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.

Day after day we get requests for recommendations for vegetarian snakes. Day after day we respond by telling people that there is no such thing. So we figured we’d just write a quick little article giving everyone who cares to read it the answer. In a word, no. We can’t recommend a vegetarian snake because there is no such animal. They just do not exist.

Snakes, like cats and like ferrets are obligated carnivores. In other words in order to live they must eat meat. Cats and ferrets have their meat processed into more user friendly commercial chunks but it is still meat. A snakes knows instinctively it isn’t meant to eat vegetables and won’t.

Some people when asked about vegetarian snakes will recommend ones such as Rough Green Snakes and Ring Necked Snakes that eat insects. While a bug might not be a furry little mouse it is a far cry from a vegetable. If you want an animal that eats vegetables a snake is NOT the pet for you. There are several lizards that would be more appropriate.

If you still want a snake but are unable to bring yourself to throw a living animal in with it then your only other option is pre-killed or frozen/thawed. Either way you will be feeding the snake meat and not vegetables.

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.

Beyond the decision of what breed, morph, and sex of snake you are going to get lies the need to decide if you want to get a wild caught, captive hatched or a captive bred specimen.

What does wild caught mean?

A snake that falls under this category was collected from its native habitat. In other words someone went out wherever you find the kind of snake you are looking at and caught it. Then they stuffed it (and probably hundreds of others) into some gunny sacks and shipped them to an importer (if you’re talking about exotic species).

Wild caught snakes usually have a whole host of problems which include (but are in no way limited to):

• Poor feeding responses
• Internal parasites
• Ticks, and mites
• Injuries
• Aggressiveness because they aren’t used to people

In addition to the problems listed above there is also the fact that due to succesful breeding of most snakes that are kept as pets there is no need to catch them in the wild. Snakes you get from places like PetCo and PetSmart are often wild caught.

What does captive hatched mean?

When someone tells you that their snakes are captive hatched it means that they were born in captivity but the mother was caught in the wild while pregnant or the eggs were gathered and then hatched in captivity. These snakes are generally able to adapt more readily to being pets but they can also have some “issues” that aren’t normally found in hardy stock.

What does captive bred mean?

A snake that has been captive bred is one that was conceived, and born/hatched in captivity. These are the best snakes to get as a pet. They generally are hardy eaters, free of parasites and bugs and haven’t been manhandled to the point of aggression. Since they are interacting with people literally from the moment (or within a few hours) of being born or hatched they won’t usually have aggression issues.

A good rule of thumb is that the more experienced you are in keeping snakes the more likely you are to be successful with a wild caught specimen. You should do your best to start out with captive bred snakes until you get some experience under your belt. When you have some then consider moving on to captive hatched and wild caught. It’s not that you can’t handle wild caught snakes without experience but your success rate will be much higher.