What size tank?

[EL Ziggy]

Hey guys, I hope you are all well. I'm making preparations to get my next snake in the next month or so. I've narrowed my choices down to either a female MBK or Bull snake. I've got my male Cal King Caesar in a 40gal tank now. He's young but I know it will be good for him as he grows. Do I need another 40gal tank for the new snake or will a 20gal long tank suffice? I prefer to buy one tank for the life of the snake and not have to upgrade later. Also is there a way to remove the under tank heaters once they've been applied. That adhesive is pretty strong. Thanks for listening.

[RyanReptile]

I'd go with a 40 gallon or larger especially if you will be getting a bull snake they seem to grow a bit larger.

[Concept9]

The general rule of thumb is 2/3 the snakes length, 1/4 to 1/3 of it length wide and high. Anything close to this will be fine.

UTH are VERY hard to remove without damaging them. Personally for the cost of it I would just leave it, one day you may decide to get a new reptile and you will be that much farther ahead.

As for the MBK, well need I say more :)

I always by my last enclosure a little bigger then is needed. MBKs normally grow to about 3-4ft, mine s 4' 7" about 800 grams and still growing.

[EL Ziggy]

Wow, I thought the mbk's got a little bigger like 5-6 ft. I might have to go with the bull. Would a 40gal tank be big enough or do I need something bigger? I'm hoping to get my cal king to 5ft. Is that unreasonable?

[Starbuck]

i've seen larger overall end size on snakes that followed the low and slow/steady pace of feeding. My cal kings i am expecting to reach about 4.5 feet when they're all done. I do think most mbks stay a little on the smaller side (though even a 4 foot snake is impressive and can be a handful). i think you could put a bull snake in a 40 gallon, just make sure you are capitalizing on horizontal space rather than height. And from what i have read, they like to borrow, so consider an appropriate substrate for that...

[Mikoh4792]

Wow, I thought the mbk's got a little bigger like 5-6 ft. I might have to go with the bull. Would a 40gal tank be big enough or do I need something bigger? I'm hoping to get my cal king to 5ft. Is that unreasonable?

I think a 40 gallon may be a little too small for a bull. Even if you put in a enough substrate to burrow. A full grown bullsnake won't be able to stretch it's body out in a 40 gallon.

[EL Ziggy]

How much substrate should I be using for my Cal King? I guess it's about an 1 1/2 inch deep right now. Should I add more? I'm really torn between that mbk and bull snake. I love the look and mystique of the mbk but I like the size of the bull. Might get the mbk for now and add the bull a little later. My gf is gonna kill me : )

[Concept9]

How much substrate should I be using for my Cal King? I guess it's about an 1 1/2 inch deep right now. Should I add more? I'm really torn between that mbk and bull snake. I love the look and mystique of the mbk but I like the size of the bull. Might get the mbk for now and add the bull a little later. My gf is gonna kill me : )

It would depend on the size of the snake. My MBK loves to burrow. As rule, I use twice the thickness of my snake deep. I have 4" of aspen for him to burrow in.

[Mikoh4792]

It would depend on the size of the snake. My MBK loves to burrow. As rule, I use twice the thickness of my snake deep. I have 4" of aspen for him to burrow in.

Your snake must love you. Do you use an UTH? I've tried using a deep layer of substrate but in order to get the right temps the actual UTH gets way too hot. I give my kingsnakes 1 1/2 inch of substrate.

[Mikoh4792]

How much substrate should I be using for my Cal King? I guess it's about an 1 1/2 inch deep right now. Should I add more? I'm really torn between that mbk and bull snake. I love the look and mystique of the mbk but I like the size of the bull. Might get the mbk for now and add the bull a little later. My gf is gonna kill me : )

It depends on you and how you set up the enclosure. If you are going to use UTH's, you may want to go with a thinner layer so where the heat pad meets the glass doesn't get too hot in order to get desired temps above the substrate inside the warm hide. If you are using over head heating you can go as deep as you want to and give him extra burrowing space.