Do snakes make good pets or not? Well, that depends. Do you like saving money on pet food? Do you appreciate creatures that can thrive in small spaces? Do you like low maintenance animals? If you answered yes to any of the above, a snake would be a perfect pet for you! Besides being rather convenient animal companions (something you probably can’t say about a dog or a cat), there are plenty of other reasons to consider getting one of these scaly creatures. We’re going to dive into the 3 reasons why snakes make good pets plus our top choices for beginners.Â
Snakes are cost-efficient and very cheap to feed
Snakes don’t eat often – a perk of those who rely on external sources of heat for energy rather than making it themselves. Most adult snakes eat about once every 7-10 days. What they eat will vary slightly depending on the species, but most are perfectly content with a single thawed, pre-killed mouse. Whether your snake requires more mice – or bigger prey altogether – for sustenance will be determined by the snake’s size. For a mid-sized snake, the average cost to feed it will be about $20 a month.
Snakes can live in very small spaces – in fact, they love them!
Your average medium-sized snake is about 3-5 feet long and can comfortably be housed in a 40-gallon tank. And once they’re situated, they’ll stay put. Your pet snake doesn’t require being taken out or having space to slither and roam around. They would actually be perfectly content to stay in their enclosure their entire life. This is why snakes are ideal for the person whose small housing situation would make dog or cat ownership impractical.
Snakes are calm and quiet
Not only are snakes marvelously low maintenance, but they make for great housemates as well. They are virtually silent save for the occasional hiss, and otherwise have no other means of being disruptive. That’s something you certainly can’t say about any of the more common pets. The disposition of a snake will vary both by the snake itself and its species, but for the most part, snakes tend to be very laid back creatures that quietly observe their surroundings and mainly come out when it’s time for food.
Choosing the Right Snake For You
So, you’ve decided you want an exotic pet – awesome! It’s a pretty easy decision to make, especially when you crunch the numbers and compare the costs of owning a cat or dog. One decision that’s not so easy, however, can be deciding which snake to get.
There are nearly 3,000 snakes available in the mainstream pet trade, and some are easier to care for than others. Corn snakes, kingsnakes, and ball pythons are constantly declared as being the best for first-time snake owners. They’re mid-sized snakes with wonderful temperaments and are available in a great variety of morphs to choose from. Fortunately, they’re also extremely popular so you can find corn snakes, kingsnakes, and ball pythons for sale nearly anywhere that reptiles are already sold.
