My 4 year old daughter got HER first corn at 2. She still doesn't mess with our garter, but she regularly holds and plays with most of the corns...babies and adults alike. For beginners and kids, I think it only makes sense to get the snake that is going to be most forgiving of mistakes, and be the most able to withstand regular holding and child attention. That's a cornsnake.

I take corns to the preschoools and let the kids play with them. I wouldn't dream of doing that with a garter...