Quote Originally Posted by BallPythonWannaBe View Post
So...another thread. I've seen several Water snake ads and thought I'd look more into it so I looked up caresheets. I cant find very much info and what I can find seems to differ greatly. Does anyone know a good caresheet or own Water snakes?

Also I have spoken to a few garter snake owners who dont use belly heat with their snakes and they breed them and say the snakes digest fine. I was wondering if this is actually okay? With the use of an overheat heat sorce like a red bulb I mean. Just wondering as I cant find anything to really awnser these questions on internet! Thanks
Most colubrids have very similar care requirements and the vast majority will do well with an ambient of around 73-76 F and a hot spot at 85 F. In the past, I used to keep kingsnakes at room temperature and feed them once a week. They always accepted food and appeared to digest just fine. I never had a regurgitation or health issue of any kind. They are a pretty robust snake family.

That said, I feel they greatly benefit from a warm spot. After providing one, I notice my California kingsnakes hug it quite often with an ambient of 75 F, particularly after eating. It does not matter if the hot spot is achieved by a UTH (belly heat) or an overhead heat lamp/CHE. There is nothing special about belly heat, the snake simply needs a source of heat to assist in thermoregulation.

As for water snakes, despite their name and propensity to eat fish, they don't need a huge source of it. Captive water snakes will do just fine with a clean water dish of a size that they can soak in if they wish (per John1982's suggestion). Most keepers I know use the same substrates you would for other reptiles (aspen, reptile carpet, etc.). Personally, I think cypress mulch is probably the best choice. For feeding, the best success seems to come from feeding live fish and amphibians supplemented with mice (frozen or live).