Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I appologize in advance for my stupidity, but there are a few questions I have about my new kingsnake that I am having a hard time finding the answer to.

1) She is about 16 inches long, is she pretty young? I mean I know she is young, but wondering just how young? Should I feed her more than a pinky every 5 days - she was all over the one I gave her today - first feeding! She ate great.

2) I've read a lot of posts on substrate - she is on astro-turf type stuff, is taht okay? MOst seem to use wood chips of one kind or another - in the herp store she had no substrate at all. I cleaned up her poop with a paper towel, but I didn't get all of it, or course, should I clean the whole thing each time she poops or just get the big part of it and clean it weekly? I am thining right now that less often is better so as not to stress her.

3) Do snake have good hearing? She is very nervous, maybe because of her age, new big cage (only been in for 3 days - 10 gal aquarium), or the noise of the nearby TV? She sort of head-butted me today, no teeth, but definity upset. Seh has been nervous before, I got musked the last 2 days, but that is okay, and yesterday she did that "I am a rattlesnake" shake with her tail while on my lap. Could she have been hungry today and that might account for the actual strike?

4) How can I get her to calm down? Should I keep her secluded in a different room? It woudl be quieter, but also lonelier and I fear she woudl not be used to humans then. She seems very curious - it i squite quiet in the LR now and she is peeking over her hide an dout of it at me and the cat - she really seems to be watching us. SHe looks calm?

I fed with a tongs I put it by her cool hide spot, where she was - then turned off the tv - after a few minutes and whe came right out and snarfed it up. I am thinking she might eat more often iff offered more often since she ate this right up and I can't even tell she ate an hour ago looking at her, like it was quite small for her.

Thank you for your help - sorry to sound so stupid.

BTW - my name is mine n the cat, Cade's - originally got on the list when I got him a year ago - he only has one question - are baby kingsnakes good to eat? and may be Will she eat me later if I dont' take her out now? JK! SHe is very safe but Cade is very interest - the snake's name is Moo - for a black and white "spotted" snake!

Not stupid at all. 16" snake might be ready for the next size mouse, fuzzy. Astro turf is fine. But I perfer aspen bedding, it just makes cleaning easier. With small snakes eating pinkies and fuzzies the aspen can stick to the mice. I like to lay a pieve of newspaper or even a paper towel on top of the aspen. Once the snake gets bigger thats not necessary. Snakes don't hear, they sence vibrations. With younger snakes I like to give them two hides, one over the warm side and one over the cool side. Warm side for kings 80-82 degrees, cool side 75degrees. They usually calm down in time. Keep cage clean. With the aspen all you need to do is spot clean when needed. Hope this helps.

Hi Sunny,

One pinky every 5 days will keep your little king alive, but hungry. I personally feed my babies 1 or 2 pinks twice a week, until they start growing, then I increase the size or number of food animals. Substrate is a good idea in the cage, astroturf isn't bad, but I prefer aspen bedding. It is attractive, it absorbs odors and moisture, and it can be spot cleaned several times before the whole tank needs to be changed. You have to wash out the astroturf after every poop because it is non-absorbant. Snakes can hear (contrary to popular belief) they have no external ear openings, but they have a well developed inner ear. So, keeping your little gem in a quiet room is a good idea. He/she will get over the tail rattleing thing with some gentle handling. That behavior is completely normal, they all do it when they are young and/or nervous. Congrats on your new snake, you couldn't have made a better choice. Take care.

Will

Okay, I think she struck due to combo of things - noise and hunger - she hadn't been fed since Sat!! That was 5 full days on one pinkie! They seemed little to me. Thanks, though.

She is really quite sweet, the first 2 days were better. Plus, I went through the list and found out I shoulda left her alone to get used to the cage. She will get a nice long rest after her mouse and likely another pinky this weekend.

First - she has a love for the rim of the tank under the lid - she gets up there between the lid top and that lip that runs under the tank plastic rim - does that make sense? It is a ledge just big enough for her to feel secure and barely fit in - she actually seems to be hacing a bit of trouble tonight with her slightly fatter tummy, I think. 1) HOW DO I MAKE SURE SHE DOESN"T ESCAPE? there are 2 clips and 2 heavy books on the mesh lid, but there is a corner of the mesh that is sagging - can she work that loose? I believe the fat-butted cat has something to do with the sag, it seems secure, I yanked on it a bit - there aer no loose metal threads or open parts. Also, SHE FALLS FROM THERE QUITE OFTEN, COULD SHE GET HURT? It is only about a foot down, but she goes right back up there, so I guess she doesn't mind?

She has 2 hides - and the tank therm reads about 75 - about a foot above the hot side.

Any suggestions for better, locking lids that don't make such a racket shen I open them? The clips on this are loud and the books are not very attractive!

Thank you - not sure about another room, we can't keep as good an eye on her somewhere else, but I want her to be happy. A project for the morming!!! I am sure cat will help!

She is testing the perimeter of her enclosure to see if she can escape. Don't take it personally, kings are known for their unbelievable ability to get into and out of things. The environment is new, her cage is new, the smells are new, she is scared and she is seeing if she can scoot. Put several different types of hiding areas in there (tp rolls, cork logs, a towel), basically things that will let this baby snake settle in to a tight dark area, rest and make sense of her new environment.

The striking thing was a defense response, she may have been hungry also, but the rearing and striking is a defense move, they do it to appear threatening. Now I have raised babies that would rear, tail wag, hiss and taking lunging strikes, only to greedily accept a pinky and crawl away, still huffing and rattling. Just because they are pissed doesn't mean they are not hungry, but know the difference between those behaviors. That's what makes kings so great, they wear their emotions on their sleeves (scales), and as such, you usually know where you stand with them. The female below is pissed in the pic, but probably also hungry. Take care of your baby.

Will

Give the snake a "meal". Call it a fuzzy, crewcut or whatever just make sure its got some hair and is 3-4x the size of a pink.
That little king is going to starve and /or get malnutritioned. It5 needs calcium and some protein. A pinky is mostly water and very little nutrition for a 16" kingsnake.

Don't feel stupid! It is good that you are asking questions!

1. First off there is really know way to tell how old a snake really is. My 'guess' would be that a 16" king snake,assuming it is a cali king,is about year old. My late 2003 old king is getting HUGE(about 22 inches maybe).I am feeding him small to medium size hoppers. The fuzzies just seemed to small for him. I feed him 2-3 hoppers every 7 days. King snakes are known to be very aggressive feeders so don't be suprised if you get a feeding response from your snake a day or two after feeding. I bet my king would eat one fuzzy/hopper a day if I let him! I got him about 2 months ago and he was about 16-18 inches long. He has shed 3 times and is ready to shed again any day now! These guys go fast when properly fed. The first day I had him he ate 4 pinkies and was still looking for food.I moved up to fuzzies and he put on a lot of girth and length. The rule of thumb when it comes to snakes is to feed it a proper sized meal. So if your snakes largest part in girth is equal to the size of a fuzzy mouse then I suggest feeding him those and moving up as the snake gets larger.

2. I don't really recommend astro turf as a good subtrate. It's very hard to keep clean and king snakes are known to be messy as far as fecal matter goes! I am sure you noticed that already! I use aspen shavings for all my snakes. Now my king does not burry himself in the aspen all that much but he does sometimes.Apsen is the safest wood subtrate you can use IMO.It's very easy to clean compared to astro turf. Just spot clean as needed. Make sure if you do decide to use wood bedding that you stay away from Cedar wood. It's oil is toxic to reptiles. Also keep the cage dry as aspen tend to mold over fairly qucik when wet. A wet cage can also cause your snake multiple health problems!

3. Snakes do have an inner ear like someone else said but they mainly sense ground vibrations. Have you ever tried to sneak up on a snake? It's nearly impossible. They know you are there and know you are coming! Just try to sneak up on a sleeping garter snake thats near a body of water. 8 out of 10 times he gets away no matter how quite you think you are.

4. King snakes will usually tame down rather nicely in captivity. It's not uncommon for a young snake who has not been handled all that often to be defensive. King snakes really don't pack a hard bite so I wouldn't be to worried about getting nailed. It is a good idea to leave the snake alone for a few days so he/she gets use to it's new enviorment. Leave it alone for about 5 days then handle the snake for maybe 5-10 mins a day until it becomes use to you handling it and knows you are not a threat.

Part of me tells me that the cat might also be stressing the snake out. Cats are natural enemies of young snakes and I am sure your cat has been checking the snake out as well. Might be a good idea to get some sort of back ground for the tank. Make sure you have atleast two hides in the tank as well. One on the warm side and one on the cool side. Don't make the snake decide between saftey and warmth. Your temp should be a little higher on the cool side. Try to get it about 81 floor temp.

King snakes are escape artists like any other snake. She is testing the screen for a way out. If you have clips make sure you have atleast 6 clips to prevent escape. Two on each end and one on each side in the middle of the tank. The books are also a good idea but make sure the tank has enough ventalation!!

They sell these tanks called 'critter cages' that are make just for reptiles. The lid's have a locking device on there that prevents the lid from being lifted or pushed up unless the clips on the outside of the tank are lifted up,which the snake can not do! I went and bought a 29 gallon for my king snake after my yellow rat snake pulled an escape 2 months or so ago. I had clips and heavy rocks on the tank and the snake STILL got out. Even a long time snake owner can have one escape if not carefull!!

I meant the warm side ground level should be about 81-85 degrees,not the cool side.

With your sense of curiosity you won't have much trouble being a good snake-keeper. Just dont use anything with penetrating oils for a substrate--like pine shavings. Newspaper is used by a lot of seasoned herpers because it's absorbent and easy to dispose of, but in my daughter's words it's soooo uuuugly! (in which case use the comics.)

Also be aware that your snake is going to stop eating when the days get short enough to trigger the brumation response. This will happen at different times for various species. When this happens,it may alarm you, so seek advice here on how best to handle it. You'll have to live without your snake for a few months but it will be healthier in the long run--especially if you ever plan to breed it.

Animals will eat different amounts depending on their overall metabolism. I have mountain kings out of the same clutch, but one is almost double the size of the other because she happens to be a pig and her sister eats like a bird.

And finally, know that kingsnakes are true escape artists. Given a pinhole, they WILL figure out a way to use it to their advantage.