Choosing snakes as pets is not uncommon nowadays. Most snake owners prefer snakes as pets because they are low-maintenance pets and practically easy to care for. They don’t leave a big mess or require physical activities like walking or running in the park.
Are you looking for your first pet snake? There are a lot of popular snake breeds out there; in fact, there are about 3,000 snake species around the world.
Choosing your first snake might be a bit confusing for you. But don’t worry; we rounded up the best beginner snakes that make great pets for new snake owners, so read on!
Best Pet Snakes for Beginners
Ball Python or Royal Python
Scientific name: Python regius
Main Characteristics
Ball pythons are the most popular pet snakes for beginners and experienced snake keepers alike. They are also the second most popular pet reptile after the bearded dragon. They are native to Central and Western Africa and can usually be found in grasslands or open forests.
Unlike most snakes, Ball pythons carry a cultural significance. For the Igbo People from Nigeria, ball pythons symbolize the earth as they travel close to the ground. For people living in Northwestern Ghana, they consider ball pythons as saviors based on their folklore.
A typical adult ball python can grow up to six feet in length, but size and length may vary between male and female species. Their average weight is around 3 to 5 pounds.
They are identified with their large brown markings spread throughout their body.
Ball pythons can live up to 20 years on average, so having them as pets is a long-term commitment.
Temperament and Feeding Habits
Ball pythons got their name from their protective mechanism called “balling,” where they curl up into a ball when feeling threatened or stressed. This defense mechanism makes them popular as pets, as they resort to balling instead of biting, so it’s easier for snake keepers to handle them.
Their size makes people fear them, so they often get killed by humans. But with gentle handling, ball pythons can become quite docile. They are often shy and prefer burrows and hide underground. Handling them requires building trust, so new snake lovers need to be patient with them.
As a non-venomous constrictor, ball pythons mostly eat mice, other small mammals, and birds in their natural habitats. As they often eat rodents, they are also effective in controlling the rodent population, making them helpful for humans.
Corn Snake
Scientific name: Pantheropis guttatus
Main Characteristics
Corn snake is one of the most common pet snakes for beginners, second to the ball python. Corn snakes are native to North America, mainly in Florida and other Southeastern regions of the US. They usually eat rodents as food and belong to the rat snake family.
The typical lifespan of a corn snake is 10 to 15 years, some even up to 23 years given with proper care. An adult corn snake often grows from 2 to 6 feet in length. Their average weight is around 900 grams or 1.98 pounds.
They come in different colors and patterns, but the most common appearance of a corn snake is orange or brownish-yellow, with red blotches all over its back. Because of their physical appearance, corn snakes are often mistaken for copperhead snakes, which makes them vulnerable and sometimes killed by humans out of fear.
Temperament and Feeding Habits
This snake species is known as a gentle and docile snake, making corn snakes popular as pets. Because of the gentle temperament of corn snakes, they are considered family-friendly pet reptiles.
Corn snake species are non-venomous snakes that can tolerate being held by their owners for a long time; plus, they rarely bite, so they are safe around children.
Caring for a corn snake is pretty much straightforward. They are only required to be fed once every few days. As carnivores, corn snakes can eat pinky mice, other reptiles or amphibians, or even bird eggs.
They are nocturnal creatures, and their environment’s temperature plays a huge role in their metabolism and digestion. In setting up their vivarium, thermogradients are important to help regulate their temperature, as well as their environment’s temperature.
Corn snakes are also helpful snake species for humans, as they help control rodent species from destroying farm crops or spreading diseases. They are also easy to breed, which contributes to why they are popular and one of the best pet snakes.
Common Garter Snake
Scientific name: Thamnophis sp.
The garter snake is the common name for small to medium-sized harmless snake species that belong to the genus Thamnophis. The most popular garter snake is the Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) which is native to North America and is the state reptile of Massachusetts.
Main Characteristics
Common garter snakes are small snakes that usually grow around 18 to 26 inches long, some up to around 50 inches. An adult garter snake can weigh up to 150 grams or 5.3 ounces.
Their color patterns vary, but they commonly have three light-colored (yellow, white, greenish, bluish) stripes that run throughout their dark-colored (gray, black, or brown) bodies.
The average lifespan of a common garter snake in captivity is about 6 to 10 years, much longer in the wild, where they usually live up to around two years. They can also survive in different environments and habitats like grasslands, woodlands, and meadows. As one of the world’s most populous wild snakes, they can be found throughout different regions in North and Central America.
They are technically venomous, but they cannot effectively bite humans as their venom isn’t poisonous or harmful to us. Although, their bites may cause irritation or itching in humans.
Temperament and Feeding Habits
Common garter snakes are considered diurnal creatures, meaning they are active during the daytime and usually sleep or stay inactive during the night. They may prefer to be solitary, but they can also live in groups or congregations.
Garter snakes feed on smaller prey like earthworms, bugs, insects, snails, amphibians, and small fishes. As a pet snake, they can eat live or thawed earthworms, small rodents, or guppies as part of their diet.
Garter snakes are among the best pet snakes for beginners because of their docile behavior and size. Like others in this list, they also have a positive economic importance for humans as they can be useful to control pest and insect populations.
Children’s Python
Scientific name: Antaresia childreni
Main Characteristics
Don’t be fooled by its name, Children’s python is not really meant for kids. Children’s python is a medium-sized python named after scientist John Children. It is native to Australia, with a terrestrial lifestyle as they prefer to live on the ground, but they usually climb on trees too.
Children’s pythons usually grow up to three feet in length. They are not as colorful as other snake species, sporting a brown body with darker brown spots scattered across their length; but this makes them blend in their environment efficiently.
People looking to have Children’s pythons as pet snakes should be committed. Their average life span ranges from 15 to 30 years, which makes them great pets if looking for long-time companion animals.
They can grow up to 5 feet and weigh up to around 7 to 10.5 ounces.
Temperament and Feeding Habits
Children’s python is considered a good beginner snake and one of the best pet snakes because of its ease in feeding and breeding. They aren’t picky eaters. Younger snakes can eat pinky mice, and as adults, they can easily eat mice and rats.
Like corn snakes, Children’s pythons are also nocturnal snakes and generally act docile. They are non-venomous and easy to handle, but they usually don’t like their heads to be touched. They also have a tendency to prefer being solitary most of the time, despite being easy to breed.
Gopher Snake
Scientific name: Pituophis catenifer
Main Characteristics
Gopher snakes are endemic in North America and can be found in different regions across the Western United States and Canada. There are currently 11 subspecies of gopher snakes recognized in the world. As wild snakes, they can live in various habitats, including deserts, marshes, and agricultural lands.
Their color patterns may differ depending on the region, often mimicking the appearance of the dominant vegetation of their habitat. Usually, they appear yellowish or grayish with black or brown blotches throughout their body.
They resemble many species of rattlesnakes and are often mistaken for them, but they are nonvenomous snake breeds.
A gopher snake in the wild has an average lifespan of 12 to 15 years, but in captivity, the oldest captive gopher snake lived up to 33 years. They typically weigh around 2.2 to 3.3 pounds. Meanwhile, their average length is about 180 to 275 cm or 5 to 9 feet, making them slightly longer than a few species on this list.
Temperament and Feeding Habits
Unlike most snakes, a gopher snake is highly active and can be nocturnal or diurnal, but it also prefers to be solitary. They are also generally good-natured and can tolerate handling, which makes them excellent as pet snakes.
However, their defense mechanism closely resembles rattlesnakes and pit vipers. They puff up and curl their bodies into the classic pose of pit vipers, and they can also shake their tails rapidly like rattlesnakes to confuse their predators.
As a pet snake, gophers can be voracious eaters, so owners need to watch out for their eating habits to prevent overeating. They can easily eat anything like mice, rats, and frogs.
Smooth Green Snake
Scientific name: Opheodrys vernalis
Main Characteristics
Another non-venomous snake on the list is the Smooth Green Snake. This snake is commonly found across different regions in North America.
Smooth green snakes are uniformly colored, with smooth, bright green scales. They prefer to live in a moist and grassy environment, where they can easily blend into their surroundings.
They are on the smaller side, with an average length of 1-2 feet and an average weight of 0.9 ounces. They have an average lifespan of 6 years in captivity, so people looking for longer companion animals don’t usually pick them as pet snakes. However, they make great small pet snakes.
Temperament and Feeding Habits
Smooth green snakes are also solitary and diurnal creatures. Like other pet snakes, they are good-natured, can tolerate being handled by humans well, and rarely bite. As small snakes, they are fast and agile, so they can easily escape their predators. They can also secrete a foul-smelling fluid when provoked to ward off attackers.
They are typically low-maintenance, making them one of the best pet snakes. They are insectivores and mainly eat grasshoppers, mealworms, and crickets, which makes them helpful in our ecosystem in controlling the pest population.
Rough Green Snake
Scientific name: Opheodrys aestivus
Main Characteristics
A close relative of the Smooth Green Snake, Rough Green Snakes are also non-venomous and are commonly found in North America. They commonly live in forests and wetlands and are arboreal creatures.
They are also identified by their uniform, bright green color. However, they have keeled dorsal scales that appear rough.
The average length of a rough green snake is 116 cm or 3 feet in length, longer than its smooth relative. Their average weight ranges from 0.3 to 1.9 ounces. Meanwhile, their lifespan ranges from 5 to 8 years on average.
Temperament and Feeding Habits
Rough green snakes are diurnal and often spend their nights coiled in tree branches. They are also docile snakes and seldom bite. When threatened, they prefer to freeze and rely heavily on camouflage.
They mainly eat insects and arthropods such as spiders and centipedes, but they can also eat small frogs and snails. As insectivores, they are also of positive economic importance for humans since they are also helpful in controlling pest populations.
Milk Snake
Scientific name: Lampropeltis triangulum
Main Characteristics
Milk snakes are a species of kingsnakes that can be found in Canada and the Eastern parts of the United States. Currently, there are 24 known subspecies of milk snakes. They typically live in forests, but they can also be found in various habitats.
Milk snakes are popular thanks to their bright colors and striking patterns, and their color patterns vary depending on their subspecies. Their bodies can be gray or tan, with black-bordered bands that can be red, yellow, white, or orange.
Because of their color patterns, they are often confused with the dangerous and venomous coral snake. However, they are nonvenomous species.
The typical lifespan of a milk snake in captivity is 20-22 years, and their average length is around 2 to 6 feet depending on the species and normally weighs up to 8 ounces. They got the name “milk snake” from an old tale where they roam around farms and barns to suck milk out of cow’s udders.
Temperament and Feeding Habits
Milk snakes have a gentle and docile temperament, which makes them great beginner snakes. They are mostly nocturnal and avoid predation by mimicking rattlesnakes by shaking their tail. Their similar appearance to coral snakes is also a way for them to escape predators.
An adult milk snake commonly eats mice, birds, lizards, their eggs, and even other snakes in the wild. As a pet snake, their diet usually consists of thawed rodents. As solitary creatures, they shouldn’t be housed along with other snakes as they tend to have a cannibalistic nature, so they may eat each other.
California Kingsnake
Scientific name: Lampropeltis californiae or Lampropeltis getula californiae
Main Characteristics
There are actually seven species of kingsnakes found in North America, and they are classified either by geographic range or physical characteristics, if applicable. California kingsnakes are close relatives of milk snakes and the most popular subspecies of kingsnakes.
They are found particularly in Southwestern California and Baja California, hence the name. Additionally, they are called “king” snakes because of their tendency to prey on other snakes, including rattlesnakes.
They have a natural immunity against rattlesnake and copperhead venom, and they are strong constrictors which makes them an effective predator.
California kingsnakes mainly thrive in arid or desert areas as their natural habitat. They typically grow from two to four feet in adulthood and weigh up to 3.3 pounds.
Their colors vary from brown or black with white, yellowish, or cream crossbands. Some species have longitudinal stripes instead of bands, so snake enthusiasts often perform selective breeding on them to achieve various color patterns.
A California kingsnake can live up to 20 to 30 years, so caring for this breed requires a long-term commitment.
Temperament and Feeding Habits
Despite their cannibalistic tendencies, California kingsnakes are docile, outgoing, and attractive, making them a popular option as a pet snake. They are also low-maintenance and easy to care for.
Kingsnakes are diurnal creatures, but California kingsnakes can become nocturnal during hotter seasons. They are non venomous and harmless to humans. As a defense mechanism, they usually coil their bodies and vibrate their tails to mimic a rattlesnake.
Aside from snakes, they prey on birds, mice and other rodents, other reptiles, and amphibians. As a pet, they can happily eat thawed mice as part of their diet. Snake keepers need to cage them separately to prevent their snake-eating habits.
Ringneck Snake
Scientific name: Diadophis punctatus
Main Characteristics
Ringneck snakes, also called “ring-necked snakes”, are small snakes that live in various habitats, but they prefer areas with abundant hiding places. They are commonly found in the US, extending to Southwestern Canada and Central Mexico.
There are 14 subspecies of ringneck snakes currently recognized, and they are the only species from the genus Diadophis.
Ringneck snakes are also popular for their appearance. They usually have solid gray, olive, or bluish-black dorsal scales, and their ventral side is usually orange, red-orange, or yellow-orange in color. They also have a distinctly colored band on their necks, earning the name “ringneck”. Their neck bands are usually gold or in matching colors with their ventral side.
The typical lifespan of a ringneck snake in captivity is around six years, but there are records of ringneck snakes living up to 10-20 years in the wild. Their size makes them one of the best pet snakes for beginners and those with limited space, as their usual length only ranges from 10 to 18 inches. Meanwhile, they typically weigh around 1 to 1.5 grams.
Temperament and Feeding Habits
Ringnecks are nocturnal snakes and are highly crepuscular, meaning they are active during twilight. They rarely show themselves during daylight, but they are a social species. Ringneck snakes can live in colonies, so it won’t be a problem for snake keepers with multiple snakes.
They are docile snakes, as they seldom bite and can tolerate handling by humans. When provoked, they exhibit a unique defense mechanism where they curl their tails, showing their brighter colored posterior to ward off prey.
Ringneck snakes are slightly venomous, but they don’t really pose a threat to humans when handled. Their weak venoms are more useful as a feeding strategy, rather than for self-defense.
They usually feed on smaller amphibians, like salamanders. They also eat slugs, earthworms, lizards, and frogs. When keeping them as pets, they can eat earthworms, mealworms, and sometimes crickets.
Western Hognose Snake
Scientific name: Heterodon nasicus
Main Characteristics
Western Hognose Snakes are heavy-bodied snakes native to North America, particularly in the regions of Southern Canada, Central US, and Northern Mexico. They usually live in dry, rocky areas or places with sandy soil.
They are known for their upturned noses or snouts similar to hogs, earning the name “hognose”. Their upturned snout helps them burrow themselves under the sand for protection.
A Western Hognose snake can grow from 15 to 20 inches in length and usually weighs between 80 to 350 grams. Their average lifespan is 9 to 20 years, making them good long-term companion animals.
Western Hognose snakes somehow resemble rattlesnakes in color and appearance, which can be a form of Batesian mimicry. Their color patterns are variable between subspecies, but they usually appear in gray or dark olive in color, with darker olive-colored spots.
Temperament and Feeding Habits
Western Hognose snakes are diurnal and solitary animals, and they only interact with each other during mating season. They are also crepuscular and are mostly active during the twilight period.
They are docile and gentle, but they may quickly become defensive when provoked. They hiss and flatten their heads like a cobra and bluff or mock to strike when feeling threatened or stressed. However, they attack with their mouths closed and do not bite their opponents, instead, they prefer to play dead.
Their diet usually consists of amphibians, like frogs and toads, or lizards. Western Hognose plays its role in the ecosystem by controlling amphibian populations. Pet owners can also feed them crickets or mice.
They are not considered venomous, but their saliva may be irritating, which makes it easier for them to subdue their prey.
Kenyan Sand Boa
Scientific name: Gongylophis colubrinus
Main Characteristics
Kenyan sand boas are also heavy-bodied snakes, usually found in woodlands and semi-desert areas of Northern and Eastern Africa. Their color ranges from orange to yellow with dark or black spots.
The average lifespan of a Kenyan sand boa is 15 years, and they usually grow up to three feet. They are perfect for beginners who prefer a smaller snake than a ball python or boa constrictor.
Temperament and Feeding Habits
Kenyan sand boas are docile and easy to maintain, which makes them a popular choice in the pet trade. They also seldom bite and prefer to burrow themselves in the sand to escape their predators.
They are primarily nocturnal, but they can also display irregular activities during daylight. They often feed on smaller mammals, subduing them by constricting their prey.
Other Friendly Pet Snakes to consider
- Rosy Boa (Lichanura)
- Carpet Pythons (Morelia spilota)
- African Egg-Eating Snakes (Dasypeltis scabra)
- African House Snake (Lamprophis)
How to Choose the Best Pet Snake for You
It is important to remember that snakes don’t come in one size fits all. Different breeds require different conditions, and it also depends on your capability as a pet owner.
If you’re someone looking for their first snake, here are some considerations you should be mindful of.
Snakes are a long-term commitment.
Depending on the breed you’re after, some snakes tend to live as long as 20 years given with proper care and maintenance. You need to be sure that you can fully commit to taking care of them before getting one.
Snakes need an optimum environment to live in.
Since snakes are cold-blooded animals, they heavily rely on their environment to regulate their temperatures. Their required environment is different from humans, and depending on their breeds, they would need specific requirements for:
- Temperature gradients
- Substrates
- Tank size
- Humidity
- Lighting
Snakes need proper diet and nutrition
Snakes are carnivores, so you need to be able to handle feeding them mice, insects, worms, and other animals to sustain their health. You would also need to dedicate a space for their food, making sure it won’t contaminate your own food.
Get a captive-bred snake instead of a wild-caught snake
Once you realize you’re ready to get your first snake, make sure to get them from legal breeders. More problems can arise if you get wild-caught snakes or those from illegal breeders.
Make sure to ask everything you need and let them demonstrate how to handle and feed the snake properly.
And always remember, the best pet snakes are the ones that fit your lifestyle and preference.