African House Snakes are among the easiest reptiles to keep, making them a favorite among snake enthusiasts. The African house snake is a small, nonvenomous snake native to southern Africa, often kept as pets due to its docile nature and ease of care. Unlike some of their larger cousins, African house snakes are relatively small and well-adapted to living in close proximity to humans.
Currently, L. fuliginosus is the only species of Lamprophis commonly found in captivity. This is largely due to the small size and more fastidious dietary requirements of some of the other species in the genus. However, the lack of availability of other Lamprophis species in captive populations is easily compensated by the diversity of color phases being produced.
The first thing I should mention here is there are many ways that people have successfully kept and bred house snakes. This is just one of those ways. There is no exact science to herpetoculture. I encourage you to read as much as you can and come to your own conclusions.
The African house snake family includes a variety of subspecies, all within the genus Boaedon, with Boaedon fuliginosus being one of the most common.
Here's a quick look at some of the key aspects of African House Snake care:
Read also: Caring for Albino African Land Snails
- Ease of Care: Relatively easy, making them suitable for beginner reptile keepers.
- Size: Typically 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) long.
- Temperament: Docile and easy to handle, especially captive-born snakes.
- Diet: Primarily small rodents, birds, and occasionally other reptiles.
- Habitat: Adaptable to a range of environments, from savannas to urban areas.
Let's dive into the specifics of caring for these fascinating reptiles.
Appearance and Varieties
The African house snake comes in a variety of colors and patterns depending on the specific subspecies. Typically, they’re slender snakes with smooth scales and grow to be about 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) long.
Here are a few common varieties:
- The brown house snake, aka Cape house snake, is commonly found in a rich brown color.
- The black African house snake (sometimes just called a black house snake) is, as the name suggests, a deep, glossy black.
- Some subspecies, like the aurora house snake, have bright yellow or green stripes running along their bodies.
CRAZY African House Snake Tour with Ultimate Exotics
Housing
Because of their modest size, they can easily be maintained in inexpensive containers, such as ten gallon aquaria. Newborn:Hatchling housies are very small and exceptional escape artists.
Read also: Caring for Giant African Land Snails
I have in the past had them escape from 6qt tubs with the latching lids. They have escaped through the gaping of exoterras wiring ports. They are quite good at escaping, be aware of this and modify your enclosure to compensate. I recommend the use of something with exceptional security for newborns.
Critter keepers, large deli cups, or tupperware containers make practical solutions when they can be kept in a way that also provides for proper temperature and humidity. Many colubrid breeders keep their newborns in racks built around deli cups. I do basically the same, only I use meal portioning containers that can be acquired at walmart.
They don't stay in these very long. Juveniles: Once they have put enough size on to make escapes less likely they can move into Sterilite 6 qt tubs with latching lids, other comparable models include Vision v15, Vivarium Electronics 108-8. Reptile Basics I160, etc.
Subadults: Subadult bins models include Sterilite 12qts, V18, VE108-11, FB10, and 10 gallon tanks. Yes, its true that adult males can be kept in this size for life, but the v35 is more ideal. Adults: Adults are kept in V35s, Sterilite 32qt/41 qt tubs. You certainly can keep them in larger enclosures, and I do encourage it if you like.
Substrate
Cage substrate is largely a matter of preference. I have kept house snakes on newspaper, paper towels, aspen shavings, pine shavings, pine bark and cypress mulch with equal success. I use and recommend prococo. Its made from coconut husk chips.
Read also: The Plight of the African Wild Dog
I do not recommend the use of wood shavings- I know some breeders will use pine etc. I do not. I live in Florida where humidity causes mold and wood chips mold when kept at a humidity level that would be required for some of the species I keep. If you plan to use wood chips and live in a place where they will not mold, then you will definitely need to provide a humid hide as they will have shedding issues if this is not provided. The one exception to this would be Exo Terra Forest Floor bedding, which is pure cypress. Cypress doesn't mold or give off potentially hazardous phenols like the other wood species do, so that one is ok.
Water
Although they come from relatively dry areas of the African continent, these snakes must be given access to clean water at all times. Clean water needs to be provided at all times. For hatchlings I like to use the "You & Me Plastic Hamster Dish" available at petco. They have a lip that allows them to hide underneath and they also fit 2oz condiment cups if you prefer that method.
For larger animals we use larger tupperware or the meal portioning containers I use as hatchling bins which hold a considerable amount of water for the adults. All of which is dishwasher safe and easily sanitized.
Hides & Enrichment
It is absolutely necessary to provide tight fitting hides, especially to hatchlings. Feel free to be creative with this. I'm fond of these plastic plant saucer trays with holes cut in the side (top rack dishwasher safe) since they are so shallow they provide a tight fit, and babies love plastic gardening mesh for enrichment too.
Of course you can use real or artificial foliage, bark, branches, rocks, make it as realistic (or not) as you like but DO make sure that whatever you use is safe and easy to clean. Any plastic listed as PP or PPE is dishwasher safe if that helps.
Temperature and Humidity
Generally speaking the current community agrees that house snakes are to be kept at 75-80 Degrees Cold Side and 85-90 Degrees Warm Side Humidity 40-60% In my experience, I don't find the one size fits all approach works well for all of my various house snakes though. I think in time we likely will start to separate out differences between the species and as that continues we will specialize our care to cater to those species. this has led me to believe that it certainly wouldn't hurt to specialize the care of various species of house snakes to more closely match their native environment.
Here are some suggestions for care variations on the various species I keep:
- Black House Snake: Humidity 70%+, Temperature 80+ cold and 90 hot. They're from Hot humid scrublands. Be sure to check out the black house snake page for more details on this species.
- Togo Stripe House Snake: 60%+ Temperature 80 cold and 90 hot. They get cranky kept too cold or hot so if they're biting you adjust your temperatures, because in my experience that's the problem a lot of the time.
- Tanzanian Stripe House Snake: 60% is really the sweet spot. Too much drier and they wont shed right, too much more humid and they develop respiratory issues. These are not a beginners snake.
- Aurora House Snake: Humidity 70%. temps at 72 cold and 86 hot side tops has been working really well for me. Can be a little fussy about food too. Not a beginners house snake.
- Namibian Bug Eye (B mentalis): Humidity 40-50% they really dont tolerate very high humidity for long. higher heat 82 cold and 92 hot. These are nocturnal desert dwelling animals, which seem to really need a solid night light cycle to feed.
- Spotted House Snake: These guys surprisingly don't want to be too warm. Like 85 tops. Definitely provide the tightest hides possible they looove to be wedged into things. The retes stack is the absolute favorite for spotteds. Same with swazi rock snakes but i'm still working out the kinks on those.
- Olive Snake (inoratus): These guys will hate you if you don't give them large water dish to soak in, even swim in, they are basically a water snake so make sure you give them that. I even have one girl that drags her prey into the water before she eats it.
Feeding
In the wild, African house snakes primarily feed on small rodents, birds and occasionally other reptiles. Their strong appetite and willingness to eat regularly make them an easy species to care for. They’re great feeders, compared to some other reptiles that might be picky eaters.
These snakes eat a lot and so produce a lot of waste. I have also found L. fuliginosus to be very susceptible to opportunistic infections to their oral mucosa (i.e. mouthrot). They are particularly susceptible to this after ingesting sharp pieces of cage substrate when eating. Because they are such aggressive feeders, they frequently end up with some of the cage substrate in their mouths.
Handling
House Snakes can become extremely tame in captivity. Wild-caught adults may bite at first, but soon calm down with occasional gentle handling. For a small snake, however, they have very long teeth, and bites will frequently draw blood. One curious and unfortunate habit I have noticed with house snakes is they violently resent being restrained behind the neck. Even tame adult house snakes will open their mouths and try to bite if restrained this way. House Snakes have an extraordinary feeding response, and it is very unwise to place your hand in front of one that is expecting its food!
Cohabitation
Although African house snakes are solitary creatures, they are not territorial and can be housed together in captivity if given enough space. However, it's crucial to monitor them to prevent aggression or competition for resources.
It's essential to separate them from each other and to prevent them from mating. This is not a joke.
Health Considerations
Prior to shedding, they should be given access to an area with higher than normal relative humidities. Cage substrate is largely a matter of preference. I have kept house snakes on newspaper, paper towels, aspen shavings, pine shavings, pine bark and cypress mulch with equal success.
Captive born house snakes are a pleasure and easy to keep. However, you absolutely do need to deworm your wild caught house snakes. Don't get me wrong, wild caught snakes have a place in the hobby, they offer strong genetic material to refresh bloodlines and provide diversity amongst other things. I keep several of them myself.
I'm not knocking the practice, but if you purchase wild caught snakes you absolutely must take responsibility for their acclimation which includes the deworming process. The consequences of not doing so can be catastrophic to their health.
If kept long term but not dewormed they often have reproductive issues. These can all be avoided by deworming. Good news is deworming is not very expensive, or difficult.
Any veterinarian regardless of specialty can perform this simple test. In my area, at the time of writing, this runs $40 a test to give you an idea. You can of course avoid the deworming process by purchasing your snake from a reputable breeder.
Signs of a Wild-Caught Snake
Sadly there are many wild caught house snakes being sold as "captive born". So how do I know if my snake is wild caught? You can't know for sure but here's some tips:
- If it's "too good to be true" price wise, its likely wild caught.
- If it is a black or togo stripe that you bought at a reptile trade show from a vendor that had a wide variety of other species from the same region, odds are it is wild caught.
- If your black was labeled as "melanistic house snake" (a marketing ploy) odds are it was wild caught.
- If you found ticks on it or others offered for sale by the same "breeder", it was definitely wild caught.
- If they don't know or cant tell you the scientific name of the species, they likely don't breed it, so its likely wild caught.
