9 Best pet snakes for kids and beginners
9 Best pet snakes for kids and beginners
While many children love fish, fluffy rabbits, cute kittens or puppies as pets, just as many herpetologists love pet snakes. It can be hard to figure out what is the best pet snake for kids and beginners.
After all, you don’t want your kids to start their snake adventures with pet snakes that aren’t kid-friendly. Read on to find out the nine best pet snakes for kids, and why. Let’s start with my kids and beginner’s number one pet snake!
Corn snakes are only 3-6 feet long, a little longer than most snakes on this list. That said, they’re not bulky snakes, so 6-foot-long corn snakes may not look as big as you think. They are often recommended as the best pet snakes for children and first-time snake owners.
Corn snake teeth are small, harmless, and easy to deal with.
Since corn snakes can live up to 23 years or more in captivity, you can expect pet corn snakes to be around for a long time.
Corn snakes are tamer than most snakes and are suitable for children of appropriate ages and beginners.
Despite their name, corn snakes are not yellow, but dark orange and brown.
The perfect shelter for a corn snake is a 40 gallon aquarium, but you want to make sure the lid of the aquarium is clamped tight because the corn snake will start looking for an escape route. While they can be housed in a 20-30 gallon tank, I usually only recommend choosing a 40 gallon tank in case you get a larger corn snake.
It is best to provide points on the base of your habitat for them to curl up out of sight. A small cardboard box or piece of bark that they can wriggle under.
Generally, the corn snake is a docile reptile that wags its tail like a rattlesnake when startled. Remember, they need time to adjust to their new environment. That said, they’re easier to work with and easier to read than other snakes.
Corn snakes are fed whole frozen mice that have been pre-killed and thawed to room temperature. Remember how the corn snake got its name? Granaries attract rats, which attract their number one predator, snakes.
While thawing dead mice, freezing them may not be on your top 10 to-do list; You don’t have to do that much. Growing corn snakes usually need to be fed twice a week.
An adult snake needs prey about once every ten days, and as it grows, so does the size of its food. The best way to determine the size of a food source is that it should be no bigger than the head of a corn snake.
Most, if not all, snakes are susceptible to fungal infections and respiratory diseases. When feeding or spending quality time with corn snakes, you need to check for any skin discoloration or persistent open mouth breathing.
Unlike other snakes, gopher snakes are relatively harmless unless threatened.
At first, gopher snakes may take some time to adjust to their environment.
For children, gopher snakes born in captivity are easy to handle.
If you want a snake that is docile and easy to hang out with children, the gopher snake is a great choice. I recommend looking for captive gopher snakes from a breeder. Of course, I recommend this for any pet reptile.
One of the more common pets, depending on availability, is the gopher snake. Although you can find one in your backyard, it’s best to give your junior pet owner a pet that was born or raised in captivity.
Gopher snakes like average humidity and a dry climate. Still, they’re cold-blooded, so you want to provide them with at least 12 hours of light, as well as the ability to warm and cool themselves. A Zilla heating pad at one end will do.
Gopher snakes are more active depending on ground space, so it’s best to consider a four or five foot enclosure. Since gophers love to move so much, the more space you can provide them, the better, making them a wonderful reptile.
Gopher snakes born in captivity are usually docile and will allow pet owners to pick them up. However, the gopher snake will continue to move when caught, so your child will need to practice changing hands to keep the grip (loosely) as it is a poor climber.
One advantage the gopher snake has over almost all other pet snakes is its appetite. Gopher snakes will eat almost any type of prey and can easily be overfed. Here, pre-killed frozen rats, once thawed, are the perfect meal for a week of gopher snakes.
While gopher snakes do require a humid environment while shedding or molting, they are generally very low maintenance. Teach your child to watch for signs of snake shedding each year and keep wet wipes in a snakeskin box.
Garter snakes are known for their small to medium size and popularity in North America, and are common pets in many homes.
Garter snakes are usually harmless and easily present around children.
These snakes are small and non-venomous.
Some species of Garter snakes produce a mild neurotoxin, but this has no effect on humans and is commonly used against small prey that they use as food.
Because of their size, Garter snakes can be housed in a space as small as a ten-gallon glass jar. That said, I’d still recommend 20 gallons just to be on the safe side. Another thing the Garter has in common with all snakes is the need to hide.
Due to their size, Garter snakes are generally easier to handle and are a good choice to start with a snake. Garters are usually docile and almost always refrain from biting when held. Because of this, they make great pet snakes for children.
Garter snakes do, however, have a few habits. Although they don’t bite, they can often emit a poisonous musk odor or urinate on their handler’s hands when provoked. So make sure you and your child are hygienic and supervise handling.
Providing food and water for the Garter snake is a plus. Since they don’t need rodents as a food source, you won’t have to worry when you and your new pet owner need to defrost pre-killed frozen mice. That is, small rodents are a more complete source of food if they are willing to eat it. To learn more about the garter snake’s diet, check out this article from Gartersnake.info.
Garter snakes of the same species can cohabit without problems, which means your young snake charmer can house several garter snakes in the same habitat and provide a more active display.
Being docile and small for pythons, ball pythons are one of the best pet snakes. Personally, they would be my first choice on this list. But because they are a bit bigger than the other snakes on this list, I put them at number four.
Due to their size, these snakes are easy to handle compared to other types of pythons and are great companions for children.
Ball pythons get their name because they are known for curling up into a tight ball to stay warm and comfortable.
There are many different varieties of ball pythons and they are all beautiful.
Because ball pythons are so docile, they are pet snakes for most children. Of course, while they’re small for pythons, they’re still the biggest snakes on this list.
Ball pythons can grow to 3 to 5 feet long, so if you haven’t purchased a habitat yet, a 40-50 gallon aquarium with a lid that can securely snap down is perfect.
Make sure your ball python habitat contains at least two hiding boxes, one on the cool side and one on the warm or basking side. You can use incandescent bulbs to regulate the temperature on either side of the habitat.
Ball pythons are easily startled. When frightened, it pulls its head under the coil of its body, looking like a ball.
With ball pythons, your child will need to learn a little patience, as this snake is usually shy around humans. Once it gets used to it, your child should be able to spend hours with it while your aspiring herpetologist gently strokes its skin as it wraps around your child’s arm.
The thing about ball pythons is that you will soon discover that they are a picky eater. Ball pythons are known to go months without eating.
Since they like rodents as a food source, you’ll need to feed them thawed pre-killed frozen mice and rats.
Ball pythons are susceptible to fungal infections such as mouth rot and respiratory diseases. This particular snake may require routine checkups every six to 12 months by a veterinarian who specializes in reptiles.
Milk snakes can live up to 22 years, making them an easy to maintain pet.
Milk snakes are uniquely colored snakes that come in many different colors and patterns.
Milk snakes have small curved teeth that help them swallow prey and are less painful than the average snake.
Like other great snake pets, milk snakes are small and easy to handle, growing only to about two to six feet.
A milk snake or king snake will do its best to escape the confines of its new home. A newly hatched baby snake can be kept in a 10-gallon container, while a healthy milk snake can grow up to 60 inches long.
Since cramped Spaces are often a major cause of breathing problems, it’s best to start with large Spaces and let it grow in its environment. A 60-gallon tank may seem like overkill, but it’s a solid choice for an adult milk snake.
A hiding box needs to be located on the sunny side, where the temperature range should be around 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. In a cool place, the temperature should be 10 to 15 degrees lower, and a stash box.
Traditionally, milk snakes don’t need much humidity. If you have a hygrometer, keep the humidity level between 40 and 60 percent.
The trick for most milk snakes is to give them plenty of time to adjust to their environment and your children to handle them. When a milk snake feels threatened, its first instinct is to run away, and like a corn snake, it wags its tail as a warning.
Milk snakes and king snakes usually eat less in the fall and winter, but a good rule of thumb is to feed hatchlings twice a week and mature adult milk snakes once a week. Like most of the best pet snakes, frozen pre-killed rodents are regular culinary dishes.
Milk snakes are known to get pneumonia or colds and should be checked regularly by a professional reptile veterinarian.
If you are looking for the best beginner snake for kids, then the Kenyan sand boa is a good choice.
These snakes only grow up to two feet long and can be handled frequently, making them ideal for children.
Despite their name, Kenyan sand treasure snakes don’t need to live in sand, but their brown, bright yellow and orange scales blend in easily.
Compared to others bought as pets, these pythons are among the smallest kept in homes around the world.
While the Kenyan sand boa may be one of the best snakes for beginners, its enclosure is unique. The Kenyan sand python is a burrowing animal, which means it likes to spend time under the base of its enclosure.
While it may be wise to provide a hiding box or two, the burrowing nature of the Kenyan sand python means you’ll need to provide enough on the floor of the enclosure for the snake to hide under.
Since snakes like to heat and cool from below, you should also consider using substrate heating underneath the shell.
Shaboa Kenya and your child will hit it off right from the start, as long as your child remembers how to approach and hold it. After a few tries, Shaboa Kenya may see that your child is not a threat and allow the child to hold it.
Store pre-killed frozen mice and prepare to thaw them every 10 to 14 days as they reach adulthood.
One of the best aspects of the Kenyan sand boa is that it requires little maintenance, with many snakes known to live for nearly 30 years.
You may need to clean their enclosure more often and provide more places to dig, but in general, Kenyan sand pythons are perfect for beginners.
If you want to know what the best pet snake is for kids, then you might want to check out the children’s python. At just three feet long, child pythons live up to their name and make amazing pets for children.
These snakes are known for devouring small prey and usually stay on the ground but can climb trees.
Child pythons are non-venomous and do not pose a serious threat to humans.
If you are looking for a pet for your children, then children’s pythons are a good choice.
Child pythons’ natural habitat ranges from grasslands to wetlands to forests. Arrange your fence with the best of both worlds, such as shrubs, branches, and hidden boxes on either side.
Humidity is important. Child pythons need a base humidity of between 50 and 60 percent. Build your fence around 70 to 80 degrees on the cool side and 80 to 90 degrees on the sunny side.
Although child pythons are typically gentle and rarely bite, they do not like to be touched on the head. Apart from that, once a child learns how to hold a python properly, it will become docile and docile.
The food of choice for child pythons is mice or larger mice. While growing up, child pythons eat once a week, while you should feed adult rats or mice every 10 to 14 days.
If you notice black spots in your snake’s water container, your snake may have mites. If you see them, it’s time to see a professional vet.
Due to their docile nature and small size, rose Boas makes a great pet for children.
These snakes come in many different colors, including light brown, yellow, orange and brown.
The rose snake’s stripes can be rusty orange, brown, black, or maroon.
There is also an albino rose Boas, which is peachy in color with orange streaks, which is fascinating for children.
With a lifespan of nearly 30 years, the Rose Snake is another example of an excellent pet for beginners. Adult rose snakes grow to nearly four feet and are comfortable living for a while in a 10 – or 15-gallon glass tank. However, I recommend 30-40 gallons for adults.
Make sure the lid is fixed but smooth. The rose will test the top of the shell with its snout, looking for a way out, and if the shell is rough, its snout will suffer wear.
The temperature gradient that separates the shell ranges from 65 degrees Fahrenheit on the cooler side to 90 degrees Fahrenheit on the basking side. Remember to provide plenty of hiding space, like all snake pets, the Rose Jewel is a hider.
The rosejewel has a strong reaction when it wants to feed, so you need to instruct your child on how and when to pick the snake up. Nudge the snake with an object that is not food and pick it up. This tells the snake that it is not feeding time.
Rose pythons’ food of choice is both large and small rodents, such as mice or rats. Adults need to be fed every 10-14 days.
During the winter months, cooler temperatures inhibit the red boa’s digestive process. Leaving undigested food in Red Boa’s gut can lead to serious consequences, even death.
While the Rose Jewel is a great starter pet, it does have some unique care conditions that may require your child to spend more time with it.
African house snakes are usually dark brown and make great pet snakes for children.
The African house snake is a cool looking snake.
These snakes can grow up to 4.5 feet long.
You will need to be patient with African house snakes at first, but over time they will become more docile.
Like most kid-friendly pets, African house snakes require specific humidity and temperatures to live comfortably in captivity. African house snakes love to climb and bask in the sun, so you’ll need to put plenty of branches in your enclosure and hide boxes on both the cold and warm sides of the enclosure.
For African house snakes, you can focus on the basking side, which stays around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, but the cooling side can go as low as 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, the African house snake doesn’t need high humidity, so about 30 to 50 percent humidity will keep it happy and content.
When young, African house snakes may be more prone to biting, but they usually settle down and, with constant handling, become the tamest snakes.
You want to make sure the African house snake doesn’t mistake your finger for food. Also, you don’t want them regurgitating food because you didn’t wait long enough.
In keeping with tradition, African house snakes like to eat freshly thawed, pre-killed mice. Immature African house snakes need to be fed twice a week, while adults need to eat once a week.
The African house snake is a perfect snake for beginners and loves water, so teach your child to clean out the water ring and fill it daily with fresh, non-chlorinated water.
Like most pet snakes, African house snakes are susceptible to a variety of diseases, such as mouth rot and respiratory diseases.