Popular Pet Snakes Available in South Africa eBook

8/3/2019 Popular Pet Snakes Available in South Africa eBook

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Popular Pet SnakesAvailable in South Africa

written by:

Timothy Zedi

The Author owns all the rights to this work.No one may resell this book for a profit.The book may not be modified or changed in anyway. This book may be shared between peers whoshare an interest in the subject matter of this book.This book may be used and shared at educationalinstitutions as long as a mention is made of theauthor. This book may be shared on non commercialwebsites on condition that the website provides alink to the authors website.

copyright2008 Your Name orwww.timsreptiles.co.za
http://www.timsreptiles.co.za/http://www.timsreptiles.co.za/


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Table of Contents

Corn SnakesOne for the beginner

Yellow Rat Snakelarger than corn snakes but just as easy to keep

Common King SnakeA beginners snake with attitude

Milk SnakesColourful Cannibals

American Garter SnakeGotta feed them special cuisine

Ball PythonThe perfect pet python

Burmese PythonThe most popular giant snake

Hot HerpsIntroduction to venomous snakes

Gaboon VipersDocile but deadly

Arboreal Asian Pit VipersMildly venomous but they still pack a punch

Snake ProductsLinks to snake products that you can purchase online



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Chapter 1

Corn Snakes

Corn Snakes are without a doubt the most popular pet snake. Corn Snakes are the

ideal first snake, they do not grow too big, they do not require large cages and theirplacid nature makes them easy to handle. Corn Snakes are related to Rat Snakes and

are sometimes referred to as Red Rat Snakes. Corn Snakes are smaller than other

American Rat Snakes erg Black Rat Snake, Yellow Rat Snake, Grey Rat Snake, TexasRat Snake and the Everglades Rat Snake which can all grow to 2m, while Corn

Snakes grown to 1.5m but are often slightly smaller. Corn Snakes can be kept the

same way as the Rat Snakes mentioned above but due to their smaller size they canbe kept in smaller cages. Cages should measure between 75cm to 90cm in length and

between 30cm-45cm in width and 30cm-45cm in height. Provide a bedding of corn

cob. Use a heat pad to maintain a temperature of between 25-30 degrees Celsius. I

personally like custom snake tanks, which allow me to create display cages. AdultCorn Snakes are good feeders, however baby Corn Snakes can be problem feeders.

Some Baby Corn Snakes are too small to eat whole pinkie mice and have to be fed

pinkie heads ( this is done with pre-killed mice only). Once they have grown a bit youcan move them onto whole pinkies. Feed babies a pinkie mouse once every four to

five days. Increase the size of the food as the snake grows. Adults will eat large mice

and rat pups. Breeders have produced many colours and patterns that do not occur inthe wild. There are many Corn Snake morphs and new ones are being bred all the

time, so you will have a huge selection of different Corn Snake varieties to choose

from.

Picture of a normal coloured Corn Snake



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Chapter 2Yellow Rat Snake

The yellow rat snake originates from the US. This snake has been commonlyavailable in the pet trade for decades . Yellow rat snakes breed readily in captivity, so

finding a hatchling is not difficult. These snakes grow larger than corn snakes and

king snakes. Reaching an average length of 1.5m to 1.8m my yellow rat snake ispushing two meters in length. Yellow rat snakes have a medium size girth. You should

get a decent size cage of about 1.2m in length and 45cm in width and 45 cm in height.

Note that yellow rat snakes like to climb so you could increase the height of the cage.keep hatchling in small plastic terrarium. These are sold by many reptile companies.

Corn cob bedding makes a good substrate, I have settled on this after many years ofexperimentation with different substrates. Provide a hide box, a water bowl and

branches for the snake to climb. Add drift wood, rocks and artificial plants to makethe tank look good. Feed mice and rats your snakes its entire life. Hatchling will eat

pinky mice increase the size of the food as the snake grows. Adult yellow rat snakes

can eat four to six mice or a medium rat. Feed your snakes once a week. Heat the cageby placing a heat pad under half of the cage. The temperature should be kept at 25-30

degrees Celsius. As I am writing this article my yellow rat snake who I bought as a

hatchling 12 years ago is watching me type, through the glass of his cage.

Adult Yellow Rat Snake



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Chapter 3Common King Snake

King Snakes are a large group of American snakes. You can find King Snakes of onekind or another in the USA and in Mexico. I will be discussing the common King

Snakes as their care is much more simple than the smaller King Snakes, such as the

Grey Banded King snake and the Arizona Mountain King Snake. The Common KingSnake complex has several subspecies : Californian King Snake, Mexican Black King

Snake, Florida King Snake, Desert King Snake, Eastern Chain King Snake and the

Blotched King Snake. These snakes vary in size with the Florida King Snake growingthe longest, up to one point eight meters. The rest of these King Snakes have also

been reported to grow to this length, however the Californian King Snakes I have kepthave only grown to one point two meters and I have never seen a Mexican Black that

is any way near that length. I think that a length of one point five meters is a realisticsize for these snakes. The King Snakes mentioned above can be kept in the same way

as Rat Snakes and Corn Snakes. Provide a cage of between 60-90cm long and

between 30-45cm wide by 30-45cm high, obviously the bigger cages are for thebigger snakes. Use a bedding of corn cob. Supply a hide box and a small water bowl.

You can decorate the cage with rocks, wood and artificial plants. Use a heating pad to

maintain a temperature of between 25-30 Celsius, place the heat pad under one side ofthe cage. Keep King Snakes separately as they eat snakes in the wild ( my Californian

King Snake nearly killed my Yellow Rat Snake which is more than twice his size).

King Snakes are also cannibalistic and should only be put together when breeding,this should be supervised to make sure no one gets eaten. Feed your King Snake mice,rat pups and rat weaners. Feed the appropriate size food two times a week for a

hatchling and one a week for adults.

Californian King Snake. This snake is the most popular King Snake species



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Chapter 4

Milk Snakes

There are 25 different subspecies of Milk Snake. Milk Snakes can be found in the

USA, Mexico and Central American Countries such as Honduras and Guatemala. All

Milk Snakes have a colour pattern consisting of red, black, and white bands. Thedifferent spacing of these bands is used to identify different types of Milk Snake e.g

Sinaloan Milk Snakes have a wide red area between the black and white bands, while

Pueblan Milk Snakes have evenly spaced bands. Pueblan Milk Snakes, Sinaloan Milk

Snakes and Honduran Milk Snakes are the most commonly available Milk Snakes.These are the Milk Snakes I will discuss in this article. Milk Snakes require a secure

cage with a dry substrate such as corn cob. Provide a hiding box and use cagedecorations such as logs, pieces of wood, rocks and artificial plants. Heat the cage tobetween 25-30 degrees Celsius by using a heat pad. Cage size can vary with the type

of Milk Snake you are keeping ; smaller subspecies such as the Sinaloan Milk Snake

and Pueblan Milk Snake can be kept in a cage measuring 60cm long by 30cm wide by30cm high, larger subspecies such as Honduran Milk Snakes would require a cage

measuring 90cm long by 45cm wide by 45 cm high. Hatchling Sinaloan Milk Snakes

and Pueblan Milk Snakes will eat pinkie mice and adults would be able to eat small

mice. Adult Honduran Milk Snakes would be able to eat large mice or rat weaners.Keep Milk Snakes separately because they will eat snakes of different species. Milk

Snakes are also cannibalistic.

Pueblan Milk Snake on of the most widely available milk snakes



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Chapter 5American Garter Snake

There are several groups of snakes named Garter Snakes, including a group inSouthern Africa. These snakes are related to cobras and are venomous.

However, I will be discussing the Garter Snakes from North America, which are

harmless. Garter Snakes are small snakes reaching 75cm in length, some of the larger

species can reach a meter in length but are usually smaller. Garter snakes are diurnal

and crawl actively around the cage in search of food. Because of this, Garter Snakesrequire larger cages than do King Snakes and Rat Snakes, who wait in their hide

boxes for a mouse to be dangled in front of them with a feeding tong. Garter Snakeslive near water and will eat earthworms, fish, frogs and tadpoles. Some of the larger

species such as the Checkered Garter Snake will eat small mice. Feed your Garter

Snake three times a week. Provide a daylight basking bulb to provide light and to heatthe tank. Use a heat pad to heat the cage at night. Even though Garter Snakes live and

hunt near water, their cages must be kept dry or they will develop scale rot and fungal

infections. Use a bedding of corn cob. In closing if you want a small snake which youcan watch during the day, and can create a naturalistic cage setup for. This is the

snake for you.

Picture of a group of Checkered Garter Snakes. The pale snake is an albino.



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Chapter 6Ball PythonBall pythons are a small African python species, which grows to 1.2 meters. They

require a secure glass aquarium, with a screen top, or a wooden cage with slidingglass doors. The cage should measure 90cm in length and 45cm in width. Use corn

cob as bedding. Provide a hide box and a water bowl. Feed mice and rats of the

correct size. Babies will eat weaner mice or rat pups. Adults will eat larger mice andsmall rats. Feed babies and Adults once a week. Keep the temperature in the cage at

between 25-30 degrees centigrade. Use a heat pad or infrared light bulb to heat the

cage. Place the heat source on one side of the cage to provide a temperature gradient.Make sure you purchase captive bred pythons as wild caught pythons do not feed

well. Many colour morphs are available, including: Pastel ball pythons, Spider Ball

Pythons, Piebald Ball Pythons, Albino Ball Pythons and many more. Ball Pythons are

a good first snake as long as they are captive bred.

Captive Bred Ball Pythons are affordable and easy to take care off



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Chapter 7Burmese Python

Burmese Pythons are the most popular of the large constrictors. Burmese Pythonsadapt well to captivity when taken care of properly. The only problem is their size, an

adult female Burmese Python can grow up to 6 meters in length, males are slightly

smaller at around four to five meters in length. Irresponsible snake owners have nowintroduced Burmese Pythons into the Florida Everglades. That said, an experienced

snake keeper with the time, money, space, knowledge and commitment will get a lotof pleasure from keeping a Burmese Python. Burmese Pythons are one of the best

snakes I have ever dealt with. I still have fond memories of the three meter BurmesePython that I used to look after when I volunteered at the Transvaal Snake Park when

I was a kid. Handling a full-grown Burmese Python cannot be done by one person, so

make some friends who like snakes before you get your Burmese Python. BurmesePythons can reach adulthood in four years. An adult Burmese Python will need a

cage measuring four meters long by three meters wide by three meters tall. Provide

heating using heat pads and over head spot lamps. Burmese Pythons require atemperature of between 30-35 degrees Celsius. Provide a log for your Python to climb

on. Place a large water container in the cage. Pythons will eat large mice when they

are hatch lings, provide larger food as the python grows. Adult Burmese Pythons willeat rabbits and chickens. All the food your python eats should be pre-killed. Albino

Burmese Pythons are readily available.

Picture of a Burmese Python after it has just eaten two chickens.



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Chapter 8Hot Herps

The short answer I give to anyone who wants to keep a venomous snake is DO NOT

KEEP ONE !!!. There are so many species of harmless snakes and a growing number

of colour mutations on the market to choose from, why put yourself and others indanger?. There are some keepers who are experienced enough to deal with a

venomous snake without getting bitten, but accidents do happen. Even mildly

cytotoxic species can cause tissue, nerve damage and even the loss of a finger. Antivenom for exotic snakes is not available in your local hospital. Death can occur with

bites from Rattlesnakes, some Pit Viper species, certain Adder Species and Cobras( this covers most of the venomous snakes kept in captivity, but is not a

comprehensive guide). If you want to keep a venomous snake that is your decision.Just remember that there are serious medical risks should you get bitten.

Remember that only very experienced snake keepers should attempt to keepvenomous snakes. Going on a handling course that only takes a few hours to

complete does not qualify you to keep venomous snakes. It takes years of hands on

experience with harmless snakes to gain sufficient knowledge about snake husbandryand behavior. You want to be able to predict if your rattlesnake is in the mood to be

handled without having to open the cage and find out the hard way. It only takes one

inexperienced idiot who gets bitten by the cobra he decided to free handle to bring thewhole snake keeping fraternity into disrepute. So please be careful and make aninformed decision should you decide to proceed with keeping venomous snakes.

The last part of this book covers two popular species of venomous snakes.



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Chapter 9Gaboon Vipers

There are two subspecies of Gaboon vipers ; the East African Gaboon Viper and the

West African Gaboon Viper. The East African Gaboon Viper occurs along the east

coast of Africa from the upper east coast of South Africa and up into Mozambique.West African Gaboon Vipers live in the tropical rainforests of West Africa. Gaboon

Vipers have the largest fangs of any snake .Gaboon Vipers are the largest vipers in

Africa and are the second largest viper in the world after the Bush Master of South

America. Due to their large girth adult Gaboon Vipers have been reported to be seen

eating Duikers, a small species of buck about the same size as a small dog . Due totheir spectacular colouration and size, as well as being one of the most docile

venomous snakes, Gaboon Vipers have become popular with reptile keepers. GaboonVipers are high on the list of my favorite snakes, but a cytotoxic bite from a snake

with huge venom glands and record-breaking fang length is not something I would

enjoy. Gaboon Vipers are best suited to the professional snake keeper.



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Chapter 10Arboreal Asian Pit Vipers

The Waglers Pit Viper from Southeast Asia is possibly the most well-known of the

green tree-dwelling pit vipers in the region. Other green tree-dwelling pit vipers from

the same region include Popes Pit Viper and the White-Lipped Tree Viper. The AsianTree Vipers are considered unusual among pit vipers in the respect that lizards and

frogs contribute a large part of their diet especially when they are young. This

behavior is also seen in tree-dwelling pit vipers in South America, one example beingthe Eyelash Viper. Why is this behavior unusual? the answer is that pit vipers evolved

their pits to locate warm-blooded prey like birds and mammals. I Think the reason for

these snakes eating cold-blooded prey may be that lizards and frogs are moreabundant than warm-blooded prey in the trees of tropical rain forests. However, adult

Wagners Pit Vipers would also eat small birds and mammals once they reach adult

size. These snakes grow to just under one meter. The venom of these snakes is

considered mildly cytotoxic and is strong enough to cause considerable tissue damageand swelling.

Juvenile Wagler's Pit Viper also called a Temple Viper as these vipers are kept in atemple on the Indonesian island of Penang

These vipers have the nickname finger rotters as evident from the picture.



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Chapter 11Snake Products

Below are links to products available from my online store

Heating

Small Heat Pad

Large Heat Pad

Infrared Basking Lamp

Daylight Basking Lamp ( Perfect for Garter Snakes)

Lighting

Lighting for Garter Snakes or Planted Terrariums

Substrates

The Perfect Snake Bedding

Garter Snake Vitamin Supplement

Increase the Nutritional Value of Garter Snake Food

http://www.timsreptiles.co.za/http://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=heat-pad-small-10-wathttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=heat-pad-large-14-watthttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=infrared-heating-lamp-60-watthttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=daylight-basking-lamp-60-watthttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=repti-compact-uvb-2-0-15-watthttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=corn-cob-bedding-smallhttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=komodo-vitamin-plushttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/http://www.timsreptiles.co.za/http://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=heat-pad-small-10-wathttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=heat-pad-large-14-watthttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=infrared-heating-lamp-60-watthttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=daylight-basking-lamp-60-watthttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=repti-compact-uvb-2-0-15-watthttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=corn-cob-bedding-smallhttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/?wpsc-product=komodo-vitamin-plushttp://www.timsreptiles.co.za/


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List of Snakes Snake Species Suitable for Captivity

Below is a list of snakes you can keep not discussed in the book

Rat SnakesBlack Rat Snake

Grey Rat SnakeTexas Rat Snake

Everglades Rat Snake

Taiwanese Rat Snake

King SnakesFlorida King Snake

Mexican Black King SnakeSpeckled King Snake

Prarie King Snake

Grey Banded King Snake

Milk SnakesSinaloan Milk Snake

Pueblan Milk SnakeHonduran Milk Snake

Mildly Venomous SnakesAmerican Copper Head Viper

Sahara Horned Adder ( Genus Cerates)

Namibian Coral Snake

Horned Adders ( Genus Bitis)

False Water Cobra ( Back Fanged)



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Small Python SpeciesChildrens PythonSpotted Python

Macklots Python

BoasRed Tailed Boa

Kenyan Sand Boa

Rosy BoaBrazilian Rainbow Boa

ColubridsBrown House Snake

Southern Brown Egg EaterWestern Hognose Snake

Madagascan Giant Hognose Snake

Visit

www.timsreptiles.co.zafor the best online reptile experience in South Africa

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