Reptile & Amphibian Forums

For my first attempt at breeding my WC Cal kings, the eggs hatched today,(I'm a first time snake dad), and I need to know how long I can keep them in the same container before risking cannibalization.
Also they are so small, I don't see how they could eat the frozen pinkies I feed my other small snakes. Baby lizard season is over around here, which is what I would normally feed any purchased baby snakes. I could try hand feeding mouse tails I guess, but that's gonna take a lot of tails and time for this bunch. Recommendations?

Cal kings are pretty aggressive feeders and can down much larger pinkies than you's expect - that said contact your mouse supplier and see if they have any day old pinkies available. They won't be hungry until they get their first shed which usually happens about a week/10 days after hatching

Thanks Jeff. Then how long can I safely keep them together?

>>Thanks Jeff. Then how long can I safely keep them together?
It's a risk to keep them together now but the risk dramatically increases once they have shed.
Get some plastic shoeboxes at walmart and get them separated. They don't need anything fancy at this age

Not telling you what you should do, and of course separating baby Cal kings is best, but here is a tidbit of info:

One year I had a clutch of B&W x coastal phase cal kings hatch, and I left them together even after they shed, and I kept them over the Winter together for a cooling period because many would not feed.

Eventually in Spring I separated them. After a while, I put the females together again in one 10 gal tank, and I put the males in another. That is when I had a few cannibals try to eat a cagemate. Caught them in time.

So, while they are together, the risk, though there, is low. But once you separate them, forget it. Don't combine them. I feel that in the wild this may be how things are. Babies that hatch in the same spot are mostly just fine with one another while they stay together. Even after they separate, I think some siblings are still fine with one another. But an unrelated snake would be a more likely target.