If you want to walk on the wild side, so to speak, you can always turn to the world of reptiles for your next pet choice. Might we make a suggestion? Get a snake. We’ve found snakes to be awesome pets and they’re a great conversation starter.
Unfortunately, when most people think about snakes they imagine the most terrifying snake you could imagine, just waiting to eat them up. Don’t think for a second that you are going to get some sort of poisonous snake. Most snakes are honestly harmless — and they actually enjoy being picked up and petted. You need to make sure that you take a few precautions and read up on the wide world of snakes before making a purchase. Most snake owners tend to be well informed because this isn’t your normal choice for a friendly companion.
1. Can You Properly House a Snake?
It sounds like a silly question, but can you properly house a snake? The reason why you should ask this is because if you live in an apartment, your landlord or property manager might not allow you to have a snake. In fact, if they inspect your apartment and find that you bought a snake they could force you to remove it from your home.
2. Can You Keep it Warm Enough?
Snakes are cold-blooded, and they need to be able to regulate their temperatures much differently than you might expect. For example, right after they eat they’re going to need to be extra warm so they can properly ingest their food.
3. Is It Going to be Humid Enough?
Remember that snakes aren’t like dogs or cats. Most pets don’t really care about humidity. But this is another important factor in getting a snake as a pet. You need to ensure that their tank is going to be humid enough for them. If there’s any doubt, you can buy additional humidifiers that can help them stay in the right climate. We can’t completely replicate their world but we can definitely give it our best efforts. Keep in mind that high humidity can be damaging, just like low humidity can be. You can tell that humidity may be a problem by looking at your snake’s health: mold in the bedding, fungal infections, and even bad shedding. Watch for how your snake is doing and then make changes.
4. Do You Have the Time to Bond with Your Snake?
The idea that snakes can’t be picked up is silly. You need to handle your snake often in order to make the snake manageable. They can get mean if they’re left alone too long, so don’t think that you can just ignore your snake because you’re busy. There are going to be moments where picking up your snake is a bad idea. After you feed your new scaly friend, you need to give them time to digest their food. Would you like to be picked up and hugged while you’re eating? Probably not. The snake feels the same way!
5. Can You Get the Snake the Food They Need?
Are you skittish about live food? Chances are good that you’re not going to like having a snake as a pet. They will not just accept dead animals as food. They want to have their prey live and eat when they’re hungry. You need to look at the size of the prey, like a mouse. Rats are great snake food because the mouse tends to hop around for a while until the snake is ready to strike. The snake isn’t going to ask you if it’s okay to eat; they’ll strike when they feel like it. After they’re finished, they’re going to rest and work on processing the food that they just ate. Make sure that you don’t pick them up, because they can lash out without really meaning to. They’re animals, after all.
If you keep all of these things in mind, you’ll love having a snake. They’re awesome pets to enjoy and because they’re in a tank most of the time, they aren’t running all over the house. As long as you clean the tank and continue to provide fresh prey for them, they’ll continue to be a happy companion for you.