im interested in adopting a snake. ive never owned a snake before. is there any specific breed i should get? preferably one that i dont have to feed mice to (if thats possible)
well, bad news about feeding snakes, most (maybe 98%) eat r0dents. and f/t r0dents are also the most humane, cheapest and easiest way of feeding pet snakes imo. there are some that eat eggs, but I don’t know enough about them to give any advice. i know snake discovery on youtube has a video on her egg eating snakes tho! (here) and (here)
My advice on choosing the right snake for you, is to research some snakes (i really like the way clint from clint’s reptiles talks about beginner pet reptiles, the videos from this playlist might be helpful) and figure out what you like. If you choose a snake based on it’s status as the best beginner snake but it’s not really the pet snake you want, then it’s not gonna be that much fun or you or the snake. (that being said there are some I might not recommend to a first time snake owner, like anything significantly venomous. probably not a good idea. and i would hesitate to recommend a larger species (burms, retics and anacondas) for different but obvious reasons as well)
Having said that, I know the snakes I see on lists of best pet snakes for beginners are usually Ball Pythons, Hognoses, Corn Snakes, Kenyan Sand Boas, Garter Snakes and King Snakes (MBK’s are some of my most favourite snakes ever tbh, it’s a shame I do not have one, but my old roommate did and Shabazz was a stunning and fantastic noodle) I also think Gopher and Bull snakes also make really good pets. (snake discovery on youtube has a bunch of really helpful videos about milk/kingsnakes, garter snakes, and bull snakes!)And since I keep a Carpet Python, and she’s really just a great animal, the only reason I would hesitate to put them on the list is that coastals can get quite large and some can have snippy attitudes (about 50% of the carpets I’ve met have been nippy). But even after I adopted Reese, she was a bit nippy at first she has “tamed down’ with frequent gentle handling and is a “fan favourite” from the people I live with and all our friends. Rainbow Boas are also stunning animals but require really really high humidity, so if you’d want a snake that requires something like that, I would suggest getting their enclosure set up pretty far in advance to make sure it retains proper levels.Also since you said adopting, and I’ve adopted two of my current pets from rescues, I thought I would also mention that there are a lot of animals out there in need of a good home. The rescue I worked with to adopt Reese is the Texas Reptile and Small Animal Rescue here in Houston, TX. I know there are a lot of others out there as well. So google search and see if you can contact one in your area! The people that run shelters are usually VERY helpful with first time reptile owners, some even have extensive care sheets and tips for the specific animal you are adopting as well as local vets and rodent supply.
