Specifically, Northern Water Snakes. Has anybody every kept these? I've been doing my homework on these guys but most of it is the same info. And so, I have questions. To start off, I hear these guys are very snappy, and shouldn't be handled very often, if at all. Second, how much land/water should they have in their enclosure? And finally, can they be kept with fish?
water snakes???
- Thread starter Nanoreefer
- Start date
They can be conditionned to handling but expect to get bitten at first, even worse it will void its cloaka if it feels threattened. The bite contains a mild anti-coagulant. They likely won't take mice, at least not for a while. They like fish and frogs so they will happily eat fish that are kept with them. On the plus side they reach a fairly impressive size.
I know this is a vague answer but they should have as much land and water as possible along with a basking spot and somthing to climb on. You can pretty much house it as if it were a mini anaconda. I hope this helps.
I know this is a vague answer but they should have as much land and water as possible along with a basking spot and somthing to climb on. You can pretty much house it as if it were a mini anaconda. I hope this helps.
I've also looked into these, they like to have water that they are able to swim in, not just curl up in etc, I think the area of the water is more important than the depth as water snakes dont get all that big. I'd also say no to keeping fish with them lol
Alright, cool. I've heard people reccommend keeping a branch or something for them to stay on,too. The reason I'm asking about the water is because I've read about water snakes getting blisters from too much water. Should they be kept like turtles, like in a tank with only a turtle dock, or have land and only a water tub to swim in. Or what about a branch hanging over the water??? I should have edited my post about fish. What I mean is that is it possible to keep fish like guppies/platies (livebearers, basically) with them???
Thanks!!!!
Thanks!!!!
In the wild they eat nothing which has fur (rats, mice, etc) So they eat any fish that is put in with them im guessing. Should always provide a snake with a was to get out of the water, just a matter of finding out which way is best for him/her to do so (dock, branch, gradual climb out of water etc)
Nanoreefer;4428989; said:
Wild norther water snakes spend the majority of their time out of the water. I agree that they need ample space to swim (they hunt in the water and in the wild travel through the water for long distances in search of food) but they also need plent of dry land to bask and hide (it will hide a lot). The blisters come from the snake not being able to get dry or stay dry for long enough. You may have better luck researching the needs of a green anaconda as they their requirements are similar. With all of that being said northern water snakes are one of the coolest native herps around.
I would recommend not putting any fish in with them that you don't want to become dinner.
Alright thanks!armaggedonx;4429002; said:
So there enclosure should mostly be water?(Sorry, I'm just having trouble understanding how much water should be in it, as I don't want the snake to get blisters!)
Nanoreefer;4428989; said:
You keep them like a Turtle and you'll end up with problems. Whil they may be water based, they aren't water animals..........
They eat Fish, so keeping Fish with them wouldn't neccessarily be the most cost effiencient thing to do........And they'll eat Rodents in the wild, and along with else they can get down their throats.......
Nanoreefer;4429012; said:
You may want to try a tall enclosure. Fill the lower level with water (filter the water and heat it if you need to but not to tropical fish levels) and provide a large basking/climbing area above it. An enclosue like that can aso contain multiple dry levels to allow a temperature gradient.
idk anything about them but found this vid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znJzRN5geBE
and i dont think its a great idea to try and handle this thing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znJzRN5geBE
and i dont think its a great idea to try and handle this thing