COLUBRID CARE SHEET

COLUBRID CARE SHEET

By David Wheeler
dwheeler@cox-internet.com

ENCLOSURE

The enclosure used for housing your snake must be escape proof. They can squeeze through surprisingly small cracks or holes. As hatchlings, most snakes that I raise can be housed in plastic shoe boxes with very small holes drilled in the sides for circulation. Once the snake reaches about fourteen inches, they should be switched to a larger container such as: ten gallon aquariums, sweater boxes, or other appropriately sized enclosure. Ventilation holes are important to keep moisture from building up which may cause respiratory infections or bacterial diseases. Never keep the cage in direct sunlight as heat quickly accumulates inside. The temperature should range between 78 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and can drop a little cooler at night. A heating pad can be placed under 1/3 of the cage giving the snake a range of temperature . Never use heat rocks as a heat source. Most snakes need a dark hiding place to feel secure. Hiding places can be made by cutting a hole in the side of a butter dish, box, or use the tube from paper towels. A water dish large enough for the snake to soak is best. I use a thick plastic pot plant saucer glued upside-down on second one for the hiding box and water dish that will not tip over. Snakes often defecate in their water. Cleaning the enclosure, hide box, and water dish will help keep the snake healthy and almost odor free. Pine shavings are used for substrate (floor covering in the cage) for all my snakes. Never use cedar or other oily wood. Astroturf, newsprint, paper towels, or butcher paper are also often used as substrate materials.

FEEDING

All snakes are eating mice before they are sold. Hatchlings can be fed every 3-4 days to 10 days. Snakes tend to grow faster if fed more often. Prey should stay the size of the snake's girth which will help prevent regurgitation. Once the snake begins eating larger mice, it is best to begin feeding freshly killed or thawed mice to prevent injury from a mouse biting your pet. Let your snake digest its meal twenty-four hours before handling. It is best to feed snakes separately. When two snakes start eating at opposite ends of the same mouse you may end up with only one very satisfied snake. Occasionally a hatching snake will be reluctant to begin eating. The most common cause seems to be attributed to low temperature. Keeping a snake in the house with the thermostat set on 74 degrees Fahrenheit without a heat source will usually slow down its metabolism too slow to eat. Eating may cease due to trauma from shipping, capture; different environment or type of food. Here are some tricks that might jump start your reluctant eater:

increase the temperature
offer a smaller pinky mouse
wash the pinky removing the adult mouse smell
offer a live pinky
offer thawed pinky
rub a pinky on lizard skin for king and corn snakes or on toad or frog skin for hognose
wrap the pinky inside a shed lizard or toad skin
feed at night
offer a lizard for corn and king snakes or a small toad or frog for a hognose snake
put the snake in a small container with food (paper sack--deli cup--etc.)
provide a dark secluded hiding place for shy eaters
rub lizard feces on the pinky
rub corn snake musk on the pinky for hatchling kingsnake and milksnakes
freeze a pinky and cut it half to force feed for small hatchlings
force feed mouse tails
expose the brain of the pinky by slicing or puncturing (this really works)
Some snakes, especially hognose, periodically self-impose a period of fasting--seemingly not related to any outside factors. Snakes frequently stop eating when wanting to slough their skin, brumate (hibernate), breed, become sick, or gravid. Eating usually will pick up after these cycles have passed.
SHEDDING

Snakes that are eating a large amount may shed once each month. Sloughing their skin 4 to 8 times a year is normal. Shedding is preceded with a refusal to eat, dusky appearance; followed with milky colored eyes. The snake will change back to nearly its normal color for a few days before beginning to shed. Your snake will rub its mouth to loosen the old skin--then crawl out from the old skin; similar to your taking a sock off your foot. Many snakes love to soak in their water dish at this time. Be sure to have water available to assist in shedding. It is best not to handle your snake until shedding is complete. Snakes that eat just prior to shedding often regurgitate.

HANDLING

Hatchlings will need to be handled daily to become at ease with their new owner. Until trust is gained, some snakes will try to flee, hiss, nip, or emit musk from their vent. These defensive behaviors typically cease once confidence is established. Let a newly acquired snake get used to its environment before feeding or handling.

BRUMATION(hibernation)

Many snakes brumate through the winter when temperatures start to cool down. Although your snake can be kept perfectly healthy without "sleeping through the winter." Brumating your snake is required if you plan on breeding the snake. It also gives you a break from the time and expense required to keep your snake healthy and fed. Find a dark secluded place to keep the enclosure. Snakes brumating should not be feed during two week prior to cooling down. It is important that your snake not have food in its intestine which will putrefy during the two to four months of slow body metabolism. Gradually lower the temperature over a two week period. Temperature fluctuation is not critical, but a temperature range of 40 to 60 degrees is recommended. Keep water available in a spill proof container at all times. About two months is required for adult snakes to become fertile. Snakes often burmated four months without problems. Reverse the process when bringing your snake out of brumation. Only brumate healthy snakes.

MITES

These little parasites can cause your snake to loose weight and feel really irritable. Always quarantine a new snake by placing it away from other reptiles. Put white butcher's paper, paper towels, or other light colored paper in the bottom of your enclosure. If you have an infestation, you might see tiny black bugs on the light colored paper. They will also show up around the water dish and your snake's head. Snakes that have mites often soak in their water dish more than usual. There is a good bit of controversy over techniques for getting rid of mites without sacrificing your snake's health. Here are two of the most commonly used methods.

1) Remove the water dish and infested substrate. Let your snake crawl on a thin layer of substrate or paper towels sprinkled with five percent Seven Dust for three or four days. Remove the snake to feed and offer water for a day. Put the snake back into the enclosure with new five percent Seven Dust for three or four more days. Repeat the process in ten days. This will kill the mites and eggs that hatch. Be sure to clean the enclosure well before returning the snake.
2) Remove the water and infested substrate. Put part of a pest strip inside a container with holes poked into the lid (small jelly or baby food jars work well.) Place the jar inside the enclosure for a day or two. Clean the enclosure before returning the snake. Repeat the process in ten days.