Too Much Reading = One Confused Snake Newbie :)

[Alldone]

I have a few different species that I am thinking about for my nine year old daughter - trying to decide which would be best. My son has already chosen to get a diamond hatchling & they won't be housed together. Feel free to add your opinions!

I like the sound of the Murray Darling Carpet as it seems to have a nice temperament & be the most bomb proof but I've read they can grow HUGE - what do others find is their average size???

I also like the sound of a Spotted Python as they're small in size but I've read that they are snappy (small snake syndrome possibly :lol???

I can get a Coastal Carpet but I've read they can be very unpredictable in temperament & you don't know what you will end up with & also that they're pretty large???

OR I can just get another Diamond (the yearling one or a hatchling) - but then they'll both have the same kind of snake???

Decisions, decisions.... Also if anyone else thinks they know the perfect snake for a nine year old girl (she isn't scared of them) then feel free to suggest alternatives.

 

[Megzz]

Get something different than what you've already got, more exciting then. You could get her a stimson. They're small and I love mine, he never bites. Some people say they're bad feeders, but mine hasn't refused a feed (yet). I think they look better than spotteds (just my opinion!)

 

[shaye]

Y not just get a pair of diamonds male for your son and female for you daughter

 

[BARRAMUNDI]

Hi Mum,

Murray Darlings, Diamonds and Coastals all have the potential to grow pretty big and all can be snappy. Their temperament is generally an individual characteristic except for Jungles in the majority of cases.

Diamonds are a really good snake to start with especially young ones. They start off fairly average looking and relatively quiet, as they grow and shed their colour increases and improves, this can be like getting a new snake each time they shed.

Diamonds generally feed well, are not snappy and easy to maintain. They can get large, however they are slow growing which gives you time to build up the confidence you and your kids need.

Basically all snakes can be fussy and snappy and all snakes can be easy going.

You just need to decide whats attractive to your family and find a good breeder selling what you want.

Make sure you ask for:
- a good feeder that feeds on frozen/thawed rodents
- a snake thats not snappy
- a snake that the breeder is confident selling to a nine year old for her first snake

 

[zuesowns]

1 thing you shouldn't judge is temperament, snake is a snake - it's a wild reptile, sure it's captive breed but it's instincts remain the same, you may get a placid snake - you may not. it's best to handle it before and and see if you could deal with it or not. I would never trust a python, 1 of mine has never bitten but I would never trust it completely. all it takes is the smell of rodent on you and your snake will mistake you for food.

Ants family are good handlers along with morelia carpets. all depends on what size of snake you want stimson python is part of the ants family and only grows to about 1 meter. spotteds a littler larger. MD even larger - your python will grow depending how much and how often you feed them. if you are offering 1 rodent per week - it will not become obeast. it doesn't sound like you will be breeding so there is no need to feed your python up for breeding.

my suggestion is go for a smaller python for a first time snake for a little girl - she will be able to control when handling as apose to a murray darling which will most likely outgrow her!

 

[Jay84]

I would get a Diamond pair, they are great snakes and as mentioned before are slower growing than most carpets. The majority are docile and good natured. This way, in quite a few years time when your snakes are sexually mature and your kids are older and more capable of it they can breed these snakes. How rewarding would that be??? The snakes they have watched grow have now had babies of their own!

Bear in mind though, any snake bought with a nice temperament can also turn at ANY time! My Diamond was a puppy until last year......... now he is a psycho! I have had him 9 years now.

 

[shaye]

Yeh and when they breed u can sell the babies and buy bigger better enclosures or buy more snakes or put it towards the power bill just like jay said it would be rewarding if they end up breeding and u got couple of years before they do so u can do as much research on breeding them as possible
cheers
!!ShAyE!!

 

[Profanicus]

Get a Woma or a Bredli, ideal medium starter snakes. But I am biased.

 

[PhilK]

All the carpets are good choices and their care is almost identical - diamonds need to be kept a bit cooler. Their sizes do vary a bit with coastals being the biggest common one; you'll need to read up on that!

Childrens/spotted/stimsons are excellent natured snakes and remain a small size.

No snake is snappier than any other - some have a reputation eg jungles but really every snake can be placid or snappy, it's just an individual thing!

 

[Bez84]

Go for a port macquarie carpet, all mine have had great temperments as hatchlings and grow up to be great adults aswell.
Also there more "newbie" friendly then diamond pythons.

 

[joanna_maryanna]

I would/did go for a spotted hatchling. Ours is the most placid snake you could ever come across. Feeds well, sheds well, and is happy to be handled. It even turns its head if the kids are holding it and it hears my voice. And even fully grown they dont need a huge enclosure.

My kids are 5, 7 and 9 and all love it.

Now, my Jungle is another story, ha ha ha.

 

[Khagan]

Ask her to pick one she likes. Seriously, the best choice would be one she is herself interested in (Within reason ofcourse). Everyone's opinion is just biased on what they own and like the best lol.

Just remember, though some of these snakes reach what may seem like big sizes, it takes years to get that size.

 

[mungus]

Placid Jungle, diamond or bredli would do her fine.

 

[AM Pythons]

It even turns its head if the kids are holding it and it hears my voice.

i would love to see that..lol it must be one 'special' snake...

 

[joanna_maryanna]

i would love to see that..lol it must be one 'special' snake...

I like to think so

 

[AM Pythons]

snakes are deaf.. they dont have ears..lol..

 

[Snakelove]

snakes are deaf.. they dont have ears..lol..

lol i was gonna say but i didn't really want to ruin the 'moment' for her. lol

 

[Alldone]

snakes are deaf.. they dont have ears..lol..

Party pooper! hahah

 

[moosenoose]

hehe and you don't think diamonds grow too large??? They are one big snake when you get a few years into them!

To be honest, DO NOT worry so much about the size at this point in time. As long as it’s young now, by the time the snake has reached any sizable length your daughter will be old enough to be able to manage it and will have learnt to be confident around it. That said, any python over the 6-7ft mark can be a bit of a handful if they are in a disagreeable mood :lol:

 

[J-A-X]

I like the sound of the Murray Darling Carpet as it seems to have a nice temperament & be the most bomb proof but I've read they can grow HUGE - what do others find is their average size???
I know of 3 MD adults that are around the 6ft mark and bombproof


I also like the sound of a Spotted Python as they're small in size but I've read that they are snappy (small snake syndrome possibly :lol???
but a lot of hatchies are snappy/nippy mostly due to a self defense against being eaten, so maybe the small size of spotteds may make them snappy

I can get a Coastal Carpet but I've read they can be very unpredictable in temperament & you don't know what you will end up with & also that they're pretty large???

I have a 2 1/2yo coastal and she has just passed the 6ft mark, and 4ft of that has ben in the last 18mths, at this rate i'm expecting her to max out around the 8ft mark, she was/is bombproof and that seems to be the norm rather than the exception with coastals. but their size means a larger than average enclosure.
.

please please please keep in the back of your mind that snakes are all muscle and very effective at using them, One of my nervous darwins managed to wrap around my wrist to the point that my fingers started turning blue, i'm no 2lb weakling and he was only as thick as my middle finger, and the more i tried to unwrap him the tighter he got, i gave up from fear of hurting something so small...so their strength is not something to take for granted, especially around our precious children,

snakes are deaf.. they dont have ears..lol..

Many people believe that snakes are deaf. They do however have an inner ear and are quite capable of ‘hearing’.
Anytime an animal (or person) walks on the ground it creates vibrations. When the wave reaches the snake it is picked up by the bones and muscles in the snakes lower jaw. These vibrations are focused to a bone that is connected to the inner ear of the snake. Then it was also thought that while snakes could “hear” they couldn’t localize sounds. In other words they couldn’t pinpoint where something was and had to rely on their poor eyesight and smell to home in on their prey.
Recently science has discovered that due to the elasticity of a snakes jaw, vibrations in the ground can be localized to aid the snake in determining which direction a sound is coming from. the snakes hinged jaw allows them to pick up the vibrations independently of one another depending on which side they come from.
There is evidence according to the study that the auditory neurons of the snake actually create a topographical map which allows them to pin-point prey by the vibrations they create. In a nutshell it is a form of echolocation. Much like Dophins

Even our own hearing is a conversion of vibrations by our brain. And I have witnessed my own coastal react at the sound of a high pitched noise maker, (no movement from the user of the noisemaker) its the fastest I have even seen my coastal move... straight to her hide...