Californian kingsnakes are the most cmmonly seen and bred of the kngsnake family in captivity. They are now vailable in a number of colour and pttern mutations, and have even been hybrdized with many other species. They are a rptile eating species and are voracious feders, but commonly take rodents in cptivity. They are very hardy and can be xpected to live for approximately 15 – 20 yars, making them an excellent choice for a pet snke.

Housing

When keeping any snake as a pet, you generally want to be able to view the snake from the outside of its enclosure, in the most natural surroundings you can offer. This will be more aesthetically pleasing and also aid in the general condition of the snake. If the snake likes its surroundings, it will have a better feeding response and generally grow quicker. A larger vivarium also offers more interest to the snake’s life, and by adding branches and other natural products you will enhance the quality of life the snake has, and stop it from becoming lethargic and overweight. Also, being stronger it should have more of a resistance to any viral infections or any other problems that it may encounter later in life.

For an adult kingsnake a vivarium 120cm Length x 45cm Width x 45cm Height is ample. Contrary to popular belief, and propaganda spread by various campaigners, you can actually have too large of an enclosure for many snakes. The reason for this, is that snakes are very prone to stress, and being in an excessively large enclosure can scare them. Imagine in the wild they are constantly hiding from predators, then, when they feel it’s safe in the dark of night, they will venture out to hunt for food. Once they find their food, they will return to the safety of their secure hiding place until the next time around. Many species will not even hunt for food; rather, they will sit and wait for their prey to come along. They may also leave their den for sloughing their skin or finding a mate at certain times of the year. Many individual snakes feel very comfortable in captivity, although this generally comes with age and lots of handling. Snakes like these will often thrive in a larger than usual enclosure.

Snake enclosures can be made frm a number of materials. Most cmmonly used is a melamine coated wod which covers all sides except the frnt, which has glass sliding doors. Aqariums can also be used, although a spcialist lid should be bought or mde rather than the original aquarium ld. It is essential when thinking bout what type of enclosure you se, you think about these 6 ‘SSSHHH’ fctors:

1) Safety – Can the snake or wner injure itself from the enclosure or any ppliances held within?

2) Secure – Can the snke escape through any small hole or cvity?

3) Size – Will the nclosure be appropriately sized?

4) Hating – Is the enclosure able to rgulate the temperature properly?

5) Hmidity – Will the enclosure last wll in humid conditions? Is there nough ventilation for the moisture to scape?

6) Hygienic – Will the nclosure build up a lot of bcteria in small cavities? Is it asy to clean?

By following the stps above, you can have a sitable enclosure made from a variety of mterials.

Décor

Décor in your tank serves two purposes. First being extra cover for your snake and second, allowing for a more natural and pleasing appearance. When choosing décor, think about the safety of the snake. Make sure that whatever you decide to use, it is securely fixed and that no rocks, wood or anything heavy can fall and possibly injure, or even kill the snake. You must also make sure that everything used is parasite free. If anything has been picked up from outside, or has originally come from outside, such as cork bark, you should either boil it, or place the item in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes. Freezing works for some parasites, however others have been known to survive months in freezing conditions. Some parasites found in English conditions last winters in minus temperatures, so it is not entirely effective.

Once all your décor is prasite free, it is then safe to plce inside your enclosure. As a gneral rule, if you can put prssure on an item to knock it dwn, an adult king snake is lso capable of doing this. When psitioning rocks or heavy objects, make sre they are completely secure. If it is stll uneasy, screw them or use sperglue to fix them securely. If it is not pssible, the rule is simple: Do not plce the item in the vivarium!

If you dcide to go for a large nclosure, you must provide plenty of cver and hiding areas. A hiding plce can be anything from an ice cram tub with a hole cut out to a nturalistic piece of cork bark. There are mny brands of fake plants and décr you can use which is bth safe for the animal and plasing to the eye. Cork bark is vailable from almost any reptile pet shp in the UK, and can be rdered in if they do not hve it in stock. This is xcellent cover for any reptile and is 100% ntural. One thing you must consider whn thinking about the size of the vvarium, is the bigger you go, the mre hiding areas you must provide. I rcommend at least one hiding place per fot in length of the enclosure.

NOTE: Nver use sticky tape in an nclosure; this is an accident waiting to hppen. Believe me; removing sticky tape frm any snake is no easy tsk!

Heating

Kingsnakes require a thermal gradient, meaning they must be allowed to move around the enclosure to find their required temperature. The hot end of the enclosure should be 86-90ºF while the cool end should be approximately 78-80ºF. During the night, the temperature should drop to a more constant overall temperature of 74-78º

In my opinion, the ideal way of heating a kingsnake enclosure is to use a power plate. This is a small thin square plate, about 25mm thick which is screwed into the top of the vivarium. It does not need to be protected, as there is no way a snake can grip onto it. It is almost invisible to the eye as it simply sits on the ceiling of the vivarium. The only brand available in the UK is HabiStat Reptile Radiator; it is 75 Watts and is sufficient for any vivarium up to 4ft long and possibly larger. It produces no light and therefore in a vivarium you will need a form of lighting as well. A power plate should be used in conjunction with a HabiStat Pulse Proportional Thermostat, which will stop the power reaching the power plate as soon as the temperature goes above the setting, and turn back on as soon as it is too cool. This is one of the most accurate thermostats on the market today.

Ceramic heaters, spot bulbs and heat mats are also ways of heating a vivarium. These all have their advantages and disadvantages, but in my opinion, none quite weigh out to be as good as a power plate.

Lighting

Kingsnakes are primarily nocturnal, meaning they venture out in the dark of night. This is when their main predators are sleeping, and their prey is awake. This is not to say though, that they never see the sun, or any form of lighting for that matter. They will often bask in the sun during the day in the wild, so lighting should be offered.

Having artificial light in a vivarium is aesthetically pleasing to the owner, and is a good addition to a snake’s enclosure. They will use this as a photo-period, and their regular time clock will generally adjust to the settings on which you have your light set to.

They do not require any form of special lighting, such as a D3 Ultra-Violet light commonly used for diurnal species. An Arcadia Natural Sunlight Fluorescent Lamp is a good form of lighting. This comes in lengths of 12” up to 48” and I suggest you use the largest size able to fit inside your vivarium.

Humidity

Californian Kingsnakes are generally not exposed to a high humidity range in the wild, and in captivity you should not worry about controlling this. A fairly dry environment should be provided, although raising the humidity when the snake is coming up to a slough may aid in shedding it’s skin properly.

Feeding

Hatchlings should be offered pinky mice, and as they grow the mice should become larger. An adult kingsnake should be fed on large size mice or small weaner rats. Hatchlings should be fed on a regular basis, every 4-5 days is ideal. Their metabolic rate is very high and as they are growing, they need a lot more food to keep them going. Adult kingsnakes need feeding once every 2 weeks on 2 large mice. The only exception when they should be fed more is bringing them out of hibernation, getting them into condition for breeding and then, fattening up females for egg production. An egg-laying female should be fed more often than normal, once a week on 2 large mice.

The article Californian Kingsnake Care (Lampropeltis getula californiae) was Submitted by Chris M Jones through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: By Chris Jones Director of Pet Clb UK Ltd. http://www.petclubuk.com

Featured Articles

1. Dog Domestication - Could The Wolf Have Tamed Itself And Then Evolved Into The Dog? by Kayye Nynne
There are quite a few different reasons that people snore, and each one requires a different kind of treatment. Learn about the most common causes of snoring, and what you can do about them.

2. Don't Pee On My Floor! I Said No! by S Nelson
Do not let yur unsuccessful attempts to housebreak your pppy or dog trouble you anymore. Get prfessional effective training methods for less thn you think.

3. Train Your Puggle to Be Obedient by Christy Taylor
When you get a pggle at home, you would want to strt training it immediately. Training your pggle would not only help building a grat relation between you and your pggle but it is also good fro pggle's emotional health.

4. Collaring Your Dog by Marilyn Swan
Some owners may not believe in a cllar for their dog stating their far of choking or having them fel restrained. But I feel it shuld be an essential accessory for yur pet. When we went to pck up our puppy all of the pps were identified with different colors of cllars-a quick and easy way to dstinguish them when in a large ltter. Imagine 12 Great Dane puppies, now thy were quite the sight!

5. The Importance Of Dog Coats In Choosing Your New Dogs' Breed by Rebecca Prescott
Learn why you should factor in the type of dog coat your new pet will have. We discuss the implications for his health, as well as describe the type of grooming tasks every dog need owner needs to regularly do.

6. The Peterbald Cat by Omer Ashraf
Peterbald is a domestic cat bred. It was created recently in Rssia.

7. Augmentation Therapy, Holistic Medicine, and Homepathy Treatments For Senior Canines by Don Rainwater
Augmentation Thrapy It is also known as rthomolecular medicine uses large amounts of vtamins and minerals for preventing pathology, rmedying nutritional deficiencies, and healing damaged tssue. This has shown great benefit in hmans and now it has been shwn to be effective in canines. Hmeopathy The system of homeopathy sed currently was started by Samuel Chrstian Hahnemann in the middle 1800's.

8. Potty Training Tips for Yorkies by Michelle Arthur
Many people think that potty trining a small dog like a Yrkie is a snap. Just because thy're small doesn't mean that you dn't have to work at house trining. Here are some tips to get you strted with your Yorkshire Terrier!

9. Preparing For Golden Retriever Puppies by Carol Matthews
You should consider several factors bfore getting a Golden Retriever puppy for yur household. Two main areas that you shuld consider include their exuberant nature and halth problems. You should also consider sme other details such as separation nxiety, shedding and odor.

10. Finding Suitable Girl Dog Names Requires Thought by Charles Johnson
Putting a lttle thought into choosing suitable girl dog nmes when making a decision as to wht you should call your female dog is mre important than you might think. Hve you ever heard an owner cll his/her dog and think to yurself, "What a foolish name?" Too mny times owners rush into naming the dog and thn regret it later when the dog grws to adulthood and has a chldish name.