Lampropeltis alterna

Secure terrestrial terrarium, oriented towards floor space

An excellent escape artist and climber: a locked lid and perfectly sealed joints are essential. Favour floor space over height. Provide several narrow hides (rock crevices, bark) on both the warm AND the cool gradient; an individual without a safe hide stays stressed.

An arid environment: an overall dry atmosphere. Nevertheless provide a humid box (sphagnum/vermiculite) during shedding to prevent dysecdysis. Prolonged stagnant humidity promotes respiratory and skin infections.

Avoid any waterlogged substrate. Stacks of rocks or bark recreating the limestone crevices must be STABLE and wedged against the bottom of the tank (resting on the glass, not on the substrate) to eliminate any risk of collapse and crushing of this burrowing animal.

Not essential (a nocturnal species). Low UVB lighting (index 5-6 %, filtered T5 type) remains beneficial to welfare and metabolism if it is paired with shaded hides allowing the animal to escape it.

A bowl of clean, fresh water at all times, heavy enough not to be tipped over. The animal drinks regularly and may bathe in it before shedding; renew the water often to prevent bacterial growth.

Chihuahuan Desert: the Trans-Pecos region (west Texas, southern New Mexico) and northern Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León). Occupies high-altitude limestone canyons, scree slopes and outcrops.

Strict carnivore (rodents in captivity) — Mice of a suitable size (diameter close to the widest part of the snake); adults every 7 to 14 days, juveniles every 5 to 7 days.

In the wild, a lizard specialist (Sceloporus). Neonates are NOTORIOUSLY DIFFICULT to start on rodents and often require 'scenting' (rubbing a lizard/anole on the prey) or even 'braining'. Established adults generally accept mice well. Strongly favour a captive-bred (CB) animal that already eats mice well: wild-caught specimens, still lizard-eating and often parasitised, are tricky. A species not listed under CITES, but whose collection in the wild is regulated in Texas and Mexico.

Clutch 3–13 eggs/young. A clutch of generally 3 to 9 eggs (up to 13). Breeding triggered by a winter brumation (~10-13 °C, 6-10 weeks). Incubation of about 55 to 70 days at 27-28 °C. Provide a humid laying box. Neonates measure ~20-25 cm and pose the feeding challenge mentioned above.

• Chronic feeding refusal in neonates (difficult to start on rodents)
• Dysecdysis (incomplete sheds) from a lack of a humid shedding area
• Regurgitation (prey too large, insufficient temperature or post-feeding handling)
• Gastrointestinal parasitoses and cryptosporidiosis, especially in wild-caught specimens
• Mites (Ophionyssus) and respiratory infections if the environment is too cold or damp