Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Ali]

My OH is very keen on reptiles and is interested in having a pet snake(s)or a lizard(s). Neither of us know much about keeping snakes or lizards so if this were to be a possibility we would have to do a lot of research, which is why I've joined here.

The only problem is that I am a keen rat keeper. While I have absolutely no problem with the idea of feeding snakes/reptiles rodents, I know that I would find it really difficult. So my question is, are there any varieties of non-rodent eating snakes or reptiles which would be suitable for first time snake/reptile owners?

Thank you for your help.

Alice

[Gimpy]

Hi, only non rodent eating snake i can think of is an egg eating snake, which eats(yup you've guessed it) only eggs. But i don't really know what they are like as first time snakes...so umm...not much help really! Sorry!

[Jase]

You could get Rough Green Snakes if you dont want to feed mice. They eat crickets but personally feeding mice is better - less mess/smell. You can store your frozen mice in the freezer, defrost when needed as opposed to keeping noisy crickets that stink and escape all over your house. I would recommend a Corn Snake as a first snake, get a hatchling and feed it defrosted pinkie mice (new born).
Alternately a Leopard Gecko is a good starter reptile but again the crickets.
I keep Leos and Corns as well as other species, they are friendly and have good character.
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A lil bit of Madagascar

[GJ]

Garter snakes can be fed a staple diet of fish, and will readily accept other things like lean mince, earthworms, slugs.

[GJ]

Garter, Ribbon and Water snakes can be fed a staple diet of fish, and will readily accept other things like lean mince, earthworms, slugs.

[lol93]

I haven't kept them myself, but I have heard rough greens and egg eaters can be quite tricky. I think Daisyleo on here keeps egg eaters? Maybe she could advise.
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[Crunchie]

[Kioka]

There are a couple, but they need extra efforts to keep them. A well-researched and prepared beginners can probably take them on, but a lot of them just don't last that long.

- Water snakes such as garter snakes are very nippy and need dry land.
- Egg-eating snakes must be fed quail or finch eggs, which sometimes can be hard to find, although my friend never had to find fertile ones
- Rough Greens are display animals and are fussy eaters

The only thing that come to mind are blind snakes or legless lizards (although they are not true snakes).

You know... you don't have to kill the mouse. You can always buy f/t ones, just ask the breeder or pet store to feed it with a thawed mouse. If it accept it, then you know that you can take it home without having to worry about a fresh pre-killed.

[JStroud]

[GJ]