We all love daydreaming for new reptiles, and I’m no exception… i just got a lovely boamaster 2x2x2 as a very late Christmas present and I’ve been wanting to get something that’s a little more serious and uncommon than the animals in my current collection. And i really want to work more with arboreals! I’ve been trying to save up for a designer green tree, but them Bois are EXPENSIVE. So i can wait for what feels like forever, and get one of those… OR i can put something in it now, and save while it grows up and then get my green tree once that grows out of the 2x2.
Here’s my conundrum: should i just wait? Should i give up on my outlandish dreams for a 5.5k green tree because that’s just not in my budget for the next couple years and i have the long game attention span of a squirrel? Should i get the mangrove anyway and have something now even if it will set me back for the green tree dream?
what do you think? Which would you pick?? What would you do??? I’m so indecisive!
How do y’all have the long game patience for this crud??
Does anyone know a sugar daddy who’s looking to help finance a cute broke lil lady’s dreams to be the best there ever was ???
That’s a tough conundrum! Get something awesome and less spendy now, since you have the enclosure ready to go, or save that money and put it towards your dream snake in a few years, with the enclosure sitting empty during that time.
Personally, when I have a good enclosure, I hate for it to sit empty. I currently have an empty arboreal Tarantula Crib, and it’s bugging the heck out of me that a beautiful, perfectly good enclosure is just sitting there empty. (I intend to fill it soon, currently in the process of researching and narrowing down some options.)
So if I were you, I’d be awfully tempted to get something sooner rather than later. That being said, I’d probably try to pick something that’s not going to break the bank, so I wouldn’t be setting myself back too badly in terms of saving up for the Dream Snake. Amazon tree boas are really beautiful, and with the exception of a few rarer morphs, they often seem to be pretty reasonably priced, even CBB. I don’t know what mangrove snakes cost these days, but I’d imagine that a wild type is going to set you back a lot less than an albino. Mangroves are really beautiful. You might also look into something like a Barron’s racer, or maybe a green red-tailed rat snake? There’s lots of beautiful options!
I will say… don’t fill the enclosure just for the sake of not having an empty enclosure. But if there is a species you really like and want that would work well in the enclosure… I’d go for it! It would also give you some valuable experience working with arboreals for when you do finally get the GTP of your dreams.
I agree with @jawramik. It’s a shame to let a great enclosure sit empty! I myself don’t have any experience with arboreal snakes but it would be a great idea to start out with a smaller size one like the ones Jennifer suggested and then go from there. I am sure there are a lot of snakes to choose from that won’t financially break you!
