Things You'll Need
- 10-gallon glass aquarium
- Screen lid
- Heat lamp
- 50-watt basking bulb
- Aspen shavings
- Water dish
- Logs or other "furniture"
- Frozen pinkie mouse
- Plastic sandwich bag
Instructions
Setting Up the Enclosure
Cover the bottom of the tank with about an inch of aspen bedding. Baby kings--and king snakes in general--enjoy burrowing, and aspen will not irritate their skin.
Place the logs or any other cage furniture throughout the tank. It is imperative that the baby have a place to hide to alleviate stress.
Fill its water dish with cool water and place it on one side of the tank. The dish should be big enough for the snake to soak in.
Screw the 50-watt bulb into the heat lamp and plug it into a nearby power outlet.
Place the snake within its new tank and secure the screen lid on top.
Place the heat lamp atop the screen lid on one side of the tank with the bulb facing down. This allows for the tank to have a warm side and a cool side.
Feeding
Place the frozen mouse inside the plastic sandwich bag.
Put the mouse in the bag on top of the screen lid, very near to the heat lamp, to allow it to thaw. Thawing takes approximately 15 to 30 minutes.
Once thawed, remove the pinkie mouse from the bag and place it before your snake.
Turn off the heat lamp and allow your snake to eat. Most babies are hesitant at first. If the mouse is too big for the baby to swallow, consider using crickets instead.
Repeat this process once about every 10 days, increasing the size of the mouse as your baby grows.