An appropriate sized habitat for a snake to live in is vital for it being a healthy pet. Here are three tips to get you started in making a choice.

Buy for how large your snake currently is

When deciding how large of a tank your snake needs get it based on what it needs now. A 75 gallon tank would be appropriate for a medium sized boa, but it would be much to large for a baby or neonate boa. Naturally you want something that can accommodate some growth from your snake, but don’t try to put a baby snake into its adult home.

The appropriate sized tank will:

• Allow the snake to thermoregulate its temperatures
• Allow the snake to move around
• Allow the snake to choose being in a hide or not
• Allow the snake to uncoil approximately 3/4 of its length

Those are the basics. If you find that your snake can hardly move around or has to make a trek that’s a pretty good indication that the cage is either to large or to small for your snake.

Prepare for how large your snake will be

It’s important to have an idea of how large a cage will safely accommodate your full grown, adult snake. That way you can prepare ahead of time. Several reasons to know this information:

• You need room for the tank
• You need to locate the appropriate tank (or build it)
• You need to be able to afford the tank
• You need to know how large your cute little “worm” is actually going to be

The snakes natural environment

In addition to the appropriate sized cage based on sized you also need one based on the species of snake you have. A ball python for example does well in smaller, tighter spaces. It still needs a tank that allows it to move about and thermoregulate, but if the tank is too large for it then it will be uncomfortable. An arboreal snake (amazon tree boa for example) has more need of a tall tank than a wide tank.

You will need to spend some time finding out what kind of habitat your snake would live in if it were in the wild. Try to answer these kind of questions:

• Does it like small tight spaces like rodent burrows?
• Is it usually found wrapped around tree branches above the ground?
• Does it seem to prefer open areas where it can move around?

Of course that’s not an exhaustive list but it gives you a starting point.

Keeping your snakes tank clean helps to ensure it stays healthy. It goes beyond just changing the substrate. From time to time you should thoroughly clean your pet’s tank.

The types of cleaning

There are three types of tank cleaning that you should do.

1. Spot cleaning
2. Wipe down cleaning
3. Through cleaning

Each method has an appropriate time to be used. Below we will briefly discuss each one.

Spot cleaning

With this method you just clean up the mess. Good for when you discover the snake has gone to the bathroom as you’re headed out the door for work or school. You just clean up the mess, and then as soon as possible you clean the tank properly

Wipe down cleaning

Using this method of tank cleaning you will be wiping the sides down, removing any feces you missed during the spot cleans, replacing soiled substrate with fresh. This method just uses a soft cloth with warm water and a little bit of vinegar on it. No soap or other cleaning products are used because you won’t be rinsing. You should practice doing this at least once a week.

Through cleaning

In this case everything comes out of the snakes tank and gets washed.

• Hides, water bowls, and any habitat enhancements are all scrubbed
• All substrate regardless of conditions is completely changed
• The enclosure is inspected for damage
• Accessories (heating elements, thermometers, etc) are all checked over for problems
• Inside and outside of the snake’s cage is cleaned

A through cleaning takes time and requires the snake to be out of the enclosure. Prepare a temporary housing solution for this. A simple plastic tub with a layer of newspaper will work just fine. Make sure it isn’t air tight (poke a few holes in the lid if need be), and keep it out of drafts or cool/cold areas. It is also a good idea to have an under the tank heater attached to this enclosure just to be on the safe side. Just remember you’ll need to start heating it up about an hour before you put the snake into it.

Cleaning agents

Snakes are very sensitive chemicals so you need to be picky when you choose what you’re going to use to clean their tanks. Just as important as being picky, if not more so, you need to be certain to rinse everything very well! Plastics for instance will actually retain a large amount of chemical agents due to their porous nature. Snakes don’t mix well with chemicals, especially if they’re forced to live with them.

Diluted bleach and soap solution

This is perhaps the simplest, cheapest, and most popular cleaning agent. It is also potentially deadly so use it at your own risk. You take a 1 ounce of bleach, and combine it with teaspoon of dish soap in a quart of water.

Before you go any further do not combine dish soap that contains ammonia with bleach! It can and likely will cause a potentially deadly ammonia gas to form. Deadly to you as well as any other living thing in the house. Read the label of your dish soap very carefully before mixing it with bleach.

If you can’t find a dish soap without ammonia then you can still wash using this method.

• Wash with the dish soap first and then throughly rinse until there is absolutely NO residue left
• Then soak in a bleach:water solution (1:32 ratio) for about 10 to 15 minutes
• Rinse again, very well. You should not be able to smell ANY trace of bleach

Chlorhexidine

This agent is best known as a major ingredient in dental mouthwash. It is designed to kill and combat dental plaque and bacteria. Strangely enough it also makes a great cleaning agent for a snake’s tank (or any other animals enclosure, dishes, etc). This doesn’t mean that you should get out your bottle of mouthwash and use it to clean your tanks. That would be a bad idea. Spend a few dollars and buy a ready made chlorhexidine solution such as Oronine or Avagard. You can read more information about Chlorhexidine here.

There are certainly other cleaning agents out there, but for the task at hand either one of these will work. While the bleach, soap and water concoction is useful it is potentially volatile and if you do not rinse it off well enough it could kill your snake. The best option is the chlorhexidine, followed by vinegar and water solution. Last is the dish soap and bleach

With the holiday season in full swing you might be tempted to get your kid a pet snake as a gift. Many well meaning parents will get their children a baby ball python, or Corn Snake with the expectation that it will help the child learn responsibility and educate them about snakes.

As well intentioned as you might be we at Pet-Snakes.com encourage you to carefully consider what you are going to do BEFORE you do it. In a previous article about the 3 traits of a good snake owner some important things to look for in a potential snake owner were discussed. In this article we are going to take a look at the person who you are considering giving the snake to.

Is it a passing fancy?

Almost all kids want a pet of some kind. Little boys are masters at manipulating unsuspecting mothers into getting them a snake. I myself have done exactly that in the past and the snake paid for it. Obviously you are going to be the best judge of your child and the one to know if it is just a phase they are going through. Sit them down and have a serious talk with them about the responsibilities of snake ownership.

Some key questions to ask the potential new snake owner are:

1. Why do you want a snake?
2. How will you take care of it?
3. Are you willing to feed it mice and rats?
4. Will you handle it for 20 to 30 minutes every 3 to 4 days so it doesn’t become aggressive?

You as a parent or guardian of a young child know the answers to those questions better than the child does, but it never hurts to ask. There’s one question you should ask yourself - When my kid gets tired of this snake am I willing to become a surrogate owner for the next 10, 15, 20, or 30 years? Getting a snake is a lot easier than getting rid of a snake.

Are they capable?

If you’ve gotten satisfactory answers to the above questions it is time to decide if they are really capable of taking care of a living animal. Some people think of snakes as something you just toss some food in with once a week and that’s all. Nothing could be further from the truth. Pet snakes, like any other pet require daily interaction with people. Moreso than other pets because a snake that isn’t handled will become fearful of people and aggressive. If your child is only capable of handling a few seconds a day of responsibility get them a gold fish.

All animals require a certain level of responsibility when it comes to their care, but snakes are a whole different ball game. A snake requires exacting temperatures, and humidity levels. They often will refuse to eat at all and rarely ever on your terms. Everyday they present new challenges and the person you are going to give the snake to must be capable of meeting those challenges. Financially they can be a burden. Remember the initial cost of the snake might only be $30 or $40 but the upkeep can be incredible. You’ll need a tank/tub, under the tank heaters, hides, substrate, to name just a few things you’ll need to purchase. Then you’ll need to get into thermostats, forceps, frozen rats/mice (perhaps even pigs), and whatever else you might need.

If the person is capable you then need to start considering other people who will have to deal with the snake as well. Sometimes they are the most important people to consider.

Other people

A while back I met a man and a woman and they told me a story about how they nearly got divorced and only managed to stay together by hours and hours of marriage counseling. I didn’t get the details of everything but basically the wife had always had snakes as a child and she had hinted around to a friend of hers that she was thinking of getting another one. The husband was away on business and one day the wife was surprised by her friend who had bought her a corn snake. They set it up in the bedroom (beautiful setup judging by the pictures I saw) right next to the bed. She had it for about a week and one day she was at work when her husband got home. There’s no need to bore you with the details but it turns out he hates snakes.

The friend who got the snake who doing a kind deed for the woman, but she neglected to speak with the husband which caused a great deal of strife. So before you get a snake for someone else sit down and talk with everyone who will be involved. If someone is dead-set against the idea don’t get the snake. You’ll only cause problems.

You’re getting the snake

If it turns out that everything falls into place it’s great that you are going to get the snake for the person. Like a puppy, or kitten, or any other animal you should set the budget and then let the person who it is being given to pick it out. Trust me they’ll be just as happy knowing about it as they would be if you just surprised them with an entire setup. Most snake people are pretty particular about their setups and that is true even of the newer herpers.