Snakes 'N' Adders Reptile Advice : Episode 49 - Top Ten Beginner Snakes
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- čas přidán 9. 02. 2019
- People get sniffy about the term ‘beginner’ snake. They seem to think there is some throw away connotation to it. This is certainly not what we intend or what we mean when we use the term ‘Beginner’. We mean family friendly, hardy, personable and generally awesome!!
Snakes can live in excess of two decades and we would love to think that snakes are bought with a forever home in mind.
We have chosen from over 70 species / Sub-species of snake to bring you the top ten. These are judged on qualities that make a snake a beginner snake. Charles and Paul’s chief quality of choice is hardiness. The rest can fall into place with time, but hardiness is key.
Temperament and territoriality are chief concerns amongst beginners coming into the shop. They are not the same. Some snakes are more defensive of their space than others. Once out and about in a keepers hands this usually diminishes. Territoriality is behaviour and demeanour within the enclosure. Temperament is judging those factors outside of the enclosure.
Adult Size. There is a goldilocks size of snake for the beginner. Not too small, not too big but just right. Too small and they may want specialist prey to get them started feeding. too big and they may intimidate the novice. Usually anything between 75-140(ish) cm in length depending on build gets the perfect 10.
Appetite. Many novices are mammal keepers earlier in life. They are tuned to feeding daily. A chief source of stress for the keeper is feeding. If animals later in life (particularly males) have issues with fasting and breeding season blues this will be reflected in the scores.
We hope this is of use to new or inexperienced keepers. We hope it inspires you to look at some of the awesome options you have available. Diversity is the spice of life and only by promoting it can we safeguard it.
What are your thoughts? Some thing missing, what would you have chosen and why?
Comment below.
Give us a like, a share and a comment. Thanks guys.
Chaz and Paul.
A well thought out video. I was expecting your regular 'corn, milk, royal' sort of list but was pleasantly surprised to see such a heavy load of diversity - most of said species I'd either never heard of or had completely forgotten about. A great watch, 10/10. Looking forward to seeing more like this!
thats the whole idea, there are so many cool species out there that have fallen out of fashion and it is such a shame
Love the variety! I have a young Dione's and he's calm, curious, and super hardy. Beautiful snake that's fun to interact with and easy to care for. Black Rats are another underappreciated species.
Purchased my first corn snake from you about 14 years ago when you were based in leeds and hes still going strong loved the corn snake so much i purchased another one 5 years ago there ace but will soon be expanding my collection hopfully.
late to the party i know, but one thing i would recommend to a beginner would be to read your house. take a year, whilst you are researching various species, with a high/low recording thermometer and hygrometer in the room you want to keep in and keep track of it. once you have a feel for the resting levels of humidity and temperature in your home it can influence the species/locality of snake you get. its so much less stressful to know that you are only tweaking the environment a little to make it perfect instead of trying to create an entirely artificial enclosure which takes loads of maintenance.
for example, knowing that your house stays cool in the summer can open up certain montane species which would suffer badly otherwise. or if you house is really prone to high humidity then super arid species might prove to be a constant fight to keep well.
if you can keep a handle on things like that then it makes life so much easier, and potentially cheaper as you may not need to run so much kit. obviously if you just have a passion for a particular species then you will have to work it out but it will still give you an idea of changes you might need over the seasons.
great video though.
Wow, best snake ranking I have ever seen.
Love the point system, and I love how you break it down by subspecies ( you don't lump milk and kings together)
Well thought out and brilliant video. This system could be added to many different animals and just about any reptile book.
im writing it now. 14000 words in
this is the scoring system utilused in the book. covering 70 species. obviously as long as i can find a publisher
I will be in line to purchase it when available. Can't get enough to read.
Chaz,
Excellent video. I think one of the things that those of us who are immersed in the hobby lose sight of is that we are not the driving nor the sustaining force in the industry. It is the beginner keeper who keeps the hobby alive and is the future, and nothing can be worse than for this person than to have a bad experience with his first snake, lizard or turtle. This is why videos like this are important. I have attended reptile shows for 40 years and the majority of animals that leave out the front door are with young people who have no or limited experience with keeping reptiles. I am happy when it is one from your list or a similar species. I cringe when I see it is a Burmese or reticulate python, egg eating snake, etc. Keep up the good work!
thanks mate x
yea, its soo tough. The beginners come to buy the reptiles. Their desires have been shaped by what they are watching...CZcams etc showing mass breeders, huge snakes, really beautiful animals (who wouldn't want an anaconda????); however, Expo vendors dont put enough into educating their buyers. Just because the beginners are driving the purchases in the hobby, dont underestimate your power to recommend quality shops/vendors who will focus on educating/vetting qualified owners. (its a community). I go to my local reptile expo EVERY month and wont hesitate butting into conversations helping people.
I have a normal male royal python i bought him from being a hatchling he was a bit awkward at first for feeding but once he got the hang of it he has eaten regular ever since! I watched your video on royal python and I agree with you that handling them too regular puts them off there food! So I handle him once a week and he is fine with that
Brilliant video . Totally agree on what you say there should be more of a diversity of species to choose from other than just the usual corns and royals. My favourite species are the pantherophis obsoletus and there just isn't enough of them around. Especially down here in the south east kent
Hands down the best Top 10 video I have ever seen. (from a science geek!). I have many of these species and concur. (except my African House Snake has always been a 10!!!! She has never been whippy..so shes the one to call you liar. haha.) I love the promotion of the diversity. (its difficult to recommend some of these species given their limited availability in the hobby). It took me a year to find a House Snake (at an expo) and I had to travel to do it. However, if the demand goes up...there will be more popping up around. Thanks for being part of the diversity conversation!
thanks ami, your continued support is much appriciated
ask me a question ami? none political about snakes. can i help with anything. ill answer it next video.
this is a great vid really helpful
I like vids like this, introduces various species to everyone
fantastic video!
thanks
Wonderful video, you guys are great. I really enjoy watching you and appreciate your passion for snakes and how both professional and respectful of the animals you are.
I also have a question I would really like to ask you, regarding your list: do Rosy Boas make it in the top 10 or not? And if so, where would you put them at? Thank you in advance, looking forward to your feedback!
awesome
cheers x
Excellent vid Chaz. Can't argue with Corn being top and refreshing to see someone be honest about Royals. A little surprised Childreni made it in and Maculosa didn't. Can't be far off. But you know me and my spotties... Also, really good to see Diones being up there. Massively underrated species.
yes just the slightly higher humidity and scored marginally lower in temperament
Humidity and fasting is why I wouldn't recommend Royals as a first snake. Having been through the fasting I can say that as a new (albeit my Royal was my second snake) keeper, it can be stressful.
i looked spotted got 82% so marginally missed out bro
Sounds fair, they're great whatever score they got.
@@markheath213 I recommend Royals for adults who have an interest and want to share that interest with their kids (especially if their kids are smaller). Their temperament makes them great with smaller children because they are slower moving and generally a bigger body and less fragile.
I really love your vids. Your concern for the welfare of the animal is admirable. But can I say that some stock still images would add a lot for absorbtion and comprehension.
i know our production value is shit. this is all filmed on a cell phone....... i cant do the flash gear so jist stick to the info.
Probably a great video if only I wasn't at work so I could watch it haha
i'm glad antaresia made the list! they're stock standard beginner snakes in australia for a reason. my stimmie was my first snake and i couldn't have asked for a better snake to start with.
What about the Cal King?? I have one and he's awesome. He loves his food but he never bites or has bitten me, or not even musking, never did it also.. I had him since he was 2months, and now I have him almost 8 months. He becomes 1year 29june 2020. I have him since august 24 2020. He's very chill I can pet him in his terra and he crawls onto my hand.😃
Great video thought there would be couple more pythons/ boas
I understand why a boa bci wouldnt be on the list but i feel they show qualities for a great beginner. Like there rediculous apetite almost always dog tame and are pretty hardy. Most stay with in that 5-6 feet range but because bcis include so many different boas all over south smerica they range in size so some max at 4 feet and others at 7. I think they can be a beginner if its there looking for in regards to a bigger snake but then again im biast they are my favourite snake.
down to confidence i suppose. the smaller they are the grumpier they can be, the largest, the columbians are usually the most soppy tame. Some ca boas are arseholes. great shout mate. thanks for the comment x
Very informative video Chaz. I am curious as to how species from Pituophis would score under your and Paul’s criteria? Thank you.
you will have to wait for the book........... nicked the scores from it. working on it now.
their defensiveness was an issue and their size. But bear in mind one of my fave snakes is a northern pine. love love love em.
👍👍👍👌👌
Rosy boa should have been top 3 and gopher snake should I been top 7 those were the ones that you forgot
I love getting to see your math for this, and this is a really useful breakdown! I always thought that when you said beginner snake or beginning snake you were talking about snakes that were good for beginners (and maybe a snake that would begin your collection), so I'm a bit perplexed that it has gotten you negative feedback.
I'm really curious as to where the beauty snakes (especially the Taiwanese Beauty Snake) and the bamboo ratsnake and similar (Oreocryptophis group) would come in on your beginner snakes score sheets. Also, since these are the top ten, and you've obviously talked about a lot of awesome beginner snakes that aren't on this list, around what percentage on these would consider something to start being a good beginner snake?
i felt that oreocryptophis are still just a little bit too specialist for the novice. humid yet cool is a weird proposition.
@@SnakesNAdders That makes sense. I was looking at stats for their native environments, and I found it really interesting that their native temperature and humidity ranges are pretty close to the environment where I live (I live on the edges of a temperate rain forest). What sorts of challenges do cool and humid present that are different from warm and humid? The ones that come to mind for me are mostly cleanliness (like not getting mildew in the enclosure).
well yes essentially that and humid and cool becomes cold and wet
@@SnakesNAdders I'm guessing that one of the biggest issues for maintaining the humidity levels without ending up with a cold wet enclosure would be sufficient ventilation? I'm probably not looking at oreocryptophis for a first snake (though probably one of the other Asian rat snakes, thanks to your showing how gorgeous they are), but it's an interesting thing to think through the challenges a bit.
Great video Chaz, I guessed number one right. Can you tell me what percentage the California Kingsnake got? Maybe it was their size that excluded them from the top 10.
i will check bro. be later today. its the voracity with which they cn react. Foooooooooood. no, not food. my hand! idiot. oh yeah sorry, my bad, ill be good now.
territoriality cost them. the three that made it are just that bit more gentle. i imagine the rest of thr getulus will have been 81-82%.
@@SnakesNAdders Ah yeah I forgot about their food response and territoriality, thank you for taking the time to check that for me.
Can I toss the Black Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum gaigeae) into the ring (figuratively speaking of course)? To my knowledge the largest of the milks and in my opinion the slowest and calmest. Montane species that doesn’t require much by way of supplemental heat and hardy as all hell. Only “downside” is they can reach 6’ but their tractable nature offsets their size.
consider it chucked in!!!! great shout
Oh, and thank you for this video! It’s invaluable and I’m hoping you’ll do a follow up for intermediate species.
Two species specific inquiries. Based on your formula, would you Spotted Pythons warm an honorable mention on your list? My Spotted, and granted I’ve only had one, has been ace (as you would say) since I got him. Hardy, voracious eater, a bit flightly before I pick him up but then puppy dog tame and a very much a manageable size.
Also based on your formula, how would you rate Savu Pythons as far as temperament and territoriality? I found limited information on both before purchasing her but decided to bite the bullet anyway. She’s the only example of the species I have and has been a bit of a challenge temperament and territoriality (word?) wise. Very curious on your take.
Your channel has quickly become one of my favorites for all things herps. Love your content and delivery. Keep it up!
spotted pythons got an 82% overall. slightly more stroppy as babies and from higher humidity regions than childrens. Its marginal. If it had been top 12 potentially would have featured.
savus as adults are say 8.5 and 7.5 respectively, savus as babies are 5.5 and 5.5 respectively.
and thankyou for the support!!! xxxx
Snakes 'N' Adders You’ve assuaged my concerns somewhat about my Savu. She’s just over a year old (color change is under way but incomplete) and quite defensive until I take her out though once she’s out she’s not the least bit aggressive - Just quite nervous. Yesterday she evacuated her bowels on me for the second time since I’ve had her. I’d placed her in a temporary tub that for whatever reason caused her to tail flick and generally freak out. When I took her back out, pee and poop went flying. Would you still consider her a baby at this stage? If so, gives me hope she’ll settle down still because I do worry that I’m doing something wrong. By the way, thank you for engaging with your subscribers. We appreciate your time :)
Even wild caught savuensis as adults are usually dog tame and very rarely bite. When i had the chance years back to have cb babies i thought awesome what an opportunity. they were little bastards all four of them. This does seem to be a pattern with liasis as tiddlers. Thankfully it does subside and i would have not reservations in saying with work you will have a dog tame adult
Does your shop deliver snakes? Interested in getting a brown house snake or spotted python when we move into a bigger place. In Glasgow. :D
yes we can courier animals
If you go down the courier route I'd recommend creature courier.
Hi there!
Is there anychance you could recommend a second snake species to own? We currently have 2 corns (one adult and one yearling), without a doubt the best starter snake in my opinion. We're in chesterfield and are looking at your bull snakes as a possible second species to get, as they seem relatively similar to corns in setup and temp. I was just wondering if you have any objections to getting a bullsnake as a semi-beginner? or if there is anything i should look out for in terms of their health?
Thanks for any reply,
And Thankyou for the great video, i look forward to watching more :)
bull snakes are beginner. slightly more huffy occasionally when young but calm down wonderfully. they were assessed for this list for beginners 76% i think. size and territoriality cost them. this is a bigger species. the babies we have though are laid back. we also have northern pines which are very similar.
@@SnakesNAdders Thank you for the information, i have heard they are sometimes huffy but i dont think that'll be enough to put me off haha. From what i've seen the adult size is impressive without being too big for us so thats no problem. i'll have to look into the northern pines more as i had set my eyes on a bullsnake but if they're a better option it would be unfair not to.
thanks again, and i hopefully will see you in the shop soon enough :)
What percentage would a rosy boa get? I'm a total novice, interested in getting one but have been hearing mixed reviews about their temperament (the one I met was so sweet though)
Total honesty I forgot them in this video. I think they were joint 3rd about 88% ish if not slightly higher.
Just watch their feeding response. Apart from that superb
thought of another question sorry do you know which is bigger the male or female brooks kingsnake ?
The same, snake eaters are usually equal as mature animals.
o ok thank you you bin really helpful