Got a banana phase!

[freelancer]

Thanks, guys. I fed her again a few days ago, took three fuzzies quite easily. Afterward, I peered in on her and she started rattling her tail when I got too close! That was the first time she'd done that. I let her be, but she hasn't done it since.

Seeing as Wes has been breeding king snakes for many years, I'd trust what he said she is.

She is beautiful, that's for sure!

He most likely is right. I haven't had a chance to look into it, since I recently started school again, but I'll be getting a better book on kings soon which could help clarify some things for me.

An overview of the setup:

20g long tank
aspen bedding, thick layer
heat emitter, 40W
basking spot, elevated platform
UTH under the platform, for belly heat
hide
water bowl, big enough to soak in, one inch of water

Right now, the heat emitter may be a little too warm (86.6 degrees) as I have not seen her get on it over the weekend. She's staying in her hide. I think I will have to find something to clamp it to so that it's not directly on top of the terrarium screen.

Any other suggestions? I have the semi-tropical setup for the SIGB pretty much on the money, but the King is, well, a different animal.

[wilomn]

You can probable get rid of one heat source entirely. With the babies I keep heat underneath them and the adults are room temp year round, no artificial heat at all.

[freelancer]

You can probable get rid of one heat source entirely. With the babies I keep heat underneath them and the adults are room temp year round, no artificial heat at all.

Really? My room temp is, on average, somewhere around 77. I live in an efficiency apartment so there is no separate room I can put them in. The garg gecko is OK with it, and the boa is at a pretty constant 80 due to a UTH and a permaboard top with a 12" screen cutout, but I thought 77 might be too low for the Kingsnake. The emitter is on a timer to match the photoperiod, and the terrarium cools down to 78-80 at night.

What do you think?

[wilomn]

What's the hotspot in your tank?

[freelancer]

What's the hotspot in your tank?

The hotspot's the 86.6, right under the heat emitter. The ambient is 80. The emitter is all the way to the left, so she can get away from it easily if she wants to.

[wilomn]

If I'm clear on this, your hot spot, on one end of the cage is 86. Correct? The ambient is 80, or thereabouts.

That's fine for the snake, even a couple degrees cooler is acceptable.

[freelancer]

By the way, she does stick around the platform for a while sometimes, so she doesn't completely avoid it, but she won't curl up under the emitter or anything. I half-expected her to bask under it like snakes will do in the wild, hanging out on a rock under the sun. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

Another question: I just noticed she's going opaque. Just the blue eyecaps for now. This must have started sometime yesterday, after she disappeared into her hide. It's not going to be very humid in the tank, maybe 50% or so (I don't have a hygrometer in there, as no one seems to recommend it). The boa gets misted twice daily to keep the humidity up in his tank, but Buffy doesn't.

Should I mist the cage lightly once every couple of days to help her along?

[freelancer]

If I'm clear on this, your hot spot, on one end of the cage is 86. Correct? The ambient is 80, or thereabouts.

That's fine for the snake, even a couple degrees cooler is acceptable.

Yes, that's what I have. That's good to know, thanks I'll make something to clamp the emitter to so I can control it a little better, though. I know if I turn the ceiling fan off it goes up a couple more degrees in there.

[wilomn]

Your humidity is probably fine. I live in So. Cal and we are not that humid. Mine do fine. You could also use a lower wattage bulb.

[freelancer]

OK, I'll just keep an eye on her to make sure she sheds ok. I appreciate all the help, man. Glad yer on the board.