Californian Kingsnakes range in colour morphs from black and white striped or bands to chocolate, lavander, albino and many more. They are one of the best first snake species to own as a beginner.
A Californian King Snakes adult size averages out at 1-1.2m (3-4ft) but can reach 1.5m (5ft) in length. There are many different morphs available as this is a popular species kept by many snake hobbyists. Just some of the morphs available are albino, black and white striped/banded, chocolate, lavender etc.
They are very similar to the common Corn Snake, but these shouldn’t be kept together as this species of snake is cannibalistic (eating their own kind). Some people say that keeping two snakes of the same size is OK, but personally we don’t take the risk. They only time two snakes are housed together are when they are breeding!
California King Snakes can be found from Baja California, Oregon, Arizona and Utah.
Californian King Snakes are one of the easiest and best-kept species of snake to own as a beginner or just to add to your collection.
Due to them not growing to large, adults can be kept in a 4ft long vivarium. You should provide a daytime temperature of 74-79F with a hotspot of 84-86F. This should be allowed to drop by an extra 5F during the night. You can maintain the temperature by using a heat mat under the warm side, an infrared bulb on a thermostat can also be used. Stay away from heat rocks, these have been said to burn snakes. Hides should b provided throughout the enclosure to allow your snake to hide during the day, we use cork bark. We always provide a large dogs water bowl for adults so they curl inside it without knocking this over.
Feeding Kingnakes is very easy, frozen mice and rats cab be purchased from Exotic Pets. The size of the food and amounts depend on the size of the snake. All hatchlings should be fed on pinkies (baby mice) every 3-5 days. As they grow, this can be increased to two pinkies every 10 days, then slowly increase the size of the food. It is best to make a log of when your snake eats and sheds its skin, as this will show good records if you ever decide to sell it on or if the snake becomes ill.
