Desert King care

[Chris Steele]

The humidity in my basement stays 75% to 85%. This is where I keep my snakes. how much humidity is too much for a desert king and what is a good average temp for them...what about hotspot.

I assume that since they are desert kings, they come from the desert and require different care than easterns, californias, and floridas, which I have dealt with.

[jwsporty]

Hey Chris,

I keep all my kings including the deserts at 88 degrees on the hot spot and 72 degrees ambient. 75-85% humidity though is pretty high, all my babies live in 50-55%. You might consider getting a room dehumifier..there's my .02

[Chris Steele]

Is that too humid for black rats and corns also?

[jwsporty]

Think of it this way, where do your snakes come from. Is their natural environment encompassing a high humidity. Your humidity levels would be more appropriate for rain forest species. You may be leaving yourself open to respiratory problems and bacterial growth problems. Hope that helps

Jim

[Vanan]

Instead of doing a drastic lowering of humidity, my suggestion is to watch your king if he exhibits problems related to high humidity such as an RI, blister disease etc. Kings, if kept on a dry substrate (wood shavings, newspaper etc), regardless of ambient humidity, fair well. Never had humidity problems with my kings. Kings are pretty hardy. Key factor is to ensure that your king is not sitting in water or on wet newspaper.

Kings (getula ssp) in the wild do not restrict themselves to the desert and are more opportunistic in their choice of habitat. Do a lil bit more research. You'll find that desert kings (even thought named "desert" kings) are not always found only in deserts.

[Desert Ambush]

hey chriss, I for myself have a desert king and she lives in a 20 gallons tank with humidity levels varying between 55% and 60% wich is probably the best humidity level for a splendida. Remember that this type of getula will take refuge in dens or underground when temperatures will stay over 90 to 95 degrees, so humidity levels should'nt be more than 70% but preferably around 58%. As for ambiant temperatures, it should be around 78 degrees. On the cool side a good 7 to 10 degrees less than on the the hot one. So let's say that 85 degrees for the hot side is recommended and that 78 to 75 degrees is fair for the cooler side. For good air circulation try to get yourself a c.p.u. fan and install it on the lid of your tank and then secure the lid either with tape or a heavy object. Give me some news on how well she is doing. By the way, how old is the snake ? and how big is the snake ?

[Invictus]

85% might be pushing it a bit, but you'll find that most Colubrids are VERY forgiving with respect to their environments. Because they are found from coasts to inland deserts, they are very adaptable, especially corns.