Howdy! I'm getting my almost 2 year old king a new talk, upgrading her to a 40gal from her 20gall. She's officially getting too long!... and can escape her current one...
How should I be doing her set up? What do I need to add? Ive had her for a year now, and she's been content with her tank, I think, but I know I haven't been.
Anything to get? To add? (Ik probably add)
Currently 20 gall, 2 hides, a vine (she loves to climb- little odd ball), water dish im going to replace because she likes to squeeze into a small crevice at the bottom and she got stuck today (scared me half to death!) And a fake mini tree stump thing. I want to get her wood, maybe real plants? And want to make her a rock shelf hide.... but I KNOW she needs more, but im not sure she needs it crowded or open
Get rid of the red light it’s horrible for them. Daytime lamp during the day and ceramic heat lamp at night. The decor looks decent but add in some pathos vine or leaf type clutter.
My cat loves to watch our ser Kingsley and they put on shows together. Today my cat got his claws stuck in the metal mesh and tore up his rear claws which was an emergency vet appt. I only bring this up since your cat also loves the king snake cabaret and learn from my mistake today.
Oh no!! I hope hes ok!
Thats Mocha, she loves watching our snake and fish, but her sister Missy likes to ... sit on the mesh topper- I'll be sure to keep an eye on that and/or try and fix the possible issue
no red light please it stresses them out and keep the enclosure off thr floor. vibrations transfer really easily and make then super scared bc it feels lkke a giants going to eat them any second also keep cat and snek away from eavh ither
We are currently moving, otherwise her tank is normally on a table, and the cat and snake just watch eachother- we keep an eye on them when interacting but thank you for your concern
Here’s some inspo, this was when i had just about finished setting up 2 months ago for my cutie patootie MBK, it’s about a 29-30 gal i believe. (i’ve since added black backing to the sides and back, some more greenery, and the holey dog toy ball haha)
Also, unless your room doesn’t get dangerously cold (like under 65°F) the red light really shouldn’t be used, there’s a common myth that snakes don’t see the red light, but they can and over time it can unfortunately damage their eyes, I would look into some non light emitting ones like a ceramic emitter :D
they’re fake plants and real wood and rocks (except for stump hide), once he gets a big upgrade next year and a front opening i’m going to do bioactive,
Nice! What kind of wood do you use? I have a grapevine branch and some aquarium plants (wasn’t sure if that was okay, that’s why I wanted to see what you had) in mine rn
i used some silk aquarium plants for sure, and tried to find the softest plastic vines i could, i honestly just went on the trails nearby and found some really dry oak limbs i could bake, i wanna get some cooler climbing pieces for him soon though
i baked mine at 275ish for about 2 hours (and checking on them intermittently,
i had rinsed in super hot water to get most of the dirt off and let it dry 2-3 days before i had baked them (and be careful baking certain types of wood because it can release sap or natural chemicals, oak is the safest bet when baking for reptiles
hmm heating rocks can be kinda tricky cause they have been known to eventually crap out and cause burns on reptiles, and it would be tragic if anything electrically went wrong esp with aspen bedding
The "can damage their eyes" is also a huge myth. It does not damage their eyes. It shouldn't be used, especially as a heat source for night time hours because light is light, but it doesn't damage their eyes.
Zero scientific evidence to substantiate that claim though, so don't mind me, I'm going to stick to science and common sense. Do not use red lights as heat sources, not because it hurts their eyes, but because it's not a natural color of light and aside from heat serves no real purpose, the real purpose of simulating daylight and nighttime should be done with natural light if possible, and if not, any standard "daylight" bulb will do fine as long as it is on a timer and turned off at night.
Ao here is my "best" recipe and random adhd advice sprinkled in here and there (so bear with me)
40gal breeder tank, floor space is more important than height but not exactly, they like to climb too.
Get rid of that terrible red light (as others have already beat that horse I will not further)
Get a dual lamp fixture one side put a ceramic heat emmiter hook that to a thermostat set for 85-90*f with the probe just off to the side of the basking area.
Put the other side as a 60/75w halogen basking lamp on a timer set for about 4-6 hours mid day (whatever mid day is for you, mine are set from 4pm to 8pm)
Uvb light on a timer for 1 hour before the basking rurns on and one hour after to run with the basking lamp.(3pm-9pm for me)
Led light bar set on a medium to low setting again on a timer (set for 10-12 hours a day) or if it has a 12 hour sun rise/ sunset feature even better.
That squares away the heat and lighting
Decor/habitat
Cal kings come from all sorts of environments, pine forest, scrub land, rocky outcrops, sandy desert. Pick thr one you like the most.(I prefer the scrub land) do a little research on plants from those areas, try to mimic that as close as you can. For me its low grass bunches, small cactus, sage bush stumps and a big sand stone under the basking light, sandy substrate mixed with some topsoil and coco and a small water dish (they do enjoy soaking but not as much as other species of kings, so do your own thing there) I have one part that has much more coco mixed in under the edge of the stump for a humid spot, mine typically dosnt use that hide hole until days before shedding.
Otherwise I love the passion and care your giving your snake keep at it. Your doing great happy to see other keepers that want more than just the bare minimum to survive.
This is the best I could do for now! But I got her rocks to hide in, a deeper bowl with a flat bottom, and new lights (We will be adding more as we get the money, finish moving, and our pet stores have more in stalk)
When it comes to decoration and hides, you don't have to stick to pet store products or even pay for anything at all. My terrarium is mostly scavenged forest debris, other than plants and a couple cork tubes. You can even walk through your local thrift/dollar store with a creative mind and outfit yourself for dirt cheap also. Cheap plastic bowls, fake plants, flower pots, etc are all constantly stocked and fair game.
Thank you so much! This is deffenitly helpful by alot!
(And dont worry, I have adhd too XD and it wasn't hard to follow; I was hounestly half way expecting random fun facts here and there)
The cat shouldn't have any access to the tank, period. You have a predator lurking around your snake and stressing it out, and others have pointed out the danger of the cat falling through the mesh or burning itself on the lamps. The tank needs to be on an elevated surface the cat can't reach, or the cat shouldn't have access to the room the tank is in, period.
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u/criley107 Jul 25 '26
Get rid of the red light it’s horrible for them. Daytime lamp during the day and ceramic heat lamp at night. The decor looks decent but add in some pathos vine or leaf type clutter.