Pet snakes

[Dreamweaver]

I've been interested in getting a pet for a while, and I've basically narrowed the choices down to some sort of reptile. I've always been fascinated with snakes. Turtles are cute, but one of my friends has one and their cage has to be kept clean all the time. I'd want to keep away from animals that require an aquatic habitat.

Does anyone here any any experience with snakes or has a friend with one? I've briefly did some research, and it seems that a rat/corn snake is the best kind for beginners.

My boyfriend hates snakes and really doesn't want me to get one. Its either a snake or a tarantula! : I've never been scared of traditional "scary animals". Someday I want to get a kitty, but I couldn't provide a good enough home for one right now, plus I've always wanted to get 2 kitties, so they can keep each other company when I'm at school or work.

[philothea]

I like snakes a lot. I wanted one as a pet, but I couldn't handle feeding it.

I think snakes are very pretty, and they're interesting... though I know they sleep most of the time.

OTOH, all turtles in the world should be rounded up and put in aquariums. They clearly aren't fit to be wild animals. Just look at them!

Maybe my control-freak-ness is getting out of hand.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

I think you should get a python AND a kitty.

They'll make great playmates, I'm sure.

[zabbazooey]

[quote name='Raphael' date='Oct 29 2005, 12:42 PM']I think you should get a python AND a kitty.

They'll make great playmates, I'm sure.


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[Anthony]

[quote name='Raphael' date='Oct 29 2005, 01:42 PM']I think you should get a python AND a kitty.

They'll make great playmates, I'm sure.


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You are one weird kid, Micah.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Anthony' date='Oct 29 2005, 01:48 PM']You are one weird kid, Micah.  
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Did you get my letter?

[photosynthesis]

snakes give me the creeps...

I was in my friend's bible study once, and we were talking about Adam, Eve and the Serpent.... when we read the part that said "I will put enmity between the woman and the serpent" my friend from the Bahamas was saying that snakes and women have a natural hatred for one another... she told us this really gross story:

In the Bahamas there are a lot of snakes. Her aunt had just had a baby, and she used a pump to fill bottles with breast milk. Often they would find snakes in the refrigerator drinking the milk! And once, her aunt woke up, and she thought that what she felt was her daughter nursing her, but it was really a snake slithering across her chest.... so scary!!!!!!!

my friend Kyra had a snake once. She named him, "snake parts."

[Cow of Shame]

You could always try a garter snake...small, easy, eats worms.

[ofpheritup]

I HAVE TO PUT IN MY VOTE FOR A ........ TARANTULA !!

I used to have one. He was cute. : He was fuzzy.
He ate crickets. And then he died.
His name was Night Star.

Maintenance for a tarantula is not that much. They are actually quite boring. I used to take him for walks.

I felt sorry for him being stuck in the tank. The looks on my neighbors faces were priceless when staring at the ground I said, "No I haven't lost anything. I am following my tarantula."

Edited October 31, 2005 by ofpheritup

[Sojourner]

Not a fan of snakes here. I'm sure they do good things ... but still don't want one in my house, if I can help it. My friends in Costa Rica keep sending up pictures of huge ones they've killed in their back yard ... I'm hoping they significantly cut down on the snake population in their yard before I go visit.

[zabbazooey]

Snakes give me the creeps

get a kitten

[Dreamweaver]

I would like a kitten, but I'm not sure I could handle one with my messy apartment! Plus, I often have fabric and other sewing projects all over the floor! My would get lonely since I have a weird schedule.

I think a tarantula would be fun, and less work than a snake. I read somewhere that you have to be careful when handling them. If you drop them on the floor, they'll crack like an egg!

If I get a snake, I'd want to get a hold of a local herpetology group that would have suggestions with good beginners snakes, equipment and supplies. I'm kind of wary of huge petstores like Petco which are in it to get a buck. The animal cages can get pretty filthy also. There's a biology professor on campus who has a small snake exhibit. I could probably email him and ask if he knows anyone to talk to.

[Cow of Shame]

Garter snake:

We kept ours in a very small plastic terrarium with paper towel on the bottom for easy cleaning. We fed him a worm every few days, and had ...a baby food jar lid? in there filled with water for him. He'd curl around your fingers, and was super friendly. Sometimes, if you were feeding him worms, your fingers would smell like food & he'd accidentally grasp the tip of your finger. It was more mild than having a clothes pin clamped on your hand, his mouth was so tiny.

[Theoketos]

Snakes make good pets. My Stepdad's snake even shows him affection, seriously...

[missionseeker]

I know a preist who has a snake named Bosco. He lets the little kids play with. One time it alomst went down the sewer and there was this one kid holding it by the tail while about ten pothers went yelling for Father. It was pretty funny.

[Dreamweaver]

[quote name='missionseeker' date='Oct 31 2005, 12:01 AM']I know a preist who has a snake named Bosco. He lets the little kids play with. One time it alomst went down the sewer and there was this one kid holding it by the tail while about ten pothers went yelling for Father. It was pretty funny.
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Hehe, that's awesome! I never would have thought about a priest having a pet snake, usually they stick to more traditional pets like dogs.

Anyways, I've already decided that if I get a pet snake, I'd get a St. Francis medal and attach it to the cage, since you can't exactly put a collar on a snake.

Since garter snakes eat worms, it would be an excuse to go fishing more often! You can't just buy a container of bait worms, feed the snake one, and let the rest go to waste! It kills 2 birds with one stone: snakey gets fed worms, and I get fed fish. Cow, how big do garter snakes get? You didn't need to bother with special heating pads or lamps? Its the little things like that which can make snakes expensive.... That and pet shop prices.... <rant> I'm not spending $70 on a snake that has questionable health. Petco is out there to make money, not to care for their pets. </rant>

[ardillacid]

[quote name='Dreamweaver' date='Oct 29 2005, 12:18 PM']I've been interested in getting a pet for a while, and I've basically narrowed the choices down to some sort of reptile. I've always been fascinated with snakes. Turtles are cute, but one of my friends has one and their cage has to be kept clean all the time. I'd want to keep away from animals that require an aquatic habitat.

Does anyone here any any experience with snakes or has a friend with one? I've briefly did some research, and it seems that a rat/corn snake is the best kind for beginners.

My boyfriend hates snakes and really doesn't want me to get one. Its either a snake or a tarantula!  : I've never been scared of traditional "scary animals". Someday I want to get a kitty, but I couldn't provide a good enough home for one right now, plus I've always wanted to get 2 kitties, so they can keep each other company when I'm at school or work.
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My brother has a pet bull snake. He is the coolest pet we ever had. you should definetly get a snake. ours will curl around your arm and fall asleep

[Proud2BCatholic139]

Hm...I don't know if they would be good for me. I'm afraid it will die on me. I'm afraid of garnder snakes.
I prefer dogs!

[Cow of Shame]

[quote name='Dreamweaver' date='Oct 31 2005, 11:33 AM']Cow, how big do garter snakes get? You didn't need to bother with special heating pads or lamps? Its the little things like that which can make snakes expensive....
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6-8 inches? They're a pretty small snake, and probably won't get thicker than your little finger.... We kept ours in our closet in college (since you weren't allowed animals in the dorm rooms) so...no heater, no expensive equipment. Honest, we kept him in a terrarium that looked like this:

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but without all the frills...we just put a couple of paper towels in the bottom so we could simply lift them out when he'd dirtied them....I can't remember exactly what we did for a water bowl.

My roommate bred them, but I'm not in touch any more...I'd contact a herpatology club in your area & see if they could help you track down someone who keeps them. I'd expect they'd be pretty darn cheap, too.

[Dreamweaver]

Uh oh, I just talked to my friends, and they say that garter snakes reek like high hell. They secrete something that gets all over your hands and assumably would stink up their habitat. One of them is a zoology major, so there's no point in arguing with him.

Sssssnakes! I talked with the apartment managers, and they said that in a nutshell, the definition of pets is whether it has legs or not. (my apartment building doesn't allow pets, but my neighbor had a cat) Well, looks like snakes are A-OK! But going by the legs definition, I can't have pet roaches. Ooops, hehehe.