African House Snakes
An Excellent Choice For Beginners
By: Glenn R. Bartley
All Rights Reserved,
June 9, 2003 ©
African House Snakes may be, in my opinion, just about the perfect snake for the beginning snake keeper? They are also great snakes for intermediate and advanced keepers too, but the intermediate and advanced keepers know that already. On the other hand, many beginners quite possibly never have heard of them. There are several color phases: black, brown, red and albinos. My favorite color phase is a beautiful iridescent shade of brown, similar to milk chocolate, just a bit darker, on their dorsal surface. This phase has a buff colored stripe running along both sides of their heads. Their ventral surfaces (bellies) are a pearly or opalescent white. Their heads had a distinct python like look about them, although they are not pythons but are colubrids, constrictors nonetheless.
Care for these snakes is pretty straightforward, and is similar to the care of many more commonly kept colubrids. A ten to twenty gallon size tank is sufficient for a pair, a fifteen or twenty gallon size is best. They require an ambient air temperature between about 78 degrees Fahrenheit to 84 degrees F. To maintain proper temps, place an Under Tank Heat Source such as an Under Tank Heat-pad (UTH) under one end of the tank (following manufacturers instructions). This creates a warm area for the snakes to use to warm up. The UTH remains on constantly, and should warm up to about 90 to 95 degrees. They need to have a cooler end also at about 70 to 74 degrees F. Snakes cannot self regulate their own body temps and need to move from cool to warm and back to cool as needed. If room temps are cool, such as in a basement, you may also need to add additional heat in the form of an incandescent light over the tank. Place this at about mid tank and never directly over a UTH. Use a thermometer to make sure the area near the center of the tank is never above 84 degrees F. The light gets plugged into an automatic timer, and set for about 10 – 12 hours per day of light. I suggest a substrate (material to cover bottom of the tank) such as Aspen shavings. I place no more than about an inch of substrate on the tank floor. In addition the snakes needs some hiding places called hide boxes. There should be at least two of these. They allow the snake to hide itself, which is usually for most of the day as snakes are pretty shy naturally. Inverted Terra Cotta flower pots at opposite ends of the enclosure are a good choice. You will need to make sure the hole in the bottom of the pot is chipped away enough to allow the snake to crawl into the pot. A hole in any hidebox should be just a bit wider than the biggest part of the snake’s girth. A water dish is also important. I recommend one that has a fairly wide base so it is difficult for the snake to inadvertently turn it over. The water dish should be large enough for the snake to completely coil up inside of it while it is still about half full of water. These snakes like to soak before shedding their skins (which is something they will do over and over again for the course of their entire lives). I do not regulate their humidity in any special way, they did well at whatever level of household humidity was present; but if your House Snakes ever have shedding problems you can always add a humidity box to the tank. This is a hide-box made from something like a Tupperware® food container. Cut a snake sized entry hole in the lid, place something like slightly moist long cut sphagnum moss into the container, and put on the lid. Place this box near the warm end but not right over or under the heat source. This way the snake will have a humid area as needed. Snakes are great escape artists, so remember, all snake tanks need to be escape proof. Make sure to have a tight fitting screen lid (if using an aquarium or other glass tank). The screen allows for ventilation which is also a requirement.
Once you have the whole above set up completed, it is time to get your snake. Read the previous sentence again, and again and again – until you know it by heart and have the order correct. Get and set up the tank and all accessories before you buy your snake(s)! When you decide to get the snake you have a number of choices as from where to buy one. There are Pet Shops, Herp (Reptile & Amphibian) Specialty Stores, Online Auctions, Online Classifieds (such as FaunaClassifieds.com), Online Dealers/Breeders, Local Herp Shows/Expos, Local Private Breeders, and Members of Local Herpetological Societies who keep, breed and sell these particular snakes. Can you guess which choice I prefer to buy from? I listed them in the order of my own personal preference going from what, in my opinion, I consider the worst choice to the best. You can get a good deal at some pet shops, but in my experience you should avoid pet shop herps. They often have imported animals for sale. Imported animals are often wild caught and thus may have diseases or parasites from the wild. While some pet shops also sell captive born and bred (CBB) herps, they sometimes mix wild caught and CBB species. This can transmit disease to otherwise healthy snakes. Pet shops sell large amounts of supplies and animals. They buy cheap and sell at competitive prices. Buying cheap gets cheaper stock, so why take a chance. They also hire help that does not always know all the animals they sell. Herp Shops are better but often have the same problems, but usually hire people who know herps and herp care. Online dealers, breeders, online auctions, and online classifieds are usually better choices, but beware because you need to check out who you are buying from first. The drawback is that you can not actually see and handle the snake before buying it. A solution to help find reputable online dealers is the use of inquiry forums offered by some herp web sites such as The Original Board of Inquiry ® at
http://www.FaunaClassifieds.com. While I have made some good online buys, I prefer buying in person. I like to go to herp shows, or local breeders. Best of all I would join a local herp society, such as the Long Island Herpetological Society
http://www.lihs.org, and ask for local breeders or references to breeders at local shows or online. Don’t pay too much – more than about $40 or $45 per House Snake (at current prices) is probably way too much for a regular phase baby. I recommend buying a baby, or better yet a snake at least 4 months old. If the older snake has been eating well – it will be obvious as compared to a baby. If you buy in person, ask to see the snake eat before you buy it! Eating is usually a sign of good health. Remember they only eat about once per week to every ten days; but babies can eat every four days. Buy a snake that looks full bodied, and firm with no sagging skin. Don’t buy one with patches of dried unshed skin adhering to it (especially the old eye caps). Watch out for mites (tiny bug like pests that crawl all over the snake). If the dealer keeps a record of feedings ask to see it. Also ask if there is a health guarantee.
When you finally pick out your snake and bring it home, place it into the completely set up tank with a bowl of fresh water. Keep the set up away from windows and other places where heat or cold may be a problem. Sunlight through a window and onto the tank can turn the tank into a death trap. After putting the snake into the tank, leave it alone for at least a few days, a week is better. Then try to feed it the appropriate sized food – usually whatever size the dealer recommended. A good idea is a mouse just about the same width as the widest part of the snake. One a bit bigger is usually ok up to 1 ¼ times the width of the snake, but you are better off feeding something the same width as the snake to avoid problems that could result in a partially digested mouse being upchucked - phewwwww! Many snakes will eat pre-frozen mice that have been fully thawed (it is an absolute that they must be fully thawed). Frozen mice can be bought in bulk, from herp shows, and are usually much cheaper than buying mice at a pet shop. Of course, some snakes will only take live mice at first and must be switched over to frozen/thawed. If yours only takes live, it will kill the mouse by constriction - wrapping its body around the mouse with coils and then squeezing until the mouse suffocates. This is a natural thing for snakes and their prey, and the mouse is usually dead in a very short while. The snake usually eats it head first. After about a week or ten days of digesting (usually inside the hide boxes), the snake does what it must do, and you have to clean the tank. Any feces should be fairly solid, black or dark brown with an area of whitish chalky uric acid (since snakes do not pass liquid urine). Clean out the tank once the snake poops, clean all the hideboxes, change the substrate in the tank and in the humidity box (if you have one). Clean the water dish (sometimes snakes poop in the water, clean this out immediately when found and replace with clean fresh water). Feed yearling to adult snakes once per week to every ten days. Feed babies about once every four to five days. Always supply fresh drinking water. Read that previous sentence again – it said ALWAYS regarding the supply of drinking water.
Someday you will see your snake has become sort of cloudy in appearance. Its eyes may look sort of bluish and cloudy. You may get worried, but don’t be scared. The snake has become opaque or is in the pre-shed blue phase. After a week or two of looking like this, during which time you should not feed the snake, the skin will clear up again. A few days to a week or so later the snake will shed its old skin. It breaks the skin along the lips, and then literally crawls out of the old skin sort of like you pulling off a sock inside out. Don’t help it out, let it get the job done by itself. It should be done in no more than a few hours if all is well. A skin in one or a couple of pieces is good. A skin in tattered little bits and pieces usually means the humidity was too low, or the snake has other health problems. Chances are if this happens you need a humidity box. Snakes shed about four to six times per year. Babies shed more often, sometimes once per month. If the old eye caps get stuck, they need to be removed (snakes do not have eyelids but have eye caps or a clear scale over each eye). If you are inexperienced with this, call someone with experience for help.
These snakes are usually pretty easy to tame or to acclimate to handling. They never respond like a dog or cat so don’t get me wrong; when I say tame I mean they become used to being handled. They usually are docile and usually don’t bite in defense.
Note the repeated use of the word usually in the previous sentence. (Babies sometimes bite in defense and usually grow out of the habit if handled on a regular basis.) Older house snakes may bite if startled, and may bite as part of a feeding response especially if you usually offer food to them by hand, or may bite if you get an unusually nasty one. Use of feeding tongs (any tong to grab the food item and then present it to the snake)helps keep your scent from being associated with food. Although they usually do not bite, they can bite. The result is usually a number of pin pricks that break the skin and bleed – if you don’t pull away. If you pull away the result is usually a number of scratches that bleed. You decide which is worse. If one does bite and not let go – place it under a faucet of gently running cold water. After a few seconds they usually let go. (Wow that word usually sure get used a lot, doesn’t it!) If bitten use good first aid measures to cleanse the wound. Always clean your hands before and after handling your snakes. This helps reduce possibility of any illness being passed from you to the snake or from the snake to you. Snakes can carry salmonella and not actually show any signs of it. Salmonella can get you very ill; so wash well. Salmonella can be found in other reptiles, birds, and mammals. My guess is that, you could probably get it from an improperly cooked chicken or egg product more easily than you could from a pet snake, but it pays to be careful.
As far as handling goes, you can handle an African House Snake for about 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Hold it firmly but don’t crush or squeeze it too tightly. Allow it to crawl from hand to hand, continually moving one hand in front of it while supporting it with the other. Hold it a little behind about mid body and near its fore end. Take it out like this once or twice per day – but do not handle a snake for at least two days after it has eaten. Babies can usually be handled a day after eating a small meal. Too much handling or commotion right after a snake eats may cause it to regurgitate, and that is a mess that stinks. Never move quickly near the snake’s head. Don’t ever swing it around. Never scare anyone else with it. Treat it with respect. Care for it well, and it may live to be 12 to 15 years old. Unless I forgot something, that is about it for the basic care. These snakes do not require brumation (hibernation) but can be brumated especially if you want to breed them – though this is for a more advanced keeper. If your snake stops eating in the winter it may need to be brumated. This will require an email to me or another experienced keeper. Contact me through my homepage at:
http://www.hometown.aol.com/gbarthgwt/herphelper.html
Enjoy your African House Snakes. They are, in my opinion, are fabulous snakes for the beginner.
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