Advice Please!

I have a ball python and have not cared for any other breed. I have been presented with the opportunity to adopt a 7 mo old king snake (it seems so sweet and is a pink and orange-I have no Ida what that is) I want to be sure I can properly care for this snake for all the years to come. Unlike balls, I don't see a ton of info online. Please give me any brain dump of information to help me to decide and how to properly care for a king snake. Anything you can think of....especially common mistakes people make. Thank you!!

Jenny


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If you can care for a BP then a king is a breeze. Maintain similar hot/cool side temps as for your BP, they don't need the high humidity, and feed prey no larger than their girth. I keep mine in 40-breeder tanks bedded on aspen and they make tunnels in it when young. They tend to be less likely to want to hide all the time as they get older.

Like boas, kings are voracious feeders and will eat whenever possible. Females in particular get very aggressive about eating in the spring - mine has done the bite/wrap/try to eat on my hands a few times. My kings are the "clean-up crew" when my younger BP's decide they're not eating that day...

Unlike my boas and balls, mine weren't initially very tolerant of being handled, so I made sure to handle them daily (except for feeding day and the day after) but only for a few minutes. If the one you saw is ok then I would snap him up.

This one was very agreeable to being handled. So they require more bedding than a ball and not hides? Unfortunately my ball eats larger pray so I can't use as a clean up crew. That would have been nice though.


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<< agrees with bcr.


King snakes are very hearty.

Two hides are fine with the thicker aspen added. Depending on the type of king snake, it will eventually be big enough to be your clean up crew or only need a 20L(or equivalent) if it's a small species. My cali king can and will eat small rats. He'd probably try eating an elephant if I let him. :rolleyes:

Do you know species of snake or have pics so we can help identify it? :prays for pics: :please: ;)

I wish in had taken a pic. It is albino. I use a shaved aspen for my ball. Looks like chipped aspen is better for the king. I just ordered new hides for my ball because she has hit capacity with her current ones. I had to dig her extra space so she could get in. Do king's need that tight fit as well or just a quiet place to hang out? Can I use my ball's current ones - medium exoterra ones?


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I know I'll end up adopting in the morning. You know when you just get that connection with an animal it just weighs on you and I don't want someone to just get her and take care of her improperly. I'm going to read a book on king's to get as much info as I can.

Chiming in with feeding and husbandry would be awesome.


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^ None of my Cali kings used hides if they were provided aspen to burrow in: if you have burrow-able substrate I wouldn't worry too much about the sizes of the hides, just use what you have.

My King DOES use his hides, but burrows a whole lot more. He does CLIMB his hides, though and occasionally hangs out in them. Definitely don't worry about size.

I'll also say that while Kings have a bit of a rep, my CalKing has bitten me exactly once and that was the day he was shipped to me and it wasn't a snap/defensive bite, it was an attempt to eat my thumb. Their feeding response is FANTASTIC, and I can honestly say they're 900% easier than balls. I love my two BP, but I really, really get a kick out of Roger, the King Snake. He eats well, he sheds well, he's very low stress and he's really super duper interactive in a way the BP aren't. My BP are docile and puppy dog tame but Roger actively interacts with me.

So....definitely feed outside the enclosure. I feed my ball in, but we have a system that works. I'm never afraid she will strike me. Looks like I may not want to put as much trust in a king. Correct? The biting thing gives me pause. Just one authors opinions but never worry about my ball biting and not letting go, etc.


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Hmmm. Interact. I guess I don't know what that means exactly. I feel like my ball interacts but have no comparison. Peeks the curiosity.


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When I say "author" I mean of the book I'm reading on the other screen :)


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by SavannahSnake

So....definitely feed outside the enclosure. I feed my ball in, but we have a system that works. I'm never afraid she will strike me. Looks like I may not want to put as much trust in a king. Correct? The biting thing gives me pause. Just one authors opinions but never worry about my ball biting and not letting go, etc.


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Feed inside the enclosure is my recommendation, make it easy on yourself: none of my snakes (my Calis included up to even my boas and retics) know when it's handle time vs feed time and I have NEVER been mistaken for a food item when I reach in to get them (my bull snake goes nuts when I crack open his tub but even he knows when he's going to eat vs just being curious about what's going on). A Cali bite is nothing to worry about also.

Thank you for that. I just realized I have to quarantine as well. The herp room is my home office. Advice on how to deal with quarantine? I was going to put both enclosures next to each other on the credenza which will fit two 2 20 gal tanks. Can't do that at first can I?


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Turns out to be a lavendar. The disposition is just so amazing I'm going to get her. Never nips, doesn't pee on people :) just figuring out where to house her for the next few months


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x2 on Daybreaker's post. Quarentine is a must if you don't want to risk something coming in which is harmful to your snakes.


Quarentine minimum is seperate rooms for 3 months plus handling your current collection before handling the new guys. Washing after handling new guys.

+1 on the QT, and I only warned about the biting because a few kings will do it. I have one that does but once she realized that I wasn't food she turned me loose as fast as she could. Two have never even threatened to nip even when there's feeder scent in the room.

They are smart little critters though, and are escape artists as well.

Well, I got her. She is on a different floor in quarantine. Now, I have her on paper towels with two hides and water. UTH as well as ceramic on top. She did love to hide under the substrate, but I want to look out for mites. How long should I wait before I can put her back in aspen?


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I give mine a week or so - if you don't see mites by then she likely doesn't have them.

Thank you. This great support is priceless.


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My king is perfectly happy with put a heat lamp and a UTH a water bowl and 2 hides and a tree branch to climb. He likes to climb up the branch unto the the lip around the very top of the cage just under the lid. He burrows alot more since i cleaned his tank and added a nice thick layer of aspen bedding but he does use his hides, his favorite being a human skull hide i picked up a couple weeks ago. it gives me oh so much satisfaction watching him crawling in and out of that hide. As for the biting ive only had that problem when i fed him the first couple time but he chilled out now and is a baby doesn't even musk when i go to pick him up

My king is so easy to care for. All you need is a heat lamp a UTH and a water bowl and your set. I use both and i have a nice thick layer of aspen for my little guy to burrow into. i also have 2 hides one cool and one hot hide. a coconut shell and a human skull replica. He burrows most of the time especially when he is shedding, as i found out last night. altho on a normal night he is pretty active and explores his tank. They are great snakes. ive only had a biting problem right after you feed him and try to pick him up to take him back to the tank. but he stopped doing that. He doesnt even musk when i go to take him out of his tank

We have 2 kings a Cali and a Speckled. Love them. They are both housed in aspen and never use their hides. I have moss added to mine because I have noted that they really like to crawl through it during shed. Also note of advice. Make sure you have a locking top for your enclosure. Mine are both escape artists. The speckled is a regular Houdini.