Desert King Snake Care Sheet
Desert Kingsnake Care Sheet
New!! Scroll down for a video of a Desert Kingsnake in Arizona
Photo by Haplochromis
(Care sheets are a basic guide to looking after snakes, for a more complete guide consult the relevant book in our book store)
General Information: Desert king snakes are found throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of Mexico. Desert kings come from a semi arid environment and their cage should be set up similar to their natural habitat. These king snakes reach adulthood within 3 years and grow to 3-5 feet. Adult female desert kings will lay 1-2 clutches each year with 5-10 eggs per clutch. The eggs are incubated at 82-84 degrees and will hatch in 50-90 days. Desert king snakes are secretive snakes and will do best if provided with some type of hiding place. With proper care you can expect your king snake to live 10-20 years or more.
Temperature: Desert king snakes need to be maintained between 84-90 degrees during the day. Nighttime temperatures should range between 68-75 degrees. If you keep your snake too cool it can regurgitate, so make sure the temperatures are maintained.
Housing: King snakes can be housed comfortably in a 29-40 gallon terrarium as adults. Ideally, the larger the snake, the more room you want to provide. Never place a cage near a window where sunlight can directly shine on your cage. Cages placed in direct sunlight can easily overheat and ultimately lead to the death of your snake. Never house your king snake with other snakes, it may eat them.
Substrate: Almost any type of bedding can be used for king snakes. We recommend using carpet, bark, pine shavings, or aspen shavings NO Cedar. A deep layer is recommended to allow your snake to hide if it chooses to do so.
Feeding: King snakes feed on pinky and fuzzy mice as babies and juveniles. As your snake grows it will soon move up to adult mice. We recommend that you feed baby and juvenile king snakes one time per week. Adult king snakes can be fed once every 7-10 days to maintain proper body weight. Like most snakes, king snakes typically will not eat when they are preparing to shed. After your snake has shed you can return to your normal feeding regiment. Do Not leave live prey in the cage alone with your snake.
Breeding: A three month cooling off period where the temperature remains between 55 – 65 degrees F is required to get the best results from your breeding kingsnakes
