Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just picked up an albino striped Cal king for my son. The snake is female, about five years old, and four feet long. We have no plans to breed her.

She has been fed live prey (ugh) and has a few bites, so we're going to switch her to frozen-thawed adult mice, once a week.

The habitat is 2' x 2' x 4' long, all wood with a glass front. We're still working the kinks with heating out, but it will end up being an ambient of 65-75F, with a hot spot of 85F, done with light bulbs rather than hot rocks, of course. Substrate is newspaper right now, but will prolly end up being aspen. She has a water dish large enough to soak in if she chooses, hide boxes in both ends, and will have a large manzanita branch to climb or sprawl on. She initially crawled through the power lines (which were internal), so we're considering putting in some fake vines.

She is incredibly docile and very friendly. My son holds her and talks to her for long periods of time - and I have to say, listening to a nine-year old explain Dragonball-Z to a snake is a surreal experience!

Here are my questions: do we need to give her a cooling-off/hibernating period, and if so, for how long, and at what temp? Should she be offered food during that time? Can she be handled during that time? Vines seem an odd choice for a kingsnake, but she enjoys climbing - is this a good idea or not? What is the average life expentancy of a king? Is there anything else I should know or do?

I also have corn snakes and boas, but she is very special, and I don't what to make assumptions on her care based on my knowledge of different species.

Thank you very much!
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Ladythorn

" do we need to give her a cooling-off/hibernating period, and if so, for how long, and at what temp?"
NOT IF YOU NOT GOING TO BREED HER, AND SOMETIMES THEY GO INTO BURMATION ON THIER OWN, THEN JUST TURN THE HEAT OFF,..respectively

" Should she be offered food during that time?" IF SHE DOES ON HER OWN GO INTO BURMATION- NO, " Can she be handled during that time?"
NO - i would not

"Vines seem an odd choice for a kingsnake, but she enjoys climbing - is this a good idea or not?" YES, THAT'S A FINE IDEA,IF SHE ENJOYS IT WHY NOT?

" What is the average life expentancy of a king?" CARED FOR RIGHT -15 TO 20 YEARS

" Is there anything else I should know or do?" YES, YOU CAN KEEP KINGS AND MILKS AT ROOM TEMP, IF YOU KEEP HER IN YOUR SNAKE ROOM
THEN SHE MOST LIKLY WILL NOT NEED EXTRA HEAT, DAY HIGH 85-88
WITH A DROP A NIGHT TO 73-75-78, AND THE LIGHTS SHOULD NOT BE
CLOSE TO THE SNAKE LIKE A BOA'S LIGHTS WOULD BE, KINGS DO NOT NEED
ARTIFICIAL LIGHT.
ALSO BUY "THE KINGSNAKE MANUAL" IT'S LIKE 7 DOLLARS AND A CHILD
WOULD ENJOY READING IT AS MUCH AS AN ADULT, VERY EASY LIGHT READING,-GREAT BOOK
I'M SURE THE LITTLE MORE EXPIRIENCED HERPERS COULD OFFER MORE ADVICE, I DO HOWEVER HAVE A QUESTION,
DO YOU HAVE A PLAN ON HOW TO SWITCH THE SNAKE FROM LIVE PREY TO
FROZEN?

...........by the way i typed in caps so it would be easier to
distinguish between Q & A
Dallas

Thanks very much for your answers.

I have read several methods for switching from live prey, the first and easiest being to warm it up, and offer it to her (in a seperate enclosure, of course). If she doesn't take it, then we try other things. One person recommended soaking the prey in chicken broth.

I think the best idea I've read is to get a plastic shoe box, drill a small hole in the lid, insert the mouse's tail through the hole, and wiggle it with some tongs, to simulate movement. That way, the snake sees movement, but doesn't see a human hand, so there is no negative association.

If you have another idea, or experience in this area, I would love to hear it.

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Ladythorn

I have read several methods for switching from live prey, the first and easiest being to warm it up, and offer it to her (in a seperate enclosure, of course). If she doesn't take it, then we try other things. One person recommended soaking the prey in chicken broth.

MORE THAN LIKELY, YOU WILL NOT NEED ANY SCENTING. KINGS ARE OPPORTUNISTIC FEEDERS, AND GIVEN THE CHANCE, THEY WILL FEED ON JUST ABOUT ANYTHING THEY THINK THEY CAN EAT......AND SOMETIMES THINGS THEY CAN'T EAT. JUST MAKE SURE THE FOOD ITEM IS WARMED TO ROOM TEMP. AND YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS. BTW, I FEED ALL OF MY SNAKES IN THEIR OWN ENCLOSURES. I HAVE A FEW THAT FLY OUT WITH THEIR MOUTHS OPEN, BUT ARE NOT AGGRESSIVE ANIMAL AT ALL.........THEY JUST LOVE TO EAT.

I think the best idea I've read is to get a plastic shoe box, drill a small hole in the lid, insert the mouse's tail through the hole, and wiggle it with some tongs, to simulate movement. That way, the snake sees movement, but doesn't see a human hand, so there is no negative association.

AGAIN, YOU PROBABLY WON'T HAVE TO WIGGLE THE MOUSE LONG AT ALL. ONCE THEY GET A GOOD TASTE OF THE TONGUE, THEY WILL STRIKE WITH THE SPEED OF LIGHTNING. I FEED MOST BY HAND, BUT THERE ARE A FEW THAT HAVE SUCH A CRAZY FEEDING RESPONSE, I HAVE TO USE HEMOSTATS........THEY DON'T ALWAYS HAVE THE BEST AIM.

If you have another idea, or experience in this area, I would love to hear it.

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Ladythorn

GOOD LUCK AND LET US KNOW THE RESULTS.

Brandon Osborne

That's a pretty good reply. As far as swiching to frozen thawed........it should be no problem at all. Just try it once and it will probably happen with no effort. I usually start hatchlings on 2-3 live pinks and then switch to frozen thawed without problems. Adults have never been a problem....even with wild caughts. Kings are ferocious feeders, so once they smell food, they usually pound the first thing they see moving. Good luck.

Brandon Osborne

It sounds like you have a fine speciman. There is no need for brumation if you aren't going to breed the snake. The reason for brumation is to stimulate egg or sperm production. As DWF pointed out, you may have some trouble transitioning from live to frozen/thawed. If you do, perform a search on this forums and you can come up with some really good tips to help. Let us know how it goes.

Good luck,
Todd