First Snake Opinions...

[squishi]

you can see from my signature i have a lot of pythons not as many as i would like.
my first was my olive python which was followed by my diamond python 10 minutes later.
out of all of my babies that have started off with a bad temperment i have only had 2 that won't calm down with constnat handling, they are 1 of my childrens and my tully jungle.
i do love each python i have but as most people i love my olive the best the first snake i ever got.
if you persist you will find youu will have a great bond with whichever you choose.
good luck hunting for your new family member

 

[sweetangel]

my first was my diamond, bought for 300, my second was my water python for 350 my 3 was my second diamond for 400 and the last was my woma for 450!
my favourite out of all of them is my woma! she is beautiful, and they are so funny! plus they are coming down alot in price.
they can be very food orientated, but mine is very placid. my water python is then my next fav, she is beautiful and i believe a very underrated python. she is very placid, but quite a flight fast moving snake, very different to any of the other snakes, but they are known to be bitey.
the diamonds have a very pretty pattern and have a cool outdoor cage, but in my opinion are a bit more work as they need more specific care. ie, cooler temps, not overfeeding, i believe they need uv light and are best kept outside in their natural environment.

so! alot to think about. from my experience i would go the woma!

 

[slacker]

You can find womas going quite cheap these days. I'd recommend them for a first python along with Antaresia which you've already decided against.

 

[ivonavich]

Womas are awesome hardy snakes...

 

[andyj12]

...

 

[andyj12]

Try up to $650

Or even more in some cases but i doubt you would want to spend so much for a first snake

 

[smacktart]

I just got my 1st snake/snakes i bought 2 diamond hatchies they are awesome so friendly easy to handle easy to look after look awesome have heaps of character. I nearly bought a 2 year old snake but so glad i didnt i would be to scared to handle

 

[smacktart]

oh and diamonds only costed me 275 each was good

 

[waydematthews]

how about a platinum blonde?? where i got my jungles from the guy had a few womas,yes nice looking snake and very placid!! but he said the only down side is that they are a dosile snake very lazy and not up for cruising around the enclosure, also he mentioned they are an aggressive feeder (which turned my missus off them)i started off with a blonde mac spotted and now have jungles only started the collection in easter. although you may find a gorgeous snake they may have a big attitude problem, my female jungle is very pretty with great patterns but she bites regular basis!!!

 

[SlytherinGirl]

Oh goodness, this isn't getting any easier at all!
I haven't completely ruled out anything yet- and antaresias are my backup.
A lot of people are against the Darwin I see- how big to they grow? And womas... I'm just not sure.

Keep going with the advice- it's brilliant! Thanks!

 

[pythonmum]

My Darwins are about 22 months old. They are more than 1.5 m long, weigh over a kilo and are still growing. They are not small snakes and would probably scare your mother at the adult size. When the male (Tigger) gets excited about a feed, he shoots off his shelf and hits it. Nearly scared my father to death when he saw this. I'd class Tigger as a good handler because he's lovely when out of the enclosure, but he's quick to react when he thinks there's food around. My husband isn't keen on him at all! The Antaresia are much smaller and not so scary for uninitiated parents.

 

[No-two]

My darwins are 4 and 5 and quiet small snakes as far as morelia go, the female is about 5ft and very stocky male about 6 same build. They're not huge snakes. Neither of mine bite but were not the greatest snakes when younger, they grew out of it though.

Womas are probably the best first snake you can get your hands on if you can afford them and have appropriate license.

 

[JupiterCreek]

Why stop at one? Maybe get something in Antaresia for starters, then when you and Mum are more confident get a bigger second snake? Having said that, my little maccie Bellatrix le Snake is a brilliant first snake, but I like the colours of the Broome and Sandfire Stimsons so that'll be my second, or maybe a blond maccie, we'll see!

 

[SlytherinGirl]

Okay- so I've crossed the Darwin. Too hard.

I'm back to my very original plan... Spotted sound good to you guys?

 

[ADZz_93]

go for a bredli, that was my first snake, and they are GREAT!! they look good, easy to look after and not too expensive

 

[Snakelove]

Okay- so I've crossed the Darwin. Too hard.

I'm back to my very original plan... Spotted sound good to you guys?

spotted sounds great! =P

 

[SlytherinGirl]

spotted sounds great! =P

Phew! That makes things sooo much easier!
Does this mean that I'm finally coming to a decision?! Shock! Horror!

 

[Snakelove]

Phew! That makes things sooo much easier!
Does this mean that I'm finally coming to a decision?! Shock! Horror!

I knew that i was gonna get something of a beginner snake for my first one. so i immediately thought of stimsons, spotteds or childrens. i went to a bunch of places but finally decided to get one at everything reptiles in manly. great guy to deal with there. i reckon you should get a blonde spotted. their colours are much brighter than a normal spotted i think. mine just shed yesterday, even though its a normal spotted. its still pretty =). youll love it. different temperaments too. help one thats real snappy and gave me a little nip when i was holding him/her. but mine is really. dont bite or anything.

 

[Rainbow-Serpent]

Get a jungle!
Not all of them are snappy, like people say.

They have awesome patterns, alot have good temperament (not mine though:lol

 

[SlytherinGirl]

Ok- now that I have decided on something- a Spotted (and yeah, SnakeLove, I will get a blonde- they are so pretty!), I have some more questions.

Enclosures. How? Where? What? Brace yourselves for a heap of questions...
How big should the enclosure for the hatchie be? (I'll most probably be buying from Snake Ranch, so (s)he'll be about a month old by the time I get him/her.)
When should I update the enclosure size? And how often do you update it?
When should (s)he be in the final-sized enclosure? And how big should that be?

Also-
Where can I find some pictures of some Antaresia enclosures? I've been googling and googling, but I can't find a simple picture.
And where can you buy enclosures? Some people make them, but I'm not quite up to that.

And one more thing- how hot should their enclosure be? And do you need both a heat lamp and mat, or just one?

PHEW! A lot of questions, I know, but like I said before- I'm a TOTAL newbie to this.

Thanks again!