Housing your snake

You will need to buy a vivarium for your snake to use as his house. It is best to get this (and also the things that you put inside it) from a specialist reptile shop. Vivariums made of glass or plastic are a good idea as these materials are easy to clean.

Within the vivarium you should try to create a world which mimics the environment your species of snake would live in if they were living in the wild. Desert species, such as King snakes, need a dry environment, and tropical species, such as the Boa Constrictor, thrive in more humid surroundings. Therefore, it is very important that you fully research your chosen species so that you can create the correct living environment.

It is also important to think about where within your home you will place the snake’s house. The best place is in a room that is used, like your bedroom or the main living room not an unused room with cold temperatures. Your snake needs to be somewhere with a constant temperature. Do not put his house beside a window or over a radiator as the temperature will rise and fall too much in these areas.

Snakes are escape artists, so it is important to make sure the roof of your snake’s house is secure. Because of this it’s advisable to put any heat lamps in wire cages as your snake may to try slither around them. This could also potentially burn him.

Substrate is the material used to cover the floor of your snake’s house. If you have a desert species you should provide him with sand, a tropical species needs a combination of soil and moss. You must be cautious with substrate in case any is consumed by your snake and cause impaction.

You will also need to put some furniture in his house. He needs to have somewhere to hide, especially if his house is in a busy room. You can buy him a plastic cave, or you can use pieces of wood or logs to make an artificial hide. Plants such as vines can also be used for making hiding areas. Real plants mimic a more real environment to those in the wild, although plastic plants are easy to clean.

Life on Earth is supported by the sun. The sun provides heat and also light. Animals need both heat and light to survive. Mammals can control their own body temperature. The food they eat provides the body with energy and heat. If they are too cold they shiver and if they are too hot they sweat. These processes use a lot of energy.

Your snake is a reptile and reptiles regulate their body temperature very differently from mammals. This is a major and vitally important difference. Reptiles are cold blooded (ectothermic). This means that their bodies cannot produce heat from the food that they eat. Because of this they need much less energy from food to survive. A 100g reptile needs only 5% of the energy that a 100g mammal needs. To keep warm they need to bathe in the sun or sit on a warm rock. They have no hair, no sweat glands and do not shiver. This means that your snake will show no obvious signs that they are too hot or too cold. You may see your snake become less mobile if cold so it’s important to learn your snake’s normal activity level.

You need to provide sources of heat for your snake within his house. This could be a heat bulb, a hot rock or an underfloor heating mat. It is important that you know the temperature in both the hottest and the coolest areas. To do this you will need to use thermometers around their house. The temperature in the vivarium depends on the species of snake.

If you are not aware of the temperature in your snake’s house there is a danger that he could become too hot. As he cannot sweat to cool off, or remove layers of clothing as we would, he will try to hide in a cooler part of his tank. Providing a water bath is a good idea this will allow your snake to cool off. Snakes have no heat detectors in their skin and cannot ‘feel’ when the skin is burning. It is important to use thermostats to prevent over-heating.

It is more common however, for a snake to find himself in an environment which is too cold. Cooler temperatures are unlikely to kill him but will put a strain on his body and organs. His muscles, lungs, intestines and heart will struggle to work if they are too cold, and if this goes on for a long time it can lead to illness and even death. Therefore, it is important to learn your snake' s normal activity level.

As well as producing heat and light, the sun also produces ultraviolet (UV) light. This is a type of light which we cannot see but snakes can. It affects the skin of humans and can cause sunburn. Reptiles use UV light to make vitamin D3. This helps to keep their bones strong and healthy and enables their guts to absorb calcium from their food. To obtain vitamin D3 he will need exposure to UV light for 12 hours a day. Snakes are not entirely dependent on vitamin D3 made by UV light. They are unusual because most of their food already contains enough vitamin D3 and calcium. However, snakes are exposed to UV light in the wild and it is still very important to provide UV light.

Ultra violet light can be provided as a combination bulb or a UV tube. The tube needs to be no more than 30-45cm away from where your snake spends most of his time. Remember that a UV tube will not provide him with any heat. A combination bulb produces heat and UV light but is not suitable for small vivariums. The bulb should be changed once a year, and although it may appear to be working it will get weaker over time and it will eventually stop producing UV light.