Snakes are limbless, cold-blooded and scaly reptiles
belonging to the order of Squamata. Keeping snakes as pets can
be easy only if their requirements are understood deeply. Their
needs are different from other reptiles. Owners must also
understand that some of them grow very large and can become
dangerous with the passage of time. There are different types of
snakes available for pet owners with different preferences.
Every snake has a different diet and need different environment
to live in. Snakes, which are kept as exotic pets, range from
common garter snake to pythons. Snakes sometimes also cross
forty years of age; so potential owners should be aware of this
fact and be ready to make lifetime commitment before thinking of
keeping snakes as pets.
Snakes can easily escape from their owner’s custody. They always
look out for enclosures, which will let them out of the
captivity. The owners must be extremely careful in this regard
and also should build an escape proof enclosure. Snakes are
carnivores. They do not eat vegetation at all. The favorite food
for snakes is rats and mice. Bigger snakes are fed with
squirrel, rabbits and other small mammals. Some species even eat
insects and fishes. As the snakes eat small animals, it is
advisable to kill the prey before it is given to the snake. If
this job is left to the snake, it could be risk to its life.
Usually snakes that have been bred in captivity are an excellent
choice as pets. Wild snakes carry lots of diseases and parasites
with them, get really stressed out with the transportation and
are very difficult to be tamed. King snakes, ball pythons and
corn snakes are popular choices. Their diet and environmental
needs aren’t as complicated as other species of snakes. They are
also small in size, but the king snakes can sometimes grow up to
seven feet. Ball pythons have eating issues. They like to feed
on a live prey instead of pre-killed prey. Also, they sometimes
stop eating food for months together. Ball pythons that have
been bred in captivity have lesser eating issues. And before
buying a ball snake, the owner can test whether the reptile eats
a dead prey readily or not.
The more challenging snakes that are kept, as pets are
red-tailed boas, water snakes, Burmese pythons, and any other
pythons and wild snakes. The most dangerous of them are Burmese
pythons. They can completely swallow a human being. So it is
recommended to have people around while feeding the reptile.
Burmese pythons are very strong snakes. They grow more than
twenty feet and weigh more than two hundred pounds. Even
red-tailed boas grow up to ten feet and weigh more than fifty
ponds. They are also difficult to be managed by one person. All
these species demand right temperatures and humidity in their
environment.
Reticulated pythons and anacondas are extremely dangerous exotic
pets. Some strictly recommend against keeping them as pets.
Another variety that is fatal is venomous snakes. They not only
are a threat to the owner and his family members but also to
people in the neighborhood, if it escapes.
Snakes are also bred for their skin, which is used to make
belts, bags, shoes, etc. They are also eaten as a delicacy in
many countries and even in Western America. In many of the Asian
countries, the snake’s meat and blood is consumed for medicinal
purposes.