Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all - I just wanted to see if I'm taking proper care of my new little guy. He's a banana kingsnake and is about 12 inches long right now. He's in a 55g aquarium with Repti-bark bedding (I read this was a good one...he won't ingest it and it's safer than other woods like cedar, pine, etc..). Half the tank has a screen hood sealed on with duct tape so he can't get out...other family members are a little paranoid he will escape and hunt them down...

Anyway, the other half has an aquarium style hood on it. Is that enough ventilation for him or should I get a full screen hood? I was hoping it would help retain some extra heat and keep the cage warmer. I currently only have one light and it's a 100w zoo med basking light. The warm side of the cage is registering at only 80 degrees so I'll need to get another light and get it a little higher. What temp should the warm side be? 90 - 95 it what I'm reading.

Feeding...he's on frozen (well, thawed) pinkie mice and has been eating once a week at the store. I just got him today and he's due for a feeding. I'm hoping he'll settle in so I can make sure he's eating OK. How long should I give him before offering food?

He's got two hide spots...one on each side of the cage. He's also got a shallow (2 inches max) water bowl half filled and a couple fake plants. He seems happy and has come out several times this evening to investigate his new home.

Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. I am somewhat familiar with snakes, but still very new to the hobby.

From the name of banana king, you most likely have a California Kingsnake. These are fairly easy to care for, as they do well in basic colubrid care. Your setup sounds ok, just make sure water bowl and hide areas are present. I would go with an undertank heater placed to a side, as it seems to work better with kings. Good luck-Zach
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Zach Lim
Carnivorous Plant Grower and Herper
http://www.geocities.com/sf_snakes/index.html

From the pictures I've seen, cal kings are black and white with even stripes. My guy is black with very think yellow markings...I wouldn't really call them stripes, but it's definitely an eye appealing pattern. His belly is lighter than his top side. Is the banana a subspecies of the cal king?

Thanks for your reply!

It sounds like you have a cal king. they can be both white and yellow stripes/bands.

Yeah, a Banana King is a color phase of the Cal King. Cal Kings come in all kinds of color phases. Your set-up sounds OK, but I would use an undertank heat strip on one side. The heat range should be from about the mid 70's on the cool side to mid 80's on the warm side. 90-95 degrees is way too hot.

and I'm sorry for all the questions! Regarding temps - last night with no lights, etc..it dropped to 70 degrees. I take it that's ok? So when I put the undertank heater on (are the zoo med ones good or is there another brand you'd recommend?) - will that help to warm the inside temp up to the id 80's, or will it just warm the bottom up?

I guess what I'm asking is, should I get an additional basking light (say, 50w) AND the undertank heater?

I'm happy to hear that I do have a Cal King. Everything I've read about them says they are a great species to have for a 1st timer.

I quickly scanned your post, sounds like you'll do just fine...you are asking the right questions and seem to have done your homework, so to speak. You may want to consider getting an enclosure with a locking screen lid, as kings (like most snakes) are accomplished escape artists. Also, while the heat pads mentioned by the others are great, I have found success with ceramic heat bulbs. They come in different wattages, and last much longer than light-type bulbs. They are great to warm ambient air temperature if you live in a cold winter climate like I do (I wouldn't use them in summer months...a heat pad is fine). Successes in herping.

Actually, from the description of your snake, it sounds more like you may have a desert king rather than a cal king. That's what happened to me. I got a beautiful yellow and black snake that wasn't exactly striped, but not quite spotted either. I was told it was a cal king, but in my research, I could not find that description of a cal king or a picture that fit my snake anywhere. Then one day, I stumbled upon a picture of MY snake in a book, and it was identified as a desert king. After searching desert kings on the web, I found out that, sure enough, that's what I have. The good news is that desert kings need almost identical care as the cal kings, so you're off to a very good start.

For my snake, I have her in a 36"x36"x18" cage. I have a 100w bulb on one side of the cage that I keep on for 12 hrs. a day. This keeps the warm side of the cage around 84 degrees and the cool side at 78. At night, to keep the same temp. range, I have a standard heating pad that you would by at the drug store under the same side of the cage, and I set the pad on medium heat. This way, there are no huge fluctuations in temp (though at night it is slightly cooler), and she still has a day/night cycle. You may have to experiment a little as far as wattages and heat settings depending on the size of your cage and the different substrate (I use Calci-sand with no problems). Good luck!

I realized he does have very specific stripes. They are the half black/half white pattern of a regular cal. king, but he is all black with thin yellow stripes all the way down his body. He's very striking in his own right! Sorry for the confusion, and thanks for the post.