Cloudberry
02-13-13, 05:37 PM
Hello! I'm pretty new to the herp scene, about 6 months ago I got my first gal.
She's a BEAUTIFUL california king, I believe she's a mosaic?
Aside from not finding a name that felt appropriate for her, we've had a great start. Unfortunately, in the last couple months I've found myself losing my confidence.
I read around the forums quite a bit, and seeing other kingsnakes behavior definitely aleviated my fears, I understand that she could use a larger cage and that I shouldn't be concerned by her being bitey.
Either way, I ended up finding a lot of information that just gave me more questions!
If anyone would be willing to take the time to answer any of them I'd really appreciate it!
1. What temperature should their water be at? Is one large water container alright or do I need to have another one in the hotter part of the cage?
2. Do I only put moss in for added humidity when she looks like she's about to shed? Or have it there as a humidity option? If so how long can I leave it before I need to change it out?
3. Speaking of humidity, is there a maximum healthy % for kingsnakes? I've heard respiratory infections aren't uncommon for them.
4. I've read that if your snake has behavioral problems, the best method for socializing is handling it frequently for short periods of time instead of infrequently for long periods. By short do they mean 10 minutes? 5 minutes? 30 minutes? And what do they mean by frequently? Every day? 5 times a day?
6. My snake will randomly bite, usually not out of alarm or aggression just a sort of exploratory prod and then she goes for it. In light of that should I be letting her burrow around in my clothes? I'm worried that if she latches onto my stomach or something that I won't be able to get her off without help.
There's more but I'm gonna leave it at that for now, the list is getting a bit daunting :P
Thanks for your time!
She's a BEAUTIFUL california king, I believe she's a mosaic?
Aside from not finding a name that felt appropriate for her, we've had a great start. Unfortunately, in the last couple months I've found myself losing my confidence.
I read around the forums quite a bit, and seeing other kingsnakes behavior definitely aleviated my fears, I understand that she could use a larger cage and that I shouldn't be concerned by her being bitey.
Either way, I ended up finding a lot of information that just gave me more questions!
If anyone would be willing to take the time to answer any of them I'd really appreciate it!
1. What temperature should their water be at? Is one large water container alright or do I need to have another one in the hotter part of the cage?
2. Do I only put moss in for added humidity when she looks like she's about to shed? Or have it there as a humidity option? If so how long can I leave it before I need to change it out?
3. Speaking of humidity, is there a maximum healthy % for kingsnakes? I've heard respiratory infections aren't uncommon for them.
4. I've read that if your snake has behavioral problems, the best method for socializing is handling it frequently for short periods of time instead of infrequently for long periods. By short do they mean 10 minutes? 5 minutes? 30 minutes? And what do they mean by frequently? Every day? 5 times a day?
6. My snake will randomly bite, usually not out of alarm or aggression just a sort of exploratory prod and then she goes for it. In light of that should I be letting her burrow around in my clothes? I'm worried that if she latches onto my stomach or something that I won't be able to get her off without help.
There's more but I'm gonna leave it at that for now, the list is getting a bit daunting :P
Thanks for your time!