Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi There,

Im in the process of buying a florida kingsnake, this will be my first snake, so want everything to be perfect for it. I was wondering what exactly i will need in my vivarium so that my snake will feel at home. And where roughly to place each item inside my vivarium so my snake will stay happy.

Thanks For Your Time,

Rob

First, buy or check out a snake care book with all the answers.
You will come back to it many times.
Next, make sure that whatever you get will be escape proof. I can't insist enough on the ease for a snake to escape from seemingly snug-lidded containers.
Your enclosure (box, aquarium, etc.) will need to be large enough for the snake to stretch out more than half of its body length.
You'll need some sort of heat provider. Under-tank heaters are a good choice, but heat lamps or light bulbs work almost as well.
You'll need a hiding area on the warm side and one on the cool side.
You will need a water bowl, preferably large enough for the snake to soak in.

Pay attention to your snake's behavior and habits. They will tell you if things are right or wrong.
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Jack Jeansonne

Please consider. The poster asked for a perfect setup. I know, they all do, but perfect at least means good or better.

So you recomend half the lenght of the snake. So a three foot snake can "Stretch" out HALF its total lenght. Does that mean an 18 inch long cage. Hmmmmmmm I hope I am wrong here, but that sounds like torture, not perfect or even good.

I do not have to be a snake person or even an animal person to know this HAS TO BE WRONG. A cage thats half a snakes lenght cannot be called anything but poor.

Of course you could get it to live in a cage that small(at least have a heartbeat) But you could not call it a life, just alive.

And please do not yell at me. Just consider what YOU are saying. Cheers

My favorite was when all the books and care sheets were saying that a boid cage needs to be 6 times the area of the snake when it is in a flat coil!

I guess I should be keeping my breeding anthills in shoe boxes...

It actually makes me a little nauseous when I see 10 foot long female breeder boas in a 4x2 foot cage with some newspaper. All I can think of is puppy mills.

To the original poster...

Here is my one paragraph on how to keep a happy kingsnake. I could write a novel but if you read this carefully and use some common sense you will do OK.

Bigger is almost always better for the cage. Give your snake as wide a range of temperatures as your home will possibly allow. Provide several hide areas of different sizes and shapes. They should be dark and tight around the snake not an open big cave like you see in pet smart. Deep substrate for burrowing is also appreciated by kings. If you are using an aquarium and you live in a dry climate you should cover the top to increase the humidity. Feed your snake just about as much as it will eat and it will grow fast and do well. Always provide clean water. If the bowl is large enough for the snake to soak that is even better. Most importantly LISTEN TO YOUR SNAKE not other people (including me) or crappy one paragraph care sheets. if your snake is always on the hot side make it hotter. If your snake is skinny, feed it more.

Cheers

Though I prefer may snakes to have more room in 3 dimensions, Its often recommended to have AT LEAST enough for your snake to stretch out halfway. This is not perfect, but a minimum recommendation.
For instance, many first-timers will buy a 20 gallon aquarium for display, and stick with that enclosure for the snake's life.
The truth is many kingsnakes need a larger cage by the time they are 2-3 years old.
The more a snake can move around, the healthier it will be so give it room to exercise.
I hope my initial post didn't mislead you.
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Jack Jeansonne

With monitors, I tell newbies, the larger the cage, the more FUN you will have. That means, the animal can do more, which means, the keeper can enjoy more.

What I often wonder about with this whole mess is, What on earth does minimum have to do with it???? In my pea brain, minimum has to do with commerical keepers, big time ones. Now with private keepers WHO are suppose to enjoy their charges. Cheers

I suggest you do some reading on here. You will get more information and more accurate information than any pet store book.

There is also an archive SEARCH function for the last 5 years or so.

Stick around and do some reading of the posts before you ask questions. Get to know some of us and post some pics of your snake.
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Signature edited

Bluerosy gave good advice - there is a lot of info here if you take the time to go through it.
Another word of advice - take the time to read through some of the debates that some folks have posted. Not everyone agrees on husbandry issues, but you can learn much from many people.
Florida Kingsnakes are hardy critters. Give them their basic needs and go from there. I have discovered that mine eats best when I provide a little more humidity for him. It's probably drier here where I live than in Florida where they live naturally.
And one last note - buy lots of food for it!