[DaveM]

Hey guys:-

I'm lookin' for an alternative to a corn snake, something that can be kept in a 3'x18"x18" viv when adult and is easy to care for, I was thinking of a kingsnake of some sort and just wanted to hear your suggestions, with any tips on husbandry if possible, cheers guys :twisted:




Dave

 

[Trice]

Royal Python? Other rat snakes?

 

[scarlettvegetable]

What about a hognose snake? These guys stay small as adult and you'd easily have one in that size viv. Some can be stubborn little buggers when it comes to feeding as babies, I got around this with mine by scenting with lancefish, but most take pinkie mice with no problems. They love to burrow so a deep substrate is helpful, like aspen as this holds burrows well.

These are great little things. :lol: :lol:

 

[davebehave]

rosy boas, childrens pythons, spotted python

 

[spit]

Royal python they easy to keep and are really nice snakes.

 

[wohic]

rough greens (insect eaters and sooooo pretty) Garters (fast and fun !)

 

[mark67123]

If you wanted a king you could go for a grey banded king, variable king or any species of milksnake.

Larger kingsnake species would be ok for a few years in that viv but if they grow to their maximum size you'd ideally need to upgrade to a 4ft one.

Care for kings and milksnakes is basically the same as for corns - feed on mice/rats, low humidity, similar temps, 2 or 3 hides and something to climb on.
Main difference being that they should be kept on their own as in the wild they do eat other snakes.

 

[Fixx]

rosy boas, childrens pythons, spotted python

All top choices but the best one there is Rosy Boas Fantastic little snakes, reasonably hardy, easy to keep, they don't get to big, 3ft max, nice markings, and it's a real snake and not a colubrid :twisted:

 

[lychenthrope]

alternative snakes

some alternatives, Kenyan and rough scaled sand boas,
Hognose snakes as prev mentioned
House snakes
Trinket Snakes
All these reach around the 3 foot mark.
all are excellent and easy to keep.....

 

[Deano]

Nothing new to add, but I'd be looking at Rosy Boas, Hognose or Garters.
I like Garters, they are active during the day, and risking a torrent of critisism... you could keep a couple in a cage that size (They are the only snake I'd be willing to do this with, as they appear in large groups in the wild).

A Royal Python would be OK OK in a viv that sixe, unless it was a very large adult - maybe go for a male?

 

[DaveM]

hey guys, thanks for you help, I'm considering either a honduran milksnake or a california king snake as potential pets.

 

[Trice]

Nice. I guess before anything look into the species and find out as much as you can about them first if you haven't already done!
let us know what you decided!

 

[DaveM]

I've decided on a californian kingsnake as they seem the the easiest to look after, so next week I will hopefully have a new snake

 

[della.g]

I would say you've made a good decision. I love Cali Kings and Milks. Let us know what you get.

Della

 

[NNY]

Cali king was my first mate... lovely snakes... made me stick with kings after that.... in my opinion they have a great "personality" and are just great to watch and are out at sociable hours.

 

[beestingbutterfly]

Cali kings or milk snakes!!! beautiful .

 

[DaveM]

right, my viv is set up with aspen over newspaper to make sure all spills are properly soaked up, I bought the biggest ceramic water bowl I could get which is at the cool end, there's two home made hides, one in the middle and one at the warm end and I painted the insides of the hides black so it looks smaller than it actually is inside, there are a few rocks and fake aquarium plants inside and the heat mat is connected to a thermostat, does this set up sound good or is there anything I could change.
Also, I looked at about 15 different care sheets that quoted temperatures of 75 degrees fahrenheit to 95 degrees fahrenheit, so I am more than a bit confused as to which temperature I should keep them and would appreciate any help in this area, and thank you for your help and replies.

 

[mark67123]

Firstly - how big is the viv?
If you're getting a hatchling it may be best to start it off in a small plastic tub (eg. a plastic storage box or a faunarium) so that it feels secure and is more likely to feed confidently. If it's a small viv then you'll probably be ok.

I'd have the mat temp set at around 86F - have the probe directly on the surface of the heat mat so the stat can control it properly. Temps over 90F could be harmful so keep it a bit lower. Cool end temps should be in the 70'sF.
Would also be good (if you haven't already) to have the mat under the newspaper to help prevent any moisture getting to the terminal block.
As long as you have a cool area away from the mat you can leave it on 24/7 as they don't heat the air much at all.

Have one hide over the mat and one well away from it.
You mentioned that one hide was in the middle of the viv - is this because the water bowl takes up too much room?
If you have a bulb of any kind in there the cooler hide really needs to be right at the cool end so would be better to swap places with the water bowl, as long as the water bowl doesn't end up over the heat mat. Also, clear a space in the aspen so that the bowl sits directly on the viv floor - that way he can't get underneath and get squashed. Likewise with any sizeable rocks.

If there is any sort of bulb in the viv make sure that (a) it's got a guard, and (b) it's not powerful enough to overheat the viv. It should be positioned at the same end as the heat mat.

As you're using aspen it would be best to feed outside the viv, in a tub of some kind. If you do feed in the viv put a sheet of newpaper in there and put the food on that, to minimise the chance of any aspen being swallowed.

If it is a hatchling then block the gap where the glass doors overlap with something (if it's that type of viv). It's only a small gap but small snakes can squeeze through so fill the gap with some cardboard or something - but not sticky tape of any kind.

You don't really need to paint the inside of the hides - never heard of that one before. Would be an idea to put them somewhere warm until you get the snake to make sure the paint is totally dry and not giving off any fumes.

That's about all I can think of for now

 

[Flake1]

wow nice reply Mark :shock:

 

[mark67123]

Cheers! It was a case of either write stuff on here or suffer "Touch of Frost" for about the 150th time.... :banghead: