King snakes are a big household of non-venomous snakes, lots of which might make supreme pets. Typically talking king snakes are very hardy in captivity, develop to a really modest measurement, and plenty of will turn into docile sufficient to deal with with ease.
Like all pet reptile, nonetheless, preserving your king snake efficiently is fairly extra concerned than extra conventional pets. On this detailed king snake care sheet we’ll focus on the whole lot the budding snake proprietor must know…
Housing & Cages
Whereas there are a variety of various kingsnake species accessible to hobbyists, their caging necessities are all very comparable. Like so many different pet snakes, king snakes are pure escape artists so a serious consideration must be safety, and the avoidance of any pointless gaps. Some fashionable king snake cage examples embody:
Glass Terrariums
Glass terrariums are one of the crucial engaging choices in your king snake. Among the key advantages embody:
- Wonderful visibility
- Engaging shows doable
- Lockable front-opening doorways for feeding
- Mesh lid for glorious air flow
- Straightforward to suit heating
Moreover, it’s doable to purchase specially-made lighting canopies which match above the cage, providing you with the chance to light up the cage correctly.
Carolina Customized Cages Terrarium, Tall Medium 24Lx18Dx24H; Straightforward Meeting
- Our rising household of Carolina Customized Cages Terrariums are very simple to assemble and are available in 23 totally different fashions. The 24”L fashions and the 36”L fashions function hinged doorways. The 48”L and 72”L fashions function sliding doorways. All terrariums function key-lock safety.
- The Bio Deep fashions function a 12” deep waterproof base. The Bio Deep Hybrid fashions function 9” and 12” deep waterproof bases. All different fashions function a water-resistant base that’s: 4” deep on the 18”H fashions, 6.3” deep on the 24”H fashions and seven.5” deep on the 36”H fashions.
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Modified Glass Fish Tanks
Glass fish tanks are most likely the best cages of all to supply, as they’re accessible in nearly all respectable pet shops. The essential issue, nonetheless, is that you just add an acceptable, escape-proof lid. An outdated aquarium hood merely gained’t do the trick.
Extra helpful readers might need to flip their hand to constructing their very own fish tank topper, although many keepers find yourself buying a pre-made lid for his or her king snake, as accessible from some specialist on-line retailers.
Critter Keepers
Critter keepers can be found underneath a variety of various model names. They’re all constituted of clear plastic, with a tightly-fitting vented lid, usually with a trapdoor within the heart.
Critter Keepers are simple to maintain clear due to their design, although remember that the plastic is definitely scratched throughout cleansing. This may sadly smash the looks of those cages over time.
Critter Keepers are available in a variety of sizes, however bigger kingsnakes might outgrow even the most important fashions, that means these probably symbolize appropriate housing for hatchlings and children solely.
Plastic Storage Bins
Plastic storage bins designed for the house have lengthy been utilized by snake house owners and breeders. Whereas they’re actually not essentially the most engaging housing doable, they do provide king snake house owners a variety of advantages:
- Vary of sizes accessible
- Very inexpensive costs
- Simply and shortly cleaned
- Many have locks to connect the lid
When you go for a plastic storage field then there are two main concerns. Firstly, you’ll need to add appropriate air flow. This may be achieved by drilling holes within the aspect and the highest, or by reducing out a bit of plastic and changing it with mesh.
The second consideration is how nicely the lid suits. Some fashions have a nasty behavior of leaving small gaps, by way of which a child snake might escape. All the time fastidiously examine the realm the place the field joins the lid earlier than putting your kingsnake inside.
Moulded Plastic Vivariums
Moulded plastic vivariums are one of many dearer choices accessible, however will be well worth the funding if you wish to create a beautiful naturalistic show.
These are sometimes shaped from a single piece of plastic, with recessed areas for lighting and heating gear. The sliding doorways could make entry simple for routine upkeep.
Stable Wood Vivariums
Most kingsnakes are completely happy in fairly an arid surroundings. This makes them supreme candidates for picket vivariums, which don’t are likely to do as nicely in moist, humid setups.
Wood vivariums will be bought pre-made, and even constituted of scratch at house. Coming in a variety of sizes, shapes and colours there’s positive to be one thing to catch your eye.
An actual good thing about picket vivariums for these of us who dwell in cooler climates is how nicely they maintain warmth. It may be loads cheaper and easier to warmth a picket vivarium than another cages if your private home will get chilly throughout the winter months.
When it comes to measurement, an excellent rule-of-thumb is that the size and width of the cage, when added collectively, must be at least the whole size of your king snake. For hatchlings this implies a small plastic storage field of 20-30cm lengthy must be enough, while grownup snakes are more likely to require a tank of 60-90cm relying on the precise species you’ve chosen.
Temperature & Heating
Being cold-blooded, kingsnakes depend on their surroundings to supply the heat they want. In nature king snakes will delight in sunny, heat areas, absorbing the solar’s rays, earlier than slithering off to hunt.
A snake that isn’t saved on the proper temperature might go off it’s meals, or might undergo from a variety of well being circumstances. In the end this will shorten the lifetime of your snake and result in an premature loss of life.
For nearly all king snake house owners it’s going to due to this fact be essential to mimic the solar’s heat within the house. Happily there are a number of reptile-heaters which might be appropriate relying on the cage you’ve chosen.
Two of the most well-liked choices are warmth mats and ceramic bulbs.
Warmth Mats
- Positioned underneath or contained in the cage
- Present light background heat
- Don’t penetrate thick substrates or picket vivariums nicely
- Low-cost to purchase and to run
- Straightforward to put in
- Best suited for hotter houses, or well-insulated vivariums
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Ceramic Heaters
- Fitted contained in the vivarium
- Able to producing far higher heat
- Superb for colder houses
- Costlier to buy and run
- Could also be harder to suit
No matter heater you go for, it must be hooked up to an acceptable thermostat to fastidiously management the warmth produced.
A basking spot of 25-28’C / 77-82’F must be offered at one finish of the vivarium, with the opposite finish remaining cooler. This creates pockets of warmth the place your kingsnake can bask, along with cooler areas to allow them to regulate their physique temperature as in nature.
A digital thermometer is a great funding to observe temperatures, significantly throughout chilly climate, making certain your chosen heater is doing a correct job.
Lighting
In distinction to many different fashionable pet snakes, you might even see your king snake out and about throughout daylight.
Specialists disagree on whether or not synthetic lighting is strictly vital. Many declare that in contrast to many lizards it’s pointless to supply synthetic UV gentle to kingsnakes. Others level to extra pure behaviour, a greater urge for food and higher breeding outcomes when UV gentle is offered.
It’s probably clever to supply some type of UV lighting in your pet. Not solely does this have potential well being advantages in your snake, nevertheless it additionally makes the cage look wonderful. As a part of the enjoyable of reptile preserving is observing your pet’s pure behaviour an attention-grabbing show could make an amazing focus in any room.
No matter you determine about lighting, your snake must be supplied with a correct darkish interval every night time with all lights turned off, mimicking a pure day/night time rhythm.
Substrates
Substrate is the fabric positioned on the ground of the cage. It may assist to maintain the cage clear and fresh-smelling, in addition to offering visible attraction and a possibility in your snake to show pure behaviour.
Each king snake proprietor has their most well-liked selection of substrate for his or her pets. Every has their very own strengths and weaknesses. Listed here are a number of the hottest choices at current:
Newspaper
Newspaper is affordable and may make cleansing simple – simply roll it up and get rid of it earlier than changing it. That mentioned, newspaper tends to not be very absorbent, doesn’t look nice, and doesn’t essentially enable pure burrowing behaviour.
Aspen
Aspen chippings are absorbent, engaging and allow burrowing exercise. For these keepers searching for a naturalistic setup it could actually work nicely, although you should definitely select a model the place the mud has been extracted earlier than use.
Beech Chips
Beech chips have been utilized by snake keepers for years. Like aspen, it may be very engaging, although is more durable to burrow into for king snakes. It may shortly turn into mouldy in response to spilled water or faeces, so routine spot cleansing is important.
All the above could make appropriate choices relying in your preferences. No matter you select, you should definitely preserve the cage clear and hygienic always, usually changing substrate because it turns into dirty.
I’ve discovered that kingsnakes usually wish to burrow into their substrate. When you go for aspen or beech chips it may be worthwhile including an honest depth of substrate to facilitate this. Take into account including a depth that’s a minimum of twice the width of your snake. On this means they absolutely conceal themselves beneath the floor in the event that they so need.
Hides
Kingsnakes recognize privateness and safety in captivity. A kingsnake saved in a sterile surroundings with nowhere to cover away is unlikely to be completely happy. The supply of a minimum of one disguise is due to this fact essential. Your snake ought to be capable to climb inside and absolutely conceal itself.
Some fashionable choices embody:
Cork Bark
- Engaging look
- Provides a naturalistic really feel to the cage
- Use curved items to create a “cave”
- Cleansing will be difficult
- Light-weight if burrowed underneath
Plastic Hides
- Unattractive however sensible design
- Simply cleaned
- Vary of various sizes accessible
- Light-weight if burrowed underneath
Resin Hides
- Are usually heavy so take care in case your snake burrows
- Simply cleaned
- Are available a variety of naturalistic kinds
- Are usually the most costly choice
Cardboard Bins
- Breakfast cereal bins laid on their aspect can work nicely
- Simply sourced and low cost/free
- Unattractive look unsuitable for naturalistic setups
Cage Lock
King snakes are pure escape artists, and quite a lot of kingsnake house owners have been unlucky sufficient to undergo an escape. Prevention is at all times higher than treatment – looking round your private home for an escaped snake will not be most individuals’s concept of enjoyable.
An acceptable cage lock is usually a worthwhile funding for a lot of circumstances, particularly if utilizing a vivarium with sliding glass doorways.
Climbing Branches
Some king snakes will fortunately climb branches of their vivarium, although simply as many will ignore them totally.
It may be value experimenting with branches and items of cork bark to see whether or not your snake makes use of them. In that case, this will present further surroundings enrichment in addition to trying engaging within the cage.
Water Bowl
King snakes ought to have entry to contemporary water always.
A ceramic bowl can work nicely, as plastic bowls are simply tipped over as your snake explores. A low, huge design tends to work finest.
Don’t overfill the bowl as some king snakes will soak of their bowl, particularly when coming as much as change their pores and skin, which may end up in spillage.
The water must be modified day by day, and the bowl scrubbed out and sterilized with boiling water or reptile-safe detergent as soon as per week.
Feeding
One of many causes for king snakes changing into such fashionable captives is their wholesome appetites. When supplied with an acceptable habitat most king snakes are dependable feeders, readily accepting a variety of suitably-sized rodents.
Most hatchlings will begin off on mouse pinkies, slowly working their means as much as bigger mice over a couple of years.
Please remember that king snakes have a repute for cannibalism. For that reason two king snakes ought to by no means be saved collectively, aside from small stints if trying breeding. In any other case chances are you’ll end up with only one, fats king snake.
Temperament & Dealing with
King snakes show some fascinating behaviour in captivity, particularly if they’re unfamiliar with dealing with. In contrast to ball pythons, which will be naturally docile and handleable from hatching, king snakes will be way more nervous. With time, nonetheless, most king snakes will develop to simply accept dealing with.
A nervous king snake might hiss audibly to try to scare you away. They could additionally vibrate their tails like slightly rattlesnake, or puff themselves as much as look larger than they really are. In some circumstances they might even attempt to strike in the event that they really feel threatened.
Solely time and endurance will resolve such a difficulty. The crib notes listed below are that king snakes can turn into handleable however in case you really desire a “silly-tame” snake you could maintain with out fear then you definitely could be higher contemplating one thing like a ball python as a substitute.