Pet Snake Care 101: How to Care for Snakes as Pets in 2020
If you have decided that you are finally ready to bring a snake into your home, it is going to require some preparation on your part. On top of that, you are going to have to be sure that everyone else in your family is going to be comfortable with your new pet. You have to ask everyone in your house if they are comfortable being around snakes, and if you are renting your home, make sure that it is ok with your landlord that you can even have a snake in the first place.
Now keep in mind that snakes are complete carnivores that eat all of their prey whole. Is it going to be a problem storing their food items? These are some of the things that you are going to have to think about prior to going out and getting a pet snake. With that being said, here is everything that you could ever want to know about having your very own pet snake.
The Essential Equipment for Pet Snakes
If you get a pet snake, you will need to keep them in some type of enclosure that has a place to hide inside of it. Unlike the enclosures that you can get for hermit crabs, horses, fish, and birds, having a bigger enclosure is not going to be better for a snake enclosure. When they have a home that is too big, smaller sized snakes will become very anxious. Typically, if you have an arboreal snake, they are going to need a taller enclosure, while a ground-dwelling snake will require a much wider one. It is best practice to select a variety of different snakes before you start shopping for you terrarium, but you are going to want to purchase and setup your snake’s home prior to actually buying the snake. If this doesn’t make sense to you right now, it will soon.
Most local pet stores that sell any amphibian and reptile supplies will also sell a wide variety of different terrariums that include covers (also known as canopies) that are designed for these animals specifically. So you are going to want to select the best one for your snake, as well as choose a substrate material. And if you didn’t know, substrate is the stuff that goes on the bottom of your tank. These can include substances such as gravel, sands, and even mulch, as these are going to replicate your snake’s natural environment the best.
If for whatever reason you are unable to find any types of this substrate, you can also use newspaper as well. Just be sure that you are keeping it dry and clean and you will have no problems at all. However, the closer you get to replicating your snake’s natural habitat, the healthier and happier your snake is going to be down the stretch. This means that you are going to want to select the climbing branches, rocks, vines, and everything else in relation to the particular breed of snake that you have selected. This can mean that you will need to get climbing branches and rocks if you are getting a small ground-dwelling python, or maybe tons of branches and vines for your snake to climb on or hide in if that is what they do in their natural habitat. It all just depends upon the breed of snake you have chosen.
When you are creating your snake’s home, remember that they are all going to need a ‘hidey-home’. This can be a cave that is made out of rocks, a piece of cardboard that they are able to fit under, or anything in between. They are going to require a place that they can go to relax, feel safe and hide.
Depending upon the type of snake that you choose, they may require a UVB (ultraviolet-B) light. Other snakes will not require this. And other snakes will be just fine with 30 minutes of sunlight every day. Because each breed of snakes have different lighting requirements, it is best if you investigate what your particular breed’s needs are going to be. This will make it much easier to keep them happy and healthy.
No matter what breed of snake you decide to get, however, they are going to require some type of basking light. For this, you are going to place it over a branch or basking rock, as those are the ideal locations to have them.
On top of a basking light, you are going to require several different hygrometers (which measure the amount of humidity) and thermometers. These are going to be placed on both the floor, as well as the walls of your terrarium. But no matter what, you never want to believe what a thermostat is going to tell you about the temperature of your terrarium.
Another thing that your terrarium will require is some type of under tank heating system. With that being said, you are actually going to need to be very careful here at the same time. While you can’t simply put a heating pad underneath your tank, you are going to want to heat the area that is underneath your snake’s hidey-home, and nowhere else.
This is going to provide a ‘heat gradient’, meaning that one section of the tanks floor, under their hidey-home, will always be a certain temperature.
For example, let’s say that your snake’s ideal temperature is going to be 85 degrees. This means that you should have a different spot, in this case under their hidey-home, that is a little warmer at 88 degrees, and another spot on the floor should be 84 degrees or 82 degrees. But yet another spot that is outside their home should be a little cooler at 73 degrees and not heated. This will allow your snake to be able to regulate their body temperature and move around the tank to do so. However, their ideal temp should always be available when they are in their hidey-home.
Something else you are going to want to make sure you do is to not rely on your basking lamp for all of your snake’s heating needs. It simply will not work. On top of that, you never want to go by what the thermometer on the wall of the tank says either. That is because these thermometers will not tell you have warm or cold the floor actually is.
You are going to want to be sure and track what the air temperature, floor temperature, and humidity levels of your terrarium are however. This should be done multiple times per day, and even a few times each night as well. However, this is during the setup phase of your terrarium and should be done for about a week or so prior to adding your new pet. If you don’t do this and the temperatures are wrong, it will cause your snake to suffer.
Exercising Your Snake
When it comes to exercise, your snake is not going to require a whole lot. What you do want to do is to make sure that you simply let them do their thing. They will slither around their tank climbing on things and will be absolutely fine. And if you have a larger snake, they often enjoy going for a swim in a safe wading pool if you are able to make that happen.
Feeding Your Pet Snake
As mentioned earlier, all snakes are going to be carnivorous. This means that they only eat meat. In fact, they actually eat all of their food whole, including all of the innards and bones as well. As for your pet snake, they will more than likely enjoy eating rats and mice. Some other breeds will enjoy eating other reptiles and amphibians. And if you have a smaller sized snake, they are more than likely going to be happy eating larger insects.
Now you may think that snakes only eat other live animals, many snakes actually eat dead ones as well. If your snake does, you may want to keep their food in a different small freezer for only those food items. How weird would it be to make a sandwich only to discover that the lettuce is next to the dead rats that you are keeping for your snake in the refrigerator?
Anyways, this is the exactly why pet stores will sell dead rats and mice that are already frozen and packaged. Again, you are going to want to keep your snake’s frozen food away from your food, as it is not only gross, but also very unhygienic.
Depending on the type of snake that you have, they may be able to handle up to four different frozen mice in one sitting. Other breeds may only be able to eat one. Because of this, it is wise to keep a minimum of at least a half dozen of these ‘frozen meals’ on hand at any given time. As for what you are feeding them, you are going to want to start with prey that is about the size of the middle of your snake’s body.
If you notice that your snake is not eating their already dead prey, you may try wiggling it a little to make it look as though it is moving. Another trick is to cover the tank with some fabric to create a ‘privacy curtain’. Many times doing one or even both of those will help them to eat their food.
If that doesn’t work, however, you may need to start giving them live food. While it sounds easy, it is actually much more complicated. This means that you will have to watch your pet hung and then kill and eat the prey, which should be larger than they are. Unfortunately, you cannot just drop in an adult rodent and walk away, as it can be dangerous to your snake. The food can potentially injure your snake with their teeth or claws.
As for drinking, it is very important that they always have access to a clean water supply, just like any other animal. You are going to want to clean and refill her water supply a minimum of two times per week.
Grooming Your Snakes as Pets
Grooming your snake is going to be very important when they are shedding their skin. If you are able to maintain the perfect humidity levels and temperature within their tank, your snake will be able to handle everything on their own. Just know that your snake should shed about one time per month. The entire shedding process can take up to about one week, so be patient with them when they start to do so. If you run across any problems or you notice that they have not shed in a longer amount of time, it is an indication that something is wrong and you should take them to your veterinarian as soon as you can.
One of the most common causes of shedding problems comes in the form of dry air. If this happens, try raising the amount of humidity within the tank by adding a box that is filled with damp paper towels, moss, or some type of other soft substrates. This will hopefully solve the problem. If not, you can try to rub your snake under their chin. There may not be enough objects inside the tank for them to rub up against. To get the shedding started, your snake if going to require some rocks and branches. Keep in mind that your snake doesn’t have hands to get the process started on their own.
Keeping a pet snake can be a very rewarding and fulfilling experience. Just remember that before you go out and buy a pet snake, you spend some time to research the breed of snake that you are going to get and exactly what they are going to require in order to be happy and healthy. If you do this, you will be able to enjoy your pet snake who will be happy, healthy and love you at the same time.