Long ago, someone on the regular kingsnake forum persuaded me that giving my CalKing some shredded coconut bedding would be a good idea. I did, and he loves the stuff. When life's problems get to be too much for him, he burrows into the bedding for a few days and returns later with a better outlook. (I'm wondering whether I should order a big enough brick to do the same thing for myself.) I also believe that burrowing in this stuff gives him good exercise. I guess we always see the best in our own animals, but I believe that he has better muscle tone that many CalKings that I've seen at shows and in other places. I wonder whether he gets that muscle tone from frequent burrowing. When I thought about getting a thayeri, I wanted eventually to give him some burrowing space.
Tonight was the night to make that change. He's deeply in the blue, so I'm not going to feed him on schedule. I decided to clean the cage and update to a new design. Instead of putting the bedding directly on the floor where I'll have a hard time cleaning the little pieces of coconut, I bought a large water dish. I've put the bedding in the dish so that he can climb into the bedding and have about an inch or two of depth in which to burrow. I think the dish is heavy enough to keep him from crawling underneath. Even if he can get underneath, the dish is on the cool side of the cage, so he won't be trapped in a space that's too warm for him.
The change crowded some of the other stuff in his cage, and I had to remove one piece of furniture. I'm still going with three water dishes for now. While he hasn't defecated in a water dish yet, I've heard that thayeri sometimes do that. If I give him three dishes, he'll have a hard time fouling all three before I notice and change the water. I'm keeping the little warm side cave that he's never used. I'm still stuffing it loosely with shredded paper so that it will be a tighter fit if he ever wants it. Occasionally, I see him hiding under the purple fake plant to the left, so it stays. I like the barrel cactus on the right, and it holds that corner of the paper down. The parrot feeding dish filled with spaghnum moss is still his favorite hide, so it stays. While he's in blue, I'm keeping the moss damp. Two of the rocks are still sitting on the floor for decoration. Another one is in the coconut bedding because I've read that kingsnakes like to hide under a rock in the dirt. Now he has simulated dirt and a flat rock.
I may put some moss on the floor eventually just for decoration. As he gets bigger, I may go back to putting the coconut directly on the floor because doing so will let me give him a deeper layer. He's up to 21.1 grams.
Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.
whats the white sheet over the coconut? Anyways looks great.
