So here is something I may need to write into an article here at some point. Most pet keepers are used to "breeds". But, most reptiles are actually grouped into species.
The definition of breed [noun]:
A group of usually domesticated animals or plants presumably related by descent from common ancestors and visibly similar in most characters
The term species can be defined in a few different ways, but here we are going with the basic biological definition:
A fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus and consisting of related organisms capable of interbreeding.
Now, you could say that a "breed" of dog could fit that definition, and that is true. But, EVERY breed of dog could together fit that definition, because, they are all the same species.
Let's think back to taxonomy taught in basic biology, the ranks of biological classification:
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
All breeds of domestic dogs, pit bulls, jack russels, cocker spaniels, are the same subspecies,
Canis lupus familiaris, so even a level below species. All domestic cats are the same species,
Felis catus.
There are obviously things that don't fit, Savannah cats for example, are crossed with wild Servals. But a siamese, a maine coon, a persian, are all the same family, genus, and species.
Now, with snakes, people here the word "python", and think they are all the same, and "boa", and they are all the same. This is not correct. Pythons refer to the taxonomic family Pythonidae, and boas to the taxonomic family Boidae. They are both in the order Squamata.
For reference, "cats" (all cats big and small) are in the family Felidae and all "dogs" (including wolves) are in the family Canidae. They are both in the Order Carnivora.
So what does this realistically mean? It means that comparing a ball python
(Family: Pythonidae, Python regius) to a common boa
(Family Boidae, Boa constrictor imperator), is the equivalent to comparing how to keep a pekingese to how to keep a Bengal tiger. They are as genetically dissimilar. In fact, human beings are more closely related to chimpanzees, on a genetic level, than any boa is to any python that has been tested.
This could go on to a lengthy debate, and I am not a qualified biologist, but hopefully this explains to an extent why there aren't simple answers to how to keep a "snake". Just because it doesn't have legs and is a reptile doesn't mean they are as similar as one may think. Cats, bats, wolverines and polar bears all have legs, and are mammals but are very different.
