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cali king, 2 months old

P

ptillett

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I just purchased a California king, 2 months old. She ate a frozen pinkie last evening (just got her Friday). Care sheet says feed her every 5-7 days. Do you guys agree?

I just want to do right by this beautiful baby.

I have her in critter cage, 30 gal size. UV light, basking area on one end, her hide on the other. The room I have the facility in is a south facing room. Very warm. I am trying to keep the humidy up (40-60) within the cage.

Any suggestions, please feel free. This is my first and I want to treat her right.

Thx in advance!
 
Whoa! Don't keep that little thing in a 30 gallon size! That's gonna cause a lot stress. For a king that size, keep it in something in the equivalent of a 6qt tub. All my baby snakes and smaller subadults are kept in those. Just make sure the temps are between 80 and 90. I keep all my snakes in my garage and they do fine. You don't need UV Lights, just warmth. Kingsnakes spend a lot of their day hidden.
Hope I help a little and good luck
-Jordan
 
Care sheet says feed her every 5-7 days. Do you guys agree? Yes

I have her in critter cage, 30 gal size. UV light, basking area on one end, her hide on the other. The room I have the facility in is a south facing room. Very warm. I am trying to keep the humidy up (40-60) within the cage. You do not need the UV light. You do need a UTH(Under the Tank Heater) with some type of temp control. The 30 gal cage is a little large but just put in 4 or 5 hides in the cage. They do not have to be expensive just old butter tubs will work and he will be fine.
 
Fatman608 said:
Care sheet says feed her every 5-7 days. Do you guys agree? Yes

I have her in critter cage, 30 gal size. UV light, basking area on one end, her hide on the other. The room I have the facility in is a south facing room. Very warm. I am trying to keep the humidy up (40-60) within the cage. You do not need the UV light. You do need a UTH(Under the Tank Heater) with some type of temp control. The 30 gal cage is a little large but just put in 4 or 5 hides in the cage. They do not have to be expensive just old butter tubs will work and he will be fine.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I was wondering if I gave her lots of cover, if that would be good considering the size of the tank. Right now, she just has her 'cave' that she spends most her time in and one log hide. I can do more, no problem.

This tank does have an under tank heater. I purchased a thermostat for that heater (reptitemp 500r). My issue with that is this tank has a latching screen lid. No way to get the probe inside without cutting a hole in the screen.

Do I need that screen right now. I have heard that these snakes are escape artist, so I was scared to leave the screen off. I didn't want her to get out and dry up somewhere.

Big question. Do I need that screen right now and how long before I need to be concerned about her escaping. I guess when she is big enough to reach the top?

Thanks for all good advice!
 
You can put the probe in between the UTH and bottom of the tank on the outside of the tank. You may have to raise the temp up a little like 5 degrees. Check the temp with a thermometer to make sure it is good.

Always have the lid on, snakes are escape artist or she will fine away out.

Feed every 5 to 7 days is correct. As for the number of pinks that depends on the size of the snake. You will not go wrong with feeding her a food item 1 to 1 1/2 times the width of the snake. If I remember right I did not feed 2 pinks until about 8 months old.

Fatman
 
Fatman608 said:
You can put the probe in between the UTH and bottom of the tank on the outside of the tank. You may have to raise the temp up a little like 5 degrees. Check the temp with a thermometer to make sure it is good.

Always have the lid on, snakes are escape artist or she will fine away out.

Feed every 5 to 7 days is correct. As for the number of pinks that depends on the size of the snake. You will not go wrong with feeding her a food item 1 to 1 1/2 times the width of the snake. If I remember right I did not feed 2 pinks until about 8 months old.

Fatman
Click to expand...

Sounds good. Thank you!
 
I worked on the snake facility yesterday. Last evening, I regulated the temps. 80+/- on the cool end, 90-95 on the warm end. She actually spent the night outside a hide in the cooler corner. When the lights came on (timer), she was gone into a hide little bit later.

I checked on her many times during the night. I must be a nut.

lots of hides. I have four in there.

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully, all will go well from here on out.
 
The temp on the warm side should be around 85 and the cool side should be room temp 70 to 80. You have got the warm side to warm.
 
Fatman608 said:
The temp on the warm side should be around 85 and the cool side should be room temp 70 to 80. You have got the warm side to warm.
Click to expand...

Hey fatman608, I wanted to defend myself a bit. I found the temps at this caresheet.


http://www.vmsherp.com/CarePages/CareCalKing.htm


She has been very active since I got the temps up. I don't want to cause harm though! She seems to be adjusting to her suroundings, also.
 
ptillett - Sorry if I sounded harsh. I just keep the number 85 for the high in my head because I keep my corns and cal. kings in the same rack. I guess next time I need to look things up before I type.
 
Fatman608 said:
ptillett - Sorry if I sounded harsh. I just keep the number 85 for the high in my head because I keep my corns and cal. kings in the same rack. I guess next time I need to look things up before I type.
Click to expand...

That was the first care sheet I found. If you look all around, there are different numbers out there on different care sheets. I did adjust it down last evening. I don't want to fry her. :) She had crawled up and was hanging from the wire that is the temp probe. I was wondering if it was too freaking hot in there and she was trying to find a cooler spot. But, that was on the warm end, not the cool end.

I will see how she reacts to the temps. I know she was very active in the warmer temps. Good thing? I don't know, but I would assume so.

Thanks a lot!
 
No, actually increased activity just means she's trying to find conditions more suitable for her. In the wild, kingsnakes don't crawl around for the fun of it, only to find better conditions like thermoregulating or looking for food. IMO, you can keep juveniles in a large cage if you provide good hide places for them. The best hide places for a baby snake is not a hallow log but something flat they could crawl under and feel secure like a plastic plate or something similar. 85-90 is fine for the hot side but I prefer 85. Only heat from underneath or the sides. Lights should be avoided. I've used them in the past but I learned better. They dry the tank out and kingsnakes don't bask in the sun anyway. You need hide places on the cool and warm side of the cage. Its also good to have a container, with a hole to crawl in, filled with moist sphagnum moss. This helps with the humidity and gives the snake the option go in there during sheds or whatever. If your snake sheds in different pieces, its most likely too dry in the tank. Yeah, always have a lid on good with no gaps for baby snakes. If you put a wire down into the cage, the snake can still wrap around that wire and slowly move its way up to the top of the cage. They can get out of a lot of cages that are not properly secured. You can feed her two pinkies every 5-7 days right now. If she poops before then and becomes active, you can feed her then and there. You will get to know your snake and what she can handle.
 
Well, evidently it was too warm. She was very active. I reduced the temps down 5 deg on each end and she pretty much stays in a hide now. :) not as much fun for me, but hopefully she is comfy.

I have three enclosed hides right now and a log. Plus the water dish in the coolest corner.

I did look at multiple care sheets, looking for an average temp. 85-90 on the high end seemed to be the average. Of course, the one I went w/ first was high. Way to go. :)

Thank!
 
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