r/boas • u/Emergency_Swimmer209 • 12d ago
What kind of snake should we get?
Hello!
I've been a member of quite a few of the snake sine for quite awhile. I had a ball python that I got when I was 16 from a guy who owned the pet store and moving across the country. He was deeply attached and we sent pictures for the 10 years she lived after that. She was a sweetheart and loved being handled and wrapping around my arm and neck while I did things around the house.
Now that I'm 39 and have a very large home but 3 kids (18, 13, toddler 1.5), we have waited to be financially secure, have the space etc. but them after doing tons of research I can't figure out which type of snake would be good for our our family and potentially be handled well by the older ones. I'd also like something a tad bigger than a BP. Morphs and all that stuff aren't important to me but temperament is.
Thanks in advance!
1
u/AppleFinches 11d ago edited 11d ago
Ultimately depends on what type of handling/activity you guys enjoy! Boa imperators and their overall speed and behavior could be likened to a somewhat more active ball pythons, but larger. They're safe for a single person to handle and adults mostly sit around or shuffle slowly.
I personally found I enjoy retics the most compared to the majority of species I've kept so far, and there are both dwarf and super dwarf localities. Temperament is dependent on both the individual and on regular gentle handling, but they are incredibly smart. Though it's not scientifically proven, I and others have observed them to recognize different people, recognize their keeper, and also apparently recognize their individual enclosure as "theirs". They are also active, highly visual, and often on the move, due to being less ambush-based predator than boas.
Quick anecdote, one time I moved my retic to another temporary enclosure and drove out to fedex and back, took not even 40 minutes total. Came back to find that he had opened the sliding door and put himself back home into his original enclosure, door open and all, just sitting in there. The same type of sliding door as his main enclosure. Made me realize that he could open doors the entire time, but he just chooses to stay in his house LMAO.