How to pick an active, intelligent snake?

I'm looking to own my first snake soon, and hope that my first snake will be active and (at least moderately) intelligent (as snakes go). A friend of mine a while back owned 2 snakes, which were extremely shy even after 6 months of handling, and rather on the dumb side (attempting to take food from the side, fascinated with attempting to leap off high surfaces, never did figure out how to hold on to things by curling or wrapping). One snake was a lavender albino, the other blood-red. Very pretty, but wouldn't last a day in the wild.

Has anyone noticed a correlation between behavior and color morphs? When you first meet a snake, are there any tells to watch for? On a similar note, are there any clear signs of illness or defect to be aware of?

As a newbie...I have almost no advice other than to go to a show and physically hold the snake. But then...be careful who you get it from. I have 3 snakes....one out of the 3 is a snakeoid bracelet...tight grip...climber. One is super shy and not much for holding (love her..but picked her online from a breeder). She dosen't object to handling, but isn't really interested in hanging around either. The 3rd is somewhere in between. All 3 seem to maintain that personality over time. Personally I think that the 9 month to a year old snakes have settled down a little and aren't so flighty and more fun to hold. Good luck!!

For sicknesses there is not much, you could look miss treatment like peeling scales if you don't know much about the guy your buying from. You could handle him look for obvious stuff, you don't want a snake that is to jittery it just wouldent want to have to chase him around the cage, sometimes they just run into stuff like the glass, ask the who Evers selling the snake if you could watch a feeding! You'd be surprised what they'd let you do!

Haha! It's like you just described Candice. He's perfectly calm and easily handle-able but he has never figured out how to... move right. He wouldn't last a day in the wild. That said, he's a great snake so don't let a little clumsiness put you off.

I've posted this before but it never fails to amuse me. He still does this at six years old except now he gets tangled up on my arm. I need to take a new video. http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...t=P1010358.mp4

You won't really know how any snake is going to respond to your handling until you actually handle it. Different snakes respond to different people in different ways, so the best advice if you want a snake that responds well to you see if there's a breeder nearby so you can hold a few different snakes.

Depending on what pet stores you have around, you can probably handle the snakes there (I know some stores have different policies regarding holding reptiles, so call around first)

If you don't have anything local, you could always ask in some of the 'for sale' threads to get an idea of a snake's personality from the sellers on here, but understand that the snake may behave differently in a different environment. And if you want an active snake, I would suggest a yearling or older (our yearlings still stay hidden a great majority of the time, but do on occasion come out and cruise around their bins/vivs)

Our adults, however, are incredibly active (except when going into shed, when they hide away and it can be hard to know there's a snake in the bin). We have 'jungle gyms' set up in their bins, and they climb on them quite frequently.

I haven't really noticed a correlation between morph and behavior patterns, although I haven't owned snakes for terribly long, so one of the long-term keepers may be able to better comment on this. For me, it's all about the individual snake and it's personality.

if you want a snake you would be able to see often, does things, very intelegent- try a spotted python- they are beautiful, love to bask and tunnel and climb, and are severly intelegent when it comes to problem solveing ( ie eating, heating, escapeing etc.)- i cannot garrentee thier behaviour, since they are expected to be nippy babies, but my husband got his from a breeder, and she has never bit anyone- she is so much fun to watch and extreemly personable- id say shes a perfect blend of the docile friendly nature of a ball python and capeable of the quick actions of a corn if need be- id recomend a trusted breeder, obviously if i ever get to have another snake, it would be a spotted python ( oh, they only get to about 4 feet too)- they do well with cage mates too ( she loves my corn- they are NOT cage mates, but they do interact, with us shaperoning of course
let us know what you decide - like everyone has said, go to stores, handle the snakes- realize that even then, they may change once to take them home, but with regular, perceptive handeling, this could be a great companion for a long time
btw- i have images of my husbands spotted python if you are curious in my profile {'v'}