Popular Pet Snakes

Available in South Africa

Timothy Zedi
The Author owns all the rights to this work. No one may resell this book for a profit. The book may not be modified or changed in any way. This book may be shared between peers who share an interest in the subject matter of this book. This book may be used and shared at educational institutions as long as a mention is made of the author. This book may be shared on non commercial websites on condition that the website provides a link to the authors website.

written by:

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Table of Contents
Corn Snakes
One for the beginner

Yellow Rat Snake

larger than corn snakes but just as easy to keep

Common King Snake

A beginners snake with attitude

Milk Snakes
Colourful Cannibals

American Garter Snake

Gotta feed them special cuisine

Ball Python
The perfect pet python

Burmese Python
The most popular giant snake

Hot Herps
Introduction to venomous snakes

Gaboon Vipers Arboreal Asian Pit Vipers

Mildly venomous but they still pack a punch Docile but deadly

Snake Products
Links to snake products that you can purchase online

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Chapter 1
Corn Snakes
Corn Snakes are without a doubt the most popular pet snake. Corn Snakes are the ideal first snake, they do not grow too big, they do not require large cages and their placid nature makes them easy to handle. Corn Snakes are related to Rat Snakes and are sometimes referred to as Red Rat Snakes. Corn Snakes are smaller than other American Rat Snakes erg Black Rat Snake, Yellow Rat Snake, Grey Rat Snake, Texas Rat Snake and the Everglades Rat Snake which can all grow to 2m, while Corn Snakes grown to 1.5m but are often slightly smaller. Corn Snakes can be kept the same way as the Rat Snakes mentioned above but due to their smaller size they can be kept in smaller cages. Cages should measure between 75cm to 90cm in length and between 30cm-45cm in width and 30cm-45cm in height. Provide a bedding of corn cob. Use a heat pad to maintain a temperature of between 25-30 degrees Celsius. I personally like custom snake tanks, which allow me to create display cages. Adult Corn Snakes are good feeders, however baby Corn Snakes can be problem feeders. Some Baby Corn Snakes are too small to eat whole pinkie mice and have to be fed pinkie heads ( this is done with pre-killed mice only). Once they have grown a bit you can move them onto whole pinkies. Feed babies a pinkie mouse once every four to five days. Increase the size of the food as the snake grows. Adults will eat large mice and rat pups. Breeders have produced many colours and patterns that do not occur in the wild. There are many Corn Snake morphs and new ones are being bred all the time, so you will have a huge selection of different Corn Snake varieties to choose from.

Picture of a normal coloured Corn Snake

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Yellow Rat Snake

The yellow rat snake originates from the US. This snake has been commonly available in the pet trade for decades . Yellow rat snakes breed readily in captivity, so finding a hatchling is not difficult. These snakes grow larger than corn snakes and king snakes. Reaching an average length of 1.5m to 1.8m my yellow rat snake is pushing two meters in length. Yellow rat snakes have a medium size girth. You should get a decent size cage of about 1.2m in length and 45cm in width and 45 cm in height. Note that yellow rat snakes like to climb so you could increase the height of the cage. keep hatchling in small plastic terrarium. These are sold by many reptile companies. Corn cob bedding makes a good substrate, I have settled on this after many years of experimentation with different substrates. Provide a hide box, a water bowl and branches for the snake to climb. Add drift wood, rocks and artificial plants to make the tank look good. Feed mice and rats your snakes its entire life. Hatchling will eat pinky mice increase the size of the food as the snake grows. Adult yellow rat snakes can eat four to six mice or a medium rat. Feed your snakes once a week. Heat the cage by placing a heat pad under half of the cage. The temperature should be kept at 25-30 degrees Celsius. As I am writing this article my yellow rat snake who I bought as a hatchling 12 years ago is watching me type, through the glass of his cage.

Chapter 2

Adult Yellow Rat Snake

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Common King Snake

King Snakes are a large group of American snakes. You can find King Snakes of one kind or another in the USA and in Mexico. I will be discussing the common King Snakes as their care is much more simple than the smaller King Snakes, such as the Grey Banded King snake and the Arizona Mountain King Snake. The Common King Snake complex has several subspecies : Californian King Snake, Mexican Black King Snake, Florida King Snake, Desert King Snake, Eastern Chain King Snake and the Blotched King Snake. These snakes vary in size with the Florida King Snake growing the longest, up to one point eight meters. The rest of these King Snakes have also been reported to grow to this length, however the Californian King Snakes I have kept have only grown to one point two meters and I have never seen a Mexican Black that is any way near that length. I think that a length of one point five meters is a realistic size for these snakes. The King Snakes mentioned above can be kept in the same way as Rat Snakes and Corn Snakes. Provide a cage of between 60-90cm long and between 30-45cm wide by 30-45cm high, obviously the bigger cages are for the bigger snakes. Use a bedding of corn cob. Supply a hide box and a small water bowl. You can decorate the cage with rocks, wood and artificial plants. Use a heating pad to maintain a temperature of between 25-30 Celsius, place the heat pad under one side of the cage. Keep King Snakes separately as they eat snakes in the wild ( my Californian King Snake nearly killed my Yellow Rat Snake which is more than twice his size). King Snakes are also cannibalistic and should only be put together when breeding, this should be supervised to make sure no one gets eaten. Feed your King Snake mice, rat pups and rat weaners. Feed the appropriate size food two times a week for a hatchling and one a week for adults.

Chapter 3

Californian King Snake. This snake is the most popular King Snake species

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Chapter 4
Milk Snakes
There are 25 different subspecies of Milk Snake. Milk Snakes can be found in the USA, Mexico and Central American Countries such as Honduras and Guatemala. All Milk Snakes have a colour pattern consisting of red, black, and white bands. The different spacing of these bands is used to identify different types of Milk Snake e.g Sinaloan Milk Snakes have a wide red area between the black and white bands, while Pueblan Milk Snakes have evenly spaced bands. Pueblan Milk Snakes, Sinaloan Milk Snakes and Honduran Milk Snakes are the most commonly available Milk Snakes. These are the Milk Snakes I will discuss in this article. Milk Snakes require a secure cage with a dry substrate such as corn cob. Provide a hiding box and use cage decorations such as logs, pieces of wood, rocks and artificial plants. Heat the cage to between 25-30 degrees Celsius by using a heat pad. Cage size can vary with the type of Milk Snake you are keeping ; smaller subspecies such as the Sinaloan Milk Snake and Pueblan Milk Snake can be kept in a cage measuring 60cm long by 30cm wide by 30cm high, larger subspecies such as Honduran Milk Snakes would require a cage measuring 90cm long by 45cm wide by 45 cm high. Hatchling Sinaloan Milk Snakes and Pueblan Milk Snakes will eat pinkie mice and adults would be able to eat small mice. Adult Honduran Milk Snakes would be able to eat large mice or rat weaners. Keep Milk Snakes separately because they will eat snakes of different species. Milk Snakes are also cannibalistic.

Pueblan Milk Snake on of the most widely available milk snakes

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American Garter Snake

There are several groups of snakes named Garter Snakes, including a group in Southern Africa. These snakes are related to cobras and are venomous. However, I will be discussing the Garter Snakes from North America, which are harmless. Garter Snakes are small snakes reaching 75cm in length, some of the larger species can reach a meter in length but are usually smaller. Garter snakes are diurnal and crawl actively around the cage in search of food. Because of this, Garter Snakes require larger cages than do King Snakes and Rat Snakes, who wait in their hide boxes for a mouse to be dangled in front of them with a feeding tong. Garter Snakes live near water and will eat earthworms, fish, frogs and tadpoles. Some of the larger species such as the Checkered Garter Snake will eat small mice. Feed your Garter Snake three times a week. Provide a daylight basking bulb to provide light and to heat the tank. Use a heat pad to heat the cage at night. Even though Garter Snakes live and hunt near water, their cages must be kept dry or they will develop scale rot and fungal infections. Use a bedding of corn cob. In closing if you want a small snake which you can watch during the day, and can create a naturalistic cage setup for. This is the snake for you.

Chapter 5

Picture of a group of Checkered Garter Snakes. The pale snake is an albino.

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Chapter 6
Ball Python
Ball pythons are a small African python species, which grows to 1.2 meters. They require a secure glass aquarium, with a screen top, or a wooden cage with sliding glass doors. The cage should measure 90cm in length and 45cm in width. Use corn cob as bedding. Provide a hide box and a water bowl. Feed mice and rats of the correct size. Babies will eat weaner mice or rat pups. Adults will eat larger mice and small rats. Feed babies and Adults once a week. Keep the temperature in the cage at between 25-30 degrees centigrade. Use a heat pad or infrared light bulb to heat the cage. Place the heat source on one side of the cage to provide a temperature gradient. Make sure you purchase captive bred pythons as wild caught pythons do not feed well. Many colour morphs are available, including: Pastel ball pythons, Spider Ball Pythons, Piebald Ball Pythons, Albino Ball Pythons and many more. Ball Pythons are a good first snake as long as they are captive bred.

Captive Bred Ball Pythons are affordable and easy to take care off

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Burmese Python
Burmese Pythons are the most popular of the large constrictors. Burmese Pythons adapt well to captivity when taken care of properly. The only problem is their size, an adult female Burmese Python can grow up to 6 meters in length, males are slightly smaller at around four to five meters in length. Irresponsible snake owners have now introduced Burmese Pythons into the Florida Everglades. That said, an experienced snake keeper with the time, money, space, knowledge and commitment will get a lot of pleasure from keeping a Burmese Python. Burmese Pythons are one of the best snakes I have ever dealt with. I still have fond memories of the three meter Burmese Python that I used to look after when I volunteered at the Transvaal Snake Park when I was a kid. Handling a full-grown Burmese Python cannot be done by one person, so make some friends who like snakes before you get your Burmese Python. Burmese Pythons can reach adulthood in four years. An adult Burmese Python will need a cage measuring four meters long by three meters wide by three meters tall. Provide heating using heat pads and over head spot lamps. Burmese Pythons require a temperature of between 30-35 degrees Celsius. Provide a log for your Python to climb on. Place a large water container in the cage. Pythons will eat large mice when they are hatch lings, provide larger food as the python grows. Adult Burmese Pythons will eat rabbits and chickens. All the food your python eats should be pre-killed. Albino Burmese Pythons are readily available.

Chapter 7

Picture of a Burmese Python after it has just eaten two chickens.

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Chapter 8
Hot Herps
The short answer I give to anyone who wants to keep a venomous snake is DO NOT KEEP ONE !!!. There are so many species of harmless snakes and a growing number of colour mutations on the market to choose from, why put yourself and others in danger?. There are some keepers who are experienced enough to deal with a venomous snake without getting bitten, but accidents do happen. Even mildly cytotoxic species can cause tissue, nerve damage and even the loss of a finger. Anti venom for exotic snakes is not available in your local hospital. Death can occur with bites from Rattlesnakes, some Pit Viper species, certain Adder Species and Cobras ( this covers most of the venomous snakes kept in captivity, but is not a comprehensive guide). If you want to keep a venomous snake that is your decision. Just remember that there are serious medical risks should you get bitten. Remember that only very experienced snake keepers should attempt to keep venomous snakes. Going on a handling course that only takes a few hours to complete does not qualify you to keep venomous snakes. It takes years of hands on experience with harmless snakes to gain sufficient knowledge about snake husbandry and behavior. You want to be able to predict if your rattlesnake is in the mood to be handled without having to open the cage and find out the hard way. It only takes one inexperienced idiot who gets bitten by the cobra he decided to free handle to bring the whole snake keeping fraternity into disrepute. So please be careful and make an informed decision should you decide to proceed with keeping venomous snakes. The last part of this book covers two popular species of venomous snakes.

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Gaboon Vipers
There are two subspecies of Gaboon vipers ; the East African Gaboon Viper and the West African Gaboon Viper. The East African Gaboon Viper occurs along the east coast of Africa from the upper east coast of South Africa and up into Mozambique. West African Gaboon Vipers live in the tropical rainforests of West Africa. Gaboon Vipers have the largest fangs of any snake .Gaboon Vipers are the largest vipers in Africa and are the second largest viper in the world after the Bush Master of South America. Due to their large girth adult Gaboon Vipers have been reported to be seen eating Duikers, a small species of buck about the same size as a small dog . Due to their spectacular colouration and size, as well as being one of the most docile venomous snakes, Gaboon Vipers have become popular with reptile keepers. Gaboon Vipers are high on the list of my favorite snakes, but a cytotoxic bite from a snake with huge venom glands and record-breaking fang length is not something I would enjoy. Gaboon Vipers are best suited to the professional snake keeper.

Chapter 9

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Arboreal Asian Pit Vipers

The Waglers Pit Viper from Southeast Asia is possibly the most well-known of the green tree-dwelling pit vipers in the region. Other green tree-dwelling pit vipers from the same region include Popes Pit Viper and the White-Lipped Tree Viper. The Asian Tree Vipers are considered unusual among pit vipers in the respect that lizards and frogs contribute a large part of their diet especially when they are young. This behavior is also seen in tree-dwelling pit vipers in South America, one example being the Eyelash Viper. Why is this behavior unusual? the answer is that pit vipers evolved their pits to locate warm-blooded prey like birds and mammals. I Think the reason for these snakes eating cold-blooded prey may be that lizards and frogs are more abundant than warm-blooded prey in the trees of tropical rain forests. However, adult Wagners Pit Vipers would also eat small birds and mammals once they reach adult size. These snakes grow to just under one meter. The venom of these snakes is considered mildly cytotoxic and is strong enough to cause considerable tissue damage and swelling.

Chapter 10

Juvenile Wagler's Pit Viper also called a Temple Viper as these vipers are kept in a temple on the Indonesian island of Penang

These vipers have the nickname finger rotters as evident from the picture.
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Snake Products
Below are links to products available from my online store

Chapter 11

Heating
Small Heat Pad Large Heat Pad Infrared Basking Lamp Daylight Basking Lamp ( Perfect for Garter Snakes)

Lighting
Lighting for Garter Snakes or Planted Terrariums

Substrates
The Perfect Snake Bedding

Garter Snake Vitamin Supplement

Increase the Nutritional Value of Garter Snake Food

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List of Snakes Snake Species Suitable for Captivity

Below is a list of snakes you can keep not discussed in the book
Rat Snakes
Black Rat Snake Grey Rat Snake Texas Rat Snake Everglades Rat Snake Taiwanese Rat Snake

King Snakes
Florida King Snake Mexican Black King Snake Speckled King Snake Prarie King Snake Grey Banded King Snake

Milk Snakes
Sinaloan Milk Snake Pueblan Milk Snake Honduran Milk Snake

Mildly Venomous Snakes

American Copper Head Viper Sahara Horned Adder ( Genus Cerates) Namibian Coral Snake Horned Adders ( Genus Bitis) False Water Cobra ( Back Fanged)

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Small Python Species

Childrens Python Spotted Python Macklots Python

Boas
Red Tailed Boa Kenyan Sand Boa Rosy Boa Brazilian Rainbow Boa

Colubrids
Brown House Snake Southern Brown Egg Eater Western Hognose Snake Madagascan Giant Hognose Snake

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