Reference
Species guides
Every species on this marketplace, smallest to largest, with the husbandry numbers that decide whether it is the right animal for your room and your patience.
Kenyan Sand Boa
Eryx colubrinus
A sausage with a periscope. Sand boas spend 95% of their life buried with only their eyes exposed, ambush their food, and then go back under. Minimal maintenance, maximum stubby charm.
- Adult
- 24"
- Class
- Lifespan
- 20+ yrs
Western Hognose
Heterodon nasicus
A small, upturned-nose shovel of a snake with the theatrical range of a silent film actor. Mock-strikes with a closed mouth, hisses like a punctured tire, then flips belly-up and plays dead with its tongue out. All bluff, no follow-through.
- Adult
- 2′ 2″
- Class
- Small
- Lifespan
- 18+ yrs
Rosy Boa
Lichanura trivirgata
Slow, mellow, desert-dwelling, and almost impossible to annoy. Rosy boas move like they are being paid by the hour and have never once bitten anyone on purpose.
- Adult
- 2′ 9″
- Class
- Small
- Lifespan
- 25+ yrs
Garter Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis
Diurnal, alert, social enough to be housed in groups, and awake when you are — which almost no other pet snake can claim. Garters are the extroverts of the hobby and they eat fish.
- Adult
- 2′ 11″
- Class
- Small
- Lifespan
- 12+ yrs
Honduran Milk Snake
Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis
A kingsnake in a fire-alarm costume. Bands of red, black and orange that mimic a coral snake, wrapped around a busy, food-motivated, surprisingly muscular little constrictor.
- Adult
- 4′ 3″
- Class
- Medium
- Lifespan
- 20+ yrs
Ball Python
Python regius
The default answer to 'what snake should I get first', and for good reason: a ball python is a shy, slow, forgiving animal that would rather be a tight little ball than a problem. The morph market around them is the most developed in the hobby.
- Adult
- 4′ 5″
- Class
- Medium
- Lifespan
- 30+ yrs
Corn Snake
Pantherophis guttatus
If a ball python is a beanbag, a corn snake is a curious ribbon. Bulletproof feeders, active in the evenings, endlessly variable in color, and the single best snake for someone who actually wants to interact with their animal.
- Adult
- 4′ 7″
- Class
- Medium
- Lifespan
- 20+ yrs
Green Tree Python
Morelia viridis
A display animal first and a pet second. Hatches yellow or brick red and undergoes an ontogenetic color change to green over the first two years. Perches in a coil on a branch and expects you to admire it from there.
- Adult
- 5′ 5″
- Class
- Medium
- Lifespan
- 22+ yrs
Blood Python
Python brongersmai
Short, absurdly thick, and historically famous for being grumpy — a reputation that captive-bred generations have mostly, but not entirely, retired. Built like a fire hydrant with a spleen.
- Adult
- 5′ 7″
- Class
- Medium
- Lifespan
- 25+ yrs
Jungle Carpet Python
Morelia spilota cheynei
Black and gold, semi-arboreal, and famously opinionated as babies before settling into confident adults. A carpet python is the animal you graduate to when a ball python has stopped surprising you.
- Adult
- 6′ 11″
- Class
- Large
- Lifespan
- 25+ yrs
Boa Constrictor
Boa imperator
The snake most non-keepers picture when they hear 'snake'. Heavy-bodied, deliberate, and genuinely tolerant of handling once grown — but a thirty-year commitment to an animal that will outweigh your cat.
- Adult
- 7′ 10″
- Class
- Large
- Lifespan
- 30+ yrs
Reticulated Python
Malayopython reticulatus
The longest snake on earth, and the most intelligent-feeling animal in the hobby — retics recognize routine, track you across a room, and problem-solve. Dwarf and super-dwarf localities keep adult size manageable. This is not a first snake. It may not be a fifth.
- Adult
- 14′ 1″
- Class
- Colossal
- Lifespan
- 25+ yrs