Posted by:
markg
at Thu Apr 30 13:07:16 2009 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by markg ]
Hello there. Nice species to work with, those Cal kings are. Great choice on your part.
I'll clear up some of the pet-store info that new owners receive.
Humidity:
Kingsnakes spend by far most of their time in the soil, underground, under hides, etc, where humidity is moderate, or at least, where moisture doesn't evaporate quickly. Holes in the ground are usually dry but prevent moisture loss and probably sit in the 60-ish relative humidity range. Even for desert kings. In fact, kings often have higher population densities where ground water is available. What that means is just because it is might be a desert region kingsnake, it is just as in need of a reasonable humidity as any other similar kingsnake, even Cal kings not in desert areas.
My advice to you is to put the snake in a container with about 1/4 inch of room-temp water, and let the snake stay there for 5 minutes to hydrate. You can do that periodically as needed, or you may provide a humid hide. A container of coir fiber substrate "Bed-a-Beast" can serve well for this. So can tight hides like 1" PVC pipe in the cage where the snake can coil up and keep the moisture in. You can mist the pipe every few days. Heck, mist the whole cage.
Heating:
You do not absolutely need the light for heat. My advice here is to just use the heat pad, then cover about 90% of the screen top of the cage. Keeps the heat in better with just a heat pad. Kings bask by laying against a warm mass for as long as they need to, then they move away. They actually use cool temps as their base, not warm. I would shoot for a temp of 90 deg above the heat pad, unless the room is warm (above 78), then go lower.
If you think you need more heat, a very easy way is to get another heat pad and tape it or even lean it up against the side or back of the tank. This way you can remove it during Summer when it is not needed. Lean a piece of plastic sign or styrene foam behine the heat pad to push the heat into the tank.
Lights tend to dry out the air, unless the wattage is very small. 60 watts does dry things out, which is OK if the snake has a very deep burrow-able soil substrate. But since the substrate is dry aspen only 2 inches deep, the 60 watt bulb is likley not the best approach.
Another method is to do what I just said, use a soil-type substrate somewhat deep, like 4 inches for your tank, then just use the light in a reflector dome, no heat pad. The snake will hide in the soil and barely break the surface just under the lamp to bask. The soil helps reduce moisture loss.
Feeding:
Another myth is this once-a-week schedule. Needs vary depending on age, size, temperature and reproductive status. A young snake like yours will probably eat every day if offered small food. I would feed food items slightly larger than the snake's girth every 3-4 days. Use frozen/thawed rodents, far easier. I can tell by the pic that the snake is thin. He/she could use some extra meals now when the Springtime feeding response is strong. When the snake is an adult, the feedings can get less frequent unless the snake is a breeding female.
My appraoch: I feed them when they are hungry. In Spring, young kings will eat constantly unless going into a shed cycle.
You picked a great species to keep. By approximating the guidelines I've given here, your snake will thrive for many many years. My oldest king was CB and lived to around 18 yrs old. Black and white king too.
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Mark
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RE: New snake owner tips? - markg, Thu Apr 30 13:07:16 2009