• Enclosure and Space Requirements


• Floor Coverings and Enclosure Items


• Visual Security


• Climatic Considerations


• Lighting


• Water


• Feeding


• Specific Dietary Recommendations


• Shedding (Ecdysis)


• Reproduction


• Artificial Incubation of Snake Eggs

Aquaria or other similar glass or Plexiglas-lined enclosures are usually most suitable because they allow optimum visualization of and safety for the occupant(s), and help to maintain desirable environmental temperatures and generally high relative humidity levels. Wire-lined enclosures may afford adequate visualization of the snake but certainly cannot contribute to the maintenance of desirable environmental temperature and humidity levels. Further, such enclosures promote injuries to the rostrum (nose and surrounding tissues) as snakes repeatedly attempt to "escape" through the wire mesh.

Any enclosure used must have a secure top and be escape-proof. All hinges and locks should be secure. All snakes are potential "escape artists" and many (especially the California King snakes) can escape form almost any apparently secure enclosure.
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Under no circumstances should pea gravel, kitty litter, crushed corncob material or wood shavings be used. These are unquestionable more visually aesthetic than most of the materials mentioned above; however, they are unsuitable because they trap moisture and filth, provide unlimited "hiding places" for external parasites, and make enclosures very difficult to clean. Furthermore, these types of particulate matter are easily and inadvertently eaten while the snake is feeding. This can cause mechanical injury to or obstruction of the digestive tract.

Various objects should be included within a snake's enclosure that occupies its vertical area. These include sturdy branches of various hardwood trees or those fabricated from artificial materials, driftwood, grapevine, hanging ropes, and shelves situated along the sides of the enclosure.
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Relatively large enclosures can be supplied with heat lamps or heaters equipped with thermostats, whereas small enclosures may be adequately heated by placing a heating pad directly underneath them. Exposed heat sources must be shielded to protect snakes from serious burns as they attempt to warm themselves by coiling next to them.

Large and small enclosures should also provide the snake a focal (spot) source of warmth. Small snakes should be offered a hot rock. Large snakes can use one or more well-protected and waterproofed heating pads. These appliances allow the snake direct, but safe, contact with the heat source, which helps to raise their body temperature. This allows the snake to be more active and increases the rate of digestion. Check these appliances frequently for malfunction and periodically check the snake for evidence of burns because snakes generally do not move away from heat-generating appliances even if they are being severely burned.
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Water containers must be thoroughly and regularly cleaned. Failure to do so encourages bacterial proliferation. Snakes drinking and soaking in the water soon become ill. Use Rocall-D (Winthrop Veterinary, NY, NY 10016) to disinfect the snake's enclosure and furnishings at least once every 2-4 weeks.
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Though freezing, thawing and subsequent feeding of whole prey animals is a common practice among hobbyists and herpetologists, some experts believe that such food sources should be "gutted" (eviscerated) before they are frozen. This greatly reduces the possibility of generalized bacterial contamination of the carcass. To replace those nutrients within the viscera that would otherwise be lost, the hobbyist can place a gelatin capsule filled with a vitamin/mineral/amino acid supplement (Nekton-Rep: Nekton Products, W. Germany) into the body cavity before feeding the thawed prey animal to the snake.

Rodents (rats and mice in particular) left unattended and unobserved within an enclosure with a supposedly hungry snake sometimes turn on the "diner" and inflict serious bite wounds on it. These "dinner becomes the diner" incidents are most likely to occur when a snake is ill or otherwise uninterested in feeding.

If snakes do not accept freshly killed or well thawed frozen prey, the live prey must be stunned so that it is sufficiently incapacitated and unable to injure the snake. Live rodents can be placed in a paper bag, which is then swiftly slammed down on a countertop to stun the rodent inside. If such an incapacitated animal is offered to a snake that is generally accustomed to receiving its food in this fashion and the snake refuses it, the prey animal can be killed and frozen, and offered at a later time.

If it is not possible to offer anything other than live and fully conscious prey for a snake to successfully feed, the encounter must be carefully supervised. If a snake shows no interest in feeding within 10-15 minutes after the prey has been introduced, the prey should be removed and all of the possible reasons for the snake's lack of interest in feeding should be investigated. (See section on Failure to Voluntarily Feed). If other similar attempts to feed the snake within the next 1-2 weeks are equally unsuccessful, veterinary help should be sought at once.

Snakes acquire a large number of infectious agents from the foods they consume, especially because of the snake's habit of feeding on whole prey items. It is not practical or possible to ensure that all prey animals are absolutely free of disease-causing agents. However, prey animals that are to be fed to captive snakes should appear healthy and come from a reliable source. Extreme caution should be exercised when feeding snakes. This is especially important if a given snake is expected to be hungry and if human-snake interaction is limited to feeding times. An overzealous and hungry snake is very likely to strike at a person immediately after the enclosure is opened and as the prey item in introduced. Large snakes can be especially treacherous and dangerous at these times because of their ability to overcome and overpower their keepers. Hobbyists and even a few expert herpetologists have been seriously injured or even killed at such times.

Great caution must also be exercised when feeding more than one snake within an enclosure. Serious problems result when 2 snakes choose to prey on the same food item. If one snake attaches to the front of a mouse and another attacks at the tail end of the same mouse, neither snake will surrender its hold. Both snakes will continue to feed and eventually one will consume the other! When 2 or more snakes are housed within the same enclosure, they should be fed individually by holding the prey animal in long forceps or tongs.

Captive snakes, as a group, usually do not suffer from major nutritional deficiencies, unlike the majority of reptiles kept in captivity. This is largely because pet snakes are allowed to feed as they do in the wild, on whole prey items. The prey species fed to captive snakes are undoubtedly different from those present in the snake's natural environment. Further, the relatively narrow diversity of prey animals that can be fed to captive snakes due to practical and economic considerations is in contrast to the wide variety of prey animals potentially available to wild-living snakes. In spite of these major differences, the incidence of malnutrition and malnutrition-related problems among captive snakes is quite low; markedly contrasting the usual situate with most captive reptiles and their seemingly limitless malnutrition-related disease problems. The potential for malnutrition and malnutrition-related disease tends to be greatest among juvenile snakes fed primarily very immature vertebrate (rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians, etc.) and invertebrate prey species (insects primarily). These food items are not as nutrient-rich as their more adult counterparts.

Feeding schedules for captive snakes vary with the age, species, size, condition and specific requirements of the individual. Generally speaking, pet snakes are usually fed once every 1-2 weeks. Juveniles and adults for which a relatively rapid growth rate is desired can be fed more frequently, providing that environmental temperatures are warm enough to allow complete and thorough digestion. Older snakes are usually fed less frequently, often once every 3-6 weeks. The number of prey animals offered at each feeding is determined by the same factors discussed above with regard to frequency of feeding.

Overfeeding must be avoided because of the risk of obesity. Too-frequent feedings and allowing a captive snake to consume multiple prey animals at each feeding encourages rapid growth. It also leads to obesity in older animals. The relative difficulty in procuring food limits this phenomenon in the wild.
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Boa constrictors, pythons, rat snakes, gopher or bull snakes:

• Warm-blooded prey is preferred, such as rodents and birds. Juveniles of these species prefer the very small warm-blooded prey species.
• They may also consume very small lizards and snakes. Some tree boas and pythons prefer lizards to mammals and birds.

Garter snakes, ribbon snakes, water snakes, etc.:

• Fish, frogs, salamanders, toads, earthworms, slugs and carrion are preferred.
• Many accept dead mice if they are covered with the external mucus of frogs or fish before they are offered.

Indigo snakes, king snakes, and many racers:

• Warm-blooded (mice, etc.) and cold-blooded prey (other snakes, lizards, etc.) are preferred.
• The indigo snake prefers frogs but may eat anything when hungry, including dog or cat food.

Ring-neck, or brown snakes and their relatives:

• Salamanders, earthworms, very small snakes and lizards are the food of choice.

Racers, vine snakes, coachwhips:

• Lizards are preferred. Racers also eat mice and chicks of ground-nesting birds.
• The young of these snakes eat large insects, such as crickets and grasshoppers.

Healthy snakes usually have little or not difficulty with shedding and tend to shed their skins in one entire piece. Exceptions to this include snakes with injuries to the skin and/or scales resulting in scarring, and snakes housed in enclosures with sub-optimal temperature and/or relative humidity levels.

The stresses associated with shedding can be substantial. Sick snakes, those suffering from malnutrition, or those whose health has been directly or indirectly compromised by poor husbandry experience delayed and incomplete sheds. These snakes tend to shed their skins in pieces. In fact, many of the pieces remain adhered to the underlying skin and eyes (retained eye caps).

The shedding process is preceded by a period of relative inactivity. This period usually lasts 1-2 weeks, during which time the eyes begin to exhibit a dull, bluish-white appearance. During this period, the snake's vision is impaired, which causes them to be rather unpredictable and sometimes aggressive. The skin during this period tends to have an overall dull appearance. The underlying new skin is soft and vulnerable to damage while the outer layers prepare to sough away.

The eyes again become transparent after 7-15 days and shedding commences. A snake will make use of any rough objects or surfaces within its enclosure to help shed the skin. Shedding commences with the skin of the head. Once the snake has loosened and dislodged the skin surrounding the mouth and over-lying the rostrum (nose), it then passes between rough objects that can trap the loose skin and hold it as the snake glides out of the "old" skin. Discarded skin appears dry and tube-like or moist and crumpled in a solitary heap. Many snakes defecate after a successful shed, or consume large quantities of water.
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The second method involves deposition of oblong, leathery-shelled eggs within the environment, where the eggs incubate. At the completion of embryonic development, the eggs hatch, producing miniature adults. Pythons and rat and mild snakes are egg layers, and are considered oviparous. In either case, the newborn or newly hatched can fend for themselves and receive no parental nurturing.

Many snake species readily mate in captivity. One mating may result in up to 3 clutches of eggs or 3 "litters" of live young. This is because sperm can be stored within the reproductive tract of the female after insemination.

The proper pairing of snakes according to age and sex is essential if reproduction in captivity is to be successful. Sexing of snakes can be difficult because males generally resemble females. Male pythons and boa constrictors have a spur on each side of the vent. Some females have spurs but they are usually smaller than those of males. These observations can be misleading at times.

Snakes under 18 inches long can usually be sexed by exerting pressure on the tissues surrounding the vent. Male snakes have paired hemipenes (elongated, spurred structures used during copulation) that can be extruded with this maneuver. The widely accepted method for sexing most snakes over 18 inches in length requires specialized sexing probes. These elongated, blunt-tipped instruments are gently inserted into the vent and directed toward the tail. The probe penetrates only a short distance in females and a much longer distance in males. Only experienced handlers should attempt this procedure.
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