Need Help Choosing My First Snake

[barish]

hey everyone im new to keeping reptiles and stuff but yeh im really interested in getting a snake but have no idea what to start off with. i want one that i can handle proboly a couple times a week and also one that is not too big. i really would like to buy a woma hatchling but does anyone know if they bite much,are they too hard to take of and if they are available in north brissy area. thanks

---------- Post added 26-Dec-10 at 09:52 AM ----------

woops i forgot to mention anyone know how big and how much money womas cost?

 

[Jeabou]

I'm still new to all this as well, and am yet to get my first snake, but I would probably stick with the Antaresia genus of snakes (childreni, stimsoni or maculosa). And, most importantly, make sure you have researched until you can research no more! Think of every worst case scenario ie. the snake getting sick, where will you take it, stuff like that. And everyone on here will tell you that all snakes have different temperements and as long as you don't handle them when you shouldn't (after eating, whilst shedding etc) then you will increase your chances of not being tagged by the snake.

But can't stress enough, RESEARCH. I just picked this off the first website that google came up with but check out

An introduction to keeping and breeding Australian reptiles by Mike Swan and Damian Goodall

And this site offers a good a list of other reads.

The Herp Shop - Australia

 

[snakeluvver]

Womas grow about 1.5m long and cost $400 on average, you can sometimes find them for less. All snakes vary with temperment, but womas are generally good. They can mistake your hand for food whilst they are inside the tank, but once they are out they're quite docile. I live in north brissy area and I cant say there are any nearby that I know of, but you can get one sent from other places in australia.

 

[shelby]

Welcome to the Herping World! you've been bitten by the bug, it's a wonderful thing,

everyone will have a different opinion, but if i was helping you find a first snake that was always handleable and didn't get to big , i'd be steering you in the direction of a Stimmy ($100 - 200 and >4ft) or something similar, i havent yet had a bad experience with one, but as i said everyone will have a different opinion,

Womas are a beautiful snake, they can be completly docile, but can also be the spawn of satan, (but then again every breed can have both) they do tend to have a higher food drive/response and in my experince tend to feed like a freigh train, hitting very hard and anything that gets in the way, they do tend to cost more than a Stimmy, but they are different animal, and they can get quite large, the price has come down a lot in the last year of so, womas are $500- 800 i think, please dont hold me to these prices, there if you have a look in the For Sale pages in here you might find some, and if you can get a lift or drive to the airport they can be freighted from anywhere, I personally dont know of a brissy breeder, but i'm sure they are out there,

Best of luck, hope i have helped, cant wait to see pics of what you end up getting

 

[barish]

okay thanks guys. btw ive done some research and although alot of places say sometimes woma's attack your hand thinking its food but if i get it as a baby but the time it is old enough to hurt he would be pretty used to me by then wouldnt he??

 

[shelby]

well that would be the hope,
in my experince they dont strike and let go like some others, they can strike and chew, and in the case of my boy, at about 18months odd old, he went from being my baby, loving being held and cuddled to down right nasty in the space of 24 hours it seemed, one day i'm loving sitting with him in my lap, or over my shoulders, the next he's bitting and leaving teeth in me, :-( OUCH!!! and it got to the point of striking at me throught the glass if i went near him or walked past his enclosure, (only me, no one else warranted a strike) he has finally stopped striking at me 4+ years later, but if anyone trys to handle him you will be taste tested a few times, there is no strike, just a gentle nuzzle then you realise you have a snake latched on to your arm, after a few secs he'll "spit you back out" and go for a bit more of a cruise to find his next taste point,

 

[barish]

damm if i bought a snake and it bit me and left teeth in me my parents would never let me get another reptile..maybe ill stick with a stimsons or childrens python

---------- Post added 26-Dec-10 at 10:28 AM ----------

btw im still in the process of convincing my parents let me get a snake but ive got the license but so maybe a smaller snake like childrens or stimsons python is better for now.

 

[shelby]

i didn't type that to scare you, i just wanted to let you know that there are not such nice ones out there, i really hope that you get a woma that is just amazing, if you were closer to Toowoomba i'd ask you over to have a handle of a couple of different species,

 

[barish]

okay cool well how far is toowoomba from brisbane and what reptiles do you have?

 

[snakeluvver]

barish, if you want a woma get a woma. I'm sure many will agree, they are usually more docile than Stimmys, Childreni, Macs ect. They do usually have a strong feeding response, yet again I've seen a woma that had to be force fed so they arent all like that. A strong feeding response is best, because that means you probably wont have any problems getting them to eat. Womas are beautiful creatures, and if you want a docile one, make sure you hold it before you buy it to make sure its friendly enough for you, that what I did
Good luck!

 

[barish]

okay but the problem is i cant hold it before i buy it becuase i cant find anyfor sale in brisbane so i would have to get it sent over from like NT or another state.

 

[JAS101]

iv never held any of my womas before i brought them [ i have 6 tanamis] and all are placid , until food time.

 

[micksta9]

Barish welcome aboard, I have also recently entered the world of reptile keeping, I have both a Weatbelt Stimson's Male Python 1yr old, and a Tanami Woma also male and 1yr old. Here's what iv'e experienced with my 2 boys which i've had for a couple of months. My Stimson's python is small only 75cm and very managable he has never tried to bite strike or shown any aggression, within 2 weeks of arrival he had settled in and we handle him 3-4 times a week and he likes to be out and about. My Woma is a big boy in comparison he is about 4.5 ft strong and fairly boystrous in his enclosure he basically trashes it knocking things over etc. He took a bit longer to settle in he is very docile and handles well but is very strong. Feeds like a demon possesed and the first time nearly took my arm off.
The thing is they are very different if you want something very easy to manage and handle i would suggest a Stimson Python from my experience. If you want a snake that has more personality and is more active get a Woma. What ever you get do lots of research and lots of reading make sure you are well prepared and get a snake from a good breeder, Good Luck

 

[buck]

You will find opposite ends of the scale in every breed of snake when it comes to temperment. Womas do tend to have a strong feed response and often will think that your presence means food. That generally explains the behavour in the enclosure. Most once out are very placid.
If you explain what you want to the breeder i.e. a very placid snake that would be good to handle, the breeder would have an idea if he/she has something suitable. I've only bred four hatchies this season and three of them display the typical "s" pose ready to head-butt but only one I would describe as being a little highly strung. The others settle once picked up.

 

[barish]

okay thanks everyone. micksta does the stimson python just sleep all day becuase if so then i would proboly rather the woma and buck i dont know any breeders so do you know any in brisbane or could you get your hatchlings sent up?

 

[shelby]

My stimmy has been out and about cruising for the last few days, she's happy and just checking things out, but she does love to snuggle down in her 1/2 pot, guess it would depend on the temp and how recently it's been fed as to how active any python it is at your place,

 

[Jeabou]

okay but the problem is i cant hold it before i buy it becuase i cant find anyfor sale in brisbane so i would have to get it sent over from like NT or another state.

It might be a long shot, but you could check out Australia Zoo and see if you could talk to one of the keepers about holding/getting more info on Woma's. I was there a couple of months ago for uni and the snake they brought out to us was a Woma, seemed pretty placid.

 

[solar 17]

Did you ever bother to look in the "for sale" section on "this" website? because there are hatchie womas advertised here in Brisbane, but don,t expect to be able to handle private keepers reptiles before you purchase them as they [the keepers] don't know what you are carrying on your hands l know l don't and if you don't like that then "walk" you may not like it but it assures you that no one else has passed on a "fatal" bacteria/virus to that snake / collection....solar 17 [Baden]

 

[giggle]

If you think your parents would freak out about you getting bitten then a snake probably isnt for you lol It would be wise to expect that you will be bitten by a snake... but if you dont get bitten, its a bonus.

You will need to prepare your parents for that... but make them aware that you could get a worse injury from tripping and skinning your knee LOL a snake bite isnt that much to freak out about... but it is something to be aware of... and the species of snake wont save you from being bitten Even Antaresia can bite under the right circumstances. Just check out reptile_mans post... his first snake bite was from an antaresia

 

[snakeluvver]

Snake bites dont really hurt. They just bleed and freak you out a bit (or in my case, a lot :lol: !)