Snakes
Snakes are one of the more intriguing and easy to take care of reptiles out there because they only eat once or twice every two weeks! They are low maintenance; many stay fairly small, and don't get sick easily if you keep them in the proper environment. An incorrect temperature or too high/low humidity can cause a snake to not eat and have trouble shedding. The only problem people have with snakes is that they need to eat mice or rats. Almost ALL snakes need mice and/or rats as part of their diet. Some snakes will eat pre-killed and frozen food, but not all; it is an "aquired" taste. The large ones, like Burmese and Reticulated Pythons even eat rabbits and chickens! If you cannot handle that, a snake is not for you! As far as I know, there are just a few snakes that don't eat mice or rats. These include ribbon and green tree snakes, which eat crickets. There are also a few snakes that will eat fish. Other common snakes not included in this list are Ribbon Snakes, Garter Snakes, Green Tree Snakes, Emerald Boa, Bull Snake, Carpet Python, Water Snake, and many more!
The following information is more of a guideline to help you learn the very basic care and help decide what type of snake is for you. Please make sure to see a more detailed care sheet once you decide which snake you plan to get. If you are planning to get your first snake, a Ball Python or Corn Snake is a great choice. Once you decide the type of snake you want, check out how to pick a healthy snake.
Ball Python
Length: 4'- 5'
Temperature: 80°-85°F, 90°F in basking point
Food: rodents (mice and small rats)
Minimum Cage: 20 - 30 Gallon
Life Span: Over 20 years
From central and west Africa, Ball Pythons are a shy and calm species that make a great beginners pet. They are relatively easy to care for and will sit curled up in your hand while they are out (hence, "ball" python).
Care: (Heating & Lighting) A daytime temperature should be 80°-85°F with a basking spot of 90F. At night, the temperature can drop to 73°-75°F if there is a basking spot of at least 80°F. Use either a heat lamp with a common bulb, ceramic bulb, or reptile bulb or a heat pad to achieve this. Ball Pythons are very susceptible to burns so do not use a heat rock and screen off all bulbs so there is no direct contact. (Humidity) Ball pythons are from dry areas of Africa, so a humid tank can make them sick. What they need is a humidity retreat, or box, to go into when too dry or ready to shed. This can easily be accomplished with either wet paper towels or peat moss in a tupperwear container with one hole just big enough for them to fit into. Make sure this is always damp inside. (Caging) A big secure tank is needed for this strong escape artist. Lined with paper towels, cypress mulch, fir bark, or carpet, the cage needs to be furnished with at least one hide box, some climbing branches, and a water bowl big enough to soak in. (Feeding) Feed the snake once every 10-14 days with a mouse no bigger than it can handle.
Important Note on Wild Caught Ball Pythons: Many pet stores receive their snakes directly from Africa because it is usually cheaper than buying captive bred ones. Beware of the wild caught! Many are mite and tick covered, with internal parasites. They are not friendly and are usually very hard to get to eat because they are used to a rodent from Africa called a gerboa (similar to a gerbil). They have never seen a white red-eyed mouse and sometimes have no idea that it is food. Before you buy a ball python, find out if it is captive bred. If you already own one and it is not eating, try feeding it a dark colored gerbil. (I know that sounds mean, but it is either the gerbil or you snake.) If that doesn't work, force feeding will be necessary. [Top]
References:
Kaplan, Melissa. Ball Pythons. Melissa Kaplan's Herp Care Collection. 18 Sept 2002 [Online]
Black Rat Snake
Length: Avg 5', can get over 6'
Temperature: 70°-80°F daytime, cooler at night
Food: Rodents (Mice up to rats)
Minimum Cage: 30 Gallon
Life Span: Over 20 years
The black rat snake (aka mountain black snake or pilot black snake) is a common snake from North America, ranging almost all over the US. They are typically dark colored with other colors speckled throughout the body. Known for eating rats, they also eat mice and other rodents, birds and bird eggs, and chicks.
Care: Black rats can easily climb and are therefore good escape artists. They need a cage with a tightly shut lid. (Heating & Lighting) A heat range with heat on one side (82°-85°F) and room temp (mid-high 70°s) on the other is a good way to allow them to regulate their body temperature. A good way to achieve this is with a heat pad under one side of the tank. (DO NOT use a heat rock! It will burn your snake!) (Caging) A hide box or two, preferably one on the cool side and one on the warm, is ideal for them. For substrate, newspaper, aspen wood shavings, cypres mulch, paper towels, or Repti-Bark© will work fine. NEVER use cedar, it is TOXIC to snakes! They also will need a water bowl big enough to submerge themselves for before sheds and a rock to rub the skin off. Some type of climbing stick would be greatly appreciated by them. (Feeding) Feed around every two weeks (mouse or rat no bigger than as round as the snake is in largest part) in a separate cage or box so that they don't associate the cage opening to being fed. This reduces chances of being bit and also chances of accidently swallowing substrate. [Top]
References:
Gilbert, Robert D. General Care Guide for the Black Rat Snake. [Online]
Burmese Python
Length: up to 20'
Temperature: 85°-88°F, 90°F in basking spot (night: 78°-80°F)
Food: rodents (mice up to rabbits)
Minimum Cage: really really big
Life Span: Over 30 years
Burmese pythons seem cute when they are about a foot in the pet store, but what are you going to do when they reach 10 feet and still have 10 feet to go? I am not going to give a care sheet because this snake is only for a very dedicated owner and if you are that dedicated, you can find somewhere else to look! [Top]
Corn Snake
Length: 2.5' to 5' on average
Temperature: 70°-80°F daytime, cooler at night
Food: Rodents (Mice up to rats)
Minimum Cage: 20 - 30 Gallon
Life Span: Over 20 years
Native to eastern, southeastern and central US, the corn snake is a relatively small and friendly snake. It makes a great beginners snake due to size and personality. Very colorful, the corn snake is very similar to the black rat snake in personality and care.
Care: Please look at black rat care for the corn snake. [Top]
King Snake
Length: apprx. 4' (slightly shorter or longer depending on species)
Temperature: mid 70°s, 80°-85°F in basking spot
Food: Rodents (Mice up to rats)
Minimum Cage: 20 - 30 Gallon
Life Span: up to 25 years
Called King Snakes because they are one of the few snakes that will prey on other snakes in the wild. They have even been known to eat the poisonous rattlesnake, earning them the name "King". A smaller and calmer snake, they are easy to maintain with many vivid colors and markings.
Care: (Caging) A tight fitting lid, one or two hide boxes, a water bowl big enough to soak in, and substrate are all a king snake needs for its cage. (Heating & Lighting) The heated side should be 80°-85°F and cooler on the other side. The temp should not get higher than 90°F. This can be accomplished with either a heat pad under the tank or a heat lamp. (DO NOT use a heat rock! It will burn your snake!) (Feeding) Feed a mouse no bigger than the snakes waist every one or two weeks. [Top]
References:
Care Sheet for California or Desert Kingsnake [Online]
Milk Snake
Length: 6" - 48" (slightly shorter or longer depending on species)
Temperature: mid 70°'s, 80°-85°F in basking spot
Food: Rodents (Mice)
Minimum Cage: 20 - 30 Gallon
Life Span: 10-15 years
Very secretive animals, the milk snakes like to squeeze into tiny crevices and are therefore great escape artists. They need a very tight fitting lid. They are similar to the king snake, but stay smaller and are quieter. Colors are also very bright and interesting.
Care: (Heating & Lighting) The temperature needs to be between 78°-82°F with a basking spot of 84°-88°F achieved best with an under-tank heating pad. (DO NOT use a heat rock. It will burn your snake!) (Caging) Best substrates are those that the snake can bury in, such as pine and aspen shavings or cyprus mulch for adults. Other acceptable substrates are Repti-Bark©, newspaper, paper towel, butcher paper, or carpet. A dry cage is the best for a milk snake with little humidity. A water bowl should be provided that is large enough to soak in. (Feeding) Mice that are no larger than 1.5 times the size of the largest part of the snake should be fed and no more than once per week. Once every other week is alright also. [Top]
References:
Milk Snake Care Sheet and Information. Western New York Herpetological Society. [Online]
Red Tail Boa
Length: apprx. 10'
Temperature: 80°-90°F day and night
Food: Rodents (Mice up to rabbits)
Minimum Cage: 20 Gallon (juvinile), at least 100 Gallon for an adult
Life Span: 25 - 30 years
Beautiful and fascinating snakes, these boas can get pretty big. Do not get one unless you plan to care for it up until a ripe old age and size of over 10 feet! And no, no one will want to buy it once it gets 4-6'. And no, the zoos won't take it. They are already full with unwanted snakes. Red tail boas have a pretty calm nature in general and are beautiful snakes to watch and handle. Tropical snakes, they are from the north part of South America near the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers. They are live bearers, so instead of laying eggs, the eggs hatch inside them and are born alive.
Care: (Heating & Lighting )The tank needs to have an ambient temperature of 80°-92°F with a basking area in the low 90°s. A good temp is mid 80°s throughout the cage except the basking spot, which is warmer and best maintained with some sort of heat lamp. The temperature needs to be maintained day and night, but the snake still needs a day/night cycle. A good way to create this is with a nocturnal (red or black) bulb found in most pet stores used for hear 24 hours/day and a flourescent light used in the day to create a day/night cycle. (DO NOT use a heat rock! It will burn your snake!) Humidity should be between 50% and 60%. This can be maintained by spraying the boa with warm water, moving the water source closer to the heat lamp, covering half or all the cage top, or putting damp paper towels inside the cage. (Caging) Boas can be great escape artist so they need a cage with a tight fitting lid. The snake will also need a water bowl big enough to fully soak in. Some type of climbing branch, especially as a juvinile, will be enjoyed by it. They also will need a hide box that they can fully fit in placed toward the cooler end. A red tail will most likely outgrow a 20 gallon within 1 year, so the bigger the cage, the better. For substrate, newspaper, Repti-bark©, Corn Cob, Indoor/Outdoor Carpet, Wood Shavings (Aspen, Cypress, or Pine) NEVER use cedar, it is TOXIC to snakes! (Feeding) 18-22 inches: pinkie mouse every 4-5 days; 2-3 feet: fuzzy or pre-weaning rat once a week; 3-4 feet: weanling/small/medium rat every 2 weeks; Over 4 feet: large to jumbo rats depending on size or rabbits once larger every two weeks. [Top]
References:
Ultimate Red Tail Boa Care Guide [Online]
Reticulated Python
Length: up to 30'
Temperature: 78°-80°F, 88°-92°F in basking spot
Food: rodents (mice up to rabbits)
Minimum Cage: a small bedroom
Life Span: Over 25 years
Also very dedicated and more mean spirited than the Burmese Python, this snake grows to a gigantic length and needs a lot of care and devotion for a long time. If you are interested in a snake like this, then good luck and I hope you can care for it till the end of it's day because there is no one out there (and no zoos) who will take a half grown python. [Top]
