Domestic snakes: species. Care and maintenance

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Every person wants to have a pet at home. But, no matter how strange it may sound, not everyone can afford to keep a dog or cat. Most of the time this is due to allergies to wool and saliva, but there are other reasons as well.

More and less people try to get parrots, hamsters or fish. Their life expectancy is not too high, and, not having time to finally become attached to a pet, they already have to say goodbye to it forever.

Exotic at home

Recently, the trend is to keep exotic or even wild animals at home: snakes, ferrets, tarantulas or tarantulas. Many people do this unconsciously, succumbing to an impulse, a desire to stand out or simply demonstrate their extravagance. In fact, having such animals in an apartment is a serious and very responsible step. These "little animals" are not designed for home conditions, and future owners will not only have to create an atmosphere comfortable for the pet's life, but also face a number of surprises that will definitely arise during the maintenance of the animal. After all, it has become fashionable to have exotic predators, insects or reptiles at home quite recently, which means that not all the habits of life in captivity have been studied andwarned.

Snake in the house

Snake can rightly be called the most popular exotic pet. Those who decide to have such a pet should study the eating habits and behavior of snakes, their living conditions, consult with serpentologists about the characteristics of the nature and content of each species, and very carefully weigh the pros and cons before taking this crucial step. Pet snakes live for more than 10 years, so you need to be completely sure that proper care will be provided to the reptile until the end of its days.

For home keeping, experts recommend getting non-poisonous reptiles of a fairly small size. It may seem to someone as a bold act to have a poisonous snake at home in order to make a real splash among friends. But doing so is prohibited. Without good reason, no cattery will give a snake as a pet for personal use, especially for a person who has not previously de alt with snakes, does not know how to care for, and does not know how to handle them. "Beginners" are recommended to have "safe" animals of small size - up to 150 cm in length. Such domestic snakes become tame rather quickly, having been born and growing up in captivity.

Snakes at home are still predators. This means that they will have to be fed not with vegetables and fruits, but with meat, and most often - fresh or live. This is one of the main reasons why people give up on the idea of getting a snake. Not everyone is ready to cold-bloodedly feed carcasses of rodents to their pet, even ifslaughtered, which could also be someone's pet.

The most unpretentious look

Garter snakes or garden snakes are perfect for the faint of heart. They can be fed not with mice, but with fish, worms and insects, the main thing is to teach them to this as a cub. They are unpretentious. Usually snakes require an additional heating system during the winter season, but this species can do without artificial heat. It is quite difficult to recognize garter snakes by the color of the scales, because there are a great many color options, only a specialist serpentologist can do this. The length of representatives of this species can vary from 50 to 150 cm.

Beautiful and dangerous snakes

For those who are attracted to dangerous snakes, there is a wonderful alternative - the king snake. It is difficult to tame, but it is still possible to domesticate it if you raise a serpent in captivity. With its bright predatory color, it resembles a poisonous coral snake, forbidden to keep at home. On the main red tone are black and white wide stripes. The stripes of the coral snake have yellow gaps instead of white. The king snake should be fed with rodents: mice and rats. Carcasses can be either frozen or fresh. With its length, the royal snake can reach 100 cm.

Another twin of the venomous coral snake is the milk snake. However, she, like the royal, is not poisonous at all. Differences are in colors: colorthe milk snake is darker, more burgundy than red, the stripes are less frequent. Such a snake feeds on small amphibians and reptiles, as well as rodents. It prefers to swallow food alive, so at home it is better to feed it with tweezers. The length of a milk snake ranges from 50 to 150 cm.

Most popular variety

Climbing snakes are another kind of snakes that experts recommend starting with the domestication of reptiles. There are more than 11 species in total, but the maize snake, or corn snake, and patterned snake are best suited for living at home. Polozov is otherwise called rat snakes, since their main diet is made up of rodents. This is the most popular type of snake for home keeping. Poloz are easy to tame and easy to care for. The colors of such reptiles are very diverse.

Due to genetic deviations, it is possible to cross species and breed kitties of incredible colors. Mutations can also cause these snakes to develop albinism, which looks amazing, although it is detrimental to the he alth of the reptile. The natural color of the maize snake is bright red, the scales of the patterned snake have a greenish and white tint. All other colors are the results of crosses. The snakes feed on small animals, birds, amphibians, eggs are swallowed whole. Cannibalism is found among the patterned snakes. The average length of such snakes is approximately 120 cm.

Advice to those who wishstart a snake

1. Terrarium for a snake should be equipped with a special cover, a hiding place in which the snake can hide, as well as tunnels for movement. It must have additional light and a heating system. The temperature should not be too high or too low, so as not to provoke burns or hypothermia. This information should be clarified with breeders when purchasing a snake. Some species require a vertical terrarium, others a horizontal one.
2. Domestic snakes, like any other animals, need regular veterinary check-ups. The doctor checks the eyes, teeth, scales, breathing and heartbeat.
3. It is better to buy a snake not in a pet store, but from breeders. They also clarify the individual characteristics of caring for a reptile.
4. Despite the fact that domestic snakes are not poisonous, they are dangerous with their strong and muscular body, which can easily strangle a person.
5. It is better to feed a snake with frozen carcasses, rather than live rodents, which are carriers of diseases. By the way, the snakes themselves can be carriers of salmonella, so you need to wash your hands after each contact with the pet.
6. For pets such as domestic snakes, the price ranges from 3,000 to 30,000 rubles.