If you’ve ever handled a 15 foot long python it’s likely you’ve found yourself wondering just how safe it really is. The truth is that it’s a safe as you make it, but the reality is that it’s not as safe as handling a three foot snake. In this article we will take a look at the benefits of getting a small snake (those typically 5 foot and under) as a pet.

Some commonly found small snakes include:

• Corn Snakes
• Ball Pythons
• King Snakes
• Rat Snakes
• Children’s Python

They take less space

A snake requires about one square foot of space for ever foot of length. That very quickly adds up especially when you’re talking about a snake that is 10 feet long and you live in a tiny cramped apartment. Even something the size of a 20 gallon tank can be overwhelming in a small house. Many times you’ll see ads on sites like Craig’s List when you are looking into adopting a pet snake and the only reason the owner is offering it is because they don’t have room for the cage in a new apartment.

When you consider that the vast majority of snakes on Craig’s List are Ball Pythons it gives you an idea of how quickly space can run out when the snake is something like a Boa Constrictor.

They eat less food

This is a no-brainer but most people don’t appreciate how much a large snake eats until they start to see the food bill month after month. It adds up. On top of that they produce large volumes of waste that you will need to clean up. Small snakes still eat and still produce waste but the amount is much less than their larger cousins.

To illustrate the point let’s say we need to feed our snake 2 medium sized rabbits a week. After a little online research I find them for around $6.00 each. So that’s $12 per week and $48 per month to feed the snake. On the other hand suppose our snake eats 2 adult mice per week. I find that I can get those for around $20 to $25 for a bag of 50. It doesn’t take a math wizard to see the advantage of smaller snake when it comes to eating and your budget.

They are safer to handle

Like was mentioned before if you’ve ever handled a 15 foot snake you quickly come to realize how powerful these animals are. Even a six or seven foot snake can overwhelm many people. A rule of thumb when it comes to large snakes is that you need a person for every two feet of length over six feet. Finding people to help you with that is easier said than done especially once they get thrashed around by a large snake a few times.

That’s not an issue you run into with the smaller snakes. There is no need to have more than one person handling them (except special circumstances like administering medicine) at a time. They’re strong, but not strong enough that they are going to manhandle an adult. If they do bite it will most likely be a superficial wound where as a large boid could easily leave you in need of stitches.

Easier to find housing

Even if your landlord or property management says “No Pets” they will often allow “small caged animals”. Something that lives in a 35 quart plastic bin is small. Something that lives in a specially designed 6 foot long, 2 foot deep 1.5 foot high cage isn’t small.

There’s also the fact that (as I’ve learned) not everyone else will appreciate snake’s of any size so being able to keep them out of sight and out of mind is much easier with a small snake than a large one.

By no means is this meant to say that you shouldn’t get a large snake. It’s to give you some insight into a few things you should think about before you go pick up that baby Reticulated Python from the pet store that is on sale for $75. That baby will get large, very large in fact and it’s better to know ahead of time what you are getting into before you get into it.

I always tell people who ask me about large snakes to find a full grown adult snake in your area and handle it. Actually work with it a little bit and you’ll very quickly see how much work it really is. Even if the snake is totally docile just moving it around to clean its tank can be a huge chore.