Smallest Pet Snakes to Keep
Looking for a snake you can easily hold in your hands? Look no further.
Here are several of the smallest snakes that make good pets.
Benefits of smaller snakes
Why would someone be interested in the smallest pet snakes available?
The answer is pretty simple. Smaller snakes can often be easier (and less expensive) to care for. They don’t take up as much space, and that means you can put these small snakes in slightly smaller terrariums.
Smaller terrariums not only cost less than larger tanks, they are also easier to regulate temperature and humidity in.
And, of course, you don’t need as much or as large food for these smaller pet reptiles.
Spotted python
Photos courtesy of Wickens Wicked Reptiles
Antaresia pythons are among the smallest pythons, but not all members of the antaresia family make good pets. The spotted python, however, does. As the largest member of the antaresia genus, the spotted python still gets up to only four feet in length when full grown.
One of the more well-known members of this family of snakes is the children’s python.
Children’s pythons and spotted pythons are common in Australia, but they are less known as exotic pets in other areas. Ball pythons tend to be more popular, but the spotted python doesn’t get quite as large. It’s also easy to care for.
Click here for our Spotted Python Care Guide.
Kenyan sand boa
Kenyan sand boas are relatively inexpensive to get, and they are even smaller than spotted pythons, coming in between about one and a half and three feet in length.
These boas also have many morphs available, allowing you to select the aesthetic that appeals to you most in tiny snakes.
Speaking of appearances, one thing many people find endearing about the Kenyan sand boa is the cute-looking eyes positioned at the top of its head. One potential drawback of this species is that they do tend to spend most of their time buried in the sand, making it difficult to enjoy watching them in their enclosure.
That being said, they’re very easy to care for and tend to be easy to handle.
Click here for our Kenyan Sand Boa Care Guide.
Egg-eating snakes
African egg eating snakes are quite unique pets. Not only are they somewhat small (about two to two and a half feet long), they also don’t have any teeth. That means that even though they may try to bite you, these snakes can’t really do any harm to you with their mouths.
As their name implies, African egg eating snakes only eat whole, raw eggs. The type of egg you feed your snake depends on the size. Typically, they will need a smaller egg, like finch or quail.
It’s pretty interesting to watch these snakes eat because they will use vertebrae projections in the back of their mouths to crunch up the egg shell, suck out the inside of the egg, and then spit out the egg shell. The hardest thing about keeping these snakes is finding a ready supply of the appropriate eggs for feeding them.
Of course, there are other small snakes available to purchase as pets—some even smaller than these—but the ones on this list are some of the best for all levels of exotic pet keeper.
Come into The Tye-Dyed Iguana in Fairview Heights to see our selection of small snakes.