I currently don't own any pets, but I'll post anyway.
I used to have 5 snakes (These are pics from Google.com, just to help with relative identification):
2 Ball/Royal Pythons (normal pattern): Skye and Tye. They were about 5-feet long, chubby, soft, calm, and gentle. They were born of the same nest.
1 Columbian Boa Constrictor (normal pattern): Bo. He was close to 6-feet long. There was one instance where he managed to squeeze into a small hole in my matress and we had to cut open my bed, in order to get him out. I was pissed, of course, but snakes can be surprisingly cute.
1 Peruvian Boa Constrictor (normal pattern): Sandy. She was younger than our other Boa, Bo, but quickly grew to his size within a few months.
1 Red-sided Garter Snake (normal pattern): Indy. He was my first snake. I had him since I was in the 4th or 5th grade. His name was originally "Endy" (I figured it sounded Australian, and I guess I was a little homesick at the time), but, later, changed it to "Indy". He died late last year. I feel guilty about it. I'm mature enough to understand the significance, so it cuts a little deeper than it probably would for a young child.
Ah, the memories...
Snakes make great pets, in my opinion. Someone, unfamiliar with them, might not expect them to be as cute and animated as they are. A form of silent love. You'd have to own a reptile to truly understand it.
The 2 pythons and boas were given to Pet Stores, because they were growing too large for our home. That isn't to say we didn't want to keep them. It just wasn't a wise thing to do.
Just for some quick info: They can go weeks or even months without eating. And, other than keeping their tanks clean, they require very little handling (though, I prefer to handle them often).