Brown House Snake Care Sheet:
What does a Brown House Snake look like?
Also known as “African House Snake”, the Brown House Snake is a small to medium size snake. It is frequently unicolored, but can also be spotted, or even striped. Many individuals are spotted as hatchlings and become unicolored as adults, with the brown morph being the most common. They can also be olive-green, dark-green or even black. The ventral scales are a lovely pearly white and the snake is iridescent, a bit like the Rainbow Boa.
Adult males will rarely exceed 3 feet in length (0.9 m) whereas females can reach almost 5 feet (1.5 m).
Where are Brown House Snakes from?
They originate from Africa, where they are found on the whole continent south of the Sahara desert. As its name suggests, the species is common, so much so that its absence is more noticeable than its presence.
Are Brown House Snakes easy to keep?
Their sturdy nature and docile character make them one of the easiest species to keep. They are perfect for beginners, or even for children (with the right amount of adult supervision). Due to their small size, a neonate or a young adult will not require a vivarium as such immediately, too big an enclosure can stress the snake.
They can be kept in a large plastic tub equipped with a heat mat, a basking lamp, a humidity box and a water bowl big enough for the snake to soak itself in. Various substrates can be used: newspapers, kitchen roll (both are cheap and easy to clean), wooden chips (these need to be baked at 180 degrees in the oven for 20 minutes and allowed to cool before being placed in the tub) or aspen (which is my favourite as the snake can funnel through it, which it seems to like). The tub can be decorated with foliage, pieces of wood, a hiding cave, a stable rock, coconut husks… but must have at least two hides, one at the cool end of the tub, the other at the warm end of the tub, and a piece of bark big enough for the snake to rub itself against it whilst in shed.
For details of the temperatures gradient, please refer to the Royal Python caresheet.
Your Brown House Snake needs to be fed an appropriately sized, defrosted and warmed up mouse. The size of the prey depends on the size of the snake: the width of the mouse should not be more than 1.5 time the size of the snake’s head. Once you have purchased your snake, let him get used to its new enclosure for a week before feeding him for the first time. Defrost the prey thoroughly and warm it up with a bit of hot water. Offer the prey item with specially designed “tweezers”, which you can buy in any herp shop. Do not handle the snake until it has fed. The frequency of the feed depends on the age of the snake: twice or three times a week when they are neonate and once a week at adult age.
Young Brown House Snakes can be a bit nippy, which is due to their fear of being handled by someone they perceive as a threat and a predator. This will go away with gentle and regular handling (at least three times a week). Once socialised, House Brown Snakes are inquisitive and very funny to observe.
Written and Owned by Aude (silvermoon77).
