Zonataman's Captive Care Information

This page is dedicated to documenting and disseminating captive care information for California's Native Reptiles and Amphibians. Keep in mind that this page is continually being updated so check back with us periodically. Also, this information is highly dependent upon input provided by hobbiests like you, so if you would like to contribute care information to be provided here, please feel free to E-mail me with your comments/suggestion/information.

Laws & Regulations:

Within California, you must have a valid California Fishing License to possess any reptile and/or amphibian and the possession limit for the Western Shovel Nose Snake within California is 2. However, permits may be requested through the CA Fish & Game Department for possession of more than 2.

Enclosure Information

Small is best when housing the Western Shovelnose Snake. It appears these guys occassionally have difficulty locating prey in a large enclosure so a 10 gallon tank/snake should be adequate, in fact, some hobbyists say a smaller enclosure such as a five gallon tank is in order. Keep in mind this animal is terrestial so the tank should have more floor space than height. Make sure you use a large screen top to provide plenty of ventilation since one of the problems with keeping this snake is that they are subject to respiratory illnesses brought on by damp or humid enclosures.

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