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Brazilian Rainbow Boa - Care Sheet
(Epicrates cenchria cenchria)
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| The Rainbow Boa gets its name from the strong iridescence all over its body, under bright light they can shine colours like oil on water, there are several subspecies of rainbow boas with varying colouration and pattern, the Brazilian is one of the most colourful and attractive snakes. |
Housing
On the main a ground dwelling boa set-up but always a few branches to climb is recommended, these snakes can reach an adult (4Yrs +) length of ~1.8M although a relatively slender snake, the vivarium will need to provide room for exercise.
This snake also requires a fair amount of humidity, the best way to provide this is a hide box filled with misted sphagnum moss, or paper towels in which the snake can retreat to.
Substrate can be achieved with naturalistic bark chip (NOT CEDAR) or inexpensive newspaper, maybe unsightly but cheapness and ease of cleaning makes it ideal. |
Temperature
Day time temperatures of 26°C - 29°C and a night time low of 24°C.
If a spot light is used for a focused heat source then the snake can be allowed to bask and thermal regulate its own temperature, this is by far the best method. The temperature in the basking area can approach 40°C, as long as the snake has access to cooler areas.
Note: Always use a reliable / accurate thermometer to check temperatures.
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Feeding
Starting off once a week defrosted (appropriate sized) mouse, until the snake is large enough to accept larger rodent pray, Rainbow boas have relatively narrow head so this must be taken into consideration when selecting the appropriate sized food items.
Ensure the snake has a bowl of clean drinking water at all times. |
Notes
The Brazilian Rainbow boa has a reputation to be a well rounded snake, with a generally good disposition, hand able size, beautiful colours and patterns make it ideal for all, beginners to the more experienced.
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Javelin Sand Boa - Care Sheet
(Eryx jaculus jaculus)
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Javelin Sand Boa's are protected in many countries with very few CB (Captive Bred) babies available only from time to time. Within the EC (European Countries) each snake is required to have the correct legal documentation issued by DEFRA / CITES as reference to their CB origins.
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Housing
One of the nice things about these snakes is that they are a small ground dwelling snake, reaching a maximum adult length of only ~0.65M.
These snakes burrow so a fair depth of substrate is preferred, many keepers use sand but some report problems of the snakes digesting too much of the substrate, opting for a non-dusty substrate such as Aspen shavings instead. |
Temperature
Day time temperatures of 25°C - 29°C and a night time low of 24°C, low humidity.
If a spot light is used for a focused heat source then the snake can be allowed to bask and thermal regulate its own temperature, this is by far the best method. The temperature in the basking area can approach 35°C, as long as the snake has access to cooler areas of 24°C
Note: Always use a reliable / accurate thermometer to check temperatures.
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Feeding
Starting off once a week defrosted (appropriate sized) mice, until the snake is large enough to accept larger rodent pray, Sand boas have extremely small heads, and some males will never be able to accept larger than fuzzy mice even as adults.
Rotating a small dish of clean drinking water in and out of the enclosure every other day, is some times used to keep the relative humidity low, also adequate ventilation is essential. |
Notes
Javelin Sand boa's are rarely seen in captivity, as a result of their threatened status in the wild we need to do all we can in order to sustain the existing captives for next generations of off spring.
For a more in-depth coverage of the sand boa group please visit, Chris Harrison's dedicate website this has a wealth of invaluable data you can find the link on the links page. |
Kenyan Sand Boa - Care Sheet
(Eryx colubrinus)
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The Kenyan Sand Boa is the most widely kept and bred of the sand boa species, possibly due to being know as the "easiest to keep" |
Housing
Although these are the largest form of sand boa they are still relatively small snakes reaching a Maximum length of ~0.7M.
As with all sand boas they like to burrow for security, so a fair depth of loose substrate is preferred, many keepers use sand but some report problems of the snakes digesting too much of the substrate, opting for a non-dusty substrate such as Aspen shavings instead. |
Temperature
Day time temperatures of 25°C - 29°C and a night time low of 24°C, low humidity.
If a spot light is used for a focused heat source then the snake can be allowed to bask and thermal regulate its own temperature, this is by far the best method. The temperature in the basking area can approach 35°C, as long as the snake has access to cooler areas of 24°C
Note: Always use a reliable / accurate thermometer to check temperatures.
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Feeding
Starting off once a week defrosted (appropriate sized) mice, until the snake is large enough to accept larger rodent pray, Sand boas have extremely small heads, and some males will never be able to accept larger than fuzzy mice even as adults.
Rotating a small dish of clean drinking water in and out of the enclosure every other day, is some times used to keep the relative humidity low, also adequate ventilation is essential. |
Notes
Colour phases exist in collections, such as axanthic (lacking Yellow pigment) and amelanistic (lacking black pigment).
For a more in-depth coverage of the sand boa group please visit, Chris Harrison's dedicate website which contains a wealth of invaluable data, you can find the link on the links page. |
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Kingsnakes and Milksnakes - Care Sheet
Genus: (Lampropeltis)
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Sinoloan Milksnake - Lampropeltis triangulum sinaloae
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The banding and colouration of some King Snakes and Milk Snakes is striking even mimicking that of venomous coral snakes, which could possibly aids in their defence in the wild.
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Housing
Kingsnakes and Milksnakes are excellent escape artists, and any housing needs to be secure with no small gaps. A set-up which allows for a few branches is recommended, these snakes can reach an adult (4Yrs +) length of ~1.5M although a relatively slender snake, the vivarium will need to provide room for exercise.
As long as a large enough water bowl for the snake to sit in is provided they will have all the humidity they need.
Substrate can be achieved with naturalistic bark chip (NOT CEDAR) or inexpensive newspaper, maybe unsightly but cheapness and ease of cleaning makes it ideal.
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Temperature
Day time temperatures of 24°C - 29°C and a night time low of 23°C.
If a spot light is used for a focused heat source then the snake can be allowed to bask and thermal regulate its own temperature, this is by far the best method. The temperature in the basking area can approach 32°C, as long as the snake has access to cooler areas of 24°C
Note: Always use a reliable / accurate thermometer to check temperatures.
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Feeding
Starting off once a week defrosted (appropriate sized) mouse, until the snake is large enough to accept larger rodent pray, head size of the snake must be taken into consideration when selecting the appropriate sized food items.
Ensure the snake has a bowl of clean drinking water at all times. |
Notes
Kingsnakes and Milksnakes are very popular amongst snake keepers, they are relatively inexpensive and a wide range of subspecies are now available. |
Royal Python - Care Sheet
aka Ball Python
(Python regius)
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The Royal Python is a very attractive snake its medium size and disposition can make it a good choice, as a CB (Captive bred) snake. Sadly the royal python is still is being imported in amazingly high numbers, CF (Captive Farmed) and WC (Wild Caught) snakes can be parasite loaded, stressed, diseased and problematic feeders.
Its a real shame to see so many imports still flooding in, this has driven some breeders to give up breeding these lovely snakes as many new snake keepers will only see the lower price of the fresh imports not the importance of CB snakes. They are still being CB in numbers and as times change maybe the importation numbers will continue to fall, with keepers choosing CB animals over WC and CF.
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Housing
On the main a ground dwelling python set-up but always a few branches to climb over is recommended, these snakes can reach a stocky length of ~1.2M, the vivarium will need to provide room for exercise.
This snake tends to be somewhat shy and a hide must be provided to allow the snake to retreat out of view and reduce stress levels.
Substrate can be achieved with naturalistic bark chip (NOT CEDAR) or inexpensive newspaper, maybe unsightly but cheapness and ease of cleaning makes it ideal. |
Temperature
Day time temperatures of 26°C - 29°C and a night time low of 24°C.
If a spot light is used for a focused heat source then the snake can be allowed to bask and thermal regulate its own temperature, this is by far the best method. The temperature in the basking area can approach 40°C, as long as the snake has access to cooler areas.
Note: Always use a reliable / accurate thermometer to check temperatures.
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Feeding
Starting off once a week defrosted (appropriate sized) mouse, until the snake is large enough to accept larger rodent pray, many keepers end up feeding their adult Royals a medium sized prey item once every 10 days or so, as these snakes tend to be inactive a careful watch on over feeding is needed.
Ensure the snake has a bowl of clean drinking water at all times. |
Notes
The Royal Python has a reputation of being a generally calm if not shy snake, hand able size, and beautiful patterns, make a CB Royal a good choice.
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Ratsnake - Care Sheet
(Genus: Elaphe) - Inc Corn Snakes.
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 Leucistic Texas Ratsnake
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| The Ratsnake has been highly favourable amongst snake keepers, because of its generally good disposition, and abundance of captive bred hatchlings of varying species / colour morphs at reasonable prices. |
Housing
On the main this species is an adapt climber so a set-up with a few branches is recommended, these snakes can reach an adult length of 1M - 1.8M although a slender snake, the vivarium will need to provide room for exercise.
Also a hide should be provided allowing the snake to retreat out of view.
Substrate can be achieved with naturalistic bark chip (NOT CEDAR) or inexpensive newspaper, maybe unsightly but cheapness and ease of cleaning makes it ideal. |
Temperature
Some Ratsnakes are known to tolerant moderately low temperatures but nether the less should always be kept at appropriate temperatures ranges of around 26°C - 30°C and a night time low of 24°C.
If a spot light is used for a focused heat source then the snake can be allowed to bask and thermal regulate its own temperature, this is by far the best method. The temperature in the basking area can approach 40°C, as long as the snake has access to cooler areas.
Note: Always use a reliable / accurate thermometer to check temperatures.
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Feeding
Starting off once a week defrosted (appropriate sized) mouse, many Ratsnakes species have relatively narrow heads so this must be taken into consideration when selecting the appropriate sized food items.
Ensure the snake has a bowl of clean drinking water at all times. |
Notes
The Ratsnake family has numerous species of varying colour, size and disposition to offer as recommended pet snakes most of which are kept in much the same way. |
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