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Welcome to the latest version of my California Kingsnake's cage. This version had its beginnings as I was making final preparations to go see my family at Christmas. I'd had my snakes for a couple of months and had never left them alone for more than half a day or so. I'm a chronic worrier, and I tried to think of ways to help them survive if something unexpected happened. I had read that kingsnakes like to burrow, so I dumped an extra inch or two of cypress mulch on the cool side of my kingsnake's enclosure.

A few weeks after I returned, I noticed that he was burrowing quite a bit in the extra bedding. Sometimes, he'd go into the bedding and disappear for a few days. I mentioned this behavior in the kingsnake forums, and several people commented that kingsnakes like to spend much of their time buried in the bedding. One gentleman with many years of experience even suggested that I fill my enclosure half to two thirds full of bedding so that my snake would have more opportunities to burrow. Another gentleman suggested using Eco Earth from ZooMed as a bedding material that a kingsnake would enjoy. Another suggestion was to use PVC pipe pieces to give my kingsnake more structure in his earthen home.

I wasn't quite sure how that much bedding would work with my under-tank heating, and I wasn't yet willing to abandon under-tank heating for bulb heating. However, I figured that I could add quite a bit of bedding to the cool side of my tank without disturbing the heating scheme at all. I certainly wanted to try the Eco Earth substrate which is a finely ground coconut material that expands in water. The steps and results of my new experiments will be shown in a series of pictures.

The first picture shows the first steps in the new setup. I put newspaper against the bottom of the aquarium. Over the past month or so, my previous setup had become fairly hot a few times. The newspaper would slow the heat and keep things cooler even without the thermostat. The newspaper would also keep my snake from contacting the hot glass on the floor of the aquarium. I then put a combination of Repti-bark and coconut bark in a thin layer over the newspaper. I still like Repti-bark for most purposes and wanted to try the coconut bark because I was confused about some advice that I'd received.

I put three PVC fittings on the side of the cage that I intended to fill with bedding. The first one was a 45 degree elbow that I wanted under where I planned to put a water bowl. For some reason, I thought that this piece would give a little extra support under where the bowl would be, but I now think this idea was silly. The second one is a Tee joint that I put in one corner to give me a little bit of a view into the bedding. I don't see much through this one, but I get some idea of humidity conditions at the bottom of the bedding. The third one is a branched Tee that supports a log hide and provides my snake with another entrance into the bottom of the bedding.

The second picture shows the addition of most of the new bedding. I dumped an entire brick of Eco Earth around the three PVC fittings and the log hide. I partially buried the log hide because I wanted my snake to be able to use the hide as a hide or as access into the bedding. I wanted to put a water dish on top of the bedding, but the Eco Earth didn't look as if it would support a dish well. To give better support, I put a layer of Repti-bark over the Eco Earth and put the water dish on top of the Repti-bark. I had noticed in the past that when I had any substrate except Repti-bark around a water dish, the substrate seemed to dirty the water within an hour of every change.

In addition to adding the water dish and the bedding, I added two more hides. I put a half-log corner hide in the front corner over the Eco Earth. My snake has used this hide in this position in the past. I also added the tile hide on the warm side of the cage. I've never seen this snake use the tile hide. If he doesn't use them in the next month or so, I'll probably find other uses for these hides in this cage in the future.

The third picture shows more of the cage "furniture" that has been in his cage for a while. My ball python loves her fake plants and uses them as hides sometimes. I don't think my kingsnake really likes his, but I like the way they look and can't see that they harm anything. I added some cypress mulch on the warm side to give him a little warm side digging space. The half-log hide that is visible was originally on the other side of the cage, and he sometimes used it. The driftwood in the back was in his cage at the pet store where I bought him. I've bought all of his furniture and sometimes put the driftwood in his new cage.

I've moved his old climbing log and added a new one. The old one is sold by Flukers and consists of two limbs secured to a base. I've almost never seen him use this one, but I keep it in the cage. The other one is new, and I think it looks nice. I put the new one on his new hill. Climbing on this log isn't much of a challenge, but if he wants to get off the dirt, he can.

Although not visible in this picture, I put a small, half-log hide between the log hide and the back wall of the aquarium. This half-log hide sits against the side of the "hill" formed by the bedding. My idea was that this hide would do more to keep the bedding in place than to act as a hide. However, my snake has been in the bedding behind this hide for several days. I don't think he knows that I know he's there, but I can see him from the side of the aquarium.

The blue dish is his favorite and not mine. I had asked the pet store to put it in his cage when he was shedding in the shop. They hadn't given him enough water, and I hoped that extra water would help him. He soaked a bit in this dish, and he has always enjoyed hiding under this dish. As long as he enjoys hiding under the dish, I'll leave it in the cage for him.

The last picture shows the "final" product. I added some spaghnum moss on the log hide and the half-log hide. I wrapped my leafy vine around the climbing log in the front of the cage. The spaghnum moss adds some nice green splotches to the visual effect and is supposed to help maintain humidity. The vine should give some extra concealment. I don't expect him to see the vine as a true hide, but he might feel better coming out from under things if he thinks that he's still partially concealed. I added a couple of aquarium thermometers because I like them.

Within a few days of my building this setup, my California Kingsnake started a shedding cycle. While he may have shed in the bedding without my seeing him, I think he's still trying to shed. He was completely blind a few days ago. I haven't removed him from the bedding to check his eyes since then. I don't know how he'll behave in the new setup over the long term. I can already see holes where he's formed burrows in the Eco Earth. I've seen him enter the bedding through the PVC fitting under the log hide. I've seen him stick his head out from the log hide after he's been burrowing. Right now, he seems content to spend much of his time behind a small, half-log hide towards the back of the cage.

My biggest concern so far seems to be that there is less of a "warm side" of the cage. My thermostat is adjusted to 89, and the top of the bedding around the fake plants is staying in that range. However, a probe under the half-log hide on the warm side of the cage is reading in the high 70's. Maybe the probe is just positioned wrongly. Another probe just behind the climbing log is reading in the high 70's as well. The cool side stays in the high 60's to low 70's. (The thermometer in the upper left corner is outside the cage and is intended to give me the room temperature and not the cage temperature. The cage is just a convenient place to put it.)

Bill

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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

Okay, this cage probably isn't exactly what people had in mind when they gave me advice, but it's my latest idea. An important point is that I won't stop learning or experimenting with this version. When my California Kingsnake sheds, he may start reacting to his new setup in different ways. I'll watch, try to learn, and try to adjust accordingly. In the meantime, I think he's already enjoying making burrows in what I've given him. I don't think anything I've done here will hurt him, so the experiment should work well.

As always, I'm open to comments and suggestions.

Thanks,

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

How about a picture of the kingsnake enjoying his KING dom? LOL! That is way more than I could provide and it looks real good if you have only a few snakes. I was wondering if the pvc is for your viewing pleasure or the snakes benefit, because my snakes burrow and their tunnels don't collapse. All in all, that was a lot of work and if your king is happy that is all that matters. I think they like it a little cool, IMHO.
Todd Hughes

I have one picture of my kingsnake poking his head out from the log hide, but so far, he hasn't posed for a nice picture of him in his new digs. I found a new tunnel opening today, so he's still moving occasionally. His main hideout is still in the back. I may try to crop the one picture and put it in my folders.

The idea of putting PVC fittings in the substrate came from someone on this board. I inferred from his comment that the snakes like a few solid things mixed into the substrate. My impression is that the PVC fittings would simulate rocks or logs buried in the dirt. Again, I don't expect him to make much use of two of them. He's used the third one as another way into the substrate.

You're right about this setup being better for those of us with only a small number of snakes. I have only two, so I can spend a little more time fiddling with the details of each of their cages. I enjoy this kind of experimentation.

Thanks for the comments,

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

Congrats on your effort, but I wonder. It appears you the looks of your cage is for you and your expectations. Which is fine. You put an effort to give the snake an element it understands(the underground) You know, you can add five inches of substrate across the whole cage and not change a thing and it will be better for both of you.

I understand your fear of not seeing the snake, but you have gone far enough to allow that already. Why not go a little farther. Nice, either way and good effort. Cheers

Thanks for your comments. I'm worried about seeing the snake, but I'm also worried about temperature control with all of that substrate. I'm not yet ready to make the leap to a heating system based entirely on light bulbs and am worried about UTH effectiveness when the cage is filled with substrate. I'm also just naturally the kind of person who likes small changes. Finally, I ran out of the Eco Earth, so I'll have to adjust next time if I want to have more substrate throughout the enclosure. The next version will be different from this one, and I'm going in the direction of more substrate.

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

It is good to see someone trying out new ideas and best of all having personal satisfaction in a job well done. The proof just may be in not seeing that snake much at all. post your next experiment as well.
Todd Hughes

Thanks for all of the suggestions that I can use in working out new experiments. My biggest concern in not seeing my snake is that I don't know when he's shed, defecated, or when he's ready to eat. I left a f/t rat pinkie in his cage last night, but he didn't take it. I don't know whether he's still in his shed cycle, whether he's just not hungry, or whether something could be wrong. I'd also like to get him out for handling occasionally.

Otherwise, I will keep trying things and keep posting my new experiments. Next time, I'll know that I need another brick of Eco Earth if I'm really going to start mountain building.

Thanks,

Bill

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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

Thats a very nice looking setup, Does your snake ever come out or does it spend most of it's time hiding?

I used to try to make nice setups (Not quite as nice as yours) but it was too much work to keep clean.. So now my animals are reduced to a Rubbermaid, newspaper, a hide box, & a water bowl. Boy would they be jealous!!

The only thing that would bother me if it were my tank is the 3 digital therms that you placed on the front of the tank.. i would have ran the wires down the back of the tank and then hidden them with some fake plants...

but then again i am using plastic sweater boxes so who am i to talk.. ~ mike

My snake so far has spent most of his time in hiding. He's really done that for the entire four months that I've had him. He'll come out occasionally and take a couple of laps around the cage, but he mostly hides. I think he's beautiful, and I would like it if he spent more time in the open.

I agree with you about the probe wires. I don't really like that look, but I haven't found an alternative that I like. I really don't want the display/control boxes inside the enclosure because the humidity will lower their life. The probe wires aren't long enough to run around the back of the aquarium if the display boxes are in the front of the aquarium. I might be able to run the wires across the top of the aquarium, but then they'd interfere with my changing the water dishes regularly. If I ever build my dream enclosure, the sides will be something other than glass, and I'll run wires through the sides of the enclosure and put the display boxes at the bottom.

Thanks for the comments,

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

Bill - by far the nicest set-up I've ever seen. Great work! I think it's good to be creative and satisfy your interests in what you like and what you think your snake might like to live in. More work than a basic set-up for sure, but it's certainly worth it in my opinion. Keep enjoying...
Jim

np
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

Experimenting is alot of fun!

I tend to think you can make the snake just as happy with a flat layer of burrowable substrate, deep as possible but shallow enough where the UTH can still be effective. Keep in mind that if the kingsnake can warm up by burrowing into the substrate, it will. So, the top surface of the substrate doesn't have to be warm. Just make sure the glass over the UTH isn't too hot. Best to put the controller probe under the cage floor on the heat pad itself to prevent problems.

I mention this opinion because it is easier to keep the cage clean this way. Easier for you while keeping the snake content.

If you want to add functional hides (with my snakes, they didn't need any. They just stayed buried to hide), try flat pieces of plastic or plywood over the substrate. PVC pipe is fun as well but not absolutely necessary if you want to simplify things.

As mentioned before, I've tried this with Prairie kings and Cal kings and some milks. The Prairie kings were happy to stay buried most of the time, coming out when hungry mostly at dusk or evenings. The Cal kings were similar but more bold when they were hungry.

You'll find as the snake gets larger, those plastic plants will be strewn all over the place. Then, the plain cage becomes a more attractive solution IMO.

Remember, Cal kings are found in area that are not very lush with growth, well, other than chapparal and coastal sage scrub, and are often found on the flatest, most uninteresting plots of land there are. Cal kings spend most of their time under the ground.

Good luck.

Thanks for the comments.

I tend to think you can make the snake just as happy with a flat layer of burrowable substrate, deep as possible but shallow enough where the UTH can still be effective.

The "deep as possible but shallow enough where the UTH can still be effective" is what gives me the most pause. The UTH manufacturer says that the substrate should only be a quarter or half inch deep. I'm already over that depth across the whole cage. I realize that my snake can burrow to find heat, but my experimentation will be aimed at defining the point where my UTH will be "effective."

For my own enjoyment, I'll probably work "hills" of substrate into all of my designs. I think hills look good, and putting more of them into the design will mean that the cage has more total substrate. More substrate will result in more places for my snake to burrow.

I mention this opinion because it is easier to keep the cage clean this way. Easier for you while keeping the snake content.

Can you expand on this idea a little bit? One of my concerns with the deeper substrate is that he'll defecate in the substrate below the surface where I'll never see it. In that case, his waste will fester for a month between complete cage cleanings. If he'll always defecate on the surface, then finding the waste in order to clean will be much easier.

I'm also wondering whether he'll shed "above ground" or under the substrate. If he sheds under the substrate, is leaving the skin in the substrate between cleanings a bad thing? I've heard that skins should be removed as quickly as possible to keep the cage more sanitary.

You'll find as the snake gets larger, those plastic plants will be strewn all over the place. Then, the plain cage becomes a more attractive solution IMO.

He's already about 42 inches long, so I don't anticipate him growing that much more. I'd be pleased to see him hit 60 inches or more, but my impression is that California Kingsnakes don't get much bigger than 54 inches in most cases. Either way, if he starts knocking over the plants, I'll remove them or get something that he doesn't knock it over easily. When all is said and done, if he wants to knock over the plants, I don't mind.

Weren't you the one who mentioned Eco Earth? If so, thanks for the suggestion. I like it very much, and my snake wasn't in this cage for a minute before he started burrowing into it.

As you said, the experimentation is fun, and you've given me more ideas to try in the future.

Thanks,

Bill

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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

For some reason I thought your Cali was a youngster..

Anyway, substrate depth can be 2-3 inches and still be fine with the heat pad, provided you make sure that the glass over the heat pad doesn't get too hot. In areas away from the heat pad, you can obviously go as deep as you care to.

My cages had a surface temp of just above room temp over the heat pad on top of the substrate, but in the substrate it was around 80-82 over the heat pad. The snakes would burrow down into that area when they needed to. Then I tried the overhead heat method as a test and they did the opposite - they would stay just under the surface or partially exposed under the light when they wanted heat, and they'd go deep to get cool. Either way works for these snakes. They are quite resourceful.

I use to clean the substrate about once a week or so. It doesn't matter if there are a few clumps of urates in there between each cleaning. You'll find that the snakes will be just as healthy whether you clean every week or every day. In a tiny cage, that may be different, but in a roomy cage with deeper substrate, it is fine. Check out the website of VPI Pythons, and look at their caresheet for colubrids like Transpecos ratsnakes. They have a description of what I'm talking about.

You will have to dig around for shed skins. Again, a shed skin left in the substrate for a few days or a week will not affect the snake. If you find it sooner, great. If not, no big deal. The substrate helps encase the shed skin.

I did recommend the EcoEarth, because I found that my kings absolutely loved it. It is messy as all heck, always in the water bowl, but the positives outweigh that if you want a deeper substrate cage. You could always use aspen or CareFresh, but I stand fast with the EcoEarth and similar products.

One thing about fir bark, the dust is suspected of causing problems over time. Do I know for sure? No. Could be an old wive's tale. Just keep an eye out for wheezing and runny noses. If you see this, get rid of the bark. EcoEarth does not cause this to my knowledge.
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Mark G
Montane snakes are the coolest...

Thanks for the tip about the bark. I noticed that they make a coconut bark product that looks like Repti-bark. If the problem is real and is something in the fir bark, then the coconut bark could be an effective substitute.

My guy still hasn't shed, so I'll have to see where he leaves his skin when he does. If I can't find it immediately, I'll go digging. I hope he'll generally take care of business on top of the substrate.

Thanks,

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.