Allright.... anyone have experience with snakes?? I have always wanted one, and with pet options being limited to silent tank animals I am looking to finally get one.

I would like to stay away from little corn snakes and king snakes as they just really don't interest me much. I would also like to stay away from Burmese Pythons or any known aggressive snake. (I want to stay above it on the food chain..... )

I am pretty much looking at a Ball Python on the smaller side and a Red Tail Boa on the larger side and any similar snake. Albinos and exotic snakes are cool.... but I don't want to be dropping $1000 on this guy. I would like to get it pretty young, captive bred, and feeding on frozen (for the snakes safety.)

I am pretty much looking for any pointers, price estimates on tanks and other materials, as well as breed reccomendations, and sources/connections for actually getting a young snake and tank set up for not quite top dollar.

Thanks guys.

Garder snake!!! If you already have a tank (but it's empty) expect about $50 for decor and such....And $50 for the snake (at least at my local Petco)...

And then food.

Ok..... Ball Python on the SMALL side. LoL They hit at least 3 feet and usually 5. A Red Tail Boa is usually closer to 7 or 8. Garter snakes hit maybe a foot and a half, maybe. And they charge $50?? I find them around outside of my house all of the time. LoL I want a snake that can eat a garter snake. ;-)

Garter snakes grow to closer to 5 feet long, and are actually more aggressive than Pythons and Boas. I have owned a Ball python, a Red tail Boa, and 2 King snakes. The best by far as for Aggressiveness and ease of handling was the Red tail Boa. When you are ready to get a snake, DO NOT go to Pet Smart, Petco, Local pet shops, etc. They are WAY overpriced. There is a place in Indiana, on Rte 30, called "Chicago Reptile house". They are way better priced, and the people are a LOT more knowledgable about snakes.

At Petsmart/Petco, etc, they usually charge cloae to $100 for a Red tail boa. Chicago Reptile House was around $65 when I got mine.

Do some research at your local pet shops to see if they sell feeder mice. As a Baby snake, you will need to feed it pinkies (just born mice) for the first couple weeks, then work up to Fuzzies ( slightly bigger, just growing hair baby mice). Once it is big enough to feed full size mice, you can go to Petco to get mice.

Looks like there is a Chicago Reptile house in Orland park as well. I do not know if it is associated with the Indiana one. Click Here!

It's looking like a Red Tailed Boa then. Although I did some more looking and it said common length for a Garter snake was 2 feet and that only the California Giant Garter Snake will reach about 4 feet....

Get a fish.

freeride, look me up in PM if your interested but I go to the reptile swap that is run by breaders and they have just about every type of snake depending on the season and whats laying or hatching. It is Ball python time and there was about 200 balls there all ranging from $15~$25,000 so you can pretty much fit your price range. They are a little touchy to get to eat sometimes but once started they get to a pretty decent size and thickness. I have a baby male and my GF (queen) has about a 5+ft female that we will breed when my male is of age. Other than that I have had Corn, Red-Tails and my favorite; the Brazilian Rainbow. The rainbow needs just a bit more humidity and they stay hidden for a while sometimes but they are so beautiful to handle, get amazing color and look even better in the sun but as babies they can be a little nippy right away but mine never bit me. The rainbows will run you about $150 from a breader so its not too bad but resale is around $300+ for a nice adult. First timer, prolly a ball is your best bet and there are about 100 different morphs of that breed alone (mine is a 100% Orange Ghost Het.), but if you want to really read up on a snake and have a slight challenge, get a rainbow, I know I am getting another one soon.

You can get them to eat off of frozen after a while, most snakes from stores and breeders use live prey cause its easier, some use frozen but majority are live. I feed live to my ball to get him to start eating, took him 2months to finally eat the first time but now he takes them in under a few minutes and is getting better, once he learns that its feeding time, he will start taking frozen. BTW they sell all of the prey there too, frozen around $0.35~$0.50 per mouse and live around the same, all the way up to bunnies (live of course and now selling frozen baby PIGS for a little bit bigger snakes.

Cool cool. Thanks. It looks like I am pretty much down to a Red Tail or a Ball. That was the one thing that I liked when looking at ball python pics online was all of the coloring differences. I have heard of the reptile swap, but where is it?? And does anyone have a tank setup they are looking to get rid of??

I had a ball python when I was in school. It was a very nice, calm pet. Always handleable and friendly. I built my own cage from bathroom grade white coated panels, plexiglass front and sealed the frame with poly. Had a big piece of driftwood for climbing and a heat rock. It got to be about three feet long and I fed it hamsters and rats live about once a month or whenever we had a party LOL. Eventually I outgrew it and sold it.

You outgrew it?? LoL That's kind of funny. I plan on having whatever one I get for quite some time. Goal #1 will be to get him through college though....

dude-my wife works at a small local pet shop. a mom and pop store.she has many cust that deal with the schamburg reptile swap meet.please be verry carefull with who you deal with.if you want to talk with someone with experiance and knowlege call. 847-223-5444 thats the pet shop #

they sell tanks and everything at the swap. The redtails are nice, I had a 6footer but I dont like the coloring or the heads at all on them so I sold him since it was a package deal with a tank I got. I am kinda finiky about what I buy and there is a lot to look for when buying a snake and knowing who your buying from. My personal preference is look and size of the snake, color, since I have alot of experience then comes how tame they are. I can pretty much handle anything and adapt to how they need to be handled, cared for and fed so be carefull how much you dig yourself into right away. The two you are looking at are great beginner snakes, just a hint of advice, use papertowel in the tank for a while unless you can get some carpeting and have a few pieces for when you clean the cage when they doo-doo. Good luck.

I have a ball python, hes almost 1 1/2 yrs old, and i got him for $15 by trading in my corn snake, but they cost $50 out of the cage

Im using a 29 gallon tank that used to be for my fishies, but its a bit tall, so its hard to keep a consistent humidity

You can probably find a whole setup: Snake, tank, bedding,heat pad/rock, and some deco(logs, water bowl, etc) for about $150 or less


The ball is a really calm species, doesnt move too much, but doesnt sit there all day


I feed mine once every 1 1/2-2 weeks, and he sheds every 2-4 months..But because my tank is so tall, and i cant keep a constant humidity, he doesnt shed so great, maybe its cause hes young tho

I have a buddy with 2 redtails, 2 hognose pythons, 1 burm, and 1 ball python. He said that if you know what you are looking for and who you are dealing with then the reptile swaps are great, but you need to watch out. I know about looking out for mites and such, but other than that checking for activity level and eating at a big swap is near impossible. I do have a small local shop in glen ellyn that seems real up, and not too outrageous on their prices. I am almost tempted to spend a bit more anyway so that I know they are captive bred, eating well, healthy, etc.

What is that pet shop that you know and who should I talk to there that you know?? And your name so that they know that you sent me. I will check it out....

The thing I didn't like about the Ball Python, is it is TOO docile. It would move around occasionally, but not very much. The Red-Tail has a bitmore personality and moves around a bit more.

There was just a thing on the radio about a woman who had 20 garter snakes in her car, one was 4 feet long...

When I was younger, we used to go back by the railroad tracks, and look for garters. We caught one that was about 4 1/2-5 feet long. The main problem with garter snakes, for a "harmless" snake, when it is aggitated, it will strike repeatedly. Most snakes will give a warning bite and back off. I did have a King snake that latched onto a friend, and wouldn't let go, but she worked at a petshop, and still had some odor on her hands from the mice and rats...