Mexican (Durango Mountain) Housing King Housing

[Jade00]

Hello everyone!

I am quite new at this pet snake thing... and just have a quick question... sure loads more to follow!!

My baby king is currently in a plastic tub and doing very well in there. I am not sure how old he is but I have him since Dec/Jan. He was a pet that was not looked after and my brother who catches snakes as a hobby was called to collect him. He already has 5 snakes so I inherited King Henry as he is now called.

I am planning to get him a new wooden cage soon as he is growing a bit now but would like to know if he would be happy in a 600x350x360 cage. I want to keep the cage smallish as he needs to travel sometimes to stay with my Mom when my Mom-in-law comes to visit. As I understand he will only get +- 900 long which would then be fine for that size cage. Am I correct in this?

[Mr. Whiskers]

I'm not very knowledgeable with Mexican king snakes, but after doing some quick research and applying what I know about terrestrial snakes, I can say the following:
The general rule for housing a terrestrial snake (one that lives exclusively on the ground) is that half the perimeter (the sum of the 4 sides) of the floor should at the very least be HALF the length of the snake. If the snake is longer than this, then that cage is too small. That being said, if the enclosure is larger than this, and your snake doesn't show signs of stress from this (i.e. not feeding or being a lot more nervous) then there should be no problem.
At adulthood, king snakes typically average between 900mm to 1200mm (I'm not sure if your snake will be smaller or larger due to specific locality).

My personal opinion?
I don't think it would be a very good idea to transfer your snake from its hatchling enclosure straight to it's adult enclosure. If your snake is a species that is small at adulthood, then perhaps you can do this, but not for medium to large snakes. The size differences are typically quite large and can more often than not have negative influences on your pet. I would feel more comfortable to have at least 1 intermediate enclosure (a medium sized cage before the adult one).
600x350 sounds perfectly fine for a small adult.

I don't claim to have a lot knowledge on the subject, but I wanted to help (this website is rather quiet and empty). If someone with more experience to give advice reads this, and has something to add / correct / an opinion to share, It would be appreciated.

[Mr. Whiskers]

Made a mistake. The snakes length should at most be half the perimeter*

[Jade00]

Thank you so much for your help! I also noticed the forum is very quiet... pity really!

I was also thinking about stressing him out for being in too big cage. The only concern with his tub that I have is that it is not so easy to have the perfect humidity and heat in his cage. I currently have a heating mat under one third of this tub and when he sheds I place his water on the heated side to make it more humid. He seems very happy with that set-up thus far. Also I have newspaper as substrate as the tub will not handle shaving very well I think. I am really in two minds what to do. It seems that I would be able to have him in a smaller cage than the one mentioned above with what you have told me.

If I understand correctly if he is going to be 900mm then the perimeter of the cage should be 1800mm in total?

[Westley Price]

First off, beautiful snake.

In general, snakes are very forgiving when it comes to cage size. I would say if you cage is 0.75-1.5 times the length of your snake, you are set. So for a 900mm snake you can have a 700-1500mm long enclosure.

Your choice depends on many things like space at home, budget etc.

Your current cage (600x350x360mm) is perfect for his for now, so I wouldnt bother with a bigger cage until he outgrows that one.