Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I live in Novato, CA and about a month ago I caught a Cal King in my basement. We weren't sure what it was then so we had someone who knows about snakes to come over and remove it from our house and release it to the wild. That was our first experience with a snake out here. I grew up in Mass and only saw garter snakes. I then moved to Kodiak, AK (where I met my wife who grew up there) which has 0 snakes there.

Since this happend I have been doing a bunch of research on snakes. I had planned on getting a corn snake in a month or two, after I have had time to set up my spare aquarium for snakes(I have fish experience, but no snake experience). It is a 30 gallon tank that I figure would work great for this.

My wife just called and caught yet another Cal King trying to get into our basement. From her description it is a fairly newly born snake. She said it is about pencil thin and less than a foot long. I don't like the thought of going into the wild to capture snakes and was going to buy a captive born one. Since this was caught trying to get into the house I figure it would be ok to keep this specimen. My thoughts are to get a small, temporary plastic cage to house it (not sure what sex) in using paper towels or newspaper as a substrate for now. I would then move it into it's mansion in a month or so.

Do you think this would be ok to do? Should I just release it back into the wild and wait for a captive breed snake? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
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-Scott

Hail, Hail, the gang's all here
Leave your worries at the door boy, they're not going anywhere.
Hail, Hail, the gang's all here
When the going gets tough I know my friends will still be there.
-Dropkick Murphy's

Wild caughts are cool, But a well started captive bred is the best way to go.

Keep it. When I lived in AZ I caught alot of cal kings and a few AZ mountain kings. You may have to treat it for parasites but most wild caught snakes do just fine in captivity.

Wild caught Cal Kings were my first snakes... while as a general rule, well-started catpive bred animals make the best first pets, I have never had a wild caught Cal King pose a big problem adapting to captivity. If you do get a corn snake also, just be careful about any cross-contamination. Even healthy wild snakes can be carrying things that captive-bred snakes could get sick from.

Thanks for the info. As of now I am only planning on one snake. Who knows in the future. Since it is my first one I figure I would see how it goes before I decide on another. Since it seems to be doing well right now I think I will keep him/her.

I am heading out to a reptile store around here to look for a better enclosure. I was going to use a 30 gallon fish tank, but it looks scratched without water in it. I am now planning on giving that tank to a friend for fish since it is fine with water in it. I figure if I'm gonna have a snake I want an enclosure that I can see it in.

I will also keep an eye out for any sickness or parasites. Should I try and treat it for anything as a precaution, or just wait until I see something?

Thanks again for the help.
-----
-Scott

Hail, Hail, the gang's all here
Leave your worries at the door boy, they're not going anywhere.
Hail, Hail, the gang's all here
When the going gets tough I know my friends will still be there.
-Dropkick Murphy's

I decided to release the snake. It seemed way too stressed out and wouldn't eat. He would only bite me, not the food and I couldn't find any frogs or lizards. I don't think I will try and catch another one, I will probably try out a different species as my first one out.
-----
-Scott

Hail, Hail, the gang's all here
Leave your worries at the door boy, they're not going anywhere.
Hail, Hail, the gang's all here
When the going gets tough I know my friends will still be there.
-Dropkick Murphy's