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Pet Health
Despite their rather bad reputation, snakes are clean, dry, silky-skinned animals and mostly non-dangerous to humans. But be warned: you have to be a sensible snake owner or you could risk harming your snake and yourself.
Some snakes are rare, endangered and protected by law. Zoos and legitimate herpetologists may only keep these snakes with the appropriate permits. This is also the case with venomous snakes, which should not, under any circumstances, be kept by the average hobbyist.
The most common snakes kept by enthusiasts are the many and varied constrictor species (boas, pythons, rat and milk snakes, etc.), and the racer, gopher and garter species. The husbandry and dietary requirements for these types of snakes vary considerably. Further, some of the same species (notably the boa constrictors and pythons) reach very large sizes in captivity, and their considerable space requirements must be anticipated.
Usually, an individual eager to own a snake already has a species preference in mind because of some familiarity with it (friend owns a snake of the same species, etc.) or because of an inexplicable attraction to a species' physical appearance, size, activity or habits. Before you acquire a snake, you should carefully consider the following recommendations:
Research the major husbandry requirements of the snakes and determine whether or not you can successfully meet them now and in the future. Husbandry requirements include dietary, environmental (living space, temperature, humidity, lighting, etc.) and sanitation considerations.
Research the temperature of the species. If you intend to enjoy your snake primarily by observing it within its enclosure and rarely by handling it, this becomes a less important consideration. If you intend to regularly handle the snake, however, you must be able to do so with minimal stress and injury to both the snake and yourself.
Snake temperatures vary among species and among individuals of the same species. Certain snake species almost always retain a gentle, docile nature when they are raised from infancy (boa constrictors). In fact, a healthy young boa constrictor makes the most suitable pet among the tropical snake species available. Other species (the larger pythons) are unpredictable and tend to be quite pugnacious as they mature, whether or not they are handled frequently. Reticulated and Burmese pythons are especially unpredictable when they are anticipating being fed. Snakes of these types, especially those handled infrequently, become conditioned to associating feeding with human contact and often cannot distinguish the difference between these 2 situations. The small Ball python has the most predictable and even temperament of all of the python species.
Some species (anacondas) rarely develop temperaments suitable for captivity. Wild-caught adults of all species generally make unsuitable pets because they resist taming. One notable exception to this is the California Rosy boa. Even when obtained as an adult, they have a very shy, docile nature.
Select a snake that can feed without difficulty and one that is eating regularly.
Select a snake that appears healthy in all respects. Avoid choosing an unthrifty-looking snake out of sympathy with the idea that you can "nurse" the snake back to health. Many of these snakes have suffered irreparable internal damage and cannot be rehabilitated.
Avoid selecting a snake belonging to a species that is notoriously difficult to keep in captivity, requires difficult or elaborate environmental setups, or spends most of its time hiding burrowed underground.
Enclosure and Space Requirements
As a general rule, snakes require relatively little space because of their limited and nonexertional activity. Generally speaking, the size of the enclosure should allow inclusion of certain required items (discussed below) and still allow the snake adequate space to stretch out and move about. Snakes will use both the horizontal and vertical space within their enclosure if provisions are made for this activity.
Fish Tanks or other similar glass or Plexiglas-lined enclosures are usually most suitable because they allow optimum visualization of and safety for the occupant(s), and help to maintain desirable environmental temperatures and generally high relative humidity levels. Wire-lined enclosures may afford adequate visualization of the snake but certainly cannot contribute to the maintenance of desirable environmental temperature and humidity levels. Further, such enclosures promote injuries to the rostrum (nose and surrounding tissues) as snakes repeatedly attempt to "escape" through the wire mesh.
Any enclosure used must have a secure top and be escape-proof. All hinges and locks should be secure. All snakes are potential "escape artists" and many (especially the California King snakes) can escape form almost any apparently secure enclosure.
Floor Coverings and Enclosure Items
Unprinted newsprint, butcher paper, paper towels, terrycloth towels and indoor-outdoor carpeting are the most suitable materials for covering the bottom of a snake's enclosure. In fact, the first 2 materials mentioned can be cut to size and placed many layers think on to the floor of the enclosure. When the top layer(s) are soiled, they can be easily removed, leaving clean, dry paper. This makes cleaning of the enclosure very quick and efficient. If indoor-outdoor carpeting is used, it is best to have 2-3 pieces cut to the correct dimensions. This way, replacements can be used while the soiled piece is cleaned and disinfected.
Under no circumstances should pea gravel, kitty litter, crushed corncob material or wood shavings be used. These are unquestionable more visually aesthetic than most of the materials mentioned above; however, they are unsuitable because they trap moisture and filth, provide unlimited "hiding places" for external parasites, and make enclosures very difficult to clean. Furthermore, these types of particulate matter are easily and inadvertently eaten while the snake is feeding.
Various objects should be included within a snake's enclosure that occupies its vertical area. These include sturdy branches of various hardwood trees or those fabricated from artificial materials, driftwood, grapevine, hanging ropes, and shelves situated along the sides of the enclosure.
It is very important to provide some privacy for a captive snake. Many snakes will not feed without the privacy afforded by some degree of visual security. This can be accomplished by providing a "hide box" into which the snake can retreat when it feeds or at other times when privacy is desired. Visual security can also be provided by the use and strategic placement of silk artificial plants (and trees if the enclosure is large enough to accommodate them). Silk plants are visually pleasing and easy to clean and disinfect. They require minimal maintenance, help to augment the relative humidity level of the enclosure if the foliage is frequently misted, and can complement a snake's ability to camouflage itself, thereby providing visual security.
Climatic Considerations
Tropical snakes kept in captivity require relatively warm temperatures and high relative humidity. Daytime temperatures should range between 80 and 85° F. Nighttime temperatures can fall between 70-75 F without creating problems for most snakes. Native American snakes do well when maintained at 70-80° F.
Relatively large enclosures can be supplied with heat lamps or heaters equipped with thermostats, whereas small enclosures may be adequately heated by placing a heating pad directly underneath them. Exposed heat sources must be shielded to protect snakes from serious burns as they attempt to warm themselves by coiling next to them.
Large and small enclosures should also provide the snake a focal (spot) source of warmth. Small snakes should be offered a hot rock. Large snakes can use one or more well-protected and waterproofed heating pads. These appliances allow the snake direct, but safe, contact with the heat source, which helps to raise their body temperature. This allows the snake to be more active and increases the rate of digestion.
Lighting
Ideally, it would be advantageous for all captive reptiles to be housed in such a way that they could be exposed to and benefit form direct, unfiltered sunlight during the daylight hours every day. This represents the healthiest and most natural situation. Unfortunately, hobbyists can rarely fulfill this because it is neither practical nor possible. The next best solution is to use an artificial ultraviolet light source rather than fluorescent or incandescent light bulbs. One or more should be used to illuminate the enclosure during the daylight hours. It is best to supply 1-12 hours of daylight and 12-14 hours of darkness each day, with a gradual increase in the number of hours of light in spring and a gradual decrease in the fall and winter months.
Water
Water should be provided at all times. Most snakes drink infrequently but use a suitable sized container for immersing themselves and soaking. Another advantage for including a relatively large water container is that water evaporation contributes to the relative humidity of the enclosure. This is especially true if the enclosure is glass or Plexiglas-lined. The water container should be roomy enough to allow adequate soaking and heavy enough so it cannot be easily overturned.
Feeding
The most respected herpetologists and experienced snake hobbyists all agree that captive snakes should be fed dead or incapacitated prey whenever possible. This is because such prey cannot injure the feeding snake. Providing killed prey that has been frozen is convenient and economical for the hobbyists. Snakes may be induced to eat thawed, frozen prey animals by clipping hair from the coat of a live rat and rolling the proposed food in it just before feeding.
Rodents (rats and mice in particular) left unattended and unobserved within an enclosure with a supposedly hungry snake sometimes turn on the "diner" and inflict serious bite wounds on it. These "dinner becomes the diner" incidents are most likely to occur when a snake is ill or otherwise uninterested in feeding.
If snakes do not accept freshly killed or well thawed frozen prey, the live prey must be stunned so that it is sufficiently incapacitated and unable to injure the snake. Live rodents can be placed in a paper bag, which is then swiftly slammed down on a countertop to stun the rodent inside. If such an incapacitated animal is offered to a snake that is generally accustomed to receiving its food in this fashion and the snake refuses it, the prey animal can be killed and frozen, and offered at a later time. If other similar attempts to feed the snake within the next 1-2 weeks are equally unsuccessful, veterinary help should be sought at once.
Extreme caution should be exercised when feeding snakes. This is especially important if a given snake is expected to be hungry and if human-snake interaction is limited to feeding times. An overzealous and hungry snake is very likely to strike at a person immediately after the enclosure is opened and as the prey item in introduced. Extra caution must also be exercised when feeding more than one snake within an enclosure. Serious problems result when 2 snakes choose to prey on the same food item. If one snake attaches to the front of a mouse and another attacks at the tail end of the same mouse, neither snake will surrender its hold. Both snakes will continue to feed and eventually one will consume the other! When 2 or more snakes are housed within the same enclosure, they should be fed individually by holding the prey animal in long forceps or tongs.
Feeding schedules for captive snakes vary with the age, species, size, condition and specific requirements of the individual. Generally speaking, pet snakes are usually fed once every 1-2 weeks. Juveniles and adults for whom a relatively rapid growth rate is desired can be fed more frequently, providing that environmental temperatures are warm enough to allow complete and thorough digestion. Older snakes are usually fed less frequently, often once every 3-6 weeks. The number of prey animals offered at each feeding is determined by the same factors discussed above with regard to frequency of feeding.
Overfeeding must be avoided because of the risk of obesity. Too-frequent feedings and allowing a captive snake to consume multiple prey animals at each feeding encourages rapid growth. It also leads to obesity in older animals. The relative difficulty in procuring food limits this phenomenon in the wild.
Shedding (Ecdysis)
Shedding is the process by which snakes periodically discard the outer portion of their skin. This activity is under hormonal control and associated with growth. Most snakes shed their skin 4-8 times per year. The frequency of shedding depends upon many factors, including environmental temperature, frequency of feeding, amount fed at each feeding, and activity level. Young snakes shed more frequently than older ones because growth is relatively rapid in the first few years of life.
Failure to Voluntarily Feed
Anorexia (lack of appetite) and failure to voluntarily feed are common problems among captive snakes. Despite the fact that snakes are uniquely suited to survive prolonged periods without feeding, the hobbyist must make every attempt to discover the reason(s) for the snake's failure to feed. This search must include the possibility of illness, since anorexia is a universal sign of disease in snakes.
Regurgitation
Regurgitation of food may result from handling a snake too soon after it is fed. Regurgitated food is undigested and relatively odorless. Another common cause of regurgitation is inadequate and incomplete digestion caused by relatively cool environmental temperatures. In these cases, the regurgitated food appears digested and is malodorous. If it is not possible to raise the temperature of the enclosure, a focal source of heat (hot rock, heating pad or pads) on which the snake can rest is a necessity to ensure adequate and complete digestion.
Trauma
Burns: Snakes commonly sustain serious burns when they contact unprotected or malfunctioning heat lamps or other heat sources (including hot rocks). Interestingly, snakes tend not to move away from the heat source inflicting the injury. This makes the wound considerably more serious. Medical treatment (including injectable antibiotics and periodic wound dressings) is required in these cases. Surgery may be necessary to minimize the disfiguring effects of such injuries.
Constipation
Constipation is a common problem among captive snakes. Causes include suboptimal environmental temperature, illness, dehydration, injuries, parasitism, and cloacoliths. Constipated snakes should be allowed to soak in very warm (not scalding hot) water for 20-30 minutes daily for 1-2 days. This often results in defecation and/or urination. It this conservative measure is not successful, veterinary help should be sought at once.
Cloacoliths
Dehydration of captive snakes (especially if long standing) may result in drying out of urinary excretions. When this occurs, uric acid "stones" tend to form within the cloaca ('cloacoloths'). Their presence in this location prevents expulsion of urinary waste and feces (constipation), which creates serious illness. Dehydration is a sign of disease and not a disease in itself, so it becomes the veterinarian's task to determine the underlying problem that caused the dehydration. Cloacoliths can usually be manually expelled with patience and the help of mineral oil enemas. Only an experienced veterinarian should attempt this procedure.
Abnormal Shedding
Abnormal shedding occurs when the normal sequence of events of the shedding process is somehow interrupted. This usually results in a piece-meal shed and/or retained eye caps. Causes include serious internal disease, inadequate relative humidity, and previous injury (including surgery) to the skin and scales, external parasitism, lack of adequate objects against which to rub at the beginning of the shed, and thyroid gland problems.
Retained Eye Caps
Retained eye caps are often a manifestation of an abnormal shed. The eye caps represent the outermost cellular layers of the corneas (the transparent portions of the eyes), which are supposed to be shed each time the outermost layers of the skin are shed.
Mouth Rot
Mouth rot is a progressive bacterial infection involving the oral lining. It may begin with increased salivation. Often saliva bubbles from the mouth. Close inspection of the oral lining reveals tiny pinpoint areas of bleeding. The oral lining becomes increasingly inflamed and pus begins to accumulate within the mouth, especially among the rows of teeth. As the disease progresses, the underlying bone becomes infected and the teeth fall out. This infection must be recognized in the early stages to successfully reverse it. The hobbyist must seek veterinary help when mouth rot is first evident.
Abscesses
Abscesses are a common form of bacterial infection in snakes. They can be external and/or internal in location. External abscesses most often result from bite wounds (usually inflicted by live prey animal) and other injuries (especially puncture wounds) to the skin. Internal abscesses may be located within one or more organs and/or within the body cavity.
Blister Disease
Blister disease is common in many captive reptiles. It is most often associated with the maintenance of these animals in damp, filthy environments. The first sign is usually a pink to red appearance of the bottom-most scales. Later, these scales become swollen and infected by bacteria and fungi.
Septicemia
A wide variety of bacteria can cause generalized internal infections(septicemia). These bacteria may invade the body by way of wounds and abscesses or as a consequence of serious illness originally localized in the respiratory, gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts.
Respiratory Disease
Respiratory infections are common in snakes. They may be associated with septicemia (body-wide illness, viral infections and mouth rot. Some respiratory illness may be the consequence of stress from poor or inadequate husbandry.
Eye Infections
Captive snakes occasionally suffer eye infections. Infections may be superficial or more extensive, involving the entire eye. Superficial infections may result from mild injury to the eye. Superficial infections may also become established below a retained eye cap. Infections of this type must be recognized promptly and treated aggressively to prevent involvement of the entire eye. The retained eye cap must first be removed if at all possible. Infections involving the entire eye may result from trauma to the eye or from septicemia (body-wide) infection. In the latter case, the bacteria enter the eye by way of the bloodstream.
Fungal Infections
A number of fungal organisms can cause superficial and deeper infections of snakes. Most of these infections involve the skin and respiratory system. Fungal infections of the eyes are most likely to occur in snakes housed in damp, contaminated environments. Ringworm fungi that usually infect people, pets and livestock have also caused skin infections of snakes.
Parasitic Diseases
Snakes can be hosts to a large number of parasites, representing a bewildering variety of organisms that can cause many problems. A large number of one-celled organisms (protozoa) can cause serious diseases of the digestive, respiratory, reproductive and vascular 9blood and bloodstream) systems of snakes. Flukes cause illness in the respiratory and urinary systems. Tapeworms parasitize the digestive system. Roundworms and related parasites inhabit the digestive tract, but their juvenile states can cause disease to other organs (especially the lungs) during the course of their migrations. Large numbers of mites and ticks parasitize the skin and scales of snakes, and create disease by feeding on the host's blood.
Cancer
Cancer occurs in snakes, but the number of reports is very limited. Some tumors have been diagnosed on living snakes, but most were diagnosed at the time of autopsy. As with mammals, tumors of snakes can be benign or malignant and originate from any organ or tissue of the body, including blood.
Organ Failure
Failure of vital organ function may be the result of advancing age or cancer but is usually a consequence of chronic and unchecked disease among captive snakes. Disease that has gone undetected and/or untreated can have devastating and sometimes, fatal consequences. Under these circumstances, organ function is greatly compromised and the snake's usually smooth-running metabolism is threatened. Dehydration and uric acid build-up within the kidneys and possibly other vital organs further complicates the picture.
Veterinary Examinations
The key to optimum health and longevity of captive snakes is the pursuit of sound husbandry and feeding practices. Equally important are the hobbyist's awareness of the potential health problems that can afflict captive snakes and the vital role of the experienced veterinarian in diagnosing and treating them.
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