Snakes are secretive by nature so it is a good idea to offer your pet a hide boxto go into and get away from everything.

Why your snake needs a hide

Snakes like having a hide for a few reasons:

Safety

While your domesticated snake has nothing to fear it doesn’t know this. Providing it with a hide takes away an element of stress. The less stress a captive snake has to endure the better.

Security

It gives the snake a place to go when it feel threatened. This is why you should do your best to treat the hide as a safe haven and not drag your snake out of it unless necessary.

Warmth

Hides are small, tight spaces and will stay warmer than the surrounding areas.

How to make a hide

You can always buy pre-made hides at the local pet store but I prefer to make my own.

Get an appropriate sized container

You want a container that is large enough for the snake to curl up inside of but not so large that the entire household can move in. It should “fit like a glove” when your snake is in there. If you see your pet crawling around imitating a turtle with it’s hide on its back that’s a pretty good indication it is to small.

What you use will depend on your budget, available supplies and size of the snake. Some thing that make good snake hides include:

• Plastic containers - Butter, yogurt, and things like that
• Plastic dog food dishes
• Plastic cat litter boxes

Cut an opening

Cut an opening in the container so the snake can get in. Remember that snakes can get in much smaller areas than you think so make the opening smaller than you think it needs to be. This will add to the appeal of the hide as a safe and secure area for your snake.

Also make sure there are no especially jagged edges for the snake to cut itself on. A small file can be used to smooth out the edges if necessary.

Place it in the tank

That’s all there is to it. Once you have the opening cut just flip the container upside down and put it in the tank. Don’t try to force the snake into it. Just wait until it finds its own way in. Remember you want your snake to associate the hide with safety and security not being forced and manhandled.

One last step

The last thing to do is to make a second hide that is as close to identical as the first one. One hide will go on the cool side of the tank and one hide will go on the hot side. This way a snake can thermoregulate its temperature and not have to choose between heat and security.

New snake owners are sometimes told that their pet should be fed in a separate tank from the one it lives in. There are several reasons why this is false.

It is stressful

By feeding it in a separate tank you are forcing the snake to endure twice as much handling as is necessary when feeding it in its own tank. A snake that is picky about eating will be even more if you force it to endure moving from place to place as it is eating.

More likely to bite

If your snake starts to associate being picked up and placed in another cage with eating it will start to go into “hunt mode” when you pick it up. Not just when you pick it up to put it in its feeding cage, but also for other reasons. Then it is much more likely to bite if it catches any scent of food.

So look at it like this: You’ve gotten the snake’s food out and it is thawing on the counter and the entire house smells like a rodent. You can’t smell it but the snake can. The snake is excited already because it is smelling its food. You then reach in, grab the snake and carry it to its feeding tank. As you place the snake into the feeding tank it suddenly goes into hunt mode and it bites you. Why?

• It associated being moved to the other cage with eating
• It could smell its food everywhere
• It homed in on a heat source (you) and struck thinking it had found some food

It could cause your snake to regurgitate

Handling a snake after it has eaten can easily lead to regurgitation. If you feed in a separate tank and then have to pick your snake up and move it to its own cage you are putting yourself at risk that it will regurgitate its meal.

A word about ingesting substrate

There is no reason to be concerned about your snake eating some dirt or bark or whatever you use. They do it all the time in the wild and there’s no shortage of snakes out there. Their digestive systems can handle it.

A common question for a new owner is how big can the food they give their snake be. An easy and reliable rule of thumb that many people with snake use is as follows:

If you use that estimate to gauge the size of food to give your snake you will never go wrong. That’s not to say that a snake can’t eat much larger or even much smaller food but that will keep it nourished without causing it to become obese.

Don’t worry about the fact that 9 times out of 10 the food will look like it is about 5 times too large to fit into your snake’s mouth. As you can see by the picture to the right that has absolutely no impact on the snake. Their jaws and skulls are designed to separate and allow them to ingest much large food than you might expect.

If you’ve ever handled a 15 foot long python it’s likely you’ve found yourself wondering just how safe it really is. The truth is that it’s a safe as you make it, but the reality is that it’s not as safe as handling a three foot snake. In this article we will take a look at the benefits of getting a small snake (those typically 5 foot and under) as a pet.

Some commonly found small snakes include:

• Corn Snakes
• Ball Pythons
• King Snakes
• Rat Snakes
• Children’s Python

They take less space

A snake requires about one square foot of space for ever foot of length. That very quickly adds up especially when you’re talking about a snake that is 10 feet long and you live in a tiny cramped apartment. Even something the size of a 20 gallon tank can be overwhelming in a small house. Many times you’ll see ads on sites like Craig’s List when you are looking into adopting a pet snake and the only reason the owner is offering it is because they don’t have room for the cage in a new apartment.

When you consider that the vast majority of snakes on Craig’s List are Ball Pythons it gives you an idea of how quickly space can run out when the snake is something like a Boa Constrictor.

They eat less food

This is a no-brainer but most people don’t appreciate how much a large snake eats until they start to see the food bill month after month. It adds up. On top of that they produce large volumes of waste that you will need to clean up. Small snakes still eat and still produce waste but the amount is much less than their larger cousins.

To illustrate the point let’s say we need to feed our snake 2 medium sized rabbits a week. After a little online research I find them for around $6.00 each. So that’s $12 per week and $48 per month to feed the snake. On the other hand suppose our snake eats 2 adult mice per week. I find that I can get those for around $20 to $25 for a bag of 50. It doesn’t take a math wizard to see the advantage of smaller snake when it comes to eating and your budget.

They are safer to handle

Like was mentioned before if you’ve ever handled a 15 foot snake you quickly come to realize how powerful these animals are. Even a six or seven foot snake can overwhelm many people. A rule of thumb when it comes to large snakes is that you need a person for every two feet of length over six feet. Finding people to help you with that is easier said than done especially once they get thrashed around by a large snake a few times.

That’s not an issue you run into with the smaller snakes. There is no need to have more than one person handling them (except special circumstances like administering medicine) at a time. They’re strong, but not strong enough that they are going to manhandle an adult. If they do bite it will most likely be a superficial wound where as a large boid could easily leave you in need of stitches.

Easier to find housing

Even if your landlord or property management says “No Pets” they will often allow “small caged animals”. Something that lives in a 35 quart plastic bin is small. Something that lives in a specially designed 6 foot long, 2 foot deep 1.5 foot high cage isn’t small.

There’s also the fact that (as I’ve learned) not everyone else will appreciate snake’s of any size so being able to keep them out of sight and out of mind is much easier with a small snake than a large one.

By no means is this meant to say that you shouldn’t get a large snake. It’s to give you some insight into a few things you should think about before you go pick up that baby Reticulated Python from the pet store that is on sale for $75. That baby will get large, very large in fact and it’s better to know ahead of time what you are getting into before you get into it.

I always tell people who ask me about large snakes to find a full grown adult snake in your area and handle it. Actually work with it a little bit and you’ll very quickly see how much work it really is. Even if the snake is totally docile just moving it around to clean its tank can be a huge chore.

We’ve talked about the importance of regulating snake tank temperatures in past articles. Now we will cover some things to do and things to avoid when you heat a snake tank.

Things to do when heating the tank

Right Temperatures

Take some time and learn the proper temperatures for you snake. This information is easy to find online by looking for some care sheets.

Right Equipment

There are several options available for heating you snake tank. These include:

Regular Light Bulbs

The kind you put in your house lights. These aren’t generally recommended but they work in an emergency

“Nocturnal” Light Bulbs

Produce a dim light and have a special coating (blue, red, etc). These are NOT the same thing you see in the grocery store. The bulb is designed to both heat the tank and allow you to view the animal at night without causing it undue stress.

Ceramic Heat Emitters (CHEs)

These heating elements produce no light and very intense heat. They require a special porcelain socket to absorb the heat. Because they get so hot it is very dangerous to use them directly in a snake’s cage.

Radiant Heat Panels (RHPs)

Like CHEs this type of heating produces no light and intense infrared heat. Unlike ceramic heat emitters RHPs are safe to use directly in your snake tank because the surface temperature doesn’t get overly hot. These are generally installed permanently to the top of the snake’s tank.

Heating Pads

Special pads that are heated using an electrical element are attached to the bottom of the tank. These provide good belly heat which many snakes use for digestion. Heating pads should not be used for heating the entire tank due to their localized nature. It would be completely inefficient to heat using these pads except for the smallest tanks.

Heat Tape

This is special electrical tape that is usually sold under the brand name of Flex-Watt. It is much the same as heating pads except it is good for heating multiple cages at once.

You will need a digital thermometer with a remote probe, and something that allows you to regulate how much heat your chosen method puts out. A thermostat is the primary choice, but you can also use a rheostat.

Setup and Test

You should set everything up and test it for 2 or 3 days to be sure it is consistently producing the needed temperatures.

Things to avoid when heating the tank

Avoid the following practices.

Using the wrong method of heating

Each heating method has advantages and disadvantages. Learn how each one works and the effect it has on a snake. For instance we mentioned heating pads which work great for ground dwelling species such as Ball Pythons but they don’t work for arboreal species like Amazon Tree Boas.

Failure to regulate your temperatures

It is vitally important to make sure temperatures are within the appropriate ranges at all times. Going to high or to low can be deadly. The only way to do this is by using thermometers and thermostats/rheostats.

Trying to use cheap equipment

Your reading lamp burning out because you didn’t want to spend money on a good quality bulb isn’t a big deal. Your snake’s heating source burning out for the same reason is potentially deadly. Don’t skimp with cheap products. Yes you’ll pay more for good quality items but they will last longer and be safer.

We didn’t cover the placement of heating elements in this article because that information has been covered in depth in this article about homemade snake cages.

New snake owners often find themselves facing a variety of problems with their animals which can lead to great amounts of frustration. By avoiding some common mistakes you can often correct problems you are having or keep from facing them.

1. Improper heating
2. Improper humidity
3. Lack of handling
4. Lack of acclimation to new environment
5. Improper feeding

Improper Heating

Because snakes are ectothermic (aka: cold-blooded) they require an environment where they are able to regulate their body heat. New snake owners often don’t realize how vital this is for their well being. It’s more than simply being hot or cold it has to do with their normal bodily functions. For instance they need extra heat after a meal to digest it.

With a little effort getting the temperatures right isn’t hard to do. In the simplest terms find out what high and low temperatures your kind of snake likes and then set up the tank so it can move between those temperatures at will. This allows the snake to thermoregulate its body temperature.

Improper Humidity

After heat humidity is the biggest culprit that causes problems for new snake owners. Especially when you have sub-tropical and tropical species. Humidity that is too low can cause problems such as

• Bad sheds
• Poor appetite
• Respiratory infections

On the other hand humidity that is too high can be just as damaging, if not more so to a snake.

• Fungal infections
• Bacterial growth
• Mold problem with the substrate (try a mold resistant bedding like cypress mulch)

Finding the right balance for your humidity is important. In general once you figure out how to reach the optimal level you shouldn’t mess with it EXCEPT when the snake is going through the shedding process. At that point you’ll need to bump it up a little bit above normal to help it fully shed its skin.

Lack of handling

Reptiles aren’t like your dog or cat. They are never truly tamed. What happens is they become acclimated to being handled. They also become un-acclimated due to not being handled very quickly. I’ve seen a snake that was puppy dog tame turn into a raving beast after just 2 weeks of not being handled. It tamed back down over the course of a month, but consistent handling is very important for snakes.

There are times when handling is not appropriate.

• The first 48 hours after a feeding your snake should be left alone to digest its meal
• After it has been moved to a new environment it should be left alone for 5 to 7 days
• While it is shedding you shouldn’t handle the snake

Aside from the times mentioned above it is a good idea to try and handle the snake on a regular basis. By that I mean for a few minutes every other day at least. Remember that snakes tolerate handling they don’t necessarily enjoy it so don’t abuse the privilege. When they’ve had enough they will let you know. Sometimes by squirming and putting up a fuss and sometimes by striking at you.

Lack of acclimation to new environment

A snake needs time to settle in and get used to its new home.

• Leave it alone for 5 to 7 days except to spot clean and change water
• When you do start handling it do so in short 3 to 5 minute sessions a couple of times a day
• Ensure the temperature and humidity levels are correct before you ever put the snake into the tank
• Locate the snake’s tank in a low traffic area so it isn’t disturbed

All of those things will help to encourage the snake to acclimate itself to its new home.

Improper feeding

As a new owner getting the hang of feeding a snake can be frustrating. A few of the challenges I remember having to overcome as a new owner were-

• They can eat much large prey than you think they can
• They don’t need to be offered food every day
• They need about 48 hours to digest their food after eating it
• They don’t stop eating once they start unless you take the food supply away

An accepted method of telling how large of a prey item a snake can safely eat is to compare the widest girth of the snake with the widest girth of the prey to be eaten. If the prey is the same size or slightly larger it is fine. Much larger it can cause issues and much smaller it is a waste of time and will require multiple prey items.

Since it takes a snake a few days to digest a meal offering it food once every 5 to 7 days is plenty. I try to consistently feed my animals on Thursday nights. If I miss the day it’s not a big deal, and for snakes even if I miss their feeding for a couple of weeks in a row it isn’t a big deal (as long as it doesn’t become a regular habit).

While the food isn’t fully digested in 48 hours it has been digest enough that handling the reptile won’t usually cause any problems. One of the problems with handling a snake after it has ate is that they “feel” vulnerable to attack and will often regurgitate their food.

Because snakes are purely instinctual creatures they don’t think about things. When they start doing something they don’t stop because they should. Eating is a prime example. As long as you keep tossing food to them they will keep eating it. I’ve never seen a snake gorge itself to death but I’ve heard stories of it happening. Either way they don’t store fat for the winter so they aren’t in any need of extra helpings.