Red Beaked Snake Care Guide

About: The red beaked snake is a diurnal (active during the day) carnivore native to North America.

While this snake is venomous, they are very docile, and a bite is only as bad as a bee sting. They tend to grow to 3-4 feet and they can live 10-13 years in captivity. Red beaked snakes are usually very calm, smart and curious, and make a great beginner venomous snake.

Lighting: Red beaked snakes like to have an overall daytime temperature of 80-85° F, with a basking spot reaching around 90° F, and a cooler side falling to 75°. This heat gradient can be achieved by placing a heat source on one side of the tank, creating a cool side and a warm side.

UVB is a type of light that is produced from the sun, and will help process calcium, and give vitamins that the sun would normally give. Beaked snakes don’t require UVB for their survival, but providing a low-output UVB bulb greatly improves their overall health, natural vitamin D synthesis, and activity levels.

Tank: A minimum tank size for an adult red beaked snake is a 40 gallon tank minimum, but a 75 gallon tank or bigger is highly recommended. Anything bigger will allow your snake more room to stretch, explore, and will allow for a happier snake.

For substrate, most people chose to use aspen, because it’s cheap, easy to replace, and lets the snake dig easily. If you choose to use aspen, be sure to provide a humid hide to assist with shedding, as red beaked snakes like a humidity of around 40-60%. If you prefer a more natural look, you can use any reptile safe dirt, and mist the enclosure bi-weekly to maintain humidity.

Feeding and watering: Hognose snakes are carnivores with a diet that consists mainly of rodents, such as mice and rats. The best way to tell what size you need is to look at the widest part of the snake and then choose a rodent that is about 1 to 1.5 times the width.

When feeding snakes frozen food, you’ll need to thaw out the rodent first. The best way to do this is to put the rodent in a cup of warm/hot water for about 10-15 minutes. You want to make sure the rodent is warm before feeding; otherwise, they may spit it out.

Typically, it is best to remove the snake from the tank and put it elsewhere, like a cardboard box or old tupperware. (something you can throw out in case it gets gross). This will help associate hands reaching into the tank with food, and this can allow for a calmer, more docile snake.