What's Docile, Safe, and Bigger than a Ball Python?wb

So I've owned reptiles for eight going on nine years, two rescued leopard geckos, one rescue female ball python, and one woma male ball python. I just keep these guys as pets, but I am interested in breeding in the future. I'm looking for another pet snake for next year (my woma is in quarantine for another 4 months minimum) and I'm trying to find something that's larger than a ball python, but fits these criteria:

I want a species that is docile, or relatively docile. I've rehabilitated pissy black rat snakes and did NOT enjoy it much. I want a snake that will over time allow handling without striking. I don't mind hissing and puffing in the beginning, but again I'm looking for a sweet, docile personality.

I want a species that is safe. I am a small woman at 4' 11" and would prefer a snake that is reasonably safe to handle when I'm home alone. This cuts out big babies like burms and many of the Boa constrictor spp.

I want a species that is bigger than a ball python. Voodoo my 8 year old female is about 5 pounds and 5' 2" so I'm looking for either a heavier snake or a snake around 6-6.5 feet.

Is there anything that reasonably fits this bill? Researching has been hard because it seems that species are either mainly smaller or VERY large. The three blood python species (Python curtus, Python brongersmai, and Python breiteinsteini) have interested me, but there's conflicting information about the temperament of captive bred animals. Some describe their animals as big babies as docile as any ball python, while others warn that I should be ready to deal with a fairly aggressive and hard-hitting snake that will take very consistent and frequent handling to calm down. I don't want strong odds of ending up with an animal who will live 30 years and hate me for every minute of it. I'm a "pets are forever" sort of person and am all too aware of the number that are in rescue and on craigslist, so I want to make the most informed choice possible.

PS: I'm thinking of going to the Greenville SC repticon next weekend for research as well.

Check out some carpet pythons, some of them are quite nice looking.

Have you considered Texas indigos? They're on the expensive side, sure, but they get very large and have very unique, curious personalities. They're more closely related to corn snakes than to pythons and boas (they're what is known as a colubrid). You can probably find a young male in the $700 range.

Look into some of the locality boas from Mexico and Central America, such as Tarahumara, Sonoran, Caulkers Cay, Hog Island, etc. There's a ton of good info at http://www.cuttingedgeherp.com/home.html. If you are planning on breeding make sure you go to a reputable breeder for pure lines, there are a lot of crosses out there.

Brazilian Rainbow or Columbian Rainbow boas would also fit your criteria, though they're quite not as easy to breed as BCI's are. My adult BRB's are right at six feet and since they're not heavy-bodied they're easy to manage.

Several other folks have made some really good comments and good suggestions. If you want to stick with pythons, and want something bigger than a Ball but not TOO big, then you really need to consider the Irian Jaya Carpets and Jungle Carpets, as well as Macklott's Pythons. You do have to remember, though, that most young pythons are defensive, which means that they bite, and need patience to get them over this stage. Another great choice, if you don't mind laying down some cash, AND get lucky enough to find one, is a Super-Dwarf Retic. Males max out around the size of a really large Rat Snake. I have a Dwarf x Super-Dwarf, which I got as a youngster, and he is a very gentle snake, just a bit on the "hyper" side, not a snake that is going to sit in your lap and just "chill", too much to do, lol. Retics are an intelligent animal, and seem to have more personality than most large constrictor species. Finding one at the shows is hit or miss, though.

My adult emeralds stay in the 5-6 ft range for the most part and are very docile. They like to come out about 2-4 times a month, but do not plan on having them out everyday. If you want more info you are welcome to PM me. Good luck in your search.

I'm not sure I would recommend emeralds or GTP to someone who is nervous about a bite. Although some are docile, I've heard that most have moderately unpredictable temperaments. That coupled with the gigantic teeth they have makes for a rather nasty bite when or if you do eventually get bitten. Those are beautiful snakes though Vance, thanks for sharing the photos!

Originally Posted by snowgyre

I'm not sure I would recommend emeralds or GTP to someone who is nervous about a bite. Although some are docile, I've heard that most have moderately unpredictable temperaments. That coupled with the gigantic teeth they have makes for a rather nasty bite when or if you do eventually get bitten. Those are beautiful snakes though Vance, thanks for sharing the photos!

Beat me to it, lol. MOST of the ETB's and GTP's I've dealt with had very nasty tempers, and are not recommended as a "handling" snake. Yes, there are exceptions, just as there are exceptions to all species. I have a large male Leiopython hoserae who is quite docile, at least in terms of biting, and I have had a big female Leiopython albertisi that was extremely docile, a very good snake to use in public presentations, BUT I can't say that is true for most White-Lipped Pythons at all! That is why I did not recommend that species, even though the Northern White-Lips remain a manageable size and are certainly beautiful snakes. I had a big adult female ETB that was a fairly docile snake, but a very fast striker at feeding time, and because of their normal perching posture, it is really difficult to accurately judge just how far one can strike. Mine missed the rat on tongs and got my hand, and needless to say, this was a really bad bite! I could literally hear her teeth grinding against the bones in my hand, since their teeth are actually THAT long! With any snake, no matter how docile, there is always the chance of those accidental bites, usually a feeding response, but there's a big difference between being bitten by 6 1/2-foot BCI, and a 6 1/2-foot Corollus caninus, let me tell you! If being bitten is a concern, I'd recommend going with something that would inflict the least damage in the event that it did actually bite.

pitbulllady

I'm not afraid of getting bit per se, moreso that I'm just not interested in owning an animal as a pet that isn't suited to being held, having its cage cleaned, etc. I've been tagged before, so it's less about "I don't want to get bit" and more about wanting the type of laid back snake that's easy to handle as an adult and that I can more or less trust once grown.

I think I'm going to steer away from the chondros, they're beautiful, but definitely I think suited to a display home. The severity of their bite thanks to those long bird-grabbing teeth concerns me. D:

The Texas Indigos look AWESOME, I'll have to see what the permit situation around the US is for them. But I do love large colubrids. As far as colubrids go there isn't really a limit on size, no colubrid is going to be able to overpower me the way a heavy boid of the same length could.

I'll also put down the Carpet Pythons for some more research. I don't know anything about their care, but I do seem to remember them being quite popular before the ball python explosion. They're very nice looking on the Google image search too.

I'm not certain what I think of the Super Dwarf Retics; I've heard that the island locality reticulated pythons can be more aggressive/defensive than their mainland cousins. They don't look too awful on price though! Do you have a favorite breeder?

I'll look into all these island locality boas too, cuttingedgeherp.com shows a LOT of really nice looking animals and I like their record keeping. If I was to breed animals I would really like to propagate something like these localities; there will always be breeders for popular species seeking new morphs, but preserving uncommon bloodlines is more my style and background.

I've never seen a Brazilian Rainbow Boa in person, I can only imagine how beautiful they must be. They too go on my research list!

Thanks all of you, great discussion and a big help!

Originally Posted by LittleGrayTiger

... preserving uncommon bloodlines is more my style and background.

Look into Savu pythons as well then.

I've never seen a Brazilian Rainbow Boa in person, I can only imagine how beautiful they must be. They too go on my research list!

Thanks all of you, great discussion and a big help!

They're gorgeous! Though they are considered an intermediate-level snake because of their husbandry requirements. If you get a proper reptile enclosure and not a tank they're easily kept though.