Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone,

I breed rats & mice for the show/pet trade NOT as feeders..
well recently i moved to a new property with a lot of land..a few weeks ago i was in my rodentry (a small building build just for them) cleaning and i turn around to a huge,but gorgeous, stripped california kingsnake. My first reaction was [bleep] its after my stock catch it and remove it so it cant come back. After i caught it i started to do research, i was told snakes cant be let go more than 100ft away from their catch site or they will die???? I also learned my property is their IDEAL habitat. With a complete balanced food chain running from roadrunners to snakes to lizards to roaches. Visually sexing she appears to be a female and is about 3 ft long so im going to age her at 3+ years, very active and healthy. I have had her for about 2 weeks now and so wont eat rodents only lizards. Yesterday i was out gardening and found a baby just like her about 13 inches long! Im guessing their breeding season got pushed forward due to the heat?? After more research i learned that kingsnakes got their name for being immune to venom and eating other snakes.. so now i have a few questions...

1. now that i removed probably the sole adult female will the kingsnake population die meaning the poisoning snakes will emerge and i'll start running into them while down at my rodentry?

2. since she wont eat rodents and only lizards, i wouldnt mind letting her go, since shes not after my stock, right?

3. what might have brought her to my rodentry in the 1st place,
thought of easy meal?

4. will my rodentry bring in more snakes from the woodworks, and how do i detear them?

5. how would i properly release her back into the environment, right where i found her?

6. is it safe to keep her baby? i would really like to..

7. if i cant release the adult, then how do i get her to eat rodents as lizards are costly.

8. any additional info would help!

thanks in advance!
-Dru

[please dont be harsh when you reply im learning!]

1. now that i removed probably the sole adult female will the kingsnake population die meaning the poisoning snakes will emerge and i'll start running into them while down at my rodentry?

I don't think you can assume that is/was the only adult female in the area and therefore the kingsnake population would not die off from removing one individual. Although pressure from collecting could effect the population negatively.

2. since she wont eat rodents and only lizards, i wouldnt mind letting her go, since shes not after my stock, right?

She may prefer wild rodents but who knows what could happen.

3. what might have brought her to my rodentry in the 1st place,
thought of easy meal?

Yes, possibly.

4. will my rodentry bring in more snakes from the woodworks, and how do i detear them?

The snakes in the area may be attracted to the rodentry. I don't have any recommendations for detering the snakes though I have heard of other people using moth balls or commercial repellant.

5. how would i properly release her back into the environment, right where i found her?

Yes, release in the same area.

6. is it safe to keep her baby? i would really like to..

Your call.

7. if i cant release the adult, then how do i get her to eat rodents as lizards are costly.

You can try scenting a pre-killed rodent with lizard smell by rubbing them together.

Good luck!

1. now that i removed probably the sole adult female will the kingsnake population die meaning the poisoning snakes will emerge and i'll start running into them while down at my rodentry? Kingsnake are immune to posion but that doesn't mean that a bite from whatever posioness snake you have around there won't be fatal. So don't think that it will protect you too much. But your right they do eat other snakes!

2. since she wont eat rodents and only lizards, i wouldnt mind letting her go, since shes not after my stock, right? Probably after your stock. Maybe she is just to stressed to eat.

3. what might have brought her to my rodentry in the 1st place,
thought of easy meal? yup

4. will my rodentry bring in more snakes from the woodworks, and how do i detear them? what the other guy said

5. how would i properly release her back into the environment, right where i found her? what the other guy said

6. is it safe to keep her baby? i would really like to.. If you want one like her go buy one. W/C snakes tend to have shorter lives since they could have parasites, eat prey that fights back, and the elements of course. But your choice

7. if i cant release the adult, then how do i get her to eat rodents as lizards are costly. What i tend to do is leave the snake with a mouse over night in a warm spot. Just make sure the mouse is very dead or you may have a dead snake in the morning. But eventually she will get around to eating it. If not she is probably very very stressed and maybe best to put her back in the environment

8. any additional info would help!
Try not to handle her much if you intend to keep her(for the first bit). Let her get used to the new tank. Just remember Stress kills can kill snakes so try to keep the right temps always have clean water and offer her food once a week.
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Black Mexican King
Florida King
Goins King
Blizzard Corn

THANX EVERYONE!

If i do keep them whats the best cage setup/or good book on basic care?

Check out "Common Kingsnakes" by David Perlowin (Bow Tie Press). I have not read this particular book but the Advanced Vivarium book series is usually a great investment for beginners as they are inexpensive.

The second photo looks like a decent set up. It looks like you have a hide (half round log), climbing branches and aspen shavings for substrate. I assume the top/lid can be secured properly otherwise it would have escaped by now. The book referenced above will go into more detail in regards to caging.

Good luck and nice looking snakes.

pix