What kind of snake for a 12 year old boy?

Question

My son will be 12 just after xmas, and his father and I are looking at getting him a snake. I'm looking for information from someone relatively experienced with them. What type of snake would be a good snake for a beginner? He knows very little about them, other than the fact that he likes them. He has an aquarium setup already, and the space for it ... just lack of information, lol. I've been told a corn snake might be the best way to go, but seldom given information as to WHY. Any information you have is greatly appreciated. :)

Answer 1

I would suggest a corn snake. I have one, Ive had her for almost 6 years now. The best part about her is that she is very active, she moves around alot in her tank, climbing, etc. and is super freindly! also, they are very easy to maintain, change the water every other day, feed it a mouse once every 2 weeks and keep a heater under one part of her tank NOT A HEAT ROCK so she can curl up if its cold, also a thermometer attached to the glass toward the bottom of the tank to regulate the temp. and thats it! Just a tip, make sure whatever kind of lid you have on your tank, that it is VERY secure, i have one held down with bungie cords b.c she can push the top off with her whole body. Also, you can get cornsnakes in all different, very vibrant colors.

Answer 2

There are several species of good starter snakes, the one you choose depend on many factors, including how big the vivarium is, how long you mant a pet snake, how large a snake you can manage, and how much money you're looking to spend.

First off you need to realise several things about snakes, they eat rodents, preferbly frozen and thawed or pre-killed, even corn snakes get large enough to eat small rats. A vet bill for any exotic animal is around 100$, with two snakes and three rats I've easily spent nearly a thousand in vet bills.

After you absorb that, snakes DO make wonderful low matinence pets, I normaly woudn't recommend corn snakes though, when they're young they can move very quickly and easily get lost. My two are Ball aka Royal Pythons, people don't give these snakes enough credit as pets, they are semi-good beginer snakes, I got my first one at 15 never having owned a snake and she's still going strong, I also have an adolesent male. They are one of the smaller pythons maxing out at four to five feet very rarely getting six. They are also one of the longest living snakes averageing 25-30 years, the oldest on record being 48.

My adult female is nearly five feet and eats large to jumbo rats every other week, the adolecent is just over three feet and eats one medium rat once a week, both are healthy and I've had little problem with them eating frozen thawed.

As for set up both of them live in a 40 gallon vivarum with a hide box on one side and a large water dish on the other, for heating I have a human heating pad with a towel over it under the tank set on medium, please never use hot rocks, heat mats that stick to the tank, or mats that have no setting control, heat lamps aren't nessesary and would only scare them. For bedding I have used newpaper which works well and I'm currently using carefresh(c) all purpose bedding which thay seem to like.

All in all, they are good pets and, if taken care of, will be a companion for your son for years to come.

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me. [e-mail]

Answer 3

You should probably get him a Ball Python if he is going to be 12. Corn snakes are good for littler children. I've had 5 ball pythons and still have one. Se if you can get one thats maybe 2 months old. Try not to handle it too much especially after he eats. I recommend not handling him for 36 hours after feeding. Feed him prekilled mice, I store mine in the freezer in a plastic bag, until the morning of feeding day. ALWAYS FEED THEM SOMEWHERE OTHER THEN THEIR CAGE! Else they will get mean and could bite. I feed him in a plastic tub with a pair of tongs to hold the dead mouse.
Good Luck!

Answer 4

I'd say a Ball Python, they're gentle, they don't move as fast as corn snakes, and they don't get nearly as big/long. They aren't known for biting at all and they are called Ball Pythons because when they're scared they wind up into a ball!

Answer 5

a callifornian corn snake is a good starter snake. they dont need 2 much looking after. They eat little mice. They also dont grow too big which is a good thing if you only have limited space etc.

Answer 6

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid The Painted House by John Grisham Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen

Answer 7

Corn Snakes are a great first snake here is a care sheet.

* Distribution: Most of United States
Habitat: Hardwood forest and Grasslands
Size: Average 4 foot up to 6 feet
Life span: 12 to 15 years average with some living to 20 years
Number of eggs 5 to 30
* Introduction:
This is the ideal first snake, as it generally has a good disposition. This snake is also very capable of withstanding a large temperature range so it is very hardy making it an excellent first snake.
* Buying your first snake
if you are new to snakes you should buy from somewhere that is recomended to you or where you are happy that the staff will be able to help you if you have any problems.All snakes sold should be feeding on defrosted food and easy to handle.
* Care of your snake:
Temperature should be 80-85F(27-30C) during the day at the hot end of the vivarium, with a 5-10F drop at night. It is best to have two thermoneters, one at each end of the viv so you know the temperature at the hot and cold ends.
Your viv can be heated by many methods but the key thing to is that your heat source should be well guarded so that the snake can't get too close and burn itself. All sources of heat should be thermostatically controlled which can cost £15 to £50. This will be your most expesive piece of equipment but the most important! There are two main sources of heating commonly used for reptiles. The first is heat mats which are placed idealy in the vivarium. This provides a local source of heat for the animal. The second is bulbs or ceramic heaters these work by warming the air a more natural way. We keep our corn snakes using both mehods and the snakes do as well using either method. Snakes shed theirbwhole skin as they grow, this happen at intervals during its life usually after five or six feeds. You will notice that the skin become duller in colour and the eyes wil go grey. Do not feed your snake if you see this happen. This colour change indicates that the old skin has started to seperate from the new skin. When you see the snakes eyes go clear again he is about to shed his skin. Give him a bath in tepid water. About 80f should be hot enough, this will help to soften the old skin before he sheds it. Do not use any soap or detegent in the water but a few drops of cooking oil in the water may help. He will usually shed his skin within 48 hours of the eyes becoming clear. Wait 48 hours after he has shed his skin before feeding
* Furnishing your vivarium:
As a substrate you can use anything from paper to wood chippings, but do not use anything with cedar chippings or saw dust in it as this is dangerous for reptiles. Do not use silica sand or sawdust as the animals that ingests these will not live very long.Your snake will need something to hide under. This can be anything from a box made of wood or a flower pot , cork bark or a hollow log. It will also need a water bowl big enough to curl up in without over flowing onto the substrate. This water bowl should be cleaned out every day and the water changed.
* Feeding: PLEASE DO NOT FEED SNAKES ON LIVE FOOD!
Small animals can do great damage to snakes if they are grabbed by an inexperienced snake and it causes untold suffering to the small animal.
Feed only defrosted frozen food!
Food should be defrosted at room tempertaure and warmed in a plastic bag and in a bowl of warm water up to 100F before being presented to your snake.
Cornsnakes should be eating mice or rats. If they are eating defrosted chicks please be carful as they might not be as healthy as the ones fed on rodents. Young corn snakes should be fed every four ore five days, decreasing to every week as the snake grows eventually once every two weeks will suffice for adult specimens. The food it eats should be as thick as the snakes thickest part of its body. If you keep more than one snake in the same vivarium seperate them for feeding as the may fight over the same piece of food. Some snakes may slow down their feeding as winter comes on even though the vivarium is still as warm this may be due to shorter days and so full spectrum lighting is recommended as for some lizards may be an advatage to these snakes to keep them feeding normally.
Please remember this is only basic advice and veterinary advice should be sort if your animals have any problems.

Answer 8

hi,i think ball pythons are a great snake.i have had 2 of them.there easy to keep.they dont bite.

Answer 9

A PLASTIC ONE or A DEAD ONE BECAUSE SNAKES ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND THEY DO NOT MAKE GOOD PETS!!!!!!

YOU GET YOU SON A DOG OR CAT OR BIRD BUT NO SNAKES

Answer 10

get him a plastic one!! lol