Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i want to have it large enough for a full grown male kingsnake to roam & climb around happily. My measurements are 5'long, 4'tall, 3'wide. Is this small or just right? this is my first snake & i m just wanting to make it right the first time...if u know what i mean. Is this the right type of habitat for this king of snake? if u have any thoughts or ideas they would be appreciated. plz email me at icu_luv@hotmail.com
put in the subject: Snake Help... thank u for ur-alls ideas...

i m needing help

thought i should of said that in the subject 1st off. lol so other could see it & not just pass me by thinkin.....oh, cool for u.

That's going to be plenty... My king is 3 and still in a 20 long. She's not very active, though, and your king might be. She's a blotched. I think males get somewhat bigger than females.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

to ur reply.. most female snakes get larger then males do... but thank u for ur comment...

There was a recent thread in the kingsnake forum stating that male kings tend to get a bit bigger, although mostly in Easterns. I've only got the one so I'm not an expert. Male rattlesnakes also get bigger than the females. So there are just a few species where the males will get bigger, although in other species the females can outweigh the males by 10 times. So you can't really generalize.
The Thread (read the replies)

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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

In Kingsnakes, Milksnakes, Bulls, and American Ratsnakes(which are all closely related) males tend to be longer. Garters (especially), Watersnakes and some Boas tend towards larger females.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

SO how big are the male california kingsnakes known to get when they are adults????

Oh really, i'm sorry i ve just been taught differently, but hey I can be wrong ...lol & this one, is it....lol Well heck that kills my theory of my cage measurements. So is 5'long, 4' tall, & 3'wide good for an adult california king snake?? And another question for the folks out there.... if i feed my snake in his cage, will he start lookin at me as a meal... Beacuse i handle him everyday at least 2 times & feed him every 4-5 days>>> So i figure the handling out weights the feedin time....please help

Alot of people come up with the statement about the snakes feeding response. it is not that he looks at you as food, he has just associate any movement of his cage lid with a forthcoming meal. Usually once they is out of their cage the connection is lost to them and they return to their more docile state-unless you have the scent of something that smells like food to them.

As far as your cage size goes. it is huge by kingsnake standards. Kings are by nature fossorial (that is, they spend a great deal of time underground. Because of this a tall cage is not necessary, as well as an especially roomy one. Fossorial snakes prefer quarters that most other snakes would find cramped. An adult Cal King can be comfortably kept in as small a tank as a 20 long, though I would recommend going a bit larger. Eastern ssp. need a bit more room because of their greater mass. I find a 55gl aquarium perfect for these.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

if you have the room........might take a little more to heat as well being that big. The idea runs that if a snake has the living and life expectance of food, water, heat, etc. they are satisfy. keeping in ind that some reptiles needs more room than others. A rat snake or something from the racer family would benefit from a larger cage than a kingsnake. Because the rat snake is a little more curious in it's surrounding than most kingsnakes. Almost all of my kingsnakes of past normally just doesn't move very often. Come to think of it, most of my snakes never move very much. I've never seen an advantage of tall cages for most snakes. Unless we are talking about arboreal species. Most of my cages for colubrids are no taller than 2 foot. I mount heat bulbs connected to rea-stats towards the back of the non-opening end of the cage. That way the snake has the warm end at the back and the cooler end up front. But like I said, if you have the room, why not.

Chambo ( the fact and number guy )

not to be mean, but this snake i have is ALWAYS CLIMBLING his walls!!! I swear the cage that he is in now stands at 2 feet... i always see him movin around... checkin out everything, its weird to hear that about kingsnake not movin alot... cause he's 2&1/2' long, constently movin aorund when it's dark out. i m not being sarcasstic, but i think i got the weird one of the bunch, he's fiesty as ever ( could he just be hungry ) i fed him friday & the mouse-lump is gone... could he be out for the hunt? anyway thx u for ur thoughts, they always help me look at things in a different light & understanding...

If your snake is a climber, it would probably love all that space. My blotched king is waaaayyyy on the other extreme. Feeding the snake in its cage COULD lead to it thinking your hand is food, IF the snake is a very aggressive eater. I have an Asian ratsnake like this, who now actually tries to attack me on sight. But he's fine outside of his tank, the little scamp. But on the other hand, I feed the above mentioned kingsnake in her cage and she's fine. So, it depends on your personal snake, no matter what people tell you.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch