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Care of the Honduran Milksnake is much
like the care of most Kings/Corns or Milks. They don't really have any
special requirements but I will outline the proper care for one.
Honduran
hatchlings aren't the best baby snakes to start with. They are very
fast and thrash in your hands and most of them will bite and
defecate on you.
If
you are a experienced keeper, then you will know this and will be able
to look past this.
Once
they have hit a year and half or so they begin to calm down very nicely
and are great pets.
Once
you have decided if it's a Honduran you are going to work with, its
pretty easy to keep them alive and healthy. These are very hearty
snakes, not needing any special requirements.
A
ten gallon aquarium is usually enough for the animal until it's a
couple years old. I like to recommend an under tank heater when using
aquariums.
Always
put the under tank heater to one end of the tank so there will be a
cooler spot on the other end.
You
will need a couple of hide spots of your choice. There should
always be one on the warm end and one on the cooler end.
The
warm end should be around 81-83 degrees and the cooler end should be
room temp as long as it isn't too cold.
Fresh
water is always a must. Hondurans like to soak and if they drink water
that is really old and has feces in it they can get sick.
You
should never use a dome light on the top of the cage because It
will heat the whole cage and stress the snake out if he/she wants to
escape the heat but can't.
Once
you have your cage set up you can add whatever furniture you
like. A rock and a little piece of wood is adequate but you may
want more?
If
you plan on setting up several Hondurans for breeding, then you may
want to go to a sweater box rack system.
I
house my babies in shoe box size plastic rack systems and move them up
in size as they grow.
Feeding
all depends on what your real goal is with your snake/snakes.
If
you just have one or two, and just for pets then a feeding of once a
week to every ten days is plenty of food,
If
your goal is to breed you may want to feed every four or five days.
You
should always put your feeder mouse/rat in a plastic cup and set it
inside the tank. The snake will get used to it and after a while you
will see him looking for the tub once you are in the cage messing
around.
This
also helps prevent the ingestion of wood chips or other substrate.
I
use aspen or pine shavings, but there are many different substrates
that one can use.
The
only real threat is cedar, since it is toxic to snakes.
Your
snake should shed once a month or so when it's growing good. Once it's
an adult it will slow down a bit and shed every six to eight weeks.
If
the snake is unable to shed you may need to raise the humidity a bit in
the tank. You can add a butter tub filled with peat moss or spagnum
moss with a hole in it and the snake will thank you for it.
There
is more on the brumation in the husbandry section if you wish to
hibernate. If its just a pet and kept warm all year it should do great.
If it goes off feed, in the fall, you may want to hibernate the animal,
so it doesn't lose too much weight.
Thanks,
Shannon Brown
West
Coast Hondurans
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