Learn all about feeding and caring for your pet, the gopher snake
The home of gopher snakes
Ground snakes don’t need an elaborate place to live. Probably the main consideration is to make sure the enclosure can be well secured. If you don’t secure it, the snake can push you just enough to get out. All you need is an opening that your head can fit through and they’re gone. This snake is a good escape artist, so make sure you don’t have to look around the house for it, as everyone in the family may not like snakes as much as you do.
If you often take your snake out for handling or letting it exercise, you can keep it in an enclosure as small as 10 gallons. If you keep him indoors most of the time, he will need at least a 20 gallon tank or enclosure to make him happy. There have been reports of a squirrel snake that is up to 8 feet long, so make sure you have a large enough enclosure for the future. The length of the enclosure should be at least two-thirds the length of the snake to give them room to stretch.
Substrate needs
Ground snakes don’t need special substrates. As long as you can provide the snake with warmth and comfort, then you are good to go. However, there are a few important things to consider in your substrate needs. Chips like aspen make a good substrate, but don’t use cedar as it could cause breathing problems. Potting soil is good as it is easy to clean up after them. Sand or gravel is not recommended because it is not a good absorbent. Using these will only promote the growth of bacteria. Shredded paper is fine as long as it is out of ink. A product called Repti-turf is very good, as well as indoor / outdoor rugs and Astro-Turf.
Proper temperature for a gopher snake
Like most snakes, your pet needs to have adequate heating in its enclosure. A good way to do this is with a heating pad under the middle of the enclosure. In this way they will have a warm area and a cooler one. The warm area should be kept at seventy-five to eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit. This is a must, as it is necessary to digest your food. At night, the temperature can drop so the temperature must be regulated.
Feeding the Gopher Snake
Ground snakes are very easy to feed as they eat frozen and thawed mice or rats and only need to be fed every 10 days. The good thing about this is that you can keep a good amount of food in your freezer. Although in the wild these snakes feed on living creatures, they do not feed them in captivity. Sometimes they could turn on the snake and bite it causing injury.
Water is a must for gopher snakes
Your pet squirrel snake needs clean, fresh water at all times. The container should be large enough for him to put his body in, as they like to bathe from time to time. Snakes often defecate in water, in which case it should be cleaned and disinfected immediately.
Handling your pet snake
When handling your pet snake you must be delicate but at the same time inflexible. A baby squirrel snake can be lifted with one hand, but an adult snake must be lifted with both hands. They will not wrap around your arm like a python, but will instead try to take off. To control it, just gently turn it in the direction you want it to go.
At some point, when having a pet squirrel snake, they will probably bite you. There are 2 types of snake bites associated with your pet. The strike is one where they are not happy with you. They do not hold. While this hurts, the bite is not poisonous and only needs to be disinfected. The other type is the feeding bite and it is a bit more serious. The reason is that it is trying to eat whatever part of you it has its teeth on. The more you try to escape, the more it clings. A little bit of grain alcohol (without rubbing) in your mouth will cause it to come off almost immediately. Listerine will work too. Make sure you don’t stick it up your nose. Biting is weird, so don’t let this stop you from having a squirrel snake as a pet.
Gopher snake as a pet
While corn snakes and ball pythons are probably more popular as pets, you should consider a squirrel snake. They probably have the best overall temperament of this type of snake. They are very similar to the corn snake in terms of housing and feeding needs. They are easy to feed as they eat frozen mice and need to be fed only every 10 days or so. They don’t mind being handled and will only bite when provoked or hungry. Even strangers will be able to handle a trained pet snake. Before determining what kind of snake to get as a pet, read up on the Gopher snake and you may decide that this is the pet snake for you.
