I work at a nature center and we dipped up a 12 inch snake that we think is a Blotched Water Snake. We would like to keep it for a while for education purposes. We have a 20 gal. long tank with locking lid, a 75W basking light, a dish for drinking/soaking, a log thing for hiding under. Do these kind of snakes need a UVB light? If so what is best?

I'd like to insert a piece of glass to make part of the tank just for water. Is it OK to put a little filter in that side to keep the water clean? I also want to put plants in the tank for the little snake to crawl around in to increase his quality of life.

I've been told to just use paper for substrate so the tank can be kept cleaner. Is it possible to keep them clean with another more natural substrate by just changing the substrate more often?

Do these kind of snakes adapt well to a captive life? Since we have classes that go dipping in the pond weekly, we can feed him natural foods like mosquito fish, crawfish, tadpoles and aquatic insects plus whatever other land creatures we run across at the nature center.

thanks for any suggestions
Armand Bayou Nature Center

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