KeeprHusbandry You're a Pro? Click here to meet Rex
Atlas / Library / Colubridae / Eastern Kingsnake
Colubridae

Eastern Kingsnake

Lampropeltis getula

Part of this is not on the page we cite. We opened it on 10 Aug 2026 and some of the degrees above are not stated there. The values above may still be right, but we cannot show you where they came from, and nobody here has checked them against a second source. Anything about a sick animal goes to a qualified exotic vet, not to a page. reptifiles.com

Photograph: jfox16 · CC BY

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Check your setup against this sheet I keep one 123 plants usable with this species
Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/lampropeltis-getula

‹ All husbandry guides
warm end32 °C
cool end24–29 °C
Humidity70–80 %
Enclosure122×61×61
Diet5–7 days

The numbers

Thermal gradient

152025303540 °C
24–29°Cool side
32°Warm side

A real gradient, 32°C warm against 24–29°C cool, so the animal chooses. The sheet states no separate night figure.

Why

Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet stateswarm 32 °C / cool 24-29 °C

Humidity

70–80%Target RH

The sheet states70-80 %

UVB

T5 6%required

The sheet statesArcadia T5 HO Forest 6% or Zoo Med T5 HO Reptisun 5.0. The closest distance between a Florida kingsnake and its UVB lamp (basking distance) should be between 9-11"

Identity

Origin

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

32 °C70–80 % RHUVB tube48 in24 in
warm sideUVB tube
50100150200 cm
48 × 24 × 24 in · 122 × 61 × 61 cmWidth × depth × height
74dm² of floor
Substrate: not in our dataWater: not in our dataHides: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet states48" L x 24" W x 24" H

Temperature
warm 32 °C / cool 24–29 °C
Humidity
70-80 %

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Feeding rhythm

every 5–7 dAs an adult
5Meals in 28 days

Twenty-eight days, one row. Each band is a meal window. The sheet gives several ages on one line; this is the adult figure.

Why

The windows widen as they go because the interval is a range: four meals after a 10–14 day cycle land anywhere between day 40 and day 56.

The sheet statesAside from the usual mice and rats, you can add variety to your snake's diet with hamsters, gerbils, chicks, quail, anoles, house geckos, and Reptilinks. Hatchlings should be fed once every 5-7 days. Juveniles should be fed once every 7-10 days. Adults should be fed once every 10-14 days.

Common questions

Does it really eat other snakes?

Yes, that is a genuine part of its diet in the wild. In captivity it eats rodents, but it can never share an enclosure.

How strong is it?

Surprisingly muscular for its size. It grips hard when climbing your arm, which is normal and not aggression.

Can it escape?

Yes, kingsnakes are famous for it. Use a lid with a proper latch and check there are no gaps around the vents.

What is the monthly cost?

Low. One appropriately sized frozen mouse per week is usually under two hundred baht a month, plus a little electricity.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 122 × 61 × 61 cmbecause enclosure — 48" L x 24" W x 24" H
A heat sourcebecause temp — warm 32 °C / cool 24-29 °C
A thermostat to regulate itbecause temp — warm 32 °C / cool 24-29 °C
A thermometerbecause temp — warm 32 °C / cool 24-29 °C
A hygrometerbecause humidity — 70-80 %
UVB 6-6% (T5), stated as requiredbecause uvb — Arcadia T5 HO Forest 6% or Zoo Med T5 HO Reptisun 5.0. The closest distance between a Florida kingsnake and its UVB lamp (basking distance) should be between 9-11"

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

Sources

thebiodude.com — lu le 2026-08-04thebiodude.com — lu le 2026-08-04reptifiles.com — lu le 2026-08-04gbif.org — lu le 2026-08-08

Others in this group

Corn SnakePantherophis guttatusWestern Hognose SnakeHeterodon nasicusCalifornia KingsnakeLampropeltis californiaeEastern Hognose SnakeHeterodon platirhinosMexican Black KingsnakeLampropeltis getula nigritaSpeckled KingsnakeLampropeltis holbrookiGrey-banded KingsnakeLampropeltis alternaPrairie KingsnakeLampropeltis calligaster

What this sheet states

77%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

This sheet states 5 of 7 of the fields this product runs on. What is missing turns something off: day/night engine and awake count on the globe, the diet section. We show the gap rather than fill it with a plausible number.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.