Is it possible to keep a snake at home. Already ordinary (non-venomous snake)

Already ordinary and the content of the snake at home are described in this material. Already ordinary - the most common type of snakes. They inhabit almost the entire territory of Eurasia. They belong to the family of narrow-shaped, non-venomous snakes. They differ from others by their "yellow ears". These are pronounced marks on the head. yellow color, occasionally orange.

Females more males, can reach a length of 1.5 meters. You can tell the sex of the snakes by the size of the tail. In males, it is long with a thickening at the base. In females, the tail is much shorter and does not have thickenings, cone-shaped. They feed mainly on frogs, rodents and rarely fish.

Storks and others are at risk for the snake predator birds... They are aggressive, at the sight of a person they flee. Once in the hands, they hiss and wriggle in rings, after which they emit a smell that discourages the appetite of many animals. They know how to swim well, they can stay under water for about half an hour.

Their mating season begins in April. From June to August, female snakes look for a place to lay eggs (warm and humid places are suitable). Places such as heaps of humus, fallen leaves, damp moss are also suitable.

Winter, starting in November, is spent in burrows, crevices.

They tolerate life in captivity well and will quickly tame. Today, it is no longer uncommon to meet a snake as a pet.

For a reservoir, a container is needed where the animal can swim freely. This is especially necessary during the molt period. Pebbles or sphagnum moss are suitable for the soil.

Already ordinary and the content of a snake at home - a terrarium for a snake

In the terrarium, there must be a shelter where he will sleep. For this, pieces of bark, etc. are suitable. As a decor, driftwood, branches, houses, etc. are suitable.

To maintain optimum humidity, sprinkle with water once a day. Such a terrarium should have two zones: wet and dry. Moss and plants are required in wet conditions.

There must also be a warm and cold zone. V warm zone place a shelter with moss. Temperature - from 30 to 35 degrees in daytime, at night - from 20 to 22 degrees.

For supporting optimal temperature you can use thermal mats or thermal cords. Heating lamps can be used in a warm area. The lamp is suitable from 40 to 60 W with mirror coating. In addition to such lamps, an ultraviolet lamp must be placed. To do this, you need to use Repti Glo 5.0 lamps, in which the ultraviolet content is most suitable for keeping such an animal.

The snake's diet includes amphibians (fish, lizards, frogs). In captivity, it is also necessary to provide the pet with such food. You need to feed the snake once every 5-7 days. During this time, his body will digest food, and the animal will get hungry.

It is advisable to add specialized fortified supplements to ordinary food. It will be useful to teach the snake to eat fish fillets, but you should not completely switch to such food. Food for them should be lively and varied. They drink from the reservoir, so you need to keep it clean and change the water regularly.

Snakes get used to a person pretty quickly. Over time, they become less aggressive towards a person. But at first they can even bite, but this is done extremely rarely.

You should not constantly carry it in your arms, for the snake it will be stressful. The first step is to consider the interests of your pet.

Create all the necessary conditions for living snakes, and then he will delight you too!

Video - already ordinary

Already ordinary at home in our time is not at all considered a rarity. Someone in quality pet holding a kitty or guinea pig, and some people like reptiles. The common snake and the common viper are the most common in nature creeping reptiles, but if you have already decided to have such a creature at home, then it is better to opt for a non-poisonous one than on dangerous viper... To keep this moisture-loving creature in your home terrarium, you need to know some rules and features of caring for the animal. If you do not create the necessary conditions for it, then it can perish, which happens, unfortunately, very often among the negligent owners of this creature. It is not very easy to create such conditions, in this article you will find recommendations and tips to help make the stay of a reptile with ears in your home comfortable. If you adhere to all the rules, then a pair of snakes will even give their owner considerable offspring.

Already ordinary: description

Of the numerous genus of their own kind, the ordinary snake is the largest representative. Moreover, the tail of this creature occupies a fifth or third of the total length. Usually, adults are about one meter in length. It is known that on the river Svir the ordinary one has already reached two meters in length, this place is famous for such large reptiles.

Most people imagine a reptile with a black body and two large yellow spots located on the back of the head. Few people know that in nature, in some places, an ordinary one is already "painted" in a completely different way. The top of the body can be gray with various shades, against this background you can see spots arranged in a checkerboard pattern, or narrow stripes "drawn" across. An ordinary snake, the length of which is more than one meter, with a mesh pattern all over the body, will very beautifully stand out.

As you know, it differs from the viper by the presence of yellow spots on the head, but there are representatives of this species who do not have such distinctive characteristics... Individuals with pink, white or orange-red markings are also found. In this case, all shades of yellow are acceptable.

Shields upper lip white, separated by black stripes. Its belly is white with gray tint and black or gray-blue specks. Pure black snakes and white-pink albinos with a grayish tint are found in nature. The latter have red eyes.

It is difficult to distinguish males from females, except in size and tail. "Boys" are much smaller than "girls", and males have a noticeably longer tail.

Character and lifestyle

An ordinary one is already active only in the daytime. He loves to bask in the sun, swim in a pond. By the way, snakes are excellent swimmers and divers. They can stay under water for 20-30 minutes. There were cases when a swimming snake was seen very far from the coast. With the onset of dusk, the reptile looks for a comfortable and safe place to sleep and spends the night there, during which its body cools down. A bunch of branches or leaves, a driftwood or a fallen tree can serve as a refuge for a snake.

Reptiles with ears on their heads are very fast, it costs them nothing to instantly climb a tree. In winter, they hibernate, and their greatest activity is observed from April to September. In the same period, these harmless reptiles multiply.

When asked whether an ordinary one is poisonous, the correct answer is the word "no". Not surprisingly, many terrarium enthusiasts keep them as pets. Unlike wild cousins, domestic snakes are easy to tame and quickly get used to their owner. You can freely pick them up.

How to equip a terrarium

If you decide to settle a snake in your house, then you must be prepared for the fact that you will need to create for him all the conditions necessary for existence. Many people ignore advice on caring for reptiles, as a result, their pets simply die. In order for an ordinary one to feel comfortable in your terrarium, you need to equip it according to all the rules.

For such a non-venomous snake, a spacious and long terrarium will be required, since a voluminous pool will need to be placed in it. Such a bath should be quite big size so that the pet can completely fit in it. So most of the snake house will be occupied by the pool, without it he will not be able to live, since he often needs to swim and drink water.

The bottom in the terrarium is covered with peat or sand, the main thing is that this soil retains moisture for a long time. In the corner, it is necessary to lay moss so that the snake can, buried in it, rest. In a place free from the pool, driftwood, branches or placers of stones are placed. The top of the terrarium should be tightly closed with a net so that the nimble pet cannot escape from its house.

Ordinary already: content

In the content of the snake, a very important point is temperature regime... A stone or driftwood is placed in one corner of the terrarium, and a heating lamp is placed on top. Here the snake will be able to warm up at a temperature of no more than 35 degrees. A cool corner is being set up in another place. In this shelter, the temperature should be around 22 degrees. At these rates, the average temperature in the terrarium is from 22 to 26 degrees.

The moisture level in the snake dwelling is maintained by regular spraying of soil and moss. At night, it is not required to light and heat the terrarium; in the warm daytime, ordinary sunlight will be enough.

At proper care and maintaining a home can already live for about 20 years.

How to care for an ordinary snake

In addition to the fact that the owner of the reptile must monitor the temperature and humidity in the terrarium, he will need to create all conditions for hibernation and active image life of the snake. The house is cleaned once a week; the house must be cleaned regularly. Once every 30 days, to remove ticks, the pet is dipped into a solution of potassium permanganate (1%), only with this procedure you need to carefully monitor so that the snake's head does not get wet.

Nutrition

A person who acquires a reptile should know what an ordinary one eats, since he prefers to eat only live food, and the owner will have to give his pet mice, toads, and fish that have not been killed beforehand. The fact is that this snake will not be interested in either a rodent or a frog if the food does not move. In rare cases, owners manage to train their pets with a well-developed hunting instinct to eat mortified food.

You need to feed the snake 1-2 times a week. If pet large, then he eats less often, but at the same time his lunch should be larger. The snake should receive a mineral supplement every month. You can add mineral water to the drinker from time to time.

Reproduction

In a pair of snakes, mating games start with nodding their heads. This ritual begins with the male holding his head high, shaking it from side to side. If the female accepts signs of attention, then she responds to the gentleman with the same gestures. When mutual understanding is achieved in a pair, the "boyfriend" goes on to more active courtship and rubs on the back of his "lady".

The eggs of the common snake keep in themselves small snakes, whose hearts are already beating, since the development of the offspring begins already in the body of the female. The eggs themselves are not the same as chicken or bird eggs, they are very soft and sticky, which is why they can stick to each other. If the terrarium is not humid enough, they will dry out and the offspring will die.

The incubation period lasts about 10 weeks. Young females are capable of laying 10-15 eggs in a clutch, while a mature individual lays about 30 eggs or even more.

The offspring of the common snake

Newborn babies have a special tooth with which they break the shell and for the first time look at the world... The baby will leave the egg only when he is convinced of his complete safety, around him at this time there should be complete silence and tranquility.

The size of newborn babies of a snake is 10-12 cm, they begin to behave very actively from the first day of their life. You can feed them with earthworms and small frogs.

Snake hibernation when kept at home

In order for an ordinary one to go into hibernation, its owner must provide him with the proper conditions for this. With the onset of autumn, for 30 days, it is necessary to gradually reduce the daylight hours to 4 hours and do the same with the heating period.

After such preparation, the lighting is completely stopped. In the terrarium, the temperature is lowered to 10 degrees. As a result of such actions, it already goes into hibernation and spends in this state for about two months. Such a break in the activity of the reptile is necessary in order for it to develop well in the future and reproduce for the joy of the owner.

Molting

Molting is normal for snakes. An ordinary one, like all its relatives, sheds its skin. If molting occurs normally, the skin from the reptile's body comes off entirely. Before this process begins, the snake becomes less active and loses its appetite. During this period, the owner must ensure that the terrarium is maintained enough level humidity, this is necessary in order to facilitate the pet process of changing "clothes".

How does an ordinary one defend

As mentioned earlier and as everyone knows, the ordinary one is not poisonous. How, then, does this snake defend itself and how does it behave in times of danger? It's better not to try to take a wild snake in your hands, the home one does not protest against such an action only on the part of its owner, to whom he is accustomed. If this creature with ears on its head does not like the attention of a person, it will behave like poisonous snakes. When the formidable hiss and head blows do not help scare off the enemy, he already uses his signature number, releasing a liquid from the intestines, which has a very strong and unpleasant odor. After all these actions, the offender should probably retire, but if this did not happen, he will just pretend to be dead. As for bites, this animal decides to take such a step in very rare cases.

Ordinary already and a viper

The most famous creeping reptiles to all people are vipers and snakes. How is it different from the common viper? The answer to this question should be known first of all for those who like to relax in the forest or near water bodies in the bosom of nature. If a meeting with a snake does not threaten a person at all, then a close acquaintance with a viper is very dangerous, since this creature is poisonous.

It is completely impossible to distinguish between a snake and a viper by color, the main difference is the ears on the sides of the head of a non-venomous snake, but there are snakes that are completely black and without characteristic ears. In this case, it is better to bypass this crawling creature. The difference between poisonous and non-poisonous reptiles is observed in the pattern on the body. On the back of the snake, dark spots are staggered, while the viper is painted in zigzags.

• In order to completely remove the skin during molting, it finds narrow slits and crawls through them. Thus, the skin slides off the animal, like an inverted stocking (this starts from the head).
• The snake bite does not pose any danger to humans.
• The inhabitants of small villages very often domesticate wild snakes so that these do not Poisonous snakes exterminated rodents on the farm.

• Snakes swallow their prey alive without killing it before.
• When the weather is too hot, the reptile can sink to the bottom of the reservoir and stay there for a long time, waiting for its body to cool.
• If there is already danger at the time when it swallows food or has just swallowed it, then the snake belches food and flees or tries to defend itself. In this case, a mouse or frog that has been in the mouth of a reptile can remain alive.

Even in the century before last, an ordinary person could calmly settle in a peasant's yard, without fearing for his life. The villagers were afraid to kill an intruder because of their superstitious fear of bringing trouble to their homes.

Appearance, description of an ordinary snake

The reptile belongs to the already-shaped family, differing from its friends in the snake kingdom by yellow "ears" - symmetrical markings on the head (closer to the neck). The spots are lemon, orange, off-white, or completely invisible.

The size of an average individual does not exceed 1 m, but there are also more solid specimens (1.5-2 m each). Males are much smaller than females. The snake's head is noticeably separated from the neck, and the body longer than the tail 3-5 times.

The top of the snake body can be painted dark gray, brown or olive, diluted with a dark "checkerboard" pattern. Belly - light gray or off-white, with a dark longitudinal stripe in the center... In some individuals, this strip occupies the entire underside. Among the snakes, there are both albinos and melanists.

Similarity to a viper

It is interesting! A good-natured snake is related to poisonous viper little: favorite places relaxation (forest, ponds, lawns) and the desire to avoid collisions with people.

True, the viper less often retains its composure and attacks a person at the first careless movement.

There are much more differences between reptiles:

• longer, slimmer than a viper and has a smoother transition from body to tail;
• stand out on the snake's head yellow spots, and a zigzag strip stretches along the back of the viper;
• the snake has an oval, slightly ovoid head, while in the viper it is triangular and resembles a spear;
• snakes do not have poisonous teeth;
• in snakes, the pupils are vertical or round (similar to those of a cat), and in vipers, the pupils are transverse, like sticks;
• snakes eat frogs, and vipers prefer mice.

In fact, there are much more differences (for example, in the form of scales and scutes), but an amateur does not need this knowledge. You won't be looking at the scales when there is a threat of a snake attack, will you?

Habitat, habitats

V northern latitudes the common snake can be found from Karelia and Sweden to the Arctic Circle, in the southern ones - on the northern coast of Africa (up to the Sahara). The western border of the range runs along the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula, while the eastern border covers central Mongolia and Transbaikalia.

Snakes adapt to any landscapes, even man-made ones, the main thing is that there is a body of water with stagnant or slowly flowing water nearby.

These snakes live in meadows, forests, river floodplains, steppes, swamps, mountains, gardens, urban wastelands and forest park zones. When settling in the city, snakes often find themselves under the wheels, as they like to bask on the asphalt. This is the main reason for the decline in the population of snakes in a densely populated area, although globally, one does not need to worry about the number of the species.

Expectancy and lifestyle

It already lives a lot, from 19 to 23 years, and the main condition for its long life is considered to be water, which is responsible for the scientific name of the species - natrix (from the Latin natans, translated as "swimmer").

It is interesting! Snakes drink and swim a lot, making long swims without a specific purpose. Their route usually runs along the coast, although individual individuals have been seen in the open sea and in the center of huge lakes (at a distance of tens of kilometers from land).

In the water, it already moves like all snakes, lifting its neck vertically and bending its body and tail in a wave-like horizontal plane. During the hunt, it dives deeply, and while resting, it lies on the bottom or wraps around an underwater snag.

He searches for prey in the mornings / evenings, although the peak of activity falls on daylight days. On a clear day, an ordinary one exposes his sides to the sun on a stump, stone, hummock, felled trunk, or any convenient elevation. At night, it crawls into shelter - voids from upturned roots, accumulations of stones or burrows.

Enemies of the common snake

If the snake does not hide before sunset, it will quickly cool down and will not be able to quickly escape from natural enemies, among which are seen:

• carnivorous mammals including fox, raccoon dog, weasel, and hedgehog;
• 40 types large birds(for example, storks and herons);
• rodents, including rats;
• amphibians such as frogs and toads;
• trout (eats young animals);
• ground beetles and ants (destroy eggs).

Trying to catch fear on the enemy, it hisses and flattens the neck area (pretending to be a poisonous snake), folds the body in a zigzag and nervously twitches the end of its tail. The second option is to run away.

It is interesting! Caught in the paws of a predator or in the hands of a person, the reptile pretends to be dead or splashes a stinking substance secreted by the cloacal glands.

Snakes constantly experience a shortage of reliable shelters, which is why they enjoy using the fruits human activity living in houses, chicken coops, baths, cellars, bridges, sheds, compost heaps and trash heaps.

Diet - what does an ordinary one eat

The gastronomic preferences of the snake are rather monotonous - these are frogs and fish.... Periodically, he includes in his diet and other prey of a suitable size. It can be:

• newts;
• toads;
• lizards;
• chicks (dropped from the nest);
• newborn water rats;
• insects and their larvae.

Snakes disdain carrion and do not eat plants, but they willingly drink milk when they are in the terrarium.

When hunting for fish, it already uses wait-and-see tactics, grabbing the victim with a lightning movement when it swims close enough. Frogs are already actively pursuing on land, but they do not even try to jump back to a safe distance, not seeing a mortal danger in the snake.

He already swallows a fish dish without any problems, but eating a frog usually stretches for many hours, since it is not always possible to grab it right by the head. Like other snakes, it already knows how to stretch its throat, but the angular frog is in no hurry to go into the stomach and sometimes breaks out of its mouth for dinner. But the executioner is not ready to let go of the victim and grabs her again to continue the meal.

After a hearty dinner, she goes without food for at least five days, and if necessary - several months.

It is interesting! There is a known case when a forced hunger strike lasted for 10 months. He was subjected to this test by a German naturalist who did not feed the subject from June to April. The first feeding of the snake after the hunger strike passed without deviations from the gastrointestinal tract.

Reproduction of a snake

Puberty occurs at 3-4 years of age. The mating season lasts from April to May, eggs are laid in July-August... The periods of mating games in different regions may not match, but always start at the end of the first seasonal molt(he usually changes his skin after catching and digesting the first prey). Cases of autumn mating have been recorded, then the female lays eggs after wintering.

Intercourse is preceded by a plexus of several snakes (females and many males) into a "marriage ball", the result of which is the laying of leathery eggs in an amount from a few to 100 (or even more).

It is interesting! If there are not enough secluded places in the habitat of the population, the females create a collective storage of eggs. Eyewitnesses told how one day they found a clutch of 1200 eggs in a forest clearing (under the old door).

The masonry must be protected from drying out and cold, for which the snake looks for a moist and warm "incubator", which often becomes a pile of rotten foliage, a thick layer of moss or rotten stump.

Having laid eggs, the female does not incubate the offspring, leaving it to the mercy of fate. After 5-8 weeks, small snakes with a length of 11 to 15 cm are born, from the moment of birth they are preoccupied with finding a place for wintering.

Not all baby snakes manage to feed themselves until the cold weather, but even hungry kids live up to the spring warmth, except that they develop a little more slowly than their well-fed sisters and brothers.

Snakes perfectly tolerate captivity, are easy to tame and undemanding in content. They need a horizontal type terrarium (50 * 40 * 40 cm) with the following equipment:

• thermal cord / thermal mat for heating (+ 30 + 33 degrees in a warm corner);
• gravel, paper or coconut for the substrate;
• shelter in a warm corner (to maintain humidity, it is placed in a cuvette with sphagnum);
• shelter in a cold corner (dry);
• a capacious container with water so that the snake swims there, stifles during molting, and not only quenches its thirst;
• UV lamp for daylight.

V sunny days additional lighting of the terrarium is not required... Once a day it is sprayed warm water so that the sphagnum remains moist at all times. The snake's home diet consists of small fish and frogs: it is desirable that the prey show signs of life, otherwise the pet may refuse to eat.

It is interesting! Sometimes snakes are accustomed to defrosted foods. They feed the already-like ones 1-2 times a week, large reptiles - even less often. Once a month, mineral dressings are mixed into food, and instead of plain water give mineral. The water in the drinker is changed daily.

If desired, the snake is hibernated, for which, with the onset of autumn, the lighting / heating time is reduced from 12 to 4 hours. After you achieve a decrease in the temperature in the terrarium to + 10 + 12 degrees and stop lighting it, the snake will fall into hibernation(up to 2 months). The dream you simulate will have a beneficial effect on the body of a rested pet.

Snakes are snakes that you can keep at home, because they are safe, non-toxic, and quite friendly. The sizes of the snakes are average, but it is still a fairly decent value (there are no exact sizes, all snakes are different). Snakes are common, water, viper and Colchis. Many snakes are attracted not only by safety, but also appearance... They have beautiful round pupils and upturned nostrils. On the abdomen, most often they already have a patchy surface, and on the scales itself you can easily make out its characteristic. However, it is very important to know how to care for a snake at home, where to keep it, how to feed it, how to care and much more. Every owner or person who wants to have a snake should know about this. Therefore, now we will consider this aspect, although many people know a certain minimum about snakes (the need for water, fish for lunch, swallowing food, and much more).

Where will live already.

1. The terrarium should be large, because most of it will be occupied by a snake's “pond”. Since you cannot imagine life without water, your terrarium must constantly have fresh water in the pool. It will be enough in the water long time, he will drink and bathe in it (the latter suggests that the terrarium should be roomy enough for your pet!). They are smart creatures, they like to constantly run away from their terrariums, so do not forget to cover the terrarium all the time, not with a thick board or lid, but with a net, so that you can breathe easily.

2. As with fish, the snake's deal with the terrarium should be as follows: the bottom is carefully laid out on the bottom, which can be either simple sand or peat. The soil retains moisture well in the terrarium, which is important. Regardless of your choice of soil, add sand to the bottom of the pool in the terrarium.

3. Snakes like to hide in moss, so make sure that in addition to the soil, there is already moss in the terrarium. So your pet will always be calm and comfortable (they are already burrowing in the moss).

4. Such “inhabitants” as stones, branches, bark, “driftwood”, etc., should find their place in the terrarium. As you understand, with their help it is possible to restore natural elements in which snakes usually live. Your pet will have great pleasure in diving between the decorations you have created.

5. The hardest to maintain different temperatures in a terrarium for a snake. The fact is that in one place the snake should warm up, in another (also warm) there will be moss, but at least one corner should be dry and cool. In a warm place, it will already be warming up (most often from a heating lamp specially installed in that corner), the temperature here should vary from 30 to 35 degrees Celsius. The cool corner should be dry at the same time and reach a temperature of about 22 degrees. On average, the temperature of the terrarium is about 24-26 degrees Celsius.

6. At night, the light and heating of the terrarium can and should be turned off so that you can sleep in your "house". However, moisture must be maintained regularly, so constantly spray the soil and moss with water and sunbathe them.

Feeding a home snake.

To properly care for the snake, you first need to feed it. But what do snakes eat and how do they do it. To begin with, snakes do not chew food, but simply swallow it whole and digest it. Snake food should be alive, as they say, the freshest. Most of all, snakes will like fish, but they will not refuse such delicacies as frogs or small rodents. You can find all the food for the snake in the pet store, here you can consult with the seller and independently choose fish for the snake, small mice, frogs (buy simple tree ones), worms, snails, etc. loves most and what he dislikes. Usually, people ask sellers in a pet store how to care for a snake at home, to which they are told that snakes eat only live and stirring food. However, in fact, you can teach a snake (or buy already one) to eat and already inanimate "food". The snake is fed only a couple of times a week or even less often, depending on the size of your snake and its predilections (usually large snakes eat less often). We must not forget about feeding the snakes with useful minerals in the form of special feeding (from a pet store) or crushed eggshells. Or add mineral water to the water once a month, which will be a pleasant surprise for him. Do not forget to regularly change the water in the terrarium, not only does he swim in it, but he can also be under water for a long time, and he also drinks water from his pool.

Belongs to the class of real snakes. Distinctive feature animal - two "ears" on the head (two spots - orange and yellow or white flowers). However, in each individual, the spots are expressed differently - strongly, weakly, or absent altogether. Snakes are painted gray, black or brown, often the body of animals contains a pattern in the form of stripes or spots. It should be noted that females are always larger than males and their body length can reach 1.5 meters.

Already- a common inhabitant of river banks, swamps and other wet places. This is not, but if necessary, it is able to quickly enough hide in the bushes or sneak into shelter. In our country, it is most often found in the south of the Far East, Siberia and throughout the European part. The animal leads a predominantly diurnal lifestyle, its activity depends on seasonal changes... So, the breeding period and the greatest activity of snakes occurs from the beginning of April to the middle of September. As a rule, in the morning, animals crawl out of their burrows to bask in the sun, and with the onset of dusk they return under driftwood, to shelters from branches, under foliage and cool down. V winter season snakes hibernate.

Like other types of snakes, it sheds the skin - it completely leaves the body during normal molting. It should be noted that before molting, snakes often refuse food and become more passive. In order to facilitate the molting process, it is recommended to maintain a sufficient level of humidity in the animal's shelter.

Of course, few people would think of calling the snake a pet, especially when you consider the fact that most of the snakes sold in pet stores and markets are caught in forests, in swamps - that is, in wildlife... Therefore, you should carefully consider the feasibility of buying such unusual pet and placing him in his dwelling. After all, since wild environment habitat no conditions of detention can be compared, even very well organized, and snakes most often perish in the hands of inexperienced owners due to lack / excess of moisture and inadequate temperature.

Already ordinary content requires serious, therefore, if you nevertheless decide to have such a "cute" pet in your house, then you should approach with all responsibility the organization of its future habitat. So, consider the most important points... First, you need to purchase a long, spacious terrarium with a large pool that takes up a significant portion of the entire space. The pond should be sized so that your pet can fit in it entirely - the animal needs it for drinking and bathing.

From above, the terrarium must be tightly closed with a net so that it does not run away. The bottom of the terrarium is laid with soil that has a high moisture retention capacity: sand or peat. You can also sprinkle sand on the bottom. In addition to the main soil, a moss section should be arranged in one of the corners, into which the animal, if necessary, can bury itself. In addition to all of the above, it is recommended to place placers of stones, all kinds of driftwood in the terrarium, make shelters and shelters from well-fixed bark or branches.

It is very important to ensure that temperature differences are maintained in the enclosure. In one of the corners (or next to it), you need to place a heating lamp, and put a snag or a stone under it so that you can heat your body. The daytime temperature in this corner of the terrarium should not exceed 35 degrees Celsius. In addition to warm corner you need to organize a cool dry place where the animal can cool down - it is desirable that this place be equipped with a shelter, and its temperature is approximately 22 degrees Celsius. average temperature the rest of the terrarium in the daytime should be in the range of 22 to 26 degrees Celsius.

Correct is no less important task. A good option is to purchase a special lamp with UV rays, but in the warm season, you can limit yourself to ordinary sunbathing. At night, the terrarium does not need to be illuminated or heated, since the animal sleeps in a shelter at this time. In addition to the temperature, it is necessary to constantly maintain the humidity level in the terrarium - for this you can regularly spray the moss and soil.

Feeding the snake.

Prefers to eat live food, mainly rodents, frogs or small fish... It should be noted that the food served to your pet must definitely stir, otherwise, most likely, it will not even touch the treat. Therefore, when keeping an animal at home, you will have to regularly purchase small mice, tree frogs, aquarium fish and, as mentioned above, feed them alive. Some individuals also do not disdain worms, snails, moths and insects. It should be noted that some owners still manage to feed their pets mortified food, but this rarely happens.

Snakes are given food 1 or 2 times a week, and large individuals eat even less often. Once a month, the animal needs to be given special mineral supplements or crushed eggshell... For these purposes, you can also periodically add mineral water to the drinker.

Snake care.

The main care of the snake is to maintain the most optimal humidity and temperature for the animal in the terrarium, as well as to create periods of hibernation and activity and proper feeding. It is necessary to clean and clean the terrarium every week, and once a month to dip the snake in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate in order to remove ticks. In this case, you can not wet the head of the animal in the solution.

It should be noted that snakes quickly get used to their owners, cease to be afraid of them and can even walk into their arms - in contrast to wild snakes, which, when trying to take them in their arms, begin to threaten: hiss like poisonous snakes, make sharp ejections of the head. By the way, it bites very rarely. Its main method of protection is the release of a strong-smelling liquid from the intestines, and if the stench has no effect on the offender, then the animal simply pretends to be dead. The life expectancy of the common snake under the comfortable conditions of its habitat is about 20 years.

Does it go into hibernation?

In order for the home to go into hibernation, it is necessary in the fall to gradually, within one month, reduce the heating period and daylight hours from 12 to 4 hours - this provokes a state of hibernation in the animal. After completely stopping the supply of lighting and lowering the temperature in the terrarium to 10 degrees Celsius, it can already spend almost 2 months in hibernation, which subsequently has a beneficial effect on the reproduction of the animal and its activity.