Guide to Keeping Pet Snakes

Snakes make great pets, as long as you know what you're getting into. Some snakes become very large. Some are more agressive. Some are finicky feeders.

Before getting a snake you should do your research and decide which snake is best for you.

Do you want a small snake? Large one? (larger the snake, larger the enclosure and larger the feeder)

Do you want a look at snake or a "play with" snake?

Who will be taking care of the snake?

What will you do if the snake will not eat frozen feeders? Can you feed live?

If you rent a house or apartment, will your landloard allow you to keep a pet snake?

If you move, will you be able to take your snake with you? If not, what will you do with it?

Where will you place the snake's enclosure? Do you have enough room for a large tank if you bring home a snake that averages a larger size?

What do YOU want in a snake?

There are a few snakes that are better Beginner Reptiles, so remember to do your research when deciding to get a snake.

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There are two ways to feed a snake... Frozen or live. Essentially, you want to try feeding your snake frozen feeder rats and mice, but sometimes it just doesn't work.

Feeding Frozen rats, mice, and larger prey to your pet snake can be beneficial for many reasons. First of all, mice and rats can leave a hard bite; they can seriously injury a snake. I've heard stories of a mouse left in a snake enclosure for too long, unsupervised, leaving the snake chewed in half. It's possible... Do you want to risk it?

When feeding frozen, or F/T, you want the thoroughly thaw out the feeder before giving it to your snake. NEVER put them in the microwave, as they WILL bust. You can let them sit and thaw to room temperature, or put them in hot water to thaw.

Some snakes prefer them dry, so you may have to dry off the feeder before offering it to your snake.

If your snake still won't eat the F/T feeder, you can try dipping it in tuna juice, and drying it with a hair dryer. This will give the feeder an extra smell, which may entice the snake into eating it.

Sometimes the snake likes his privacy, so leave the frozen feeder in the enclosure with the snake overnight, and he may choose to eat it. Cover the enclosure with a towel, creating the effect of he's all alone may help, too.

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Sometimes snakes just won't eat the frozen feeders. I, personally, have had a hard time with it, but I have a ball python. They are well-known picky eaters. The Feeding Habits of Ball Pythons can be hard to deal with, and although they are one of the better beginner snakes, they ARE also finicky eaters. Ball pythons can be upset for simple things such as an enclosure upgrade, and choose not to eat for over six months. Slight temperature changes can, also, upset a ball python.

Fortunately, ball pythons are one of the few finicky eaters of the pet snake world. For the most part, you will not have problems feeding a colubrid, such as a corn snake, milk snake, or kingsnake, a frozen mouse.

In these cases, you can feed live or force feed a frozen feeder. Another option is to feed a freshly killed rat or mouse. Sometimes pet stores will kill a live rat or mouse for you. In this case, the rodent is dead and cannot harm your snake, but is still warm and sometimes twitching.

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When it comes to housing a pet snake, it's rather simple. For the most part...

You need:

Aquarium with a screen

Cage locks.

Under tank heater.

Light

Shelter/ Hide

Other Decor

Bedding (whether it be tile, aspen, or paper towels)

You should size the aquarium to the particular snake you are housing. Most colubrids can live in 20 gallon aquariums happily. Ball pythons should have a 40 gallon aquarium, and larger snakes should have large aquariums.

It is very much a myth that the snake will ONLY grow to the size of the enclosure. A red tail boa will quickly grow out of a 10 gallon aquarium, so don't purchase a red tail boa because they're pretty, and attempt to keep it in a small enclosure. It's just not going to work.

You should, also, do your research in order to make sure that your temperatures and humidity levels are appropriate for the particular snake that you want to care for. The temperatures and humidity for a ball python will not suffice for an emerald tree boa. It is VERY important for the health of your snake to make sure to have the proper temperatures and humidity levels.

Never house multiple snakes in the same enclosure. Especially, if you have colubrids (king snake, corn snake, milk snake, etc.), as many colubrids will eat other snakes.

By housing multiple snakes in the same enclosure you cannot guarantee that both species are getting what they need to thrive, as not all snakes have the same husbandry requirements (temperatures, lighting, etc.)

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The one big thing you want to consider when having or getting a pet snake is Mites.

Mites are similar to ticks in that they are blood sucking parasites. They are very hard to get rid of because they reproduce rapidly. If you think you have mites, you need to treat the aquarium and decor, throw out the bedding, and treat the snake. You may have to treat the snake and enclosure multiple times before you finally get rid of the mites, but it's better to do that than to let them stay in your house. You, also, need to be sure to clean around the enclosure because they will travel to and from the cage. You DO NOT want to bring mites home.

Your snake can get mites from other snakes, bad bedding, other snakes, and you. You can bring mites home from other snakes.

If you already have a snake, and want another, you need to quarantine the new snake before introducing the two snakes (remember that you should NEVER house multiple snakes in the same enclosure).

Natural Chemistry De Flea Pet Area Spray
(16.9-oz bottle)

Natural Chemestry De Flea Pet Area Spray not only kills fleas on contact, but it is, also, formulated to kill ticks, lice, AND mites! It doesn't use pyrethroids or similar chemicals to achieve its results, so fleas and other parasites do not become resistant, which means that the product never loses effectiveness. This spray can be used on the pet's bedding, carpets, furniture as well as directly on the pet. It is EPA approved and requires NO HAZARD WARNINGS! This product has the lowest possible toxicity ratings in all EPA categories.

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