I just got a 75 gallon terrarium and on the 13th will be going to a breeders expo I am a soon to be new snake owner but I want to make sure my future family member is comfortable so can you please help me… What kind of snake and how should I set the habitat up?
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You really need to know what species of snake you’re keeping. Long before it comes home.
With a 75 gal terrarium I would stick to something that stays 3 to 4 ft. Or smaller.
Your enclosure should be set up and tuned in to environment parameters at least a week or two before putting an animal in it.
Bringing a snake home and subjecting it to all kinds of uncertainty will be a cause for failure. Both for it and you. Imagine how disheartened you would feel if your pet dies or is suffering because of poor planning.
Please, decide what you want and set up/tune for that species. At least a couple weeks beforehand.
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Also, just to make sure…
What is the size and orientation of this terrarium? Because that can affect the suggestion of the animal for it.
Obviously a tall won’t work for ground dwellers… And long can stress out arboreals
As gabonica said, you really need to know what you’re planning to get. Different species can have wildly different care requirements and attitudes. Pets aren’t disposable, so you need to know what you’ll be getting into beforehand.
I think the best thing to do is to go to the show and plan to NOT bring a snake home. Use it as research. Talk to the vendors. Look at a lot of different animals and morphs. If you DO see one you like, you can do further research before pulling the trigger. Just get the business card to make sure you can pick it up later.
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This is what i have so far but I plan on going to the pet store tomorrow to buy some more things the guy in the store said not to put down the bedding until 24 hours before I bring home the snake. with what I have now what do you think? do you have any suggestions on what else I should get?
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No need for the black light and it may be more harmful than good. They are suspected to cause corneal opacity and can agitate the snake. As part of full spectrum light it’s fine but on its own, not so good.
Snakes and some lizards like a tight hide area. Something they can squeeze into. Bedding, water bowl and a nice snug hide are the minimum. I usually have several hides including some hanging from the walls or roof. I would add branches for climbing and plants. Fake plants are easier to care for but it comes down to what you like. If you use real plants make sure they are non toxic. It is also best to take cuttings, wash and grow them in a terrarium safe soil. Research terrarium soil mixes. Putting them in pots allows you to take them out to recover from heavier snakes crushing them. A lot of greenhouse chemicals are not safe for any animal or human.
Make absolutely sure that your pet cannot use them to escape. Like climb up and push off/out from under the lid. Or get stuck in the rim. It’s ok for them to be almost to the lid just make sure the lid is secure and watch that they don’t rub their snout on the screen.
Ask questions. Lots of them. If you get the chance to check out other keepers set up in person, do it.
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More thoughts.
Do not get a high humidity animal and put it in this cage. An example would be a short tail python of any type. First, it will be difficult to keep the humidity high enough.
Second, it would be too big for a baby of those species. They like cozy and may fail if given too large of a habitat. That includes the part of your house they can see. Big space=big anxiety for them.
With animals that can tolerate lower humidity, ball python, boa constrictor, you will need a moist hide. Moss or coco fibre or even paper or cloth towels, moist.
An under tank heat mat will lessen the drying effect of lamps. Put all heat sources on a thermostat.
Maybe ok for a male ball or a dwarf boa.
I would go with a corn or king. Mmmmaybe a hognose. They might not be the best as a first snake. Others may chime in on that,please. You want something that will give you no trouble with feeding and health. Corns eat well, kings think they can eat anything sometimes. You, themselves, edge of the water bowl. It happens. Just dumb and hungry. Plus, there are some out there that are super colorful, both corn and king. Not to mention the patterns. They stay in the 3 to 5 foot range. Easy to handle. Not prone to biting.
And why wait to put bedding in?
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This isn’t necessary…
But I absolutely do reccomend that you use paper towel or plain inkless paper of some kind for the first month that you have your animal. This will help you keep an eye out for stools and mites which is a critical health concern for new arrivals.
The absolute best snake I suggest for this setup at your experience level is an adult Ball Python, Corn, or King snake. Just be aware that Kingsnakes can be very food driven and it is a guarantee that you will eventually get bit. The good side to that is Kingsnakes will very rarely skip a meal.
For items in your setup, I’d ditch the night heat lamp. If your house stays above 72°F at night and you get some kind of under belly heating with temperature control (also reccomended) they will not need any sort of night heating. Get a day heat bulb at the appropriate wattage for your enclosure’s height (most brands will have a chart of how effective their bulbs are based on the enclosure height). This needs temperature control as well. I’d also ditch the misting bottle unless you want to use it to mist sphagnum moss in humid hides, its not necessary to mist any of the species I listed previously.
As previously mentioned, you want to keep your enclosure as simple as possible the first month you have your snake. If you can I’d suggest buying a plastic, ceramic or metal water bowl and a few plastic hides as temporary accessories, plastic fake plants as well. This will help you keep the enclosure easily cleanable and it will help you keep an eye out for mites, which would otherwise hide very easily in any pourous wood decor.
I don’t reccomend buying the first animal you see that you like right away. Take your time with making that decision, ask the vendors as many questions as you possibly can about that snake’s care and life. Ask about its genetics and lineage, ask about its appetite and temperament. Ask about what it eats and how often. You may see a snake you really like but it has a very crappy appetite, temperament or other issues that won’t be immediately present at the expo.
Pay attention to the quality of all the animals a vendor presents at an expo, it is usually telling of the quality of their care from the seller.
Lastly Expos can potentially be really bad places for the spread of mites, parasites and other diseases. Keep touching and handling to a minimum, keep your hands and arms clean and when you make your decision to buy the animal you want. Buy it and ask for it to be held until you are ready to leave, don’t carry it around the expo with you.
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Big yes to everything @cmsreptiles wrote. Yes, keep the cage simple for the listed reasons. It’s a lot easier for a person with decades of experience to judge these things. I forget this sometimes.
Now, before the expo, learn to assess a snakes condition. If allowed to handle/inspect, wear gloves. Take a pocket full of surgical gloves and change them often. At least between vendors. Look for kinks, bumps or depressions in the ribs and spine. There should be none. That said, sometimes a small kink, usually the tail, is harmless but ask about it. Is it an injury? A problem with incubation? Does it have a genetic cause? Redness on all scales, raised or otherwise abnormal. Check the cloacal plate, it should be clean, dry and lay flat. Any discoloration pass on that snake. Check for parasites. They should show up on the gloves if any. Get blue or white. Black will hide them easier. Listen to the breathing, if you can hear it, pass. I carry a stethoscope but it isn’t absolutely necessary. Look at the eyes. Are they clear? Even sized? Bigger or smaller than they should be? Look at the heat pits, if it is a python or boa. Not all boas have them. Some pythons don’t either. Obvious ones, at least. Look at its mouth, is it closed? An oral infection will probably cause the lips to not close tightly. Is the tongue working? Any crusty or dirty area around the mouth? Inside should be the color of raw chicken. Unless you’re getting a black mamba. Please don’t. Look for redness or cheesy
areas. Look for drool. Some snakes drool when feeding but if it is drooling it may be a respiratory infection. If so,pass. Look at the nostrils, are they even size? Both open? Unobstructed?
Ask questions. What gender is it? What has the breeder been feeding? How is it caged? How old is it? When did it shed last? Ask for its genetic make up if a morph. Did they produce it? Pass on wild caught. Ask for a hatch date. I’m a big fan of record keeping so if I were to sell/gift you a snake you would receive a complete CV with the animal which includes everything from hatch date and feed chart to behavior observations and pooping, shedding and even bites and escapes. Plus weights and random temperature checks including time and date. Not all breeder/keepers do this but they should still provide all relevant info. Not every breeder will be this obsessive.
The vendor. Do they seem knowledgeable? Are they willing to answer questions? At an expo, perhaps not but can you go to them afterward to ask questions? How long have they been keeping/breeding? What other species do they work with? How big is their collection. Smaller operators may have more time to people their babies. Larger breeders maybe not. I have noticed some larger outfits have less time to handle all the babies so there may be differences in how the snakes react to handling. Is it calm and curious or rattling its tail and trying to escape? Does it seem like the vendor wants you to have a great experience or are they condescending and dismissive? I have met a few snake snobs. Not everyone is friendly. Be friendly. Ask if they are local and can point you to a source of food. Or a good vet. Do they offer all this info or give short answers?
If buying more than one, will they give discount? Don’t expect it. There’s a lot of time and work involved and the vendor is likely asking a reasonable price already. Ask if they have had any issues with the animal at all. Parasites, injuries, feeding issues, respiratory problems. Bad sheds.
Ask to see the parents or pics of. This will give you an idea what the snake may look like as they age depending on morph, of course. How big are mom and dad?
Write any questions down and have them with you when you go. Take an experienced keeper with you, if possible. Ask others their opinion. Don’t buy the first animal you see unless you already looked at other offerings and are going back to it. Just because you can afford it doesn’t mean it is suitable as a beginner species. If you see a king or corn for $200 and a blood python for $175 take the corn/king.
Research, ask questions.
Apologies for the long reply but I really want you to succeed. We all do.
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That is one of the most thorough but rather succinct replies I’ve seen in a long time! Great advice, wow! I think it would take me days to articulate what you just said in like a 2 minute read.
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