Pyro Care

The Arizona Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana pyromelana) is a slender snake, which reaches a size of up to 42 inches in length. They inhabit central and southeastern Arizona and into northern Mexico, ranging south into the states of Chihuahua and Sonora. Habitat ranges from pinyon-juniper woodland and chaparral through pine-fir woodlands. Most often, these snakes are found near streams. An important aspect of their macrohabitat is rock piles since these are mainly a sauxicolous (rock-dwelling) snake. Although there are certainly exceptions, it is thought that Sonoran mountain kingsnakes do not venture far from their rock pile homes. They spend most of their time hidden among the rocks they inhabit, and rarely venture out except to bask, eat, drink and mate.

Housing for your kingsnake should employ enough room for there to be a warm side of the cage, recommened at one third of the cage. For adult pyros, a 20 gallon long will do great, and this as well is the smallest tank size I recommend. A tight fitting lid with locking clips should be used. Placing areas for your snake to crawl around on, such as rocks, sticks and such are fine, as long as they are clean and cleanable. There is as well manufactured products that work well.

Food in the wild includes various lizard species, lizard eggs, rodents, and birds. Many specimens collected in the field have voided either lizard scales or rodent fur in their feces. Prey offered in a captive situation should be pinky (newborn) mice for small snakes and up to suitable sized mice for adults. Also it is recommended that food be frozen/thawed for the safety of the snake. Food items should be offered every week for young growing snakes and10-14 days for adults. Keeping your snake warm is one of the most important things that should be considered. Heat should come from an UTH, or under tank heater. This is the most reliable way to provide warmth. Never use heat rocks, they are very unreliable and also not a good way to provide heat. Always keep the heat available. A temperature gradient of 72-84° should be kept for your kingsnake.

A bowl of fresh water that is big enough for your snake to curl up in should be provided. The water should be checked often, and changed when necessary. Some times snakes will actually defecate in their water bowl. Changing the water completely every week is a good idea, but assume it may need to be changed before that at times. If you are unsure of the quality of your local water supply, you can replace it with bottled water if you so choose. Just remember to keep it fresh and clean.

There are many products on the market today that you can use on the floor of your enclosure, or you can use something as simple as newspaper. It is really up to what each person wants in eye appeal, and ease of cleaning. I prefer products such as aspen bedding, fir bark, cypress bark, newspaper or paper towels. If using a wood chip product, you will need to remove the snake from the cage, place it in a suitable sized Rubbermaid or like container and feed it in that. The reason for this is that they can swallow the substrate and it can get impacted in the gut and cause problems, even death.

Snakes feel more safe and secure when they have a place to hide. For this reason, you should provide a place for your snake to hide. There are commercially manufactured products on the market for this purpose, or you can use something as simple as a plastic container with a hole cut in the side or top. You should provide two hiding places. One on the cool end, and one on the warm end, or just provide one, and put it in the middle of the enclosure. These snakes in general are a snake that does not venture out much, so they require a hiding area to feel safe and more at home.

In conclusion, I recommend reading and researching any reptile before one is purchased and kept in a captive situation. Make note of all that is needed to keeping any reptile healthy and safe. Make sure you can willingly keep up on the maintenance and husbandry of the animal before you get one.

Referances: Stebbins, Robert C. 1954. Reptiles and Amphibians of the Western United States.