If you are thinking about keeping a snake as a pet it is worth knowing that most snakes are easy pets to care for provided you follow a few simple rules. Firstly, it’s important to know what type of snake you want to keep and to be aware of it’s needs before you rush out to buy one.

Buy a captive bred hatchling because this ensures that you will have aperfect, healthy, trouble free snake and you are not adding to the pressures on the wild population.

Your snake should be aged 4 – 6 weeks old and at this age, security is all important and a baby snake will only eat if it feels safe and secure. Snakes can sometimes be frightened of open spaces so keep the baby snake in a small plastic box measuring about 20cm square and 10cms high that is well ventilated and escape proof. Place the last 5cm to 10 cm of the box on a heat mat so that the snake can keep its body temperature regulated.

Provide your snake with a hide of some kind, either purchased from a reptile shop or by using an inverted flower pot with an entry hole cut in one side. You will also need to provide your snake with clean fresh water and this needs to be in a vessel that is difficult to overturn. Finally, use something like kitchen roll as a floor covering which should be changed as soon as it is soiled.

When replacing the lid on your snake’s box make sure you always check that his head and tail are safely inside the box before you snap the lid shut or you could cause crippling damage to your baby snake.

Feed your snake one pinkie mouse every 4 to 7 days and as he grows, increase this to two pinkie mice, then a fuzzy and finally an adult mouse. The change from one size of food to the next depends on the rate that your pet is growing and not its age. If your snake regurgitates his food (brings up his food) it’s usually because you have fed him prey animals that are too large for him or he has been overfed.  It could also be due to the temperature being wrong or by being handled or disturbed when he’s trying to digest his food.

As your snake grows, he can be transferred to a larger box or allowed the freedom of a vivarium. If the vivarium has sliding glass or plastic doors check that your small snake can’t escape between the two panes of glass.

You should choose a vivarium that is escape proof, easy to clean, well ventilated and have a heat gradient. The vivarium should also offer your snake a degree of security. Ideas-4-pets have introduced some quality vivaria to their website which also have matching cabinets.

Wooden vivaria with sliding glass doors are a good purchase but make sure that all the joints are sealed with aquarium silicon sealer and ensure that you purchase a vivarium that is suitable for your particular snake.  Don’t house 2 king snakes together or they could eat each other.

Some snakes, like rat snakes and king snakes can overheat so it is important that the temperature should be about 30 degrees C in the hottest part of your vivarium and not higher than 25 degrees C in the coolest area.

Most snake owners find thatthe best form of heating for beginners are Heat Mats as these offer a gentle form of bottom heat and if set up correctly can’t harm your snake. The heat mat should cover no more than one third of the vivarium base so that your snake can regulate his body temperature. This means that your snake would move between the warm and cold areas of his vivarium to keep his body temperature under control. Snakes generally take in heat through their stomach scales and they will sit on the heat mat to warm up, digest their meals, before a slough and when they are carrying eggs. Make sure that you buy a low wattage vivarium heat mat rather than an aquarium heat mat as an aqaurium heat mat might get too hot. A vivarium heat mat is very reliable, easy to use and affordable, they don’t need a thermostat and are available in a range of sizes.

Light bulbs are thought to be a poor way of heating a vivarium and they often cause burns when the snake tries to climb over them. They heat all the cage, rather than just the small area required for your snake to keep his body temperature under control so the advise is to only use them as a last resort.  Most snakes don’t require any lighting.

Healthy snakes eat well and pass solid looking droppings so you are advised to ensure that you only offer your snake food of a suitable size for his size and place the food near his hiding place.  It is adviseable to separate your snakes at feeding time to help prevent problems.

It’s worth knowing that your snake may go off his food if he is about to shed its skin, if the temperature is too hot or too cold, the food is too big or given to them at the wrong time of day (evenings are usually the best time to feed)  A snake that has been recently handled or frightened in some way can go off his food and even having a vivarium that is overcrowded or too large can affect their appetite.  Some males go off their food if they want to mate and females can go off their food if they are heavy with eggs.

Before you fly into a panic, look for a reason first. Can any of the above reasons be the cause for his loss of appetite or is your snake ill? If in any doubt call your local vet – never leave a worrying problem for long as it could be dangerous or even fatal.