Looking to buy a snake!

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SnakeHound

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Complete and utter noob here.

I love snakes and would love to buy one as a baby and raise it with me. I couldn't find much info on how to start so could anybody give me a rundown of what I need to do, how much I need to buy (as well as what) and the total cost on average? Thanks


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I find it hard to believe you couldn't find any info on starting.

BefoRe buying a snake you should buy the book "keeping and breeding Australian snakes" by mike swan

This will give u a more indepth guide as to what you need

But general items include

An enclosure (start small and move up as snake gets bigger)

Substrate

Something to climb on

A hide (anything with a hole and 4 walls and a roof)

Something to provide heat (usually you start with heat cord or heat mat, then move onto heat lamps for larger enclosures)

Handling hook

Water bowl

Food tongs

I'd recommend buying a snake from a REPUTABLE breeder rather than a pet shop otherwise you will be paying up to triple the amount

Setup the enclosure to make sure temps are ok before buying a snake

Starting cost really shouldn't be more than 500$ at most for the snake + gear depending on the snake you buy (assuming you will be starting with a beginner friendly type)

Food can also be expensive, anyone that says start off with pinkies is crazy, pretty much all snakes that are of selling age will be on fuzzies or hoppers or higher depending on age
 
When I said couldn't find much info, more like I don't know what info really to trust...I've kept and raised many animals and sometimes the info you find is really bad...I couldn't find any on THIS site, possibly because I don't know how to navigate it properly. But thank you for your reply! Could you or somebody else possibly tell me a few good beginner snakes and breeders to get them from in Sydney? Thank you very much!!!


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Hi!
First and most importantly, you'll need to apply and for a wildlife keeping permit. This permit allows you to buy and keep many species of native wildlife, including snakes. I'm not to sure how much it is in NSW, but if it's anything like Victoria's system, you'll need to pay a yearly fee to keep your permit.

As for purchasing a snake, I think that some pet shops are okay to buy from, I hear good things about 'Kellyville pets'. But you don't want to buy from places like 'Best friends' or 'Petbarn', ideally look for breeders as bl69aze said, or look for specialist pet stores that deals almost exclusively with reptiles. If it's a good store, they'll be able to help you out with questions.

As for what species, you've got a ton of choice :) If you were wanting something on the smaller side, Antaresia is a good genus, and has your children's/spotted/pygmy pythons. Or you've got your carpet pythons, which get much bigger, the biggest being a coastal carpet python, (longest) the smallest is a jungle carpet python. Of course there are many more snakes out there, but these are what i'd recommend for a newbie, and are what's most popular. Just look into what species interests you the most, and go from there.

And finally I'd recommend getting the book "Keeping and breeding Australian pythons" by Mike Swan, it's a little pricey but it's got great information and is very much worth it if you are serious about getting a snake :)
 
Thanks everybody! I'll probably go for an albino carpet python, they look awesome! How often will I need to upgrade? And how much will each upgrade cost? Also if anybody could suggest reputable breeders in Sydney would be appreciated. Thanks


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as someone who doesn't own a snake, nor have done research on this species, i'd say maybe a three to four foot would be okay? i usually see 4 foot enclosures for less than $200, and 3foot enclosures for $130-(please do not quote me on this, as i'm just going off of how big carpets usually get.)
 
An albino Darwin will eventually need a 4 ft (1.2m) enclosure but for a hatchling you can start with a click clack. (photo)
I breed them and have a couple of hatchies left but you will find some cheaper than mine which are tri-colour fluros. Most breeders will include the click clack set up so you just need a heat mat and thermostat.

IMG_4947.jpg
 
Just a heads up your cost will be around 400-500 for the snake alone unless you get mates rates so keep that in mind :p
 
Once I've got the snake, and click clack set up with the thermostat and heat mat (all of which I have right now other than the snake itself) how long before needing to upgrade to a bigger size, and how big would this be since as far as I understand you can't place a small snake in a large tank. Sorry for all the questions I just want to be sure I don't end up not being able to accomodate for the snakes needs financially. Thanks!


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It's kind of hard to say "when"they are ready, I just go by the amount of stretching they can do comfortably, like you wont keep a 1m snake in a tank that's going to have him constantly curled up unable to stretch.

Technically you can put the snake in a larger tank, BUt you must have a lot of hides for him to hide away. Where as in a click clack and a medium sized tank 1-2 hides is more than enough

Again, you will know when they are ready, they will look super large in their enclosure

Also, when you get the snake don't change the paper / don't handle for about a week so he can get used to the area
(Keep out of a high traffic area while young)
 
Welcome to APS, and the world of reptile keeping.
All good advice above. You will only need to get an enclosure when your snake has outgrown the click clack; there is no time frame, only how quickly your python grows.
 
You can move them to a larger tub like this one in an 18 litre as an interim step to a large enclosure, you will just need a bigger heat mat. If the snake is well adjusted and calm they be ok in a big enclosure as long as they have places to hide and branches to climb to basking spots. The main thing to watch is that they are confident to move into the right spots to control their temperature as the big cage will have a wide temperature variation compared to a small tub, you can help with this by correctly positioning hides and branches. (you will need an IR thermometer) Albino Darwins are generally calm and adapt quickly.

18 L tub with yearling. (bigger water bowl and hide)
IMG_3641.jpg
 
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