Snake recommendation?

I have a good friend who is considering a snake adoption, but I'm not sure what species to recommend. He has experience with handling (not owning) but is very competent with exotics. He would like a snake that is not common, but that is not aggressive or especially difficult to keep (e.g. special humidity). Length range limit would be about 4-5 feet. Colorful is a plus. I was thinking red-tailed green rat snake, but after reading about their temperament, probably not. Could anyone provide a recommendation?

Rosy boas are a great first snake, and come in many attractive colors. They stay small, are easy to care for, and usually have a good temperment. They don't need high humidity, in fact, too much humidity can negatively affect them, as they are a desert species. They do well in either a naturalistic, display setup or something more utilitarian. If bright colors are important to your friend, there are several lines of albino which display bright orange color, as well as several Baja localities with deep red color.

Here is one of my breeding males, so you can see how bright they can be:



He is a Harquahala locality albino. This is the desert subspecies, which stays pretty small.

That is a great suggestion! Thank you!

I want to second Rosy Boas! They are sweet, colorful, easy to care for and handle. And if you do get tagged by the hungry little worm, it's not scary or hurtful, it's adorable!