Once again, I can't choose my wanted snake

All Reptiles
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As most of you know, I’m currently working on getting a snake for my 40 breeder, and I’ve been bouncing around from species to species being unable to choose. My options/wants are: Bamboo ratsnakes, bantam corns, hognose snakes, MALE Solomon Island ground boas, house snakes and rosy boas.

I am aware the the SIGBs are finicky feeders and I am willing and able to feed and obtain live mice to feed if push comes to shove.

Bamboo rats require cooler temps than most snakes.

Hoggies are rear fang venomous and can musk. I do know the tricks to get a snake that’s biting off of you though.

Housies and corns are known escape artists, not sure about the bantams due to their sausage shaped body.

Rosies are pretty, just really not the snake that I truly want.

KSBs are well… A box of dirt, but with a snake in it so they’re off the list.

Garters are neat, but I’m not sure I want to decapitate pinkies and slice up earthworms to feed a baby.

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I’d say Bantam corn snake escape capabilities are directly related to expression level. The higher the expression level, the less capable they should be. :slight_smile:

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Not true. I have a 2024 female that eats ft like a champ….

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Thank you! Henceforth, Repti Links could be a great substitute!

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I have a Bantam that has never escaped. I have a rosy that was a bear to get to eat ft or live at first but now he is a consistent eater. I have a hog that has never musked or bitten me. And I I a SIGB that’s a great eater but did escape once :tired_face: but I found her quickly. She doesn’t know how to hide very well! :joy:

I have owned house snakes in the past. Great snakes and great eaters. Mine never escaped. Bamboo rats come in gorgeous colors. Unless you live in a really warm climate and your house is hot it would not be difficult to keep a bamboo rat. Upper 70’s.

I just aquired a couple of rat snakes, Gulf Hammock and an Eastern Black Rat. Rat snakes are totally underrated. They are so curious, and always have their heads out watching you. They remind me of little periscopes. They are friendly and fabulous eaters. I can hook you up via direct message if you want a recommendation.

Sand boas are good little snakes too but yes they stay out of sight.

Edit to add: None of my corns have ever escaped……

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About the black rats, they are native to my area and get HUGE! About 2 years ago one got into my chicken coop for some eggs to eat and it was about 6ft and the width of a paper towel tube.

About the bamboo rats, it’s that it gets extremely hot here in the summer, average mid 80s and blaring sun. The enclosure is is situated in front of the A/C unit though so it should be kept safe and cool.

The SIGB is my most wanted, just not a lot of info out there and most of them are wild caught. Otherwise they’d make a great snake for most people. I’m probably going to keep working towards the SIGB and think about getting bantams in the future, thanks for telling me that there can be good feeders in a species known for being difficult to get eating, though that’s probably because most of those accounts are from WC animals.

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I can recommend CBB breeder, where I got mine SIGB, but privately……

She’s a little dream.

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Couple things

  1. A 40g breeder is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too large for an baby colubrid and the boid species you are talking about

  2. Why are you hard set on a hatchling? Get something that is a year or three old and has some bulk to it. Something that is more size appropriate for a 40g

Re: “SIGBs are finicky eaters” - Every adult import SITB I have had has taken readily to F/T without issue and my many friends with SIGB imports have reported the same. Fresh neos are a nightmare, but fresh neos are also not appropriate for any but the most experienced keepers (and even they fail with them a large proportion of the time)

Re: “Hoggies are rear fang venomous and can musk” - Garters are also opisthoglyphous, so if that is a ‘no-go’ then you need to strike them from your list. Garters also musk. In point of fact, every colubrid species is capable of musking to some extent or other. Rosies will also musk (but you already seem to be eliminating them so may be a moot point)

Re: “I do know the tricks to get a snake that’s biting off of you though” - The first mindset should be to avoid being bitten in the first place, not rely on “tricks”. This is especially true when it comes to something with venom. A decade of working with hogs and I have not been bitten even once

Re: “corns are known escape artists” - I kept a corn in a 55g with only those stupid flip top fish hoods from age 2 through age 27 (he was in a 10g before that) and the one and only time he escaped was when by brother left the top off after not feeding him for over two months while I was at college. A snake that is properly housed will not escape. A snake that is improperly housed will escape. It has nothing to do with the species

Re: “Garters are neat, but I’m not sure I want to decapitate pinkies and slice up earthworms to feed a baby” - Then, as I said above, do not get a baby. It is not hard to get a juvie garter. Or… feed something other than minced pinks and worms. Garters are pretty broad in their diet, use some cut up tilapia fillets and diced chicken heart and canned snails. Heck, I would bet some would even take hornworms or silkworms. And, as @caron so correctly points out, there are always ReptiLinks

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I’m curious to where I said I wanted a baby in particular? I am fine with getting a yearling or 2 or 3 Year old animal, or for a baby I can raise it in a tote or tub, I have an 8 quart sterilite bin that I could fit out with a heat mat and hides for a baby as well, and easy access to small tanks once the baby outgrows it.

Pretty much everywhere but here says that the SIGBs are finicky feeders, but it looks like anything besides fresh babies aren’t that hard to get eating after all, and I’m probably going to get one as my first snake.

I am aware that garters are rear fanged venomous, but their venom is a bit less potent and the hognoses venom is a bit more potent, though that’s the least of my concern compared to feeding difficulty, being able to handle the animal, availability CB, ect.

I actually didn’t know rosies could musk! But I am aware that any colubrid can musk, and that they will use it if they get frightened or defensive.

About being able to detach a snake that’s biting you, that’s only in the case if it bites. I do know stress signals and body language somewhat well from interacting with species who use it a lot (Parrots and my leopard gecko.), though this will be my first rodeo owning a snake, and learning their body language fully, instead of just in videos etc.

Every single source I’ve seen says that corns love to escape, but the bantams are not exactly like the regular corns in being long and skinny, compared to being a sausage shaped animal, so that doesn’t help with their escape plans.

I actually forgot about reptilinks when I wrote that, but that would probably be the optimal food source for garters, especially babies if I did get one, though I’d rather get a garter that’s a year or older because the little babies are spaghetti sized!

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Spoke my mind in every word

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Well said @gottobehoggies i see a SIGB in your future! But whatever you decide we will support! :+1:

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Just want to echo that any snake is an escape artist if given the opportunity. The smaller the snake, the smaller a gap they can squeeze through and the more vigilant you have to be. Corns are no more likely to try escaping than any other species, but because they’re especially tiny as babies and are a very common species in the pet trade, that’s probably why you’ve heard the most escape stories about corns. But any tiny baby snake (so basically babies of all the species you listed) is going to be just as likely to escape as a corn. If you make sure the enclosure is secure and ensure you’re closing it properly, your snake will not escape, regardless of species.

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