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What snake next?

G

Guruofchem

New member
I've gotten a Pets in the Classroom grant for a snake and habitat (coupons for PetSmart, not my favorite option but the best of my available choices) and I wanted thoughts about what sort of snake to add to my classroom. I would prefer something reasonably active during the day, as my current corn is a bit of a day sleeper, nothing that gets too large, and one with a decent temperament that can be handled in a classroom setting. They only gave me a $25 off coupon for the snake (most of the grant underwrites housing and equipment), so I have no problem going to a breeder for something PetSmart does not carry. At present I am leaning toward a king snake of some kind (love the look of some of the milks but they may be too shy), but am willing to entertain other ideas - just be sure and give me your rationale for your suggestion. Thanks in advance for your help!
 
My Cal kings (2012 and 2013) are more active during the day than my corn snakes. They seem to digest their food and they are out cruising again.
 
I'd have to agree with "Spyderk", I'm no expert though but my King is active 24-7 sometimes. Except when blue. Very calm temperament, but no compatible with other snakes so if there's already a snake in your classroom you should consider that. If my King gets a whiff of my corns on me he goes into attack mode.
I think a corn could adjust to your time table though, (again I'm no expert) but if they're kept on a good feeding and handling schedule it could become more diurnal. Others may have more experience here for you.
I have no experience with hog nose or rat snakes.
 
My one king was housed in a small rack right next to a corn snake and it wasn't a problem. He's next to my Pueblan right now with no issues, either. He goes into musk mode when I take him out at times, but that was even when he was in quarantine! Then again, all animals are different. I did ask the breeder where I got my first king if it would be an issue and he said no, that he houses his corn and king breeders in the same rack without an issue.
 
Joba said:
Perhaps a rosy boa. Garters are pretty too.
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A rosy boa was another snake I was considering, but two thoughts give me pause. Are they reasonably active during the day, and would the high humidity in the Houston area be a problem? I understand that they can have problems with skin or respiratory infections if the environment is damp - am I mistaken there?
 
Guruofchem said:
A rosy boa was another snake I was considering, but two thoughts give me pause. Are they reasonably active during the day, and would the high humidity in the Houston area be a problem? I understand that they can have problems with skin or respiratory infections if the environment is damp - am I mistaken there?
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The AP BIO teacher at my last school had one in her room. It was quite active whenever I saw it. As far as humidity, yes, from what I've read, it should be low. Perhaps someone who has kept Rosies can chime in on their experience.
 
Rosy boas could be very good class pets. They aren't generally very active during the day but mine at least don't really hide and are often visible.

The humidity thing seems to be at the very least a bit overstated in a fair number of care sheets. It can be an issue in high humidity areas but if you can maintain 60-40 percent ambient humidity or less, that should be fine.

I'd just recommend getting one known to be docile, most are but the ones that aren't can be a real handful!
 
Garters are quite active during the day and are very curious little snakes and will usually watch everything going on around them. They can also be super sweet and fun to handle ... And often times not. Biting, flailing and musking is fairly common. Males tend to not tame down as well as females but there are exceptions of either gender to that statement.

Another really active, curious snake is the Western Hognose. My male is actually even more active during the day than the male garter we have. He's very tame, except that he does like to puff up and hiss, which is quite entertaining. I'd only hesitate to suggest one as a school room pet because of their being mildly venomous, won't permanently hurt anyone but a envenomated bite will cause quite a bit of pain and swelling. As little as the chance might be that one would bite at all, let alone actually get any saliva into the bite ... Still in this sue happy world and the way lots of people freak out about snakes in general ... That would need to be considered I'd guess.
 
A western hognose was another snake I had considered as they are pretty active. I might end up getting one and letting it be a teacher-only animal for handling purposes. The "mildly venomous" status was something I investigated a bit, and it does give me some pause, but they are awfully cute and about as diurnal as anything I can find other than a garter, and I just don't know that garters interest me that much.

Thanks all for the advice - appreciate the thoughts so far...
 
If the teacher was the only person handling it I think a hognose would be excellent - mine are up and roaming all over the vivs most days except when they have eaten.
 
Blue Apple Herps said:
What about another reptile, such as a crested gecko?
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Already have one - that's my other classroom pet. :laugh:

I'm not a beardie fan, leopard geckos don't light my fire, and I don't mind taking our crestie home for the weekend until he/she is full grown but don't need another - any other thoughts lizardwise?
 
Another good lizard would be a Blue Tongued Skink, they are kind of funny looking though. They are a larger lizard, very good for hands on. Similar care to a Beardie but I believe the diet is not quite as complex, could be wrong on that though as I own neither.

Probably too pricey for a class room pet but a leachie could be good too. Almost identical care to the crested but gets four times as big.
 
Tavia said:
Probably too pricey for a class room pet but a leachie could be good too. Almost identical care to the crested but gets four times as big.
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A leachie would be cool - not sure about leaving over the weekend though, and going back and forth to home each weekend might really freak a leachie out. From what I have read they deal with disruption less well than cresties do.

Anyone had experience with carpet pythons, specifically Irian Jaya? They don't get too big, look cool, and are pretty active during the day, but have something of a rep for being nippy...

BTW - took a look at your Facebook page, and saw a ridiculously cool black, gray, and yellow banded snake at the bottom. What the heck is that gorgeous critter?
 
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The Cat said:
Ball python. I don't know if thy stay awake but they are so sweet
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Balls are big sleepy nocturnal goobers. Easy to handle and take care of, which is a definite plus, but not very diurnal at all, and I was really hoping to have something that would do something during normal class hours...
 
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