Other kingsnakes commonly kept as pets include the grey-banded kingsnake, the Florida kingsnake, and the mountain kingsnake varieties. What makes a reptile a reptile? The ONLY Blue Tongued Skink Care Guide Needed! That's because everyone has their own opinions and experiences. I put the corn snake on the top of my list of pet snakes -- especially for the first-time keeper. Corn Snakes: One of the Best Domestic Pets. Corn snakes come in more colours than most other species on the market. Common King snakes reach a manageable size, eat well and are hardy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. However, they are among the most popular snakes in captivity, and when regularly handled from a very young age, a King snake can be as gentle and sweet as a lamb. By Dr Mark. The kingsnake species mentioned above (and several others) meet the four criteria I've outlined for good snakes to keep as pets. Keeping calm and making sure those around your snake keep calm are important in helping your snake learn to trust you. Dr. Leo is one of the three vets who star in the new series, Exotic Pet Vet. They are very pretty, inexpensive, docile and hardy, and can also make for some very exciting breeding as well. I've got just the snake for you to meet.". It’s Hard to Not Fall in Love With a Leo! When you raise them by hand, they become extremely tame and are very predictable when outside of their enclosures. One will sometimes eat frozen / thawed, and sometimes not. If you click on one of those links and make a purchase on Amazon, we receive a small percentage of the purchase price in the form of a commission directly from Amazon. The ONLY Russian Tortoise Care Guide Needed. Coral snakes have red bands next to yellow bands while milk snakes have red bands next … Boas average 7-10ft long and can live for over 20 years! They are durable and calm for handling, even by the most inexperienced novice. By Melissa A Smith. Ask ten different snake keepers what the best types of pet snakes are, and you'll get ten different lists. So, you've decided to get a pet snake and now you're wondering which kind of snake to get. All snakes are carnivores and will not eat any vegetable matter; in fact they are physically incapable of digesting greens. Red Wigglers, Canadian Night Crawlers, Windsor:        Live Feeders Price List / Nutritional Info, Leamington:   Live Feeders Price List / Nutritional Info, Hamilton:        Live Feeders Price List / Nutritional Info, Chatham/Kent: Live Feeders Price List / Nutritional Info, Grand Bend:    Live Feeders Price List / Nutritional Info, Guelph:  Live Feeders Price List / Nutritional Info, Barrie:    Live Feeders Price List / Nutritional Info, London:   Live feeders Price List / Nutritional Info, Woodstock: Live Feeders Price List / Nutrition Facts, Kitchener/Waterloo: Live Feeders Price List / Nutritional Info. Common King snakes reach a manageable size, eat well and are hardy. Boas average 7-10ft long and can live for over 20 years! They rarely get longer than five and a half feet. One of the first things to keep in mind is that snakes do take special care as well as a diet and environment suitable to their species. Snakes. Snakes. © 2019, ReptileKnowledge.com. “Eryx jayakari” by AlexandreRoux01 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, “Coastal/Desert intergrade Rosy Boa” by Natalie McNear is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. There are multiple subspecies of King Snakes (Mexican Black, Desert, Speckled, Brooks, California, etc,) and many different morphs of each. Regardless, I am willing to be the four snakes listed below come up on most of those lists! Let’s start our journey by checking out the three most common families of snakes kept as pets… What makes reptiles different from other animals? Your email address will not be published. The King Snake is extremely common in the pet trade as most of them are captive bred, making them one of the best starter snakes available. Average Length: 3-4 ft. … They can be a bit more finicky with their eating. The common saying, "Red on yellow will kill a fellow, but red on black is a friend of Jack" refers to the band patterns found on coral and milk snakes. However, learning to care for a pet snake takes a little bit of effort in comparison with more common pets. Design: HTML5 UP. Feeding Snakes: Pre-Killed vs. Live Prey Feeding pre-killed prey is recommended since a live rodent can inflict some serious wounds on a snake in self-defense (plus it is more convenient to keep a supply of frozen prey in your freezer than raising or buying live animals for feeding). The ONLY Leopard Gecko Care Guide Needed! Pet Snakes: 7 Things You Need To Consider. These snakes range from small and thin, to very long (over 20 feet!!) Well, I guess you could call it the lesson of fours. In spite of their fierce display bull snakes, when gently handled, become very tame. It can be tricky to get baby corns to start eating so getting them 'well started' is important. Leopard Geckos Are One of the Best Pets! May 30, 2019. Also, because of the wide variety of species and sub-species, you can get a pet kingsnake with many different colors. But unlike most common pets, snakes live a long time. Mice & Rats . The California King is the most popular subspecies of King Snake. As long as you accept this characteristic about ball pythons, and you're okay with it, then I would still recommend them as a pet snake. Usually, it would be because he was going into shed. Boa constrictors (both BCI and BCC, common and red tail) are regularly kept as pets. © 2019, Brandon Cornett | All rights reserved. They can be tamed easily, they eat well, and they do well in captivity. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Welcome to the interesting hobby of snake ownership! Unlike dogs, you don’t need to have your snake spayed or neutered. Privacy policy. Suppliers/Breeders of high quality live feeders : ReptiWorms . The Best Reptile Pet that Will Make Kids Fall in Love With Caring For Them! around snakes:  be careful how you approach others. Ball PythonScientific Name: Python regius. There are actually a wide variety of kingsnake species and sub-species, and many of them make good pets for the reasons outlined above. We learned about four important criteria when choosing a pet snake: Then we learned about the four basic needs that all pet snakes have: And, most importantly, we learned about four types of snakes that make great pets: I hope you've enjoyed reading this tutorial as much as I enjoyed creating it, and I hope it helps you choose the type of pet snake that's right for you! The Corn Snake is by far the most popular pet snake in the North-American Exotic Pet Industry. BSFL  |  Silkworms  |  Hornworms  |  Butterworms  |  Waxworms  |  Superworms  |  Live Crickets  |  Mealwowrms  |  Frozen Mice. Which snake should you choose? They usually seize the prey with their mouth, and if the prey is too large, they'll wrap several coils around it and kill it by constriction. It's hard to go wrong by choosing the corn snake as your type of pet snake! Your email address will not be published. They also use these muscles when feeding to constrict its prey so tightly that it totally stops blood flow, killing the animal in less than one minute. They can live well into their twenties and thirties when kept in captivity. With their strong muscular body, reaching up to five (5) feet (1.5 meters), and fearless disposition, King snakes truly live up to their name and reputation as 'the most formidable serpent in the US'. You might be interested in getting a pet snake; but where to start? Silkworms . Do you know what are the most commonly kept pet snakes? Our care guide will make keeping them a breeze! Our Leopard Gecko Care Guide Will Make Them Love You Back! The kingsnake is truly a great type of pet snake for any level of snake-keeper. Also native to the United States, they are typically… here we’ll discuss the most common snakes kept as pets and provide you some pros and cons to each! They are great pets for those able to house this large snake and provide it with the equally large food that it requires. So be sure you're in it for the long haul if you choose a ball python as your type of pet snake. Depending on the species, adult kingsnakes will average between four and six feet in length. Popular pet snakes are found in almost every color imaginable and have many different patterns, markings, and unique characteristics! “DSC09901” by batwrangler is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. He is my ambassador because he has the best temperament of all my pet snakes. Crickets . What snakes do you like? Some will eat insects, rarely, as an alternate food source when their regular preferred foods are not readily available. May 30, 2019. These snakes range from small and thin, to very long (over 20 feet!!) I've shared this story because it's indicative of gopher snake behavior. Which reptile characteristics are features of all reptiles? I have an albino San Diego gopher snake (one of several gopher snake species), and I refer to him as my "ambassador" to the snake world. Let’s start our journey by checking out the three most common families of snakes kept as pets…. Corns carrying genetic mutations, such as 'Albinoism' and 'Hypomelanism', can display some of the most spectacular colours seen in any snakes on earth. Kenyan / Arabian Sand Boa Gopher snakes are the longest snakes on my list, but they are still a manageable size, and they do well in the 4' x 2' cages that you can find everywhere. and quite thick and heavy-bodied! Despite its tremendous power, the Ball Python is actually a very docile pet in captivity and makes a great pet for first time owners at a manageable length of five feet (1.5 meters). And they do well in captivity if you take care of their basic needs. While they don't come in as wide a variety of colors as corn snakes and kingsnakes, the gopher snakes are still beautiful to behold. Dr. Stacey Leonatti (Dr. Leo) from Avian and Exotic Animal Care in Raleigh, NC introduces herself and exams a cornsnake named Christian who hasn't eaten in 3 months. Small and mild-mannered, brown snakes are usually a great choice for beginners, and they can subsist on a … The Bloodred morph, on the other hand, has scales rivaling ruby gems in intensity and colour. There are multiple subspecies of King Snakes (Mexican Black, Desert, Speckled, Brooks, California, etc,) and many different morphs of each. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Corns carrying genetic mutations, such as 'Albinoism' and 'Hypomelanism', can display some of the most spectacular colours seen in any snakes on earth. Pet Snake #2 - The Kingsnake. Though they are usually not expensive and fairly hardy, they can tend to musk more often than most pet snakes, and also prefer a diet of fish which can make feeding them a bit of a problem. There are actually a wide variety of kingsnake species and sub-species, and many of them make good pets for the reasons outlined above. Nevertheless, they all have their own eating habits. The California kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) is one of the most common types of pet snakes in general, and one of the most popular kingsnakes among keepers. Garter snakes are a greatly diverse group of species and some are generalists that will eat almost anything but are not insectivores and may only rarely eat larvae, such as superworms or mealworms.