California kingsnakes, Lampropeltis getula californiae, are one of the most popular species in the pet snake industry today.
Their moderate size, beautiful looks and even temperament are just a few of the traits that make this such an desirable pet. They are also pretty easy to care for, and are readily available.
California Kingsnake Care Sheet
| Care level | Beginner |
| Temperament | Docile |
| Native to | California, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona |
| Average size | 3 1/2 feet to 4 1/2 feet |
| Cage requirements | 40 gallon aquarium minimum |
| Temperature | 75-88 degrees |
| Humidity | 50%-60% |
| Preferred food | Rodents |
| Feeding frequency | 4-7 days |
| Lifespan | 20+ years |
California Kingsnake Overview
As the name suggests, California kingsnakes can be found all over California as well as parts of Oregon, Nevada and Arizona. This makes reproducing their environment for captivity fairly straightforward and simple if you live in the U.S.
In the wild, these snakes feed on a wide variety of animals. These would include other snakes, lizards, birds and rodents. In captivity however, they will do just fine with mice and rats.
Since other snakes are on the menu, including their own kind, you should house them separately except for breeding purposes.
California Kingsnake Size
California kings hatch from eggs 42-63 days after being laid.
How big are California kingsnakes? California kingsnakes start out around 13 inches in length as babies. You can expect them to double in size in their first year, and then double that again in their second year. So a 13 inch snake will be around 26 inches at a year old, and 36-40 inches at age two. Full grown California kingsnakes will reach 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 feet in length.
This is an average based on my experience, so don’t be worried if your snake is slightly longer or shorter.
Many guides will tell you 3-4 feet, but it has been my experience that these guys grow just a little bit bigger in captivity.
Although males and females are usually about the same size, they reach sexual maturity at different ages. Males are sexually mature at 1-2 years old while females need to be 3-4 years old.
California Kingsnake Housing Needs
California kingsnakes are moderately sized snakes that don’t require a huge enclosure.
Juveniles can be kept in the equivalent of a 10 gallon aquarium.
By the time they are a year old you’ll need to move up in size to a 20 gallon. Adults will need to be housed in something closer to a 40 gallon.
These are the minimum housing requirements for a California kingsnake.
In my opinion, bigger is always better for most snake enclosures.
I also recommend starting out with an adult sized cage rather than stair stepping your way up as they get bigger. Not only does this save you money in the long run, it keeps you from running into the problem of “getting around to it one of these days “.
In addition to the enclosure itself, you’ll also need 1-2 hide boxes.
I like to keep a hide box on the warm side of the cage and another on the cool side. This gives my pets a wider variety of temperature and humidity levels so they can find what works best for them at any given time.
The final thing you might consider is something for your snake to climb on, like branches.
Cali kings are not considered arboreal so this is not absolutely necessary, but it does give your snake added mental stimulation as well as physical exercise to climb on things. Plus, most seem to enjoy it.
California Kingsnake Substrate
Substrates provide aesthetics and humidity control for your reptile.
You want something that looks good, but which also doesn’t hold too little, or too much moisture.
Paper towels work just fine, but most people want something a little more aesthetically pleasing and mimics what they would have in the wild.
Which substrate is best for a California kingsnake? A good substrate choice for a California kingsnake is mixing topsoil with any of the following: aspen shavings, coconut bark, coconut husk mulch, cypress mulch or fir bark mulch. Make sure the top soil contains no fertilizer or pesticides. You can also use a fluffy, paper based bedding or a reptile specific commercial forest substrate.
California kingsnakes like to burrow, and all of these products allow for that, plus they are safe for your pet.
Stay away from cedar, because it can contain contaminants that are poisonous to snakes; pine, because it can be too dusty; or any reptile bedding designed for high humidity, including moss.
California Kingsnake Lighting
Years ago, herpetologists didn’t feel that these snakes needed UVB lighting.
That’s widely debated these days.
California kingsnakes should be provided a habitat that resembles their natural environment as closely as possible, which means you should use UV bulbs. They are typically diurnal, though they may hide during the day and come out at night when it’s extremely hot. This means they get a lot of sunlight in the wild.
They are from sunny California after all!
This is what I do for my snakes. Worst case scenario I’m wasting a little money for no actual benefit. I might be keeping my snakes healthier and helping them live longer however, which makes it worth it to me.
Seeing a California kingsnake in natural light makes it look better too, plus I feel warm and fuzzy inside believing that I am providing my pet with the best possible care.
As for the duration of light, you’ll want 12-14 hours of light and 10-12 hours of darkness. You can do this year round unless you are planning on cycling your snake for breeding.
Another alternative is to follow the hours of sunrise and sunset for where you live.
If you’re in the U.S., it won’t be too different from California. These snakes aren’t that picky.
I personally prefer to use a timer. Lights go on at 7am and off at 8pm.
California Kingsnake Temperature
Like all snakes, California kings depend on their environment for thermoregulation. Their body temperature closely matches the surrounding air temperature.
You want a range of temperatures where your pet can function. Too cold, and it’s metabolism will slow down. Too hot and it will be looking for some place to hide and get out of the heat.
What temperature should California kingsnakes be kept at? California kingsnakes need a warm side of the tank with a basking area around 88-90, and a cool side that is able to stay around 75-78 degrees. Night time temperatures can be allowed to drop down to 70 degrees.
This is actually a pretty easy range to achieve. You shouldn’t need anything more than a basking light at one end of the cage.
You won’t need a cool side and warm side at night. These snakes are diurnal, so usually stay in one place and sleep at night.
A simple heat pad turned on and kept under one of the hide boxes should be sufficient.
You should keep two thermometers, one at each end of the cage.
Too often I see people who only keep a thermometer in the center of the cage and don’t realize the basking spot is too hot, the cold side is too cold or a combination of both.
This effectively cuts the floor space of your enclosure down since your snake will only stay in areas where it is comfortable. You obviously get a cage that is sized to accommodate your pet. Spend the extra couple dollars and have two thermometers.
California Kingsnake Humidity
This can be a tough one for some snake species, but not the California King.
California Kingsnakes need an average humidity level of 50-60%.
Unless you live in a tropical or arctic environment, this pretty much means you don’t need to do anything special. A daily misting of the cage should be adequate.
In the winter you may need to do a little bit more. As the air temperature dries out in colder weather, you might want to mist a couple times per day, or add some moss to one of the hide boxes and mist that.
The same is true for when your snake is going through a shed.
Keep the humidity at the high end of the range when your California kingsnake is shedding.
Even though this is an easy humidity level to achieve, I still suggest you have at least one hygrometer in the cage to verify your humidity levels.
If you need more information, check out this article I wrote about maintaining the perfect humidity for any reptile.
California Kingsnake Water Needs
Be sure to change the water bowl daily.
Personally I like to keep two water bowls. I’ll simply swap out bowls in the morning, and wash the dirty one when I get time later in the day.
These snakes don’t always soak, but it’s not unheard of, especially when they are shedding. Use a bowl that is large enough to fit your pet’s body, but not especially deep.
I like to keep the water bowl on the cool side of the cage so it doesn’t raise the humidity.
California Kingsnake Feeding And Diet
As you might know, they’re called “kingsnakes” because they eat other snakes. The same is true for the king cobra.
That’s not all their diet consists of though. California kingsnakes also eat lizards, birds and rodents. Mice and rats used as food are readily available at many pet stores, and your kingsnake will do just fine on a diet of them.
Here are my feeding recommendations for a California kingsnake. California kingsnakes have a fairly high metabolism, and will be fed more often than snakes like pythons or boas. On average, they will need to be fed rodents every five days. The size of the food should be roughly the same diameter as the middle of your snakes body, or slightly larger.
I hated this type of advice when I was a new snake owner. It still left me wondering if I was feeding too much or too little, and if the prey I offered was too big or too small.
For that reason, I’ve put together a rough feeding chart for you. It is slightly conservative because most snake owners are more likely to overfeed than underfeed. Obesity is a serious health risk. This chart will lead to a healthy pet.
California Kingsnake Feeding Chart
| Snake Size | Food Size | Feeding Frequency |
| Up to 24g | Pinky mouse | Every 4 days |
| 25-30 grams | Small fuzzy mouse | Every 4 days |
| 31-40 grams | Large fuzzy mouse | Every 5 days |
| 41-80 grams | Hopper mouse | Every 5 days |
| 81-140 grams | Weaned mouse | Every 5 days |
| 141-170 grams | Small adult mouse | Every 5 days |
| 171-200 grams | Regular adult mouse | Every 5 days |
| 201-300 grams | Weaned rat | Every 5 days |
| 301-525 grams | Weaned rat | Every 6 days |
| 526 grams and up | Small adult rat | Every 7 days |
I recommend feeding frozen food for a variety of reasons. Follow this guide I wrote on how to get a snake to eat frozen food for more information on that subject.
Temperament And Handling
So what’s it really like to own one of these beautiful serpents?
They are popular in the pet trade, but that doesn’t mean they are the perfect snake for everyone.
Here is how I would describe the temperament of the California kingsnake. California kingsnakes can be somewhat unpredictable. They are fairly calm and docile and will adapt to human handling with time, but may also give you an occasional unexpected bite out of nowhere. Babies can be a bit nippy, but that is to be expected. Babies in the wild are prey more often than they are predator, and naturally feel that anything trying to grab them is going to eat them.
Like many nonvenomous snakes outside of the python or boa families, kingsnakes use defecation as one of their defenses. It is not uncommon for one to poop on you, and excrete a musty odor if it is scared.
Once your Cali is accustomed to human handling and interaction, you shouldn’t run into this too often.
In order to get your snake to this point, you need to handle it every day.
Here is an article you might find useful. It’s called How To Bond With A Pet Snake.
Behavior
Once you’ve acclimated your California kingsnake to human handling, it is generally a docile snake.
They are diurnal, so you will usually see them most active during the day and sleeping at night.
California kingsnakes like to burrow.
It is not uncommon to see them working their way through their substrate.
They aren’t like sand boas which are rarely seen since they spend pretty much all their time buried in the sand, but they will burrow nonetheless if given the opportunity with the proper substrate.
With their higher metabolism, you will see these snakes exploring their enclosure quite often, hunting around in search of another meal.
When they are scared or stressed they might hiss, or roll into a ball and “rattle” their tail like a rattlesnake. Good husbandry practices mean you may not see this behavior often if ever, which is a good thing!
All in all they are a great pet for someone that enjoys seeing an active snake.
California Kingsnake Health Issues
There are no specific health issues inherent with the California kingsnake.
The majority of health concerns stem from poor husbandry practices.
- Respiratory infections – These can be caused from improper temperature or humidity levels. They can also happen if the enclosure is kept in a location that is drafty. Keep your snake cage away from doors, windows and vents.
- Internal parasites – If you are dealing with a captive bred Cali (which is most of the time) the risk of this is minimal. A simple stool sample examined by a veterinarian can easily determine if your snake has internal parasites.
- External parasites – This usually only happens if your snakes is exposed to something like mites from another snake. Always wash your hands between handling different snakes. If you do find external parasites, they are rather easy to get rid of.
Life expectancy for California kingsnakes is 20+ years.
Summary
As you can see, California kingsnakes are truly wonderful pets.
They are perfect for beginners, while at the same time offer a plethora of awesome traits for the expert.
There are few, if any, snakes in the industry that are easier to care for, and their wide range of colors and morphs are as varied as many of the most popular pythons.