King snake

Question
QUESTION: I found a king snake in my garden last week! this might not sound strange but... i live in northern ireland! i had nowhere to put it so its in a large wooden box that about 80 dregees but noone i ask owns it and every vet and petshop owner told me to kill it! i really dont want to kill it because it hasnt bit me yet and... well its really strange how it ended up ALIVE in my garden even with the snow! so i need to know what food should i feed it and what its proper vivarium should be like! please help!

ANSWER: Aimee, please DON'T kill it!  I'll help.  I need to know what kind of kingsnake it is so that I can tell you what it needs.  Do you know?  If not, can you describe it or send me a picture.  80 is pretty safe to start.  Let me know the size as well.

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the lucky thing!   QUESTION: Yay! your the first one to agree with me not to kill it! I'm not completely sure the type of king snake but i think it might be a Californian king snake cause its got dark brown and cream stripes and its about 3 foot long! It ate a pinky mouse i got today and was drinking to so i think its healthy, its very curious and likes to be handled so I'm almost sure someone's dumped the poor thing cause they didn't want it!

Answer
Aimee, you're 100% correct!  CA king.  If it's 3 feet it can eat full-grown mice no problem (one ebery 5-7 days or two once every 10).  Cage temps low to mid 80's on one side low to mid 70's on the other.  As you already saw they can take pretty low temps as well.  I winter mine in my garage where it gets down into the 30's for brief periods w/ no problems.  Use shredded aspen bedding if you can find it.  Be careful not to use pine, cedar, or any other aromatic woods.  Newspaper and indoor/outdoor carpet also work well.  A water dish big enough for it to get into and tight fitting lid.  No other snakes in the cage w/ it as it IS a king snake.  They make pretty good pets as you've already seen so enjoy and feel free to ask if you have any other questions.  Can't wait to tell people you caught a CA King in Ireland!!!