# California King Snake



## LiamAndKec (Jan 23, 2009)

Hello there. My name is Liam, I am getting a California Kingsnake (Banded) in March, and I was hoping that I had got some things right. I have kept a leopard gecko before. He's been with me since 2004. But now I want a snake. I know that freeze+thaw is the best way of giving food. I just wanted to know some other things.

*As the snake grows, so should the size of food? (i.e. pinkies to fuzzies to small mice ect)
*A 36x15x15 is a good size for an average adult?
*A hide on both sides, a place to climb, a water bowl and something to aid shed?
*Aspen substrate?
*Spray cage when the snake is in shed?
*Small viv for a hatchling or young snake?

But my main question is "What do I do when my snake is in shed?"

Do I let it fast? Give it food? I am unsure.

Thanks for your time.


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## rantasam (Nov 28, 2006)

Sounds like you have most of the basics covered. What method do you plan to use to heat the viv, and have you got an idea of the temperature requirements?

Strictly speaking once a snake is in shed (blue eyes, dull colour) you should wait until he has shed his skin before offering food.. shedding uses up much of the snakes store of fluids, as does digestion. It's healthier to wait. Having said that, I tend to offer and let the snake decide if he wants to take it or not. You'll soon get an idea whether he is likely to feed during shedding or not.


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## stuart89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Hello and Welcome.

Kingsnakes are fantastic snakes with great personality.

As the snake grows you will increase the food size yes, and it should follow something along this routine. Lets say he starts off on pinkies and starts at 1 pinkie per week. At the start, he will eat the pinky and go to his hide. Soon he will eat the pinky and then search for more, at this point you start feeding him 2 pinkies per week. He will retreat to his cave after eating the 2 pinkies. Then he will repeat the process, eat the 2 pinkies and then search for more, at this point you will up the food size, so now you feed him 1 fuzzy. Then when he looks again you give 2 fuzzies, then 1 small mouse, 2 small mouse, 1 medium mouse, 2 medium mouse, 1 large mouse, 2 large mouse, 1 small rat/ rat pup.

Basically, feed him and when he looks for more, give him more up to 2 items at one sitting. If he still wants more then give him a bigger item.

Now, theres 1 small problem with kingsnakes in particular with this guideline - and it is only a guideline. Kingsnakes are very food focused, they _love_ their food. So this is a good thing as a first snake because they will never miss a meal, but for the purposes of this guideline it can be a bad thing because even if he has eaten appropriately, he will still look for more. So you just need to make sure you dont over feed, a simple way to do this is to just feed him once a week. This will control his food intake until you can judge the snakes meal sizes/ amounts easier. Dont worry too much about this, you will know when your snake wants more food. I understand it is daunting but trust me its something you will pick up pretty quickly.

Im not sure about inches off the top of my head, but a 3-4ft x 1.5-2ft x 1.5-2ft tank is fine for an adult kingsnake. They will grow to about 4-5ft in length.

Two hides, a water bowl and a rough surface for shedding are the basics to a snake tank, this can vary considerable depending on how in depth you want to go. You can have many hides, all of different sizes and shapes all around the tank. For example, one in the hot spot, one in the cool spot and a long hide like a tube across the middle. Its completely up to you. Climbing is nice for kings aswell, they are very good climbers - but not necessary.

Aspen is perfect.

Cage size should be changed appropriately, if you get a hatchling then a small tank is good, and it doesnt matter so much if its too small as some babies prefer the security of small spaces. When the snake needs to move up in tank size you will know, just by the size of the snake you should know if he wants a bigger tank, but the some snakes will become a lot more active as they try to find an escape out of the tank, this is a basic sign that they need a bigger tank. 
I dont think this will be a problem for you, kingsnakes are very confident snakes so open spaces shouldnt scare them that much, just as long as the tank isnt rediculously larger. I.E. A baby in a 4x2x2ft tank.

Your main question about shedding.

When a snake enters the shed cycle, which it will do quite often as a baby, the colours will become noticeably duller and about a day or two later the eyes will turn blue. This dulling and blue eyes is a thin layer of 'lubrication' that will help the snake to seperate the old skin from the new skin. Once you notice either symptoms, simply leave the snake alone. Dont handle or feed the snake - although kingsnakes will eat during shed and its not a problem at all, but if you know he is in shed then just feed him next week. Spray the tank to bring up the humidity, again dont worry about the levels, snakes will shed fine without any spraying. Also keep the waterbowl quite full as this creates a steady humiditiy in the tank as water evaporates from the heat.

Basically once you see the snake in shed, leave him alone, dont feed and bring up the humidty by spraying and keeping the water bowl full.

Theres a lot of writing there and some things might have come out wrong or confusing, feel free to drop me a pm if you have any questions buddy. Enjoy your snake, kings are fantastic.

Stuart


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## sandmatt (Oct 25, 2008)

Only word of warning i'd have is a strong feeding response. (Don't go near with mousey fingers)


Otherwise amazing snakes!


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## mike12 (Aug 30, 2008)

With regards to shedding i think it depends on the snake itself, spraying isnt always neccessary just a bowl does it for mine and most of them shed fine, for the ones that dont i tend to be a plastic box that they can squezze into filled with damp moss in the viv with the this allows for them to have a humid retreat and aids in the shedding process. I only put the hide in when i notice the snake is in shed and i tend to put it in middle of viv. This way works great for me : victory: other thing out of all the kings i have had i find about 95% will eat when in shed they are pigs lol just be careful to not overfeed they are prone to obesity as they have a great appetite


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## LiamAndKec (Jan 23, 2009)

rantasam said:


> Sounds like you have most of the basics covered. *What method do you plan to use to heat the viv, and have you got an idea of the temperature requirements?*


I have read a lot of sources and have come to a conclusion that between 70-75 is good for a cool side, 75-85 for a warm side and a bit higher for a basking spot is good. I may be wrong though... I plan to heat with an UTH and a bulb for my king to bask. (Yes I will mesh it over!)

Thanks guys.


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## stuart89 (Mar 16, 2008)

A basking spot isn't required, its up to you if you want to provide one, snakes dont really bask in the way lizards do. I currently keep all my snakes on UTH (Under tank heater? - forget what that stands for now, heat mats anyways) controlled by habistat matstats. 
I used to use bulbs for my heat and I did really like them, but snakes draw warmth from their underneath them (belly scales) so using a bulb that heats from above and the air around doesnt help them a great deal, it will do the job but not as well as a heat mat can.
The gradient will come regardless, if you have a mat covering 1/4 - 1/3 of the tank sitting at 80-85°F / 30°C then the other end will naturally be cooler. All the gradient is for is that if the snake feels too warm in the warm end he has a place to escape to cooldown, the temperature of that end isnt _that_ important because he can always return to the warm end to heat up.


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## wallyreptiles (Nov 17, 2008)

another thing, kingsnakes like all other snakes are escape artists. mine unfortunately escaped 2 months ago and still hasnt turned up yet  but dont let this put u off


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## LiamAndKec (Jan 23, 2009)

Yes, I am very aware of them being escape artists. I am taking that into account and am making sure when I get my vivarium sorted out, there will be no escape holes. Any holes will be too small for the snake, as it still needs ventilation.

Thanks Stuart, the advice has cleared up everything. I will use a heat mat as my main heater, but I might have a blub just incase.


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