Empty Terrarium ideas

Hi. So currently I am trying to sell my empty terrarium locally, but no one seems to want it. So I thinking if it doesn’t sell by the end of the month, I’d use it for a daytime “display” snake. I moved all my BPs into tubs/rack, and sold off the other terrariums. It is an Exo Terra Large/Wide. Been juggling the idea of Florida/Brooks Kingsnake, do not really see a whole lot of people keeping them and they are what really catching my eye for their beauty. Trying to get something that won’t outgrow the terrarium, and would be active during the daytime. Any ideas/inputs? Any good pictures of kingsnakes/colubrids that would make good daytime “display” pets.

Edit Just to clarify. I am open to all types of snakes. I’m just looking for ones that can be handled, are active during the day, and will not outgrow the terrarium. I just seem to be leaning towards Florida Kingsnakes, as they seem to be more of a rarity that I do not see people posting a lot about.

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How about a Hog Nose? Diurnal and won’t outgrow that enclosure.

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They aren’t great display snakes however. They usually like staying hidden. Since I have kept my Arizona Mountain Kingsnake in an exoterra his whole life, I recommend that. He is beautiful, and very active. He especially loves climbing even though he isn’t the best at it. He is only 2’6" and is full grown. They aren’t the most common and are definitely overlooked.

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Most king snakes and milk snakes make wonderful displace snakes because of their daytime activity. Personally I love the look of gray banded king snakes but don’t own one as of now but you can see the variability here on morph market

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Here is a picture of my AMK Ammon. Would have new spring pictures of him but it decided to get cold again and snow here.

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Nothing against hognose snakes, but I’m not a fan of them. I am wanting to find something that will take advantage of the entire enclosure as I plan on place fake plants and large branches that will allow basking opportunities.

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They aren’t great display snakes however. They usually like staying hidden. Since I have kept my Arizona Mountain Kingsnake in an exoterra his whole life, I recommend that. He is beautiful, and very active. He especially loves climbing even though he isn’t the best at it. He is only 2’6" and is full grown. They aren’t the most common and are definitely overlooked.

Are you talking about Florida Kingsnakes not being display snakes or the hognose post above yours? Love the look of your AMK. Definitely looking for something with either a sharp contrast or that will “standout” in as naturalistic looking as I can make it look, and can deal with the humidity of Florida.

Most king snakes and milk snakes make wonderful displace snakes because of their daytime activity. Personally I love the look of gray banded king snakes but don’t own one as of now but you can see the variability

Love the look of the gray banded kings. They are second on my personal list, just not sure how they well they handle Florida humidity.

Edit Also to add, looking for something that can tolerate the temperature that I keep my apartment. Daytime it is normally 80 while I am at work, and nighttime I drop it to 70-72. I do plan on using a CHB and a heatpad to maintain heat

She’s referring to the hognose snake

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I’m in south Florida :joy:

As for the tank that you’re referring to the measurements are 36” x 18” x 18”
Brooks king snakes can get pretty large and beefy I’ve heard of them reaching 6 feet. And king snakes tend to be pretty active. If you like the contrast of the AMK you also may like Nelson‘s milksnake.

As a couple of people have mentioned, most Lampropeltis stay relatively small, make good display snakes, and will utilize different parts of the enclosure. My favorites are the wildly popular Mexican Black Kingsnake, the underrated Apalachicola Kingsnake (meansi or goinsi), the extremely variable San Luis Potosi and Nuevo Leon Kingsnakes (mexicana and leonis), the Arizona Mountain Kingsnake (especially the Applegate morph), the closely related Chihuahua Mountain Kingsnake (knoblochi).

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i would not recommend grey banded kingsnakes if you want a diurnal snake as they are more crepuscular/nocturnal.

For the humidity on an AMK you don’t need much more than 40%, but in the summer it can spike to 50-60% in my house depending on how much rain we get. For temps AMK don’t need them over 86°F (any higher can shorten their lifespan or stress them). I have kept mine on ambient temps his whole life (going on 11 years) and he has thrived. If you can’t keep the humidity down in the house (a dehumidifier would work) and it is consistently over 60% I would recommend one of the milk snakes that needs higher humidity over the AMK. I also brumate my AMK and keep him off food for at least 2 months once it gets to the winter months. I don’t ever plan to breed him, I just think it does good to keep the natural cycle they might have in the wild.

P. S. I was speaking of the hognose snake in my first post, though @lumpy already cleared that up for me. Thanks Riley lol.

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It’s all good

The humidity tends to have wild swings here in Florida, I’m sure @lumpy can attest to this. Most the time in my apartment it is high 40s to mid 60s(Currently 77F 48%). I am sure if I use a CHE it would help keep it a little dryer in the terrarium. I use ReptilePrime with my BPs, and was planning on using the same substrate. Would Cali Kings need dryer climate as well? I been looking at Whitesided Ghosts, Hypos, Mosaics for FL Kings, High White Striped Cali Kings to name a few. Haven’t seen to many milksnakes that have caught my eye, not to keen on the banded look altho the Ghost Milks look pretty cool.

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Inside humidity is at 60%

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What about a colony of garter snakes. They would use the enclosure and interact with each other.

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Thought about. Love the look of the Red-sided garter, but from what I have seen. They are hard to come by, they are tiny and I am not sure if they would be able to escape the front of an exo terra, and I heard they don’t last to long.

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Good point, I think it may be the wrong time of year for them. They could probably get out unless you get creative with hot glue and screen. Of course, if you have a pair or trio they will keep your tank full of new snakes.

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Not sure on the size of the tank they get to a decent size, but – Red tailed rat snake,Gonyosoma_oxycephalum - watch the teeth though.

They spread their neck like a cobra but the other way round. top to bottom. and soooo pretty.
Edit: Ps not venomous although they might look it for other members that may not know,

Had these years ago, awesome. Take a lot of work if you want to handle though in my experience

Now i want them again… Nice display snake
Edit 2: I am sold, getting a pair and a display tank

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