Looking at buying our first snake

[kylie30]

Hi everyone,

My daughter has always been a huge fan of animals, but in particular reptiles, especially snakes. She has spent a lot of time with people who run a touring snake show and is great when it comes to handling any of his snakes. (the not poisonous ones of course!)

So for her birthday all she ever asks for is a snake. This year we have decided to let her have one as she shows great care for her other animals. She will be 11 next week so of course hubby and I take full responsibility for the snake that we buy.

I would like opinions on what would be good for her please. She is used to handling very large pythons etc but I do not want a big snake. We have a 4" tank for it but I think a small one would be nice.

I would appreciate all help and also where do I start looking to buy a snake? The local pet shops put outrageous prices on reptiles, and the snakes I saw there were small and they bite! Definately don't want that.

Is there a part on the forum too that can help me with the right tank setup as well please?

I have purchased the licence already.

I look forward to having a look around this great forum and learning a lot too!:lol:

Thanks Kylie

 

[reptilefan95]

i would say get an older snake that is more used to handling as opposed to a a young snappy hatchie. Try a any of the antsaresia species ie stimmies, spotteds and childrens. Get one thats a year or two old and is a good handler. Make sure that you supervise your daughter handling the snake, even if she has done so before because kids can be pretty rough, may sound silly coming from a 14 year old but trust me its ok advice.

 

[kylie30]

Thanks for the reply:lol:
I was just looking in the for sale part now. I will definately go and look for one a bit older.
I always supervise the kids with the pets, even the guinea pig Lol!
But they are very gentle, I do know what you mean tho, we have had visitors with kids that are horrors to pets:cry:

 

[jessb]

Hi Kylie,

First of all, I'll bet everyone on here is wishing they had a mum as cool as you when they were growing up!!!

It would help a lot if we knew what state you are in, as this affects things like the type of snakes you can own/licensing etc. In NSW your daughter can have her own licence fro age 10 (as my 4yo daughter is desperately counting down until she can have her own licence and a Diamond python!)

I would definitely suggest an Antaresia or a Morelia (carpet python).

Antaresia are Children's, Stimson's and Spotted pythons and grow to around 1metre in length. They can be kept in a smallish enclosure, are generally fairly placid and easy to handle and are pretty hardy. Your daughter may get a little bit bored as they don't grow all that big though...

The other option could be a Murray Darling or Bredli python. They grow to around 2.5m, but will take several years to get to that size. Again they are quite placid and easy to care for. They could be kept in a 4ft tank for at least a few years, although Bredli like some height to be able to climb.

For the enclosure/ongoing maintenance you will just need a heat mat or light (with cover) a water bowl, something to climb, and one mouse/rat a week. Pretty easy pets really!

Good luck, can't wait to hear how your daughter goes!

 

[kylie30]

Thanks for the reply, we live in Brisbane. We had to get the licence for her as she is too young. She has been harassing us for years about a snake.
I have been against it for ages but after I have been watching her with the larger snakes at the reptile place I know she would be perfect as a snake owner. She throws all her energy into her pets and loves them.
I know she would love a huge snake but I don't think I could handle one that big yet. A small one will be ok for now until she gets older.:lol:
What is a pygmy python? She keeps asking for one of those. She says they are prettier than a childrens python?

 

[reptilefan95]

Yea so get a smaller snake like a childrens or a spotted might also be good if you could go and see and handle the python before you buy it to make sure its placid

 

[jessb]

Pygmy's have only just started being available and are still quite expensive and hard to source I believe. They are tiny (only growing to around 50cm!) and I would imagine they are quite easy to lose!

Get your daughter to have a look on the Snake Ranch website (www.snakeranch.com.au) as they have some images of various locale-specific Antaresia. We have a Broome-locale Stimson and she is gorgeous. And wheatbelt Stimmies are easily the equal of a Pygmy! Blonde Spotted pythons are also beautiful.

 

[bongie555]

my only hint would be to ask a lot of questions, dont be afraid, in here or the breeder or seller you get your snake from and maybe a basic book like - CARE OF AUSTRALIAN REPTILES IN CAPTIVITY by John Weigel..good luck

 

[kylie30]

We have purchased 2 snakes keeping books already for her birthday to go with her snake.
One is all about how to look after a snake and the other is a general facts book regarding snakes. I will investigate the one that you have suggested, you can never have too many books Thankyou.
I have just checked we have The Art of Keeping snakes, and another called Snakes

 

[reptilefan95]

yeah you should really get John wiegels book its a great book filled with good facts

 

[hughligen]

If you are interested in getting a carpet python I would highly recommend steve.

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/member/ponybug-599

I recently bought a nice placid coastal 6 month old hatchy from him for $130.
if you want to have a look at the snake go to

MySpace

 

[kylie30]

How big do the coastal ones grow to?

 

[shamous1]

Snake

I don't believe there are any more or any less benefits of getting a hatchy Childreni as opposed to an adult Childreni. If anything a hatchy has a little bite compared to a larger bite of an adult.

You can only go by the word of the seller of whatever snake you buy and they can say it's a great handler but circumstance can mean that the animal may strike out of fear etc. Better to grow your confidence witha hatchy.

I'll say it again. These forums are great source of knowledge but you actually do not know who you are chatting with and ther can be lots of misinformation flying around at times.

Get yourself some good books. They are vital and by doing your homework in the short term can save you a lot of heartache in the long term.

The breed of snake is up to you. If your daughter has handled larger snakes why not go for a hatchy of a larger species such as Bredli or Murray Darling etc.

Get to know people on this site. You will soon work out who's who and sort the good from the bad. There are some great breeders on this site and you will save yourself quite a bit of money which you can put towards getting a bit of a herp book library going for yourselves and your daughter.

Take your time picking.

 

[andyscott]

Hi Kylie,
Coastals can vary in size, 8 foot would be av.
You will get the odd one that pushes 10 foot but that is a big one.

I would suggest a Murray Darling Carpet, they are quite cheap, placid as a rule and very nice looking.

 

[spydalover]

i have a childrens python mines very placid has only bitten me twice i have had her since she was a month old shes now 8 months old as its winter i am having trouble getting her to eat but other than that she is a very good snake to have.

 

[kylie30]

Thankyou all for replying.
With any other animal I would go for a baby so that it can grow up with us. That was my first though regarding the snake too. Yes I know all animals can get scared and bite, that is nature, but these snakes I saw at the pet shop went for anything that went near them. Put me right off.

I know my daughter could easily have a larger snake but I still have a great fear of them and I am only just adjusting to the idea of a smaller one.

I have heard all of the stories of snakes trying to eat small pets, and babies and I do have a fear of a big one choking my daughter and not being strong enough to do anything about it.

On the other hand I am willing to learn to respect whatever snake we get and I am sure will grow to admire it as another one of the family, but I think until my daughter is older, small is good.

Having a trained handler with her as backup with the big ones won't happen at home so better to be safe.

 

[amy5189]

i would probably go something around 7 -8 months old. at this time of year this is the youngest you will normally find snakes as they are all hatched around december - january.
spotted and stimsons are probably more appealling to the eye, as they keep their patterns their whole life, whereas childrens lose theirs.
i have a spotted who is now 18 months old and have had him since june last year and he has never bitten. spotteds are also very good feeders as a general rule and making sure that the snake you get is an established feeder is very important...
mangles here on aps is selling 8 month old stimsons pythons for $230. he has had them since january and they have now had plenty of feeds and sheds.
definitely send him a pm as i know those babies are very cute. and you could take a look at them all and see if they are good handlers. he has two kids and i know the younger son loves playing with them, so the babies may be used to handling.
hopefully you find what you're looking for! good luck!

 

[amy5189]

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/for-sale-snakes-43/stimsons-pythons-115115

thats the link for the stimsons from mangles. very cute little bubbies. he didn't breed them. but he bought the whole clutch. so not too sure what the parents look like.

 

[kylie30]

Thanks for the link. Yes they are very cute, I am beginning to like looking at them now. I can't wait to show all of this to my daughter when she gets home from school. You are all wonderful, thankyou

 

[kakariki]

Hi Kylie, my daughter will also be 11 next week! Expensive week coming up for both of us, lol. Something I can add to what has already been said. Think about a juvie, something around 1 yo. Hatchies are easier to lose, are more delicate & can have more probs imo. A juvie on the other hand is just that bit bigger so cant squeeze out through tiny cracks that you may think are non existant. A bite from a juvie is nothing, when my daughter copped a bite from our then 1yo Bredli, she didnt know whether to laugh or cry. Mainly cos it startled her. She ended up laughing with the rest of us & now has the camera handy whenever she handles them, so she doesnt miss a good pic!! She hasnt asked for one of her own..yet...but if/when she does, I will steer her towards the Spotteds. jmo, good luck and put pics up when she does get it.