nice snakes, hows the amazon boa and (correct me if i'm wrong) eyelash viper (haven't seen your snake posts in like 4-6 months)
Some Like It Hot
- Thread starter Wiggles92
- Start date
Thanks. I sold the Amazon tree boas in order to focus on hots & monitors; I unfortunately have never had an eyelash viper, but I've been on the lookout for one at the reptile shows.
Looks good, is the Copperhead in a BARRS cage? It somewhat looks like one of those but not entirely sure. I hear they make good cages for hots and I need to get some.
One thing I want to add about the live plants, although I'm sure you've already considered it - I found that when I had live plants in my snake enclosures they definitely didn't mind defecating on the plants and it became more difficult to keep everything in a pristine condition. Perhaps fake ones (although a huge downgrade aesthetically) would be easier to manage in terms of just pulling it out and washing it off without interfering with the rooting of the plants. Overall it just may add more complications when involving hots.
I'm torn between starting with an Eyelash Viper, a Squamigera, or a Temple Viper myself. I am definitely more drawn to Temples but from what I understand they have more finicky requirements and get more sizale than the others mentioned, especially if I want a nice Female and witness the colour change. The conflicting reports of their toxicity also confuses me, so all of this makes me wonder if it will make a good first hot. Squams are definitely second in line but the lack of AV for Atheris is probably not ideal, although I hear ones for Echis work quite well. As far as Eyelashes go, I would love a nice yellow one but I keep hearing about them being problem feeders.
That's pretty damn cool how you're making your own hooks, just be careful I hear that CroFab is expensive. Please share more pictures as the collection grows.
One thing I want to add about the live plants, although I'm sure you've already considered it - I found that when I had live plants in my snake enclosures they definitely didn't mind defecating on the plants and it became more difficult to keep everything in a pristine condition. Perhaps fake ones (although a huge downgrade aesthetically) would be easier to manage in terms of just pulling it out and washing it off without interfering with the rooting of the plants. Overall it just may add more complications when involving hots.
I'm torn between starting with an Eyelash Viper, a Squamigera, or a Temple Viper myself. I am definitely more drawn to Temples but from what I understand they have more finicky requirements and get more sizale than the others mentioned, especially if I want a nice Female and witness the colour change. The conflicting reports of their toxicity also confuses me, so all of this makes me wonder if it will make a good first hot. Squams are definitely second in line but the lack of AV for Atheris is probably not ideal, although I hear ones for Echis work quite well. As far as Eyelashes go, I would love a nice yellow one but I keep hearing about them being problem feeders.
That's pretty damn cool how you're making your own hooks, just be careful I hear that CroFab is expensive. Please share more pictures as the collection grows.
There are some really nice looking silk plants out there. I would really recommend those over any live plants. Think about having to water them and repot them so often and give them proper light and all of that extra hassle that means increased contact with the snakes and therefore a greater chance of a bite.
Temple vipers are more simple than most people seem to think. Just give them a good spot to hide and a warm room temp (78-80º) inclosure. Mine fed well on prekilled rats and never missed a meal. Squams are much more tricky than either temples or eyelashes in my opinion. I live in a climate too warm for them though and have never been able to keep them comfortable in this heat. They like it no higher than mid 70's and it is consistently 80º in my place. The eyelash vipers are tough to get going as babies but rarely miss a meal once they get a little size to them. Many people (including myself formerly) over feed them by giving them a mouse every week or so. They only need to be fed rodents once or twice a month to keep them at a healthy rate. This could be why people have eyelashes that refuse meals -they are simply overfed and not hungry.
Temple vipers are more simple than most people seem to think. Just give them a good spot to hide and a warm room temp (78-80º) inclosure. Mine fed well on prekilled rats and never missed a meal. Squams are much more tricky than either temples or eyelashes in my opinion. I live in a climate too warm for them though and have never been able to keep them comfortable in this heat. They like it no higher than mid 70's and it is consistently 80º in my place. The eyelash vipers are tough to get going as babies but rarely miss a meal once they get a little size to them. Many people (including myself formerly) over feed them by giving them a mouse every week or so. They only need to be fed rodents once or twice a month to keep them at a healthy rate. This could be why people have eyelashes that refuse meals -they are simply overfed and not hungry.
That makes sense for Eyelashes, as they are small and sedentary they wouldn't require weekly rodents. I've heard that Squams are somewhat hardier (except for when breeding) in terms of their husbandry requirements but I'll take hands on experience over google any day.
Any idea what locality your Temple was? I am mostly interested in the North Sumatra or Penang Island locale species - http://www.thomas-jaekel.homepage.t-online.de/WagVS/images.htm, as they seem to have the best colouration IMO. I've talked to Thomas Jaekel, the creator of that website and he seems me the Borneo locales seem the most grumpy, as they don't hesitate to strike 24/7.
It's an older model SnakeFX cage; I also have three of the newer model of this size being delivered to the reptile show later this month. BARRS cages would've cost me much more after having them add locks not to mention shipping & box charges, so I really couldn't beat what I paid for the SnakeFX cages.
If you guys know of some nice silk plants to get, then I'm up for using them; I really haven't had much luck finding nice fake plants which is why I was going to use live ones that were fine with low lighting.
If I do still choose to use live plants, they'll be individually potted for easier removal & maintenance.
An eyelash viper is probably your best bet for a first hot if you want an arboreal species although a temple viper would work, too. I would steer clear of the Atheris if you can't provide a dedicated cold room or don't maintain a cool house temperature. Of course then, firsthand experience with hots with a mentor's help is always an important first step.
Thanks. The hooks I've made thus far seem to do pretty well in the field, too, as I used the larger all-metal one for some field work yesterday, and the guys I was with each used a collapsible field hook that I made for each of them. All of the hooks held up & didn't have any issues with flipping smaller logs & rocks.
CroFab is pretty expensive, but luckily BioClon's Antivipmyn is set to be FDA approved & is apparently at Stage 3 of 4 for approval. Either way, a bite is something that I'm going to do my best to avoid as I see no need for abandoning safety procedures at any time.
I'll definitely share more pictures as the collection grows, too.
The hybrid shed earlier today. He had a perfectly intact shed and is looking pretty good after this one & appears to have added a rattle segment, too. I'll try to get some new pictures of him as soon as possible as well as of the copperhead.
