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  1. #1
    Registered User Rose1's Avatar
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    African House Snake Setup

    Hello all,

    I am brand new to snakes and this forum but not to reptiles. I teach middle school science and have several animals up at the school. I felt a snake would be a great addition. After doing quiet a bit of research, I decided a colubrid of some form would be best. I eventually decided on an African House Snake because I liked the look of the specific one I got the best, and because they stay on the smaller side, so she will likely be able to stay in the setup I have.

    Here is my setup:

    Tank: 29 gallon, screen top, 4 top clamps, plus 2 brackets with locks (school requirement so the kids can't get into the tank)

    Substrate: Eco Earth, Cyprus mulch, sphagnum moss mix

    Heating: UTH on thermostat set at 90, 50w basking light just to provide options. Warm side air temp around 85, warm hide around 90

    Lighting: basking spot, LED grow light mostly for plants

    Humidity: 45%-65% rises after I water plants

    Hides: hot side hide is a cave shaped rock, left side/cool side black plastic tray with a hole cut in it, center hide top half of a ceramic fake rock humid hide.

    Decor: Spider wood, cork pieces, river rock, Pothos

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-59...w?usp=drivesdk

    Thoughts on the setup?

    And the only pic I have of my girl because I was dumb and didn't take any before I put her in the tank, but she is beautiful yellow with orange markings.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-5m...w?usp=drivesdk

    Any additional care tops would be great too as this is my first snake. Thanks.

    Sorry the pics are links. I couldn't figure out how to embed them.

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  3. #2
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Hey, welcome! That looks like a really nice & thoughtful set-up you did. I've kept many kinds of snakes but never an African House snake...I wanted to but others
    "found me" first. As far as I can tell, you've done well for her, she's a cutie too. If I think of anything, I'll add it later. Hopefully we have someone who has kept
    these & will comment when they get a chance.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  4. #3
    BPnet Senior Member Lord Sorril's Avatar
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    Re: African House Snake Setup

    Quote Originally Posted by Rose1 View Post
    Thoughts on the setup?
    Your setup looks cool! Very spacious for a house snake.

    I kept house snakes for over a decade (eventually sold my collection to make room for more ball pythons).

    If the top of your cage wobbles at all-it is highly possible your snake can escape-make sure it is firm! Sometimes those latches don't fit perfect.

    The ambient (air) temps in any part of the enclosure should not fall below 80F. If the UTH is on the bottom of the tank it is possible that the substrate is thick enough to block the heat from coming through. Mine liked to bask, but, only after they ate. if the heating pad is on the side of the tank above the substrate--then you should be fine (as they are small snakes).

    Note: If you have a female she may lay infertile eggs (frequently) regardless of being bred or not.

    Best of luck!
    Last edited by Lord Sorril; 08-17-2019 at 03:44 AM.
    *.* TNTC

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    Bogertophis (08-17-2019)

  6. #4
    Registered User Rose1's Avatar
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    Re: African House Snake Setup

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Sorril View Post

    Note: If you have a female she may lay infertile eggs (frequently) regardless of being bred or not.

    Best of luck!
    She is female. Do I need to do anything special for this? I didn't realize that was a thing.

  7. #5
    Registered User Rose1's Avatar
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    Re: African House Snake Setup

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Sorril View Post
    If the top of your cage wobbles at all-it is highly possible your snake can escape-make sure it is firm! Sometimes those latches don't fit perfect
    I have 4 of them and made sure they were decently tight, but this CANNOT happen, so any suggestions on how to modify the tank so it doesn't?

  8. #6
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Some other snakes also lay infertile eggs, even when never bred. My Florida rat snakes lay double clutches every year , about 2 dozen eggs the first round &
    about 15 or so in the second. Many of the eggs are obvious duds, while a surprising number look like good eggs (white & firm, not slimy & yellowish) so in case
    they've pulled a "fast one" on me, I usually incubate the good ones...with no expectations, just in case of parthenogenesis (which I experienced in the past once
    with a rosy boa- those are live born, but it can happen either way). The difference it makes for my rat snakes is that the females eat a LOT to produce these eggs,
    & never get as big as the male snakes. Nothing you can do to prevent it, but you want to be aware to help prevent egg-binding: so if your female snake goes off
    food when she should be eating, appears fairly robust in the lower third of her body, & hides a lot, you need to offer a suitable nest box (I give my girls a large
    container of damp moss) to help prevent egg-binding, which can be serious. Both my Florida girls just finished clutch #2, & spent a couple days soaking in their
    large water bowls before becoming ravenously hungry..."bottomless pits" that eat weekly for a little while. Silly sneks! (If I had a king snake or some other
    kinds that eat eggs & other snakes, I could probably just feed these eggs to them, but as it is, they go to waste.)
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  9. #7
    Registered User Rose1's Avatar
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    Re: African House Snake Setup

    Thank you. None of my female lizards do this, and with the species that would, chameleon, I found that through my research so I intentionally got males. I am more surprised that I didn't find anything about this while researching. The breeder also didn't say anything about it.

    Is there a time of year or number of times in a year I should expect this? And from your description, I basically just need a large humidity box for her when it happens?

  10. #8
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: African House Snake Setup

    Quote Originally Posted by Rose1 View Post
    Thank you. None of my female lizards do this, and with the species that would, chameleon, I found that through my research so I intentionally got males. I am more surprised that I didn't find anything about this while researching. The breeder also didn't say anything about it.

    Is there a time of year or number of times in a year I should expect this? And from your description, I basically just need a large humidity box for her when it happens?
    I'm not sure about African House snakes...as far as their seasonal time-table. For my snakes (in this case, Florida natives) it's late fall- early summer when they bulk up,
    then stop eating for a while & just lay low. As lay time gets closer (early June for first clutches) that's when I provide a nest box with damp moss, & they're happy to go
    in it & dig around some. Actually, my rat snake ladies are power eaters all winter, they are not brumated as I have no intention of ending up with 80 hatchlings between
    the two of them.

    I may be wrong (actually I HOPE I'm wrong?) but I thought I read somewhere that African House snakes can actually lay multiple clutches each year. In fact, read this:

    http://www.kingsnake.com/housesnake/breeding.html
    A.H.S. are very prolific so it wouldn't surprise me if they lay infertile eggs for no reason at all. You might have to consider making omelettes?
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  11. #9
    Registered User Rose1's Avatar
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    Re: African House Snake Setup

    Omelettes Lol.

    This seems like a really common thing that snake people just know happens, so maybe that's not why it's mentioned. I researched a bunch of different types of snakes before getting her and none of them said anything about this, but now that I'm specifically searching for it, it looks like almost all of the beginner snakes do it... Maybe it should be added to care guides or something.

    It's not ideal but at least I have a heads up and know to watch for it with her. I had found that link before, but as I have NO intention of breeding her I just didn't read through it the first time. I still haven't found anything that definitively says they will or won't, so maybe I'll get lucky. The closest thing I've found was someone who had their snake for 7 years and she just laid a clutch. I could probably handle once every 7 years.

  12. #10
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    I'll cross my fingers for you. I've had many kinds of rat snakes for many years, most do NOT do automatic laying of infertile eggs, so maybe that's why many
    sources don't mention. It's not always predictable. Now I've had a corn snake that bred ONCE & laid fertile eggs for 5 years, but that's another story, LOL. Must
    be the air in my house that promotes fertility. From the sounds of it, A.H.S. sound likely to produce "automatic egg shipments" and it's always better not to be
    surprised.

    As far as preventing escapes (cage clip failures), there are various methods to prevent "lift off". You can weigh down the lid with something like a heavy book at
    each end -it makes your snake appear to be well-read, especially if you choose the right titles - or you can strap over the cage top with a bungee cord, or with
    a nylon strap attached with velcro.
    If you use a bungee cord, it's easy to run some plumbers tape under the tank & halfway up each side to meet up with the bungee cord. And I'm talking about this
    stuff, it's metal strapping with holes in: It's not the prettiest option but it's easy to do, especially in a pinch.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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