Beginners Guide to Buying a Snake: Pythons Edition

Hello and welcome to the worlds only 100% accurate directional post about what to do when you are wanting to buy your very first Python. You should do everything I say because I am the world's only expert on pythons. 

Joking. 

But, hey, welcome to my opinions on what is the best way to go when you're thinking "I wan't a python". I'm just going to talk about what I think you should get if you are a total beginner, or if you're a keeper already but you've never owned a python of any species before. It's just some advice that I think would be helpful to a beginner! Hope you learn something, and I hope you enjoy your first python! Please let me know in the comments how it goes and what your experience was if you took something from this post, or if you're a much more experienced keeper than me and you have some knowledge you think I should know! 

Pythons are my favourite genus of snake ever. Don't get me wrong, I think collubrids are great, I love some of the snakes I see in the venomous keeper community pages I'm on, even though I will never be brave enough to work with them, I love videos from Chandler's Wild Life featuring his terrifying but beautiful giant King Cobra Kevin, but if I had to choose between all of the different genus groups of snakes out there, pythons have my heart. 

First things first before you purchase your python, do your research. Hop onto youtube and watch some educational videos on their husbandry needs. Join some online forums and groups on social media platforms and ask the members for some advice! Even though groups can be toxic and insane sometimes, most of them are full of kind members willing to share their knowledge and experiences with a beginner, and a beginner who is gathering the info they need before they bring a snake home is like disneyland for us, because it's like having someone who's a blank canvas and a sponge that you can unload all of your advice and knowledge onto that helps contribute to a new hobbyists passion and journey into keeping snakes. Simple terms, do your research. 

I mean maybe the most important part of preparing to buy your very first python is to pick which species you want. I suppose I should've made this the first point, because every species has different husbandry needs and enclosure needs, even if they all fall under the same genus. All pythons are pretty awesome, but you need to pick which one you wanna get, and I would suggest making a list of things you're gonna need for their enclosure and just go through them one by one. Personally, I think amazon is the best place to get all of your items for your enclosure, it's just so easy and you can make lists on there to make the process simpler. 

Here's a quick list of the basics you're gonna need: 

• The enclosure - it doesn't get more basic than this. You need to choose what kind of enclosure you wanna use, the options I can think of right now are wooden vivariums, glass tanks, and plastic tubs. The first two are probably the best options if you want a nice display cage, the tubs are great for convenience, they're the cheapest option and they're space savers. It's a personal preference though, any of these options will do. 
• Heat source - Now, this depends on what kind of snake you have. If you have a basking species, I'd recommend a bulb (Ceramic heat emitters are my faves), however if you have a nocturnal species, I would recommend a heat mat for underbelly heat. The heat mat needs to be roughly one third of the size of your enclosure to provide an ambient warm spot. 
• Hides - preferably you want two, one for the warm side and one for the cool side. 
• Thermostat - if you're using a heat mat or a heat source that can't be regulated on its own. 
• Clutter - a nice branch, some fake plants, rocks, just something for your snake to climb on, rub against to help with shedding or just to provide some enrichment. 
• Water dish big enough for the snake to curl up in. 
• Hygrometer to measure humidity levels - use digital, never use those analogue stick on ones. They're not accurate and they can be a danger to the snake.
• Substrate - it's all personal preference, and depends on the humidity needs on the species you get.
• Temp gun - to measure the temps accurately. 
• Feeding tongs 
• Prey - I recommend frozen/thawed.

Okay so that's the basics of what you're gonna need for the snakes home - size of some of the items depends on the snake you're getting. Here's a list of species of pythons I recommend for beginners: 

Ball Pythons

I mean obviously, I think ball pythons are one of the best beginner pythons. They don't get too big but are still a decent sized snake, males get to be around 2-3ft long and females get to be a little bigger at around 3-5ft. Although they aren't the longest in terms of some of the other species I'm going to mention, they make up for it in diameter. They get chunky, and overall are just a great beginner python.

 

They're slow moving and docile, babies, like all baby snakes, can be nippy but they just need time to settle in and some consistent handling and they tend to calm down a lot and become very tolerant of handling.

They come in a ton of morphs (colours & patterns) to choose from, some can be extortionate prices, but you can get a really pretty morph for around £50-100, and wild types (normals) are beautiful in themselves, and in my opinion, you can't beat wild type of any snake. If you're paying over £30-35 for a normal, you're over paying. They're very cheap and readily available. 

They don't need a huge enclosure, they like small cluttered up spaces that they can stay hidden in and feel secure. For a male, a 3ft long vivarium could do a ball python for its entire life, females get a little bigger so they may need a 4ft vivarium, depending on the size of your snake. 

The reason I would say that a ball python isn't the best beginner python is their eating habits. Ball pythons are notoriously known for their picky appetites and habit of going on long hunger strikes. As a total beginner, this could stress you out as a new keeper who isn't used to dealing with a snake that won't eat. You probably don't want your first experience in owning a snake to include assist feedings or force feedings if it gets to the point where the snake isn't eating at all for months and months on end and it's losing weight.

However, what I will say is that if your snake isn't eating, it's usually down to either a problem in the husbandry, so the humidity or temps might be off, or you don't have enough clutter and the snake is feeling exposed - very easy fixes in the long run. Or it's a medical issue, but usually it tends to be down the husbandry. All in all, ball pythons are a great beginner python if you want something that is small but not tiny, great to handle and relatively low maintenance. 

Burmese Pythons

Okay so, if you have the space for a beautiful burm, and you're looking for a large snake and you are comfortable with the size they are going to get to as adults, GO FOR IT. 

I love burmese pythons, they're beautiful, they have great eating habits, they are pretty low maintenance as far as big snakes go and they're just down right impressive. If your friends come over and you come out with your burmese python, everyone is gonna be shook. 

That being said, snakes are not decoration pieces. But, they are impressive creatures to keep, no one can deny that. Even people who hate snakes and are terrified will admit they're interesting to see. 

The only thing you will need for a burmese python, especially an adult, is a whole lot of space. These snakes get huge. They can reach 23ft in length, again, females typically being bigger than males, but still the males are huge. 

Although this is a "beginners" list, I wouldn't jump straight into burms unless you have experience with other snakes. But if I were ever to get a large species of snake, it would be a burmese python. They have the sweetest temperaments, they're docile and slow moving and generally, from the keepers I've spoken to, they are just praised for being gentle giants. They also have great feeding responses, they will rarely turn down a meal. So, temperamentally, they are amazing for beginners for their patience and sweet nature, but size wise? Maybe a good idea would be to start out with a hatchling so that your confidence and experience can grow with the snake. 

I will say with this species and the next species I'm going to mention, when handling large species of snakes always have another person in the room to spot you just incase the snake decides to give you a hug... You'd have a struggle to untangle yourself from the pure muscle power of a 200 pound snake should things go awry. 

Reticulated Python 

Okay, so many keepers who may read this might think I'm insane for including a retic on this list. But, in my opinion, retics get such a bad wrap for being "aggressive" - Let's get one thing straight people: 

~~ There is no such thing as an aggressive snake, only defensive ones ~~ 

I think what happens with reticulated pythons is people often confuse their feeding responses for aggressive or defensive behaviour. These guys have an intense feeding response, when they're in food mode they're on and only want to eat something at that point. They're a bite now and ask questions later kind of snake when it's dinner time - so take great precautions when feeding these guys, don't attempt to handle if the snake is in food mode. This is also a good thing, because a snake with a good feeding response is easier to maintain than a picky eater would be. 

Despite the retics reputation, 99% of keepers that I have spoken to and know tell me that they are actually big sweethearts in nature. They're slow moving like their ball & burmese python relatives, and generally tolerate handling well. Just be consistent with the handling sessions from a young age, and you'll have yourself a big puppy dog of a giant snake. 

Now because of the size of these guys, typically reaching (on average) 10-20ft long, and some recorded at 32ft, they will need a big ass enclosure. Many keepers who keep these guys as pets only keep them in custom enclosures that are massive, or some keepers keep them in decked out rooms that have been modified for the snake. You can keep adults in vivariums, but it's gonna be a big vivarium. The typical recommendation for the average adult retic is a viv that is atleast 3ft wide, 8ft long and 2ft high. 

So, if you have the space and the funds, you're okay with the size these guys are gonna end up as adults, go for it. Personally, I would make sure I had experience with handling bigger snakes before I jumped right in and bought one for myself, but that's just me. If you can be safe, do your research and provide a good life for a retic, go for it, it'll be a learning experience for sure. 

Conclusion 

So those are the three best python species I would recommend for beginner python owners. The bigger snakes I would only get if you already have snakes but are wanting to move onto a bigger species, or a python species. For me, the biggest snake I would ever own is a common boa constrictor, because I'm a small girl and I don't think I would be able to handle a 200-300 pound snake without falling over, even though I love them and think they are great in terms of temperament and general husbandry needs. 

There are tons of other python species which I love, but I wouldn't really recommend for beginners - e.g. Green tree pythons are probably one of the most visually amazing species of python you can get. They are stunning to look at, and are mostly a display pet as they aren't the best to handle (although it can be done), but they are a little more high maintenance to own compared to a ball python or even the bigger species I've mentioned above. Some pythons are just a bit sassier in nature, their husbandry needs are a little more complicated and their overall handleability can be a bit tricky - but any python can become a nice, calm, handleable snake if they are worked with. Just takes a bit of patience and consistency to make a python a great pet. 

There's my list! Let me know if you agree, disagree or just don't care. Thanks for reading my ramblings. Bye!