pregnant Chionactis occipitalis occipitalis - Mohave Shovel-nosed Snake

Question
I have just adopted two shovel noses, a couple i believe..  the male i believe is the smaller of the two, with a yellowish hue.. and i believe the female; who the same day i got her shed her skin and is currently hungry and upset visibly..  the male however is docile and comfortable from what i can see.. i hope to take good care of them for a long time..  the female is very plump and its their egg-laying season so i am led to believe she is pregnant.. more reason to be agitated.. i think the male being with her might be part of it also so i plan on separating them asap..  but my question is: how do i help the female through the process if she'll let me, or at least how can i make her as comfortable as possible?  i know what to feed them (invertebrates of the small variety.. i plan on starting with mealworms).. and im glad i put some wood and a bowl w water for her it really helped her shedding (i didnt even know she was shedding let alone that it would help =)   but i need to know what size aquarium to use and if i need anything else for this specific type of snake..

Answer
I've never kept that type of snake before, so I would just suggest that you try to mimic it's habit as closely as possible. If it's from a dry environment, make sure that it's cage is kept dry. As far as cage size, a good rule of thumb is that the length + width of the cage should be at least the length of the snake, if not larger.  Also, since the female may possibly be gravid you should set up a nesting box. Just get something like a cool-whip container, etc that is large enough for the snake to be comfortable in. Cut a hole in the side and fill it about half full with damp sphagnum moss. Put it on the cool end of the cage. When she gets close to laying she will find the box. In the meantime you may want to google this species to find a good incubation temp. I would suspect 80-82 degrees would be about right.