It was the only Morelia on the list lol. In all seriousness, carpets and Bredli are generally super easy keepers. Some of them are snippy but most grow out of that. With carpets maybe every 3rd or 4th one can be a little defensive. With Bredli it’s only like 1/10 or less.
Bredli are such hardy animals, they don’t really even need supplemental heat in most people’s homes. Carpets like a basking spot but it doesn’t have to be elaborate.
Display wise, they aren’t usually shy or cryptic. They’ll sprawl out on branches and don’t care if hairless monkeys are hovering outside the glass. If you build them a cool cage, they’ll use all of it.
Once they’re established, they’re not picky feeders either which makes them ideal for new keepers who we often see on here stressed out because their you know what kind of snake won’t eat
Nice video! Even nicer snakes! I was saving up for a new retic. You may have converted me to try a pair of these instead! Crazy about the stonewash, but I even really liked the normal female with the bold black on the last third of it! Super good stuff, thanks for sharing!
Olive python (I think they are beautiful but I don’t have one) may be too large?
Loxocemus Bi color python. I bought one (CB) a couple of weeks as a baby/juvenile and it is super easy to keep. This snake is gorgeous in my humble opinion. And super manageable size. Not a lot of information out there about them but the breeder told me everything I needed to know about this little jewel! He is worth every penny!
I would say that these should be at least an intermediate python because of their size and food drive. Also, they are really really strong and are known to be more difficult to read.
@lumpy Hey you guys. Sorry about the bad suggestion about the olive python. I should only suggest snakes that I have had or know about first hand or could physically handle myself. I did have a male Stimsons python at one point in time and he was extremely docile plus a good eater.
As for me, retics fascinate me more than any other snake on the planet. I am in no way suggesting one for you of course! Lol! Or me for that matter! To me they are just beautiful massive snakes Just not for us!
My friend, your suggestion was fine. I was just giving my advice from the papers and pms I have had between owners of olives. I am actually planning to get one someday. I mean it, you are fine. And welcome to our community
I currently keep adult Stimson’s Pythons, in IRIS Bootboxes (approximately 22"x14"x5"). They are hardy and undemanding captives, if a little bitey. The real challenge for me will beafter I attempt to breed them for the first time (this upcoming season), because everything I’ve read has said that the offspring can be very difficult to start.
Except for mainland retics and female Burmese pythons, I think it really doesn’t matter that much. There are no beginner snakes. Every snake needs proper research. If you buy a baby you will grow into the size they eventually will get. Heck, I even recommend a male burm as a first snake. As long as you do your research, are setup properly and know what you are getting yourself into. The main thing to ask yourself is what you want of the snake (temperament wise) and if you can offer the snake what it needs. Most important is that you buy the snake that you TRULY want. If you are crazy about burms, then dont buy a ball because that is a “beginner animal” and plan on getting a burm later. Just do your homework and take the jump when you are ready. No snake is hard when you do your homework and no snake is easy when you don’t do your homework. Always buy a baby, though.
While I mostly agree with your overall message, I am not sure I would put it as absolutely as you have in the part I bolded
I definitely believe there are some snakes that should not be purchased as a first/beginner animal, regardless of the amount of homework you do ahead of time. There is a LOT to be said for the hands on part of this hobby too and jumping in with nothing but research and no practical experience is likely to lead to failures with some species. As an example, I have been keeping in one form or other for nearly four decades and even after all that time I am not inclined to pick up a Xenodermus. Likewise, I think someone that has never put hands on a snake before jumping straight to a Dendroaspis is just a recipe for disaster.
The one time I would say maybe don’t buy a baby is the ones that are fiddly/finicky as babies- A very-first timer should probably not get a baby house snake IMO, get a juvenile that’s finally eating F/T steadily. They can be a right pain to feed at first!
I love my punk shoelace but he is a challenge, and if I hadn’t dealt with challenging reptile issues in the past I probably would find it much more distressing instead of just annoying.
I get what you are saying. Still I do think that even a dragon snake can be kept if you do your research properly. For one species doimg your research might mean reading a few care sheets and watching a few YouTube videos, but for another species that might mean you almost need a PhD in herpetology. Nonetheless it is, in my opinion, still about having the right amount of education.
Everything you know (and even you learn through experience) eventually boils down to it being information. I think every species has its own threshold of the minimum amount of information you need about the species in order for you to take care of it.
Of course I wouldn’t recommend buying a hot snake and especially not a mamba when you have no decent venomous handling experience. But even in that case I think it is still about information. Venomous keeping and handling is eventually also mostly following protocol.
So I do and I don’t agree. I think it comes down to definition. If a “beginner animal” means an animal that is relatively easy to care for; yes I agree. But if “beginner animal” means that you need to start with that animal in order to be able have a “intermediate animal” I don’t agree. Buy what you want to keep and make sure you study the **** out of it. If that is the case I can’t really see it go wrong. If you buy a barneck scrub and expect to cuddle with it, that just means you haven’t done your homework and you made a bad decision. But if you really want a olive python and you understand and respect the psyche of the animal, prepare for the eventual size it gets, expect to get bitten a few times and fully understand the husbandry needs of such an animal; I think an adult human can be perfectly able to take successful care of it. Even as a first snake (when bought as a baby!!). It might not be the best or the smartest thing to do, but I fully believe that if someone knows where he/she is getting him/herself into; it can be done successfully.
People should buy the animal they want. Not because it is the best way to learn, but because there are no throw away training animals.
This I absolutely support and concur with. I just think there is probably a clear enough line where an animal becomes a “not beginner” snake and you probably should look at a surrogate species to work with first. And I believe that anyone serious about working with a “not beginner” species like that would not view the surrogate as a disposable entity to throw away.
I do not think you need to start with a ball in order to “work up” to keeping a Burm if you have educated yourself properly on all the care and upkeep needed for the Burm. However, it might be a good idea to pickup one of the S. American Drymarchon to get the feel for how a very large, smart, willful, occasionally truculent and cantankerous animal can be before you jump straight to trying to keep Ophiophagus. A “bad day beginner mistake” mistake with a Dry just means blood, maybe a lot of blood. A “bad day beginner mistake” with a hannah means your family puts you in the ground
AMEN to the finicky house snake! I got mine as a baby but it was already eating FT. This boy has been hit or miss with eating regularly for the past 2 years.
He is now in a bio active tub and his feeding response has totally changed for the good! He is literally out of his hide waiting and watching for the FT mouse! He even does the famous house snake strike and coil! I am thrilled!
Only IMO, I think a ball python should not be on the beginner list either. Yes they are docile and mostly shy and laid back but in my experience with them, the husbandry has to be spot on and REMAIN spot on for consistent feeding responses. Most of my ball pythons, female as well as male, have stopped feeding for seemingly no good reason and that can be extremely frustrating . However I do have a female normal BP that is a little over a year old and she switched from live to FT with no problem and never misses a meal except when she is in shed. I am afraid to even sneeze around her enclosure because I don’t want to upset the apple cart! Lol! Kidding of course, but when you have a BP that is eating on cue you DO NOT want to ruin it!.
