They are easy to keep... a glass terrarium with a weighted and vented plastic top and a light, a rubbing branch, a dog dish of water, a snake-friendly litter of some kind, maybe a golden pothos plant if you want some greenery, a heat rock in the winter... and they are easy to feed if you have access to a shop that sells bait for fishermen, specifically minnows.

I have a large 38-inch-long female Northern (who was pregnant when we caught her and had 41 babies that we let go at a nearby nature preserve) and to feed her I put a half dozen minnows (they are the size called "bass minnows" in bait shops), along with the water that they came in, into a large plastic pretzel container that I bought at a BJ's Warehouse food store. I put the snake in, snap on the top so she doesn't get out, and leave her alone. She doesn't suffocate because she will hunt down and eat all 6 minnows in less than 5 minutes. Then I take her out and put her back in her cage.

That way, her living space is kept neat for living, and her eating space is kept simple for eating.

She would eat like this every day, if I let her; she has a heck of an appetite. But I generally feed her every week or two.

Good luck with yours. With feeding and handling they become quite docile very soon, though they always retain their speed.

One more thing... with fish as a diet, they stay very healthy but their feces really stinks!

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