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17-08-2006, 08:51 PM
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Kingsnake care sheet
Ok i've just written this up from what I know and have used to care for my kings.. hope it helps some other people out there.
It is done for kingsnakes in general so covers all kings. Kingsnake Caresheet Characteristics Kingsnakes in my opinion are one of the easiest snakes to care for. They need a temperature that can be obtained quite easily and a low humidity that doesn’t have to be watched carefully . They don’t grow too large and are not very aggressive. They are known to be nocturnal species but I have personally seen all of my kings awake and very active during the day time and evening especially in the summer. They can be a very fast snake when young but with regular handling will soon calm down and slow down a lot more. Kingsnakes can be very food oriented though so if not fed they will strike at you and once offering food they will want more. They are a non venomous snake which isn’t easily startled and will make a great pet. Description There are many subspecies in the king family from the Californian kings to the Mexican black kings. They all vary in length but generally will grow 4-5ft and sometimes 6ft or more. Some of the smaller subspecies such as the variable and the Grey banded will grow between 3 - 4ft. Kings are a slender bodied snake that even in each subspecies can come in many patterns. In captivity a king snake can live for between 10 and 20 years, the oldest being recorded at 23. They are terrestrial snakes who will climb slightly given the opportunity. Difficulty I see kings as a great starter snake. They are fairly calm snakes who are active during the day so can be watched and enjoyed. Although kings can be great escape artists so even the smallest gap must be taped off or covered to prevent a missing snake. Kingsnakes are also a very hardy snake that can withstand slight changes. They are also known for being great feeders so you won’t have to worry too much about them not eating. Housing Hatchling king snakes up to about 6 months will happily live in an enclosure of about 1 ft long x 10 in wide x 8 in high. They will need at least 2 hides on the warm side and 1 on the cool side and I like to add another hide to the middle so there isn’t too much open ground. A water bowl that they can fit nicely in on the cool side is also a must in any snake enclosure. I keep all hatchlings on paper towel for at least 2 months and even older snakes I buy I keep on paper towel for 2 weeks. This is to make sure they do not have any problems or have brought any parasites into the house such as mites. As the king snake grows it is advisable to buy a larger home for them as they grow bigger. Kingsnakes will grow rapidly in the first 3 years and will grow from 6 inches at birth to between 3 and 4 ft so making sure they have a home to fit into is important. Preferably a 3ft viv is to be used as this should last them a long time if not all their life. Adequate hides should be placed in the viv like in a hatchlings home and a large water bowl for them to fit into.. I also have a branch added to each viv as they seem to use them a lot in the evening and will climb up and down it for quite a while. Other décor can be added to the viv such as plants and rocks to make the viv more aesthetically pleasing to the eye and give the snake more places to explore and hide behind. Substrate is the owners decision but do not use saw dust or sand as the dust from this can cause respitory infections. Also cedar woods and other woods are bad for snakes so be careful which substrate to use. I use beech chips as they are pleasing to the eye and king snakes like to burrow and they can do this in fine beech chips. Other options are aspen and newspaper. Not pleasing to the eye but very easy to clean. Heating and Lighting King snakes do not need any artificial lighting but I use a low level UVB bulb in most of the vivs for day time viewing. It has no benefits for the snakes but does create a artificial day time and makes viewing the snakes easier. Heating for kings depends on size of the snake and the viv. For kings up to 2 years old I use a heat mat. This should cover 1/3rd of the viv and no more than that. This should be run off a mat stat to control the temperature. The heat mat should be placed under the viv if plastic or glass and if wood should be placed inside the viv but under a protective mat of some kind to not burn the snakes belly. | use a cork tile taped down as these are cheap and readily available. Adult kings I use a ceramic bulb protected by a bulb guard so that the snake cannot get burnt. This is kept on a stat to control the temperatures as these can get very hot. That should be on the far side of the viv so that there is a decent temperature gradient in the viv. Kingsnakes do like quite a high temperature on the warm side of between 85 - 88 o f with a cool end of 75 - 80 o f. At night time the temperatures can be dropped by a few degrees but it doesn’t need to be done. Feeding As mentioned before king snakes are fantastic feeders. But the downside is they will go into a feeding frenzy after eating their meal. Do not offer more food to the king as they will eat until they die. Some hatchlings may be reluctant to feed at first and if so use a product called lizard maker to kick start their feeding. Their diet in the wild would be lizards so the scenting can produce good results. A hatchling should be able to start on 1 pinky mouse and as they grow older the food amount should be increased. The best way is to feed in 3s. For example you will start on 1 pinky and then onto 2 and then onto 3 as they grow and the lump inside from the mouse decreases. They should then be moved onto larger food which would be fuzzies. This is again taken up to 3 before moving onto the next size food. A full grown adult should easily be able to take a rat weaner possibly 2. Kings are very fast feeders and will strike at the food and some will coil around and constrict the food. If they don’t it is nothing to worry about and they are just more gentle feeders.
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28-12-2007, 11:11 PM
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thanks im getting a pair cal kings from hamm and they will be my first snakes and im going to have a go at breeding when there older my daughter has a corn snake and im so surprised at how cool he is im waiting for my whites tree frogs to arrive and now the herp thing has got me well hooked thanks again very good info
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1.2 pomarainian's (Ruby & Sadie and Ted) 1.1 50/50 Cali kings (toon & amy) 
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23-05-2008, 05:36 PM
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great care sheet.
there is no real humidity level set for kings as they are generally very hardy and will adjust to low and high, which will vary in your tank anyway mate.
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