King Snake Care Sheet

King snakes make great reptile starter pets as they are beautiful, robust, and have a docile disposition. If you are looking for a great first snake, then you will not be disappointed.

If you are looking to add another reptile to your collection, then you have found it. You should have no problem finding them in a multitude of aesthetically pleasing colors and patterns as well, which is always a bonus.

Wild populations of these snake can be found from as high north as Canada and as far south as South America. Please, never take a king snake from the wild! They can have loads of harmful parasites and you don't want to bring those into your home. :(

Owning a king snake is a real responsibility as they can live as long as 20 years in captivity and can grow upwards of 6 to 7 feet long as adults. These are, in my opinion, the only real negatives seeing as they are very low maintence pets. I really do enjoy keeping them.

Basic Housing Requirements

It is a good idea to have your snakes enclosure set up before you bring him home. Keep in mind this variety of snake, like most others, are escape artists. So standard fish aquarium tanks will not be suitable. As a general rule, the length of the enclosure should be approximately 2/3rds the length of the snake from head to tail.

Things you will need

Enclosure with a secure mesh top lid.

Shallow Water Dish

Under the tank heating pad covering 1/3rd the enclosure

At least two hiding places

Something to climb on like a branch

Something that he can rub against to shed that is not sharp

A substrate for the cage (Newspaper or Aspen Shavings are best)

Temperature guage for cool, and warm sides of the tank

Humidity gauge

Enclosure Layout

The purpose of having a planned layout for the king snakes enclosure is to create a temperature gradient. Snakes, unlike humans or other mammals, can not metabolically regulate their body temperature. The purpose of the temperature gradient is to provide both a warm, and cool side of the enclosure so that your pet king snake can pick and choose where he is most comfortable at any given time.

All you have to do to create a proper temperature gradient is put the heating pad under the tank at one end. Thats it! It is ideal to use under the tank heating pads instead of hot rocks or heat lamps. Hot rocks, also known as heat rocks, have a terrible reputation for badly burning and killing reptiles. Lamps can be problematic and cause shedding or dehydration problems as they effectively dry out the air.

Make sure you place the water dish on the cool side of the enclosure. It is a good idea to place one hiding place on the warm end, and one hide on the cool end so that your king snake does not feel vulernable or exposed when it ventures across the cage for water. We want them to feel as secure as possible!

Maintenance

After the enclosure is all set up, there is very little maintence. The water dish needs to be changed daily, and the tank misted with one squirt of water from a spray bottle in the morning or evening. Your snake will poop once every 7 to 14 days depending on how often he is fed.

Feeding

In the wild king snakes eat a wide variety of prey items. Most all reptiles and birds are fair game. Other snakes are no exception either! This means only one snake should be kept per a cage, otherwise they will make meals out of one another.

It is not a good idea to feed your pet snake other reptiles or birds because of the risk of them contracting deadly parasites. If that hasn't turned you off to the idea of a varied diet, then the price will. Reptiles and birds can be expensive, so rodents are more practical.

In captivity a king snake will thrive on a diet of strictly mice. There is a debate among reptile keepers whether to feed live or pre-killed frozen mice. We will not get into that on this page; however, I will recommend pre-killed frozen mice because...

A dead mouse will not bite and injure your snake

You can buy them in bulk for around one to two dollars a mouse

There is no guilty feeling because you didn't kill it

All you have to do is thaw them out at room temperature! Very convenient!

As a general guideline, feed mice that are no more than one and a half times the size of the thickest part of your snakes body. This is to prevent regurgitations, which can be deadly.

After feeding your snake, avoid handling him for at least two days so that he can digest his meal to prevent regurgitation.

Feedings consisting of appropriately sized prey items should take place weekly for younger king snakes. Adults may be fed once every week in a half to two weeks.

Bringing Your Snake Home

Now that you are all set, the only thing left to do is bring your new addition to the family home!

Perhaps the hardest part of owning any snake is leaving him alone long enough for him to feel at home and secure in his new environment. Most suggest anywhere from 5-7 days for your snake to acclimate himself to his new surroundings before regular handling.

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