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California Kingsnake Care Sheet Archived Comments

I'm thinking of getting a CK snake and wanted to know what all I should get for it. It would be awesome you could help me. Thank you.Posted by Anonymo

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I’m thinking of getting a CK snake and wanted to know what all I should get for it. It would be awesome you could help me. Thank you.
Posted by Anonymous, Sep 22, 2019 06:49 PM

Hi need some advice please. My husbands CK snake was out the tank today for a feeding and in the feeding cage and put in the bathroom while he cleaned the cage only the snake opened the cage and got out and appears to have gone behind the bath panelling in the smallest gap every and now we can’t find it. He had eaten and gone off and we can’t find him anywhere and I’m terrified of snakes and we don’t know where he’s gone. My husband is really worried. Any ideas how long he will survive in the house alone? Pretty sure he’s in the brick work/ceiling no idea how to tempt him out of anything. Please help
Posted by Anonymous, Aug 20, 2019 02:39 PM

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Hi need some advice please. My husbands CK snake was out the tank today for a feeding and in the feeding cage and put in the bathroom while he cleaned the cage only the snake opened the cage and got out and appears to have gone behind the bath panelling in the smallest gap every and now we can’t find it. He had eaten and gone off and we can’t find him anywhere and I’m terrified of snakes and we don’t know where he’s gone. My husband is really worried. Any ideas how long he will survive in the house alone? Pretty sure he’s in the brick work/ceiling no idea how to tempt him out of anything. Please help
Posted by Anonymous, Aug 20, 2019 02:23 PM

Have a California kingsnake about 8 years old in 20 gallon tank. I feed him last week and a live mouse today, he usually stirs ariund cage when hungry, that’s when I know he hungry, he usually goes in his hiding bowl after that, he is still stirring ariund, like he wants to get out! I turned the overhead light off on cage top, is he too hot maybe?
Posted by Anonymous, Jul 11, 2019 03:04 PM

“hello,

I’ve had my Cal King for about 19 years… recently he has been biting himself behind the upper “”neck”” area to the point where it is raw and bleeding… How can I help him… He eats once a week… His enclosure is a 30 gal tank… He is in 75 degree ambient heat… Is he just getting old and confused?… I feel terrible… What can I put on him to help it heal too.
Posted by Anonymous, Jun 25, 2019 07:44 AM


“Why is my cornsnake constantly biteing herself tail and centre of her body, snapps when handled. 6 years old do not know what to do.please help
Roy Mulhall
Posted by Roy, May 2, 2019 03:25 PM

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it’s simply because you’re not a snake person..if you are, then you would understand that snakes too eat just like any other pet…and mice are one of their food.
Posted by Anonymous, Apr 9, 2019 12:44 AM

I am thinking about getting a Cali Kingsnake as a pet. Is there any other food to feed it than mice?
Posted by Anonymous, Apr 5, 2019 03:40 PM

For anyone feeling guilty for feeding mice to your snake or when bigger a small rat, have the supplier do a fresh kill and then you will not have to see the life being squeezed out of it. The person who has the one burrowing under the bedding and not coming out, it is because it is cold. Get a heat mat for the bottom of the cage and make sure it is warm on the bedding where it is when you lay your hand on it. The person who has a snake with an injured back, take it to the vet and they will give him antibiotic injections that will allow him/her to heal. The person that is having trouble getting their snake to eat. It is either not hungry or the temperature in the tank is too cold. Make sure you have a heat source on the bottom of your tank to warm it up. The person that found the kingsnake in the tree, let it go because it is against the law to catch them in the wild. If you want to ignore the warning then feed it pinkie mice one per week at first and then slowly increase to twice a week.
Posted by Anonymous, Mar 31, 2019 08:50 PM

We just found a hatchling king snake in a tree we were cutting down what do we feed it? It’s maybe 5 inches long and thinner than a pencil.
Posted by Anonymous, Jan 20, 2019 12:36 PM

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How long has your king not been eating? Try feeding a frozen thawed and see if he eats it.
Posted by John, Jan 7, 2019 10:40 PM

How long has your king not been eating? Try feeding a frozen thawed and see if he eats it.
Posted by John, Jan 7, 2019 10:38 PM

My call king refuses to eat his mice. This has been going on for awhile now. He goes up to it and looks at and crawls around like he’s on the hunt, but never gets it. The mause will actually run over him and still he doesn’t get it. I’m so worried. I’m afraid he’s going to starve to death. Can someone help me??
Posted by Anonymous, Jan 6, 2019 05:30 PM

Hi! My king was given to me 10 years ago and that now makes him almost 29 years old! I have never heard of one as old as he is. I’m the 2nd owner. His name is Brian and is a great pet! I hope he lives alot longer! Peace
Posted by Anonymous, Jan 3, 2019 07:51 PM

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Hi I just got my first king snake it is only 10 inches big or so I feed it on wensday and now it is saterday and it has burrow into its bedding and has not come out just want to know if this is normal. I have been looking every where to see if it normal but can find anything.
Posted by Devilsnight, Nov 24, 2018 08:18 AM

I have a Cali king snake it devolved an infection on its back . How do I treat?
Posted by Anonymous, Sep 28, 2018 07:42 PM

Recently got a cali snake, and he is gorgeous, but the only problem I have is finding the heart to feed it a mouse. Of course I am feeding him, but I get severe anxiety when I purchase the mouse. I always had pet mice growing up, and this snake is not actually mine, but I am taking care of it, because nobody else is unable to at the moment… Did anyone else feel the same way as me, or am I just crazy?
Posted by Anonymous, Sep 15, 2018 11:09 PM

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“My Cali King always seems to try and get out of his Viv and always makes a mess inside it by burying himself under the substrate. I’m worried he’s stressed bcos it’s either too hot or cold in there for him although I had an expert set the temperature.
What should the heatmat be set at?
My king is a 3yr old male.
Posted by Anonymous, Sep 6, 2018 08:21 AM


Our king is about 12yrs old and five feet long.He loves to burrow in his chips and I’ve never taken him out for feedings even though he does get chips in his mouth sometime. Once a week I defrost a frozen fuzzy and then put it in warm water before I wiggle it in front of him.I was told the warming gives the snake a more realistic feed. When my child left for college ,Poisy (snake) needed to get used to less activity in the room so I think he got bored . Since I was never the one picking him up alot ,he doesn’t like handling so much anymore. So I put a bright toy next to glass and change every few weeks .Also music on in room.I think it helped with the boredom..
Posted by Anonymous, Aug 16, 2018 10:22 PM

In response to getting bit, look into how to properly remove the snake from its enclosure. Move slow but firmly, preferably from behind. Grab the snake from below by getting your fingers underneath the bedding. If the snake is “locking on” to your hand (following the motion and ready to strike) you may need to employ a snake hook. There’s literally dozens of videos on Youtube outlining aggressive snake handling. Kingsnakes have a reputation of being biters for a reason, as they require a bit more experienced handling than other “beginner” snakes. If handled correctly you should rarely, if ever, get bit. Any time you do get tagged, it’s almost surely the handler’s mistake.
Posted by Anonymous, May 24, 2018 03:37 PM

Is a California king snake legal in the state of Pennsylvania?
Posted by Anonymous, May 19, 2018 03:47 PM

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“I have had my lavender albino California king snake for 2 years. I’ve always been able to pick him up and hold him. I always transfer him to his feeding tank before feeding him. He has never been aggressive or bit me before.
A couple weeks ago when I opened his tank like usual, to hold him for a little while before I fed him, he bit me.
Now I’m afraid of him. Any advice???
Posted by Anonymous, May 10, 2018 08:06 PM


“I have had my lavender albino California king snake for 2 years. I’ve always been able to pick him up and hold him. I always transfer him to his feeding tank before feeding him. He has never been aggressive or bit me before.
A couple weeks ago when I opened his tank like usual, to hold him for a little while before I fed him, he bit me.
Now I’m afraid of him. Any advice???
Posted by Anonymous, May 10, 2018 07:50 PM


My california king snake eats live adult mice because when my snake eats it gets agrecive but when I hold it it is tame .
Posted by Anonymous, Mar 6, 2018 11:08 PM

Hi need some help/ advice my California king stopped eating not long after i found out I was pregnant. He hasn’t eaten now for 5 months and tried everything to get him to eat. What should I do
Posted by Anonymous, Mar 6, 2018 02:57 PM

Hi, I just got a Cali king and its about a year in age I was told, I was just wondering how large of a mouse I should use to feed. She ate 2 pinkies no problem, I just don’t want to under or over feed her. Thank you.
Posted by Anonymous, Jan 24, 2018 05:29 PM

Hi, I just got a Cali king and its about a year in age I was told, I was just wondering how large of a mouse I should use to feed. She ate 2 pinkies no problem, I just don’t want to under or over feed her. Thank you.
Posted by Anonymous, Jan 24, 2018 05:21 PM

My king snake does not like mice and will only eat rats.. It seems every 6 months or so she stops eating for wks and wks at a time.. Is this normal?
Posted by Anonymous, Dec 13, 2017 11:01 PM

Advice needed please. Our 17 year old snake has been aggressive over the last month. Not able to handle him/ her. Still eating and sheding, but this is behaviour we have never seen before. Last year he stopped eating for several months but since then eating as normal. Stool normal, moving round tank, just aggressive. Help please
Posted by Anonymous, Nov 12, 2017 10:47 AM

I want to add live plants to my California King snake cage. I am getting different info. from websites as to which plants would be safe. Can anyone tell me which plants are safe to use?? Thank you in advance for any info. you can provide.
Posted by Trish, Oct 9, 2017 12:42 PM

“I want to add live plants to my California King Snake cage. I get different information from different websites about the same plants…..some saying it is ok to use a certain plant and another site says not to use it. Does anyone else use live plants? if so please let me know what kind you use, Thank you in advance for any information you may have.
Trish
Posted by Trish, Oct 9, 2017 12:39 PM


wait how many times a Californian king snake need to be fed a week?
Posted by Anonymous, Sep 5, 2017 03:52 AM

“I have a Cali King and it doesn’t seem like he’s drinking the water provided. Ive tried giving him pinkies that are still wet from thawing and he ate them but he prefers them dryer. I could be wrong and just don’t see him drink but it seems the water bowl goes dry from evaporating. I heard you can give snakes sugar water but I don’t know of you can give Cali’s that. If there is anything you can say to help please email me. synderellarose@gmail.com Thank you.

-Sydney Ellis
Posted by Anonymous, Aug 24, 2017 05:36 PM


I know the best thing for captive California King snakes are rodents. But I’m looking to introduce a variety to my snake’s diet once in a blue moon. I’ve been told quail eggs are a good treat. I’ve been told fish are ok too, but I’ve never heard of them eating fish. Does anyone know if it’s ok to feed fish to a California King snake? Again this would be a treat for once in a while, not a constant or even frequent diet.
Posted by Anonymous, Aug 3, 2017 06:23 PM

What would a good treat be for my 1 year old desert king
Posted by Anonymous, Jul 25, 2017 07:13 PM

Do you know how many eggs they can lay.P.s I’m going to get one soon.
Posted by Anonymous, Mar 13, 2017 11:02 AM

i don’t have a pet shop in my area where i can get mice to feed a king snake, where can i get mice?
Posted by Anonymous, Feb 12, 2017 06:18 PM

“It’s the same anonymous who posted about cricket method here:
Don’t forget to wiggle the dead (thawed) mouse around in the air (near the snake’s head). That makes it seem more “”alive””.
(we thawed the mouse by placing in warm water for 10 minutes, then dried it on a paper towel)
Posted by Anonymous, Jan 21, 2017 07:51 PM


“If anyone is having trouble with their (pet) Californian king snake not eating, hear’s a trick that got my little brother’s snake to eat:
Although the snake might not eat it put in a LIVE STORE BOUGHT cricket.
This got twilin’s (Our snake) attention and got him exited for food. He fallowed the cricket, hunting it.
Once we took the cricket out and put in a frozen mouse he was completely willing to eat the mouse we gave him.
This was after several months of him not eating. This method was immediately effective for us.
We think boredom might have been the case.
I cant promise this will work immediately or at all, but it’s worth a shot!
Posted by Anonymous, Jan 21, 2017 07:42 PM


“thank you for this man. This really helped me
-Tyler Somero
ps…send me man. tsomero@gvshawks.org
Posted by none, Jan 7, 2017 07:38 PM


I Found A Baby California Kingsnake and it appears to have broke its spine or back near its head about 1-2 inches away from its head (i’m not a snake expert) but the snake can move its body just before the break and after the break. But when it tries to move its lower half it seems to twist onto its back and struggle to move its entire body. it shows visible signs of break.( Lump and Scratches on scales ). I have tried to feed pinkies and the snake pulls what part of its body away from the pinkie. I found Tuesday around 9:50pm Pacific time zone. Im going to try to take it to my exotic animal vet tomorrow. If i cant can someone please help me. I understand this is a place to post information on california kingsnakes but im desperate.
Posted by Anonymous, Nov 9, 2016 10:41 PM

Newspaper is not great for any pet, it isn’t great for burrowers, such as monitors, skinks and other lizards, it isn’t good for geckos wither, it will become soggy quickly, king snakes will defiantly do better in aspen or forest floor by zoo-med. You should feed your king snake a mouse once a week, for a king snake the mouse should be no bigger than the girth of its body so a adult will eat adult mice or or at the largest a weened rat. a baby eats new born pinky mice/rats. A 3ft king should be eating small mice
Posted by Anonymous, Nov 5, 2016 09:15 AM

Yes, to those you you getting any snake DO NOT USE CEDAR OR PINE SUBSTRATE it can be fatal to the snake because it has chemicals/toxins in it
Posted by Anonymous, Oct 2, 2016 06:52 AM

black scorpion
Posted by Anonymous, Jul 29, 2016 08:38 PM

News paper is great for any snake. Easy to clean up and easy to get. King snakes are great pets and easy to care for
Posted by Anonymous, Jul 12, 2016 08:19 PM

lizárds
Posted by Anonymous, Jun 2, 2016 05:58 PM

My son got a king snake and we put him in a 10 gal. tank but did not know about the affects of cedar shavings until the snake started to act weird….we talked to the pet store and they said it was probably the bedding….and he needed to have aspen shavings…we have cleaned his cage and changed the bedding to aspen shavings. My question is….will he snap out of it or due to the cedar exposeure will he have permanent damage? 🙁
Posted by McWhirk509, May 13, 2016 10:13 AM

what about my el diablo Garter snake? How much should it be fed?
Posted by Anonymous, Apr 25, 2016 10:55 PM

i have a red racer, what about those?
Posted by Anonymous, Apr 24, 2016 03:37 PM

“I’ve heard that pine shavings are toxic to some snakes, and includes king snakes..
You don’t have problems with it?
Posted by Anonymous, Dec 24, 2015 11:41 PM


Just little question, how do I get my California King-snake to hibernate???, It’s a really healthy snake but I don’t know how to put it in “brumation”
Posted by Anonymous, Dec 10, 2015 11:52 PM

i OWN A CALIFORNIA KINGSNAKE ABOUT 1 YEAR OLD THAT WILL NOT EAT ON HIS OWN. I have tried live and frozen/thawed pinkies, raw fish, raw chicken, worms, and many other items. The only food he ate on his own was chopped up beef kidney. He is a captive bred animal from a known breeder. He has a large water bowl, is kept in a room about 79 degrees, in a container appropriate for his size. I have had to force fed him so far. What can I do to encourage his eating on his own? He only weighs 23 grams.
Posted by Anonymous, Oct 15, 2015 09:46 AM