a bigger snake.


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the reason i want a small size snake is lack of space, i have my current lizards in my bedroom and wont change that for a while, so a childrens/spotted/stimsons ect. if i could it would be nice to get a bigger snake.


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still recon you should look up womas ;) most of those guys are usually pretty good
 
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