Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I'm thinking about buying a banded Cali King. It's just a hatchling, and is very pretty. Just some basic questions:

1. Would a 20L be good enough?
2. Will a King climb? Also, is it a desert snake? If not, what's it's habitat? Trying to figure out how I should lay out the tank.
3. Yes, the age-old question: Live or Frozen? I know the main complain against live is that it can injure your snake. But I would never leave a mouse/rat unattended with my snake. Also, it just seems more natural for it to be fed live- whats your viewpoint?

Thanks.

>>1. Would a 20L be good enough?

Yes a 20 long would be fine for a animal 1-2 years old but sometimes hatchlings do better in smaller tanks like 10 or even 5 gallon tanks. They seem to feel more secure and suffer less stress as well.

>>2. Will a King climb? Also, is it a desert snake? If not, what's it's habitat? Trying to figure out how I should lay out the tank.

They will climb a little but they mainly stick to the ground(terrestrial). Kings employ different habitats but they are usually not found too far from water. I would say a Cal King is NOT a desert animal in the sense it likes it hot and dry. A subsrate of either paper towel or aspen shavings will work best. Avoid things like sand or cedar shavings. Stick with easy to clean materials. Keep a temp gradient of 85 on one side and 75-77 on the other.

>>3. Yes, the age-old question: Live or Frozen? I know the main complain against live is that it can injure your snake. But I would never leave a mouse/rat unattended with my snake. Also, it just seems more natural for it to be fed live- whats your viewpoint?

I wouldnt worry about what seems more natural as keeping a snake in a glass box is as unnatural as it gets so that arguement is moot. There are many reasons why dead mice are better some of them are convenience, digestability, price, less injury hazzard and freezing can kill some internal parasites. Ive never had a snake injured by a dead rodent but Ive seen live rodents do damage on a few occasions while I was there supervising.

Keith
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As far as caging goes, you won't need more than a 10 gallon for probably 1-2 years. A 20L will probably be all the bigger of a cage you will need. My king only occasionaly climbs - they'll spend most of their time in their hide box and sprawled out just chilling in the open. But I still do have a piece of drift wood in her cage. Baby kings seem to enjoy climbing more often than adults, so I'd reccomend something.

The only people I know that feed live are those that "get off" by feeding live and are new to snakes. They switched after their snakes grew up and needed adult mice or rats which quickly gave their snakes some scars. It was a boa.

As far as the snake goes, my king stalks and constricts the frozen mice when I toy with her a bit. They just like to eat!

Have fun! Matt
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Matt from Minnesota
Cornsnake, Eastern Kingsnake, IL Bullsnake - all girls.
One Pair of cute Crested Geckos.

Okay, I'll take your advice and go to frozen. How should I try to convert him? I work at the Pet store that he's at, so I can try to convert him before I even brought him home. I put a pinky(f/t) in his cage, he looked at it like he was about to strike, but then slithered away. I just tried a live one after that, but he didn't take that either(maybe he was a little stressed, just a hatchling). So what would be the best way to switch him over?

Also, would walnut bedding work? It looks cool at work, he looks to burrow through it all the time, and it's easy to clean by sifting. Any thoughts?

Thanks a ton!