I wish I could tell you I had some big secrets to share with the world regarding colubrid care, but I do not. I am guided by the basics, reference those who have been successful before me, and hope for the best. Here are the beliefs driving my care giving.

• Keep the cages clean. Regular cage cleanings will go a long way toward preventing parasite buildup or other forms of disease. I favor the use of 8 or 16oz deli cups so that not only is the water changed every other day, but that the cups are replaced on a regular basis.
  
• Perform regular fecals. I run fecals on every snake that comes into my collection. I do this for two reasons 1) Should I chose a naturalistic cage, it will help provent unnatural concentrations of parasites from developing 2) To prevent cross contamination of animals in my collection and to those obtaining animals from my collection.
  
• Group snakes in rooms with other snakes that have similar needs. It's much easier to provide for snakes if they all share some basic requirements in terms of similar temperatures and humidity with the other snakes in the same room.
  
• Make sure water bowls cannot be tipped over. I use PVC adaptors to hold 16 oz water dishes.
  
• I use both an AC and a space heater hooked to a ranco tstat to maintain appropriate room conditions throughout the year.