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Posted by DeadFrog on April 29, 2003 at 01:27:30:

Hey everyone,

My name is Mark and I have never posted before, although I subscribe to the Uromastyx mailing list. I have had a California Kingsnake (I believe some would call it a banana) for about a year now. And here's the thing: I've read about ten different care sheets, and they all seem to be over-the-top. Here's what I mean:

They make a big deal out of temperature
- but I provide no heat source, and she seems to thrive in room temperature
- it's gone down to 45 degrees inside my apartment this winter without a problem (except the feeder mouse froze to death, lol)
They stress feeding dead prey of size 1.5X snake girth max
- I have fed mine live prey, and she's never been bitten
- She's eaten prey twice her girth
- She's even eaten while in the shedding process
They say to avoid crowds and the smell of prey on your hands
- I have handled her without incident among crowds many times
- I have handled her immediately after handling my Uro (lizards) without incident

I keep her on T-Rex gravel and if some gets in her mouth, she just spits it out. So are these care sheets a little too cautious? Are Kingsnakes just very hardy? Or do I just have the greatest snake of all time, who needs virtually no care?

I am making some changes anyway,
Mark


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