Hi all. I'm new to this forum - looks like a great resource. I just bought my first kingsnake yesterday. About 9” long and female (I think). Have kept a cornsnake and several pythons in the past, but years ago. Brushing up on my herp husbandry skills and getting the habitat all dialed in before I go pick her up later in the week. I'll post a pic of her when I do. She's a beauty - banded and slightly more white than black.
First question: any major differences between the sexes from a hobbyist's standpoint? Does one live longer, get bigger, better patterned, health issues, etc? For instance, I keep inverts and female tarantulas are more desirable than males for some of the above reasons (and also because they are the eatee and not the eaten after mating!). I'm not planning on breeding my snake, but is there an upside/downside to owning either sex?
Secondly, while I've read the caresheets and understand the temp gradient thing, I have a couple of questions specific to the room. I’m going to use Aspen bedding in a 10-gal, a pad heater under one end of the tank, hides on both ends of the tank (probably one bark and one flower pot), and a water bowl. Since I keep my inverts in the same room, I have it pretty dark (one window with blinds and a sheet over it). If I’m able to get the temp right on both ends of the tank, is there any need to have a light source? I have a couple clamp lights, a timer, and several different bulbs I could use.
The other issue is humidity. I’m in Arizona, so very dry here. I’m familiar with the idea of using a humidity box before/during a molt, but what about ambient humidity? With my tropical inverts I place a sheet of glass over 80% (depending on species) of the top screen. I can increase or decrease the humidity retention by positioning the glass all the way to one end so only one side of the screen is uncovered or by moving it over slightly so that there’s ventilation on both ends of the tank. Should I just mist to keep the humidity correct (very temporary) or come up with a more elaborate setup (for my inverts I use a gravel layer under the substrate with several watering tubes going to the bottom so that I can add water and make a “water table” under the substrate. Don’t think that will work for the snake tank.).
Sorry for the length of this, but I sure appreciate the advice. So will the snake 
