Cape house snake

This profile covers Boaedon capensis, the Cape or brown house snake. Other Boaedon sold as African house snakes need different identity and moisture decisions.

Check the animal’s identity, sex and size; a breeder name is not taxonomic certification.

Ask for established frozen-thawed feeding and exact species records rather than choosing an unidentified house snake.

Arrange dependable holiday care and keep money available for food, replacement equipment and appropriate veterinary help. Test the habitat before the animal arrives.

Wildform proposes at least 120 × 60 × 60 cm for a typical adult, enlarged if the animal cannot fully straighten. This is a planning case, not the breeder’s smaller footprint. Seal hatchling-sized gaps.

Measure usable internal space after substrate, guards and furnishings. Check ventilation, cable holes and access against the smallest occupant. Fix heavy furnishings independently of loose substrate.

Check the finished housing against the adult snake’s actual length and size.

Atlantic Herpetological gives a 31–32°C basking location, approximately 28–31°C warm air and 21–27°C cool air. These are separate locations, not one enclosure setting.

Record the warm and cool locations, overnight minimum and daytime maximum. Air, surface and substrate readings are different measurements. Any added heater needs compatible thermostatic control and safe separation from the animal; assess summer cooling as well as winter heating.

Validate the gradient for the individual snake.

Provide a daytime cycle and full shade. Low-level UVB needs an installed exposure plan; a nocturnal label does not establish that UV is harmful or unnecessary.

Keep the night dark and provide retreat from daytime light. Lamp percentage, electrical wattage and a product name cannot establish the exposure reaching an animal. Check the finished installation after changes to mesh, branches or lamp position.

The breeder uses roughly 40–50% enclosure air humidity with a separate humid retreat. Maintain drinking water and change contaminated refuge material.

Inspect the occupied refuge and substrate as well as the air reading. Adjust water provision and ventilation together, and clean contaminated drinking surfaces. A single humidity number cannot describe every microclimate.

Offer appropriately sized frozen-thawed mice; match interval and prey size to age, growth and condition.

Record what is actually eaten and follow changes in growth and body condition. Food size, life stage and the full diet matter. Supplement products require an individual plan; do not combine calcium, vitamin D and multivitamins by guesswork.

Keep singly. Strong feeding responses and small escape gaps need a deliberate opening and handling routine.

Make necessary maintenance predictable and allow voluntary retreat. Prepare a secure transfer container before essential moves. Observation should not repeatedly interrupt feeding, rest or moulting.

Record sheds and body condition; investigate persistent rubbing, discharge or declining weight with a reptile vet.

Keep dated observations of appetite, activity and condition. A sudden decline, injury, abnormal breathing or repeated failed moults needs appropriate professional assessment. This guide does not provide a diagnosis or medicine dose.

Retain the B. capensis name and source evidence; do not import a black-house-snake humidity plan.

Ask for a dated source record, scientific identity, life stage and established care history. Keep new arrivals and their equipment separate while an appropriate quarantine plan is agreed. Check current official rules for the exact animal, route and transaction before importing or buying; this page does not establish legal clearance. Never release animals or viable eggs outdoors.

Check locks, cable gaps, water and both warm and cool refuge readings. Record meals, complete sheds and body condition; resize housing before it restricts straightening. Keep a dated record of measurements and observations, and revisit the full advice when conditions or life stage change.