# First Snake: Garter, Corn or Python?



## solidsquid (Jan 4, 2013)

Hi all, I've been looking at getting my first snake again recently (wanted one since I was a kid) but I'm not sure what type to get, so was wondering if anyone here had any advice on which would be the best option.

Originally I was considering a corn snake, since they seem to be the standard first snake and are supposed to be relatively easy to keep, but then I heard that garter snakes didn't need to be fed on mice and could do better in colder conditions (obviously I'd be heating the vivarium, but I'm in Scotland and my flat does get pretty cold in winter). The last option is largely because I started watching Snake Bytes and Brian seemed to suggest ball pythons were a good starter too and they do have some really amazing patterns even without mutations.

Does anyone with more experience have advice on which of these I should get, or is there any general advice people have for a first time owner? Also, something I haven't seen mentioned is whether it's better to go with a baby snake vs adolescent/adult. How does raising the snake so it's more used to you measure up against knowing it's fed well in the past and (I'd assume) the easier job of working out how much to feed them

Thanks in advance for any help you can give


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## powerpuffruth (Apr 2, 2012)

I'd go for a corn snake. super feeders (unlike some royals who can be fussy). Also easy to get a supply of mice. Garters like lancefish so if you can get them their good starter snake to. But I really love my corns and I have 5 different species of snake.


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## powerpuffruth (Apr 2, 2012)

Also I'd go for a baby corn it's great fun seeing them grow up :2thumb:


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## Exzhal (Jul 13, 2012)

Corn or royal, both great starter snakes. I've no experience on garter's so can't comment on that.

Royal's can be a little fussy with food sometimes, mine hasn't missed a feed for around 6 months now though.


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## AilsaM (May 18, 2011)

I can recommend corns (no experience with other 2) and I would go for a baby, I got mine at 12 weeks old and it is great watching them grow, mine is 2 years old now and changed so much in her first 2 years with me.


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## samurai (Sep 9, 2009)

I chose a rainbow boa for my first snake and now have a king too, with plans to add a dwarf boa and royal sometime this year. If there is a particular type of snake you love, I'd say go down that route. A lot of people on here also recommend this as lots of people buy corn snakes or royals then apparently become bored with them as they are not the species that that person really wanted in the first place. My rainbow boa was I think about 3 years old when I got him and the retailer wasn't sure how old my king snake is but I'd guess around 18 months, I've had no problems handling or feeding mine.

What species do you like best? If it's a species that's considered differcult to keep perhaps we can suggest a similar but more hardy species.


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## obrowell (Jan 8, 2010)

I believe with the right research that most species within reason can be kept as a first snake. I've kept a lot of different species including the three species you've mentioned. My personal favs are garters, although I recommend corns too. I love garters because they are so active during the day and make a great display pet. They come in a fantastic array of naturally occuring forms. They are voracious feeders. Mine feed on a mixture of bits of trout and pinkies. They are a lot faster than corns to get hold of but are fun to handle and I've never had any problems. I love them and they are a pleasure to keep. 

Corns are great too - generally placid, easy to handle and great feeders. You can get them in a vast array of morphs too. From personal experience they aren't anywhere as active as garters during the day. They grow a little larger but are slower to handle.

I've kept royals and I can understand why people love them, but for me they just didn't do it. I like active animals that I can watch going about their business. But as I said each to their own.

Summing up I think go with which ever species you like the look of and best suits what you want from a pet snake. For me it was a smallish species that was easy to feed, good to hande and fun to watch during the day. That's why garters got my vote 15 years ago and I still keep a variety of them now. However, your criteria may be slightly different.


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## solidsquid (Jan 4, 2013)

Thanks for the feedback everyone. It sounds like I should just work out which snake I prefer, but garter or corn would be the easiest to care for. I still need to get the go ahead from the landlord, so I'll put a bit more thought into which I'd prefer. I think I'm leaning towards garter snake, just because of the easier feeding, although corn snakes do still appeal and seem easier to get hold of in various designs than garter snakes

Also, thanks for the recommendation of getting a younger snake so I can watch it grow, hadn't really thought of it that way and I think that's probably a good call.


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## AilsaM (May 18, 2011)

solidsquid said:


> Thanks for the feedback everyone. It sounds like I should just work out which snake I prefer, but garter or corn would be the easiest to care for. I still need to get the go ahead from the landlord, so I'll put a bit more thought into which I'd prefer. I think I'm leaning towards garter snake, just because of the easier feeding, although corn snakes do still appeal and seem easier to get hold of in various designs than garter snakes
> 
> Also, thanks for the recommendation of getting a younger snake so I can watch it grow, hadn't really thought of it that way and I think that's probably a good call.


I would recommend corns but I am going on my own corn which has been a perfect feeder since day one with me.


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## AilsaM (May 18, 2011)

joneukm3 said:


> imageAlso I'd go for a baby corn it's great fun seeing them grow up


Yes it is, mine is now 2 and changed so much.


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

Get a Russian Rat Snake. They're lively and inquisitive, but not bitey. They grow to a reasonable size, without being too huge. They eat for fun and they're very temperature tolerant. They're not expensive, either!

They look better with age as well. Very cool snakes:


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## cloggers (Mar 13, 2010)

When, and if, you get confirmation from the landlord make sure you get it in writing : victory:

I've got all three. Corns are typically bombproof as a species. I've had mine 4 years, he has never hissed or bitten, never missed a meal and has always been just perfect.
Garters are good as well, however I've found them a little nervy as youngsters and mine regularly musks all over me. But he favours my mum over me, he's never liked me :lol2:
Royals are brilliant, I love all of mine, and they seem to go against normal royal behaviour, always bounding around, very active and inquisitive. But the feeding routines :shock: I've nearly throttled half of mine because they just decide they don't want to eat for 3 months or something stupid like that. For a new owner that can be concerning, my first royal was my second snake, and after having a corn thats a dustbin, I nearly went insane when my royal had her first fast!

They're all great species, and if you can accept that they wont eat for no reason then royals are fine too. Do your research and you'll be fine with any of those species : victory:


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## solidsquid (Jan 4, 2013)

Jeffers: Oh man, that's a gorgeous rat snake you've got there, think I'll have to keep that in mind for my second one 

Cloggers: That's interesting to hear about garter snakes being more nervy when young, I have heard they're more active so I guess it might make sense. I can see why the lack of feeding on royals would freak someone out though, not sure how well I'd cope with that if it was my first snake


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## powerpuffruth (Apr 2, 2012)

solidsquid said:


> Jeffers: Oh man, that's a gorgeous rat snake you've got there, think I'll have to keep that in mind for my second one
> 
> Cloggers: That's interesting to hear about garter snakes being more nervy when young, I have heard they're more active so I guess it might make sense. I can see why the lack of feeding on royals would freak someone out though, not sure how well I'd cope with that if it was my first snake



Another thing with Garters is they like their water so if you go for a garter you'll need a viv large enough to have a largish water container I saw some recently in an semi aquatic set up and they were floating round on bits of wood using their tails as oars hilarious :no1: 

I think you can also keep garters in small groups but don't quote me on that I'm no expert but I'm sure people on here could advise.


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## obrowell (Jan 8, 2010)

Garters are faster to get hold of but if you're confident and get in there, there's no problem whatsoever. You may get a bit of musking but I've had that off my small king snakes too! 

As for the water/aquatic thing, what you'll find is that in the wild garters are often found by areas of water but when kept in captivity they generally need a bowl big enough to soak in but a bone dry substrate to 'live' on to avoid blisters etc similar to other snakes. There are a few exceptions to this, thamnophis melanogaster, scotti and obscurus (these are Mexican localities of garters) being the ones that can be kept more aquatically. However, these species are rarely offered apart from the odd breeder from the continent 'visiting' shows such as Doncaster. They are fun to own though and a bit different (I kept the melanogaster for a while).

The species of garter you'll most likely come across in captivity are the likes of chequereds, plains, red-sideds and sometimes easterns. None of these require a particularly large water area, but do require a dry vivarium.

Hope this helps:2thumb:


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## powerpuffruth (Apr 2, 2012)

obrowell said:


> Garters are faster to get hold of but if you're confident and get in there, there's no problem whatsoever. You may get a bit of musking but I've had that off my small king snakes too!
> 
> As for the water/aquatic thing, what you'll find is that in the wild garters are often found by areas of water but when kept in captivity they generally need a bowl big enough to soak in but a bone dry substrate to 'live' on to avoid blisters etc similar to other snakes. There are a few exceptions to this, thamnophis melanogaster, scotti and obscurus (these are Mexican localities of garters) being the ones that can be kept more aquatically. However, these species are rarely offered apart from the odd breeder from the continent 'visiting' shows such as Doncaster. They are fun to own though and a bit different (I kept the melanogaster for a while).
> 
> ...


See  I said there'd be someone who knew about garters along soon :2thumb: Do people keep them in groups? I've never had garters.


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## obrowell (Jan 8, 2010)

Yes you can with no problems as long as you consider a few basics:
1. Generally keep the same sexes together unless mating is intended (by doing this you can keep a mixture of garters species communally thus making a great visual and colourful display)
2. The snakes are of similar size.
3. At feeding times preferably split them as they are really voracious feeders or at least monitor them carefully to ensure food fights do not occur!


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## powerpuffruth (Apr 2, 2012)

obrowell said:


> Yes you can with no problems as long as you consider a few basics:
> 1. Generally keep the same sexes together unless mating is intended (by doing this you can keep a mixture of garters species communally thus making a great visual and colourful display)
> 2. The snakes are of similar size.
> 3. At feeding times preferably split them as they are really voracious feeders or at least monitor them carefully to ensure food fights do not occur!


Cool I do like garters some stunning types out there


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## yummymummytothree (Mar 12, 2012)

I would personally go for a corn snake, very easy to look after and 90 percent of the time easy to handle feed etc, where with a royal for instance they can be fussy with feeding etc, cant comment on garters as never owned one.


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## kirsten (Jan 13, 2008)

I would personally suggest a dwarf boa, they're hardy, don't have feeding issues, don't require massive housing, they're hardy, the only down side is they can be a little hissy as babies


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## gregmonsta (Dec 3, 2007)

Get a garter : victory: because:

1) 10x more interesting than a corn or royal. :no1:

2) 100x more active than a corn or royal. :mf_dribble:

3) It's not a corn. :whistling2:

4) It's not a royal. :devil:


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