Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'll start off by saying that I've been keeping boas and pythons for over 12 years now so I know some things about snakes but have never kept a kingsnake or like. I'm thinking about trading my big snakes for a much more manageable kingsnake but don't know how to care for one. I would like to know the temperament for a California Kingsnake. Are they docile? And also what do they eat, how often and how long do they get? Basically, i need to know everything. It will be a baby king. TIA

Most young kingsnakes can be a nit nippy but they usually tame down rather nicely. Mine is very tame and never once bit me. They will generally get in the area of 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 feet and can grow rather quickly.Some may get to the 5 feet range but most average about 4 feet. My year old cali king snake is 30 inches compared to being 16 inches at the begining of the year.They will feed on rodents their whole lives and you shouldn't have any problems getting them to eat as they are very aggressive feeders. Low humidity,aspen bedding,warm side of 82-86 degrees,cool side of around 76-77 degrees. They are mostly nocturnal.No UV lighting is required.
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Reptiles
0.1 - Early 2002 Anery Motley Corn 33 1/2"
1.0 - Late 2003 Yellow Rat Snake 15 2/3"
0.0.1 - 2003 Banded California King Snake 29 2/3"
1.0 Green Anole
0.0.0 House Gecko
0.1 Painted Turtle

Mammals
4 female ferrets,1 male cat and 1 male doberman...and a few kids!

RIP - Nala my Rottie 08/19/2004

So do I! Love them both dearly. Not sure of the hip, new coding (can you supply a list of codes?), but I have:

Sonoran Black (Mexican) Kingsnake 1 year male
Western Painted Turtle 1 year male

My King is in a 60-gallon vivarium that mimics the Sonoran Desert, with sand, and 6 major hiding spots! I feed live food, and supply a variety.

The turtle has a 92-quart pond with water plants and basking spot. He quite likes halibut, tuna and salmon. Is not very keen on his processed turtle food (TetraMin).

How old is your turtle? Ever take it outside to bask in natural sunlight?

Don
Vancouver, WA

>>I'll start off by saying that I've been keeping boas and pythons for over 12 years now so I know some things about snakes but have never kept a kingsnake or like. I'm thinking about trading my big snakes for a much more manageable kingsnake but don't know how to care for one. I would like to know the temperament for a California Kingsnake. Are they docile? And also what do they eat, how often and how long do they get? Basically, i need to know everything. It will be a baby king. TIA

Tia
Kingsnakes are a very easy snake to keep. They dont require the high humidities that pythons and boas need and are very docile and hardly ever bite. I have 3 different types of kings, california kings, a prairie king, and a black king. The only time any of them has ever bitten was my fault (finger smelling like pinky) LOL.

The upside to them is they dont require as much food as pythons and boas and dont have nearly as big of teeth if you do ever get bitten. They dont require as much living space, and are very easy to raise as well. But be forwarned, once you get into the Colubrids, there may be no turning back, because then there are the rat snakes(including corns), milks, and the pine/gopher/bull snakes!!! You just keep saying "Ahh, just one more" until your building a rack system to keep them all in!! LOL

Good luck and have fun

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1.0 Corn snake (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes (MO locale)
1.0 Eastern Yellow Belly racer (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Yellow rat snake (Dwight Good stock)
1.1 California king snake (Coastal phase)
1.0 Prairie king snake (KY locale)
0.1 Black king snake (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern Milk snake (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern/Red milk intergrade (KY locale)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

That depends on the type you end up with. If you get a cali king they can get up to 5'. My male is currently very close to that mark and still growing. Just depends on the animal and its genetic makeup.

As far as food, mice are the staple diet. They cant eat mice as large as rat snakes can, but will readily throw down on a nice medium sized adult mouse.

For hatchlings, just depends on the size of the snake, but most can take pinkies no problem. I started all of my kings out on day or two old pinks until they can move up to appropriate food items. If you have been keeping boas and pythons for 12 years, then you will be able to handle kings and any other colubrids with ease. Not finicky eaters and rarely refuse a meal.

Good luck

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1.0 Corn snake (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes (MO locale)
1.0 Eastern Yellow Belly racer (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Yellow rat snake (Dwight Good stock)
1.1 California king snake (Coastal phase)
1.0 Prairie king snake (KY locale)
0.1 Black king snake (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern Milk snake (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern/Red milk intergrade (KY locale)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

The Care & Feeding of Common Kingsnakes
David Perlowin
1992

In general, your serpents are not suitable pets. No snake over 6 feet in length is. Pythons and most boas are not good pets, especially considering their unique diet needs.

Kingsnakes are much easier, since they eat almost anything smaller. (Feed live, and feed a variety, including lizards, birds and snakes. You don't just eat hamburgers, either.)

They are also much more active. Given enough room, and exercise weekly, they will be much more engaging pets. Also, much more likely to escape - constantly chaperone your Kingsnake when it is out.

You are in for a treat. The best snake "pets" are Kingsnake, African House Snakes and Gopher Snakes. I've had 4 species of Kingsnakes before, now have a Mexican (Sonoran) Black that is just devine.

In general, your serpents are not suitable pets. No snake over 6 feet in length is.
The best snake "pets" are Kingsnake, African House Snakes and Gopher Snakes

Interesting comments. I can't imagine why you would make this broad generalization about snakes over 6 feet being bad "pets". How many indigos, eastern kings, FL Kings, bullsnakes, etc., etc. have you ever kept? What about large ratsnakes (such as beauty snakes)? You think a Durango Mtn King makes a better pet candidate than those species? I have dealt with a lot of calkings that were simply a pain in the a**.

And what will you do when your gopher snake gets over 6 feet? Will it suddenly stop being a good pet?

I could see someone making this statement about snakes over 9 or 10 feet, but 6 feet is a pretty exclusive number.

Pythons and most boas are not good pets, especially considering their unique diet needs.

Unique dietary needs? My pythons and boas eat exactly the same food as my kingsnakes.

Are you aware that most species of python and boa species are less than 6 feet long? I have about 30 snakes right now, including several species of python and boa, and the biggest snakes I have are.....kingsnakes.
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Chris Harrison

It was a generalization, like many others expressed here. I agree that 6 feet may be an extreme indicator; over 9 or so is much more of a concern. Good point.

How many larger snakes have I had? I've had several. Eastern Kingsnake, Gopher, Burmese Python, Rat Snakes. When my 3-foot Burmese began hissing and challenigng me on the floor, I knew that I had made a bad mistake. Same thing with Boa Constrictors, which can exceed 12 feet. (Have you ever seen the picture of the one that ate an oil field worker in Venezuela?)

Reality time: Your pythons eat the same food as your Kingsnakes - only becasue you FORCE them to. Like kids being forced to eat hamburgers, fries and carbonated sugar water.

But them, how can I expect the average American to understand complex carbohydrates, fiber and enzymes? 66% are overweight; 31% are so overweight that it affects their health; 33% of our women can no longer give birth naturally without surgery. Let's not forget about how popular Viagra is - as opposed to making diet and lifestuyle changes which would have cured impotence naturally. Most Americans value convenience more than wisdom; it's reflected in what they eat - and feed their pets.

Most boas & pythons are primarily bird, bat & lizard eaters. Bats, parrots (locale-specific) and such. They rarely encounter house mice in the wild. Most snakes prefer wild mice over house mice; they refuse house mice when they have a choice of deer mice, pocket gophers and other wild prey.

Try feeding your snakes ONLY the feed that they would have gotten in their wild habitat - live & fresh - then see if they ever take your frozen/thawed house mice again!