Five Underrated African Snakes
November 7th, 2007 Jack SpirkoOf course here at HouseSnakes.net we feel the African House Snake is underrated. Yet as we began working with Lamprophis and seeking out sources and importers who brought in Animals from Africa we started to discover that The Dark Continent still has a lot of gems to reveal to main stream reptile keepers and herpetologists. Today there are countless versions of corn snakes, rat snakes, ball pythons and various other beautiful snakes to choose from.
With so many easy to keep and wonderful captive bred animals available it is easy to overlook the new and sometimes challenging species yet to be bred in any large scale domestically. Yet just like working with House Snakes working with other emerging species offers many rewards…
- Even when demand is low there is always some demand and as a breeder you are often one of only a very few sources of captive bred specimens
- You have the opportunity to become branded in association with the species. While competing with Katy Love or Don Sonderberg as a high end corn snake source may be difficult, but who is your real competition for say Diadems or Cat-eyed Snakes?
- You get to be a pioneer and develop a market with a lesser known species rather then try to penetrate it with one where the major work has already been done.
- Cost of entry is relatively low, you can get say a 1.3 or 2.5, etc group of these species for under a thousand dollars, some for well under 500 and in a few years be one of “the sources” for them.
- It is simply plain fun to do something no one else is really doing.
There are many more very cool African colubrids beyond the five mentioned here. We choose these five for a few reasons…
- While none are main stream yet all are at least somewhat known and reasonably available if you look hard enough.
- While all are technically “rear fanged” - none are considered dangerous or require venomous permits etc.
- All are considered reasonably easy to breed and quite prolific and hence getting breeding established should be possible by most hobbyists.
- They all come from regions where wild harvest is beginning to be more tightly regulated. Hence the time to establish captive breeding groups is now.
So here they are, our picks for five highly underrated African colubrids,
The Madagascar Giant Hognose Snake
Pick One - The Madagascar Giant Hognose (Scientific Name - Leioheterodon madagascariensis) - These snakes have started to show up with some regularity in the past couple years with a lot starting to show up in particular since 2005. While we are not currently working directly with them I have had the opportunity to handle quite a few specimens. My impression is these are powerful but gentle snakes that seem every bit as reluctant to bite as their far smaller North American cousins.
While this snakes have enlarged rear teeth and may have some venomous component to their saliva they are considered to be “nonvenomous” and harmless from an envenomation stand point. Here is a report on the toxicology of the Giant Hognose Snake for more information on that.
This snake adapts easily to captivity and needs an enclosure just a bit bigger then for the typical corn snake. The same enclosure size used for say a black rat snake or bull snake would be more then adequate for the giant hognose snake. All of the specimens I have handled have a great disposition and are easy to handle, they are impressively strong but don’t seem to wrap around you the way a typical constrictor does. In regard to adult size they tend to top out around 5-5.5 feet with most animals eventually getting that large.
They readily take prekilled rodents in captivity and are quite simply a joy to keep. I have not found a great deal of colorvariation but one would expect that sooner or later, hypo, amel, anery, etc genes should all pop up. Breeding is a simple operation, with a slight chilling during the winter and manipulation of the photoperiod providing the best results.
The Madagascar Cat-eyed Snake
Pick Two - The Madagascar Cat-eyed Snake (scientific name Madagascarophis colubrinus) is another rear fanged and mildly venomous colubrid. I have read two accounts of bites that caused reactions and both were limited to mild swelling and localized pain. If you are concerned about envenomation from these snakes you can simply wear long sleves and cloth gloves and as with most rear fanged colubrids the cloth will absorb any venom before it reached the wound. I personally handle my Cat-eyed snakes with no concern, they are extremely docile animals and seem to have no predispotion to bite, they do have a very aggressive feeding response so I feed with tongs and remove these snakes with a hook to avoid any confusion. If you have any aditional concerns about the envenomation potential of this snake you can review the toxicology report on M. colubrinus here.
I acquired my M. colubrinus from Dave Ford and they were bred by Dr. Neil Ford of U.T. Tyler. If you are looking to acquire some of these snakes contact Dr. Ford they tend to always have some around. These snakes are highly variable in color from brown, to olive to very high yellow phases that are among the most beautiful. They rarely if ever get as large as an adult corn snake so they can be kept in similar sized enclosures and their care is almost identical to corn snakes making them more then easy to care for. They can simply be fed rodents and are very good feeders and in fact in the words of Dave Ford, “the will eat anything”. I have tested that a bit and found them willing to consume small birds, geckos and salamanders with no hesitation.
Breeding reportedly has no big challenges and establishing captive bred lines should be fairly easy to do. I have observed that in the evening these snakes really enjoy doing a bit of climbing so some form of “furniture” should be provided for them along with hides on both the cool and warm sides of their enclosures. This is a snake with lot going for it, while I imagine some keepers may shy off it a bit due to it being rear fanged this should really not be any hurtle. Again no severe reactions have ever been reported and they are quite reluctant to bite in the first place. They are unique looking snakes that don’t get too big, they have a lot of potential for selective breeding specific color phases and are about as bullet proof as any snake can ever be from a husbandry stand point.
The Skaapsteker
Pick Three - The Skaapsteker - There are two primary species of Skaapsteker that are imported from Africa with some regularity, one is the Striped Skaapsteker - (scientific name Psammophylax tritaeniatus) and the Spotted or Rhombic Skaapsteker - (scientific name Psammophylax rhombeatus). The photo above is of course the striped variety the spotted version is far more stunning and of course a bit more expensive and harder to come by. These are another rear fanged and venomous colubrid, reportedly they really need to get a good chew on you to do any significant envenomation.
If you would like to read the toxicology reports on these snakes you can read them here for P. tritaeniatus and here for P. rhombeatus. While the reports are quite reassuring I would still advise anyone to use caution with this species. You may want to read this account on Psammophylax from the SA Reptiles Forum. Those folks live and work in Africa so I take their advice with a lot of weight. If you read the posts you will see no one thinks they are life threatening but letting one chew is ill advised and you can see a swollen hand that explains why.
Otherwise they seem to be quite a docile snake though a few regional sub phases may be a bit more aggressive. Females also tend to actively guard their eggs so that is something anyone breeding them should be aware of. I personally bare handle Skaaptekers but you can simply utilize cloth gloves and long sleeves as an additional safeguard if you want an added measure of security.
These snakes are quite “racer like” in build but they do tend to bulk up a bit as they mature. Generally they top out around 3 feet so they are easy to house, though they should be given a slightly larger enclosure then other colubrids of their size due to their active nature. Skaapstekers are dinurnal by nature (active during the day) which makes them good display animals and they appreciate a large water dish and will make use of low branches and do a bit of vertical exploring to get better use of their enclosure space.
At a market rate of about 150 dollars US for an sub adult to adult pair they are one heck of an opportunity for the person willing to work on a challenging breeding project. The biggest hurtle may be that babies are down right tiny and may require something like tadpoles to get started feeding. I am working on acquiring a pair as I write this article and will provide more information on the breeding and husbandry of these animals in the near future.
The Diadem Snake
Pick Four - The Diadem Snake (scientific name - Spalerosophis diadema) ranges from North Africa east with some related species ranging as far east as Pakistan. I am currently working with the sub species S. diadema cliffordi (commonly called the Egyptian Diadem) which is a North African Species from the areas in and around Egypt. The photo above is of a juvinal as they grow the pattern reduces and they get beautiful shades of rose, orange, peach and red.
Diadem’s are many things, active, curious and intelligent but they are not docile by any means. They are not a snake to handle like a “pet” and do not particularly enjoy being touched. They will hiss much like a North American bull snake, but unlike our bulls there is no bluffing, they will strike, bite and even chew. They are another rear fanged colubrid but no reactions of any kind have been reported to their mild venom on humans and their Toxicology Report officially lists them as “nonvenomous”. Still I use a hook to handle mine just because I do not enjoy being bitten or chewed on.
Many people wonder why anyone would want to keep a snake that bites, to them I say try keeping a Diadem or a pair of them and you will quickly answer your own question. Keeping a Diadem is like keeping a Saw Scaled Viper or Desert Adder with out the risk. Their show is impressive and they require you to think before putting a hand in their cages. You quickly learn to use snake hooks and how to deal with something more challenging they say a corn or ball python that just lays around.
The return for your efforts is great! Diadems like to explore a lot and don’t spend hours hiding from you. While they strike at hands that come at them they are not freaks that smack the glass just because you walk by it. They quickly learn to trust their captors so long as you are not trying to get to close to them or pick them up and will take mice off tongs with vigor. I originally acquired my Male (pictured above) as a gift from Neil Ford of UT Tyler and will be picking up a female to start a breeding project with them.
Spalerosophis grow to about corn snake length (4-4.5 feet) as adults but are much more heavily bodied and therefore more impressive. Breeding is a simple affair, simply by providing a long photo period and introducing a male to a female you can get them to breed around June each year. Dr. Ford has a paper on breeding Diadem’s you can download here.
What really makes these snakes so wonderful in spite of an aggressive nature is how enjoyable and easy to care for they really are. I often observe my snake studying my movements and watching me work. They eat just about anything of reasonable size you place in front of them and actually prefer arid environments so humidity is a minor to no concern. As they do not get overly large topping out under 5 feet so they are easy to provide for. If you are looking for a snake that gives you a bit of the thrill of an exotic viper with out the risk of going to a hospital or loosing a hand, then a Diadem may be the perfect fit.
The Rufous Beaked Snake
Pick Five - The Rufous Beaked Snake (scientific name Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus) is a rather new entrent into the North American market and of the five snakes listed here I think it is the true diamond in the rough. These snakes are technically rear fanged but I can’t find a single report of even a bite by one let alone any type of reaction. The toxicology report on R. oxyrhynchus is also quite reassuring in ruling out any real danger of severe envenomation.
In addition to being docile and considered just about harmless to humans Rufous Beaks have many other attributes going for them. Like many African colubrids they are diurnal and very active snakes during the day so rather then spending the day hiding like a Ball Python or Corn Snake they are out and about and engaged with movement around them. They also have bifocal vision and can see far better then most snakes. Rufous Beak Snakes are not ambush hunters, they are true predators that patrol their territories and “run down” their prey.
These are big beautiful snakes that easily get over 6 feet in length and I have some reports of Rufous Beaked Snakes over 8 feet, though I have yet to confirm that. I saw a few last year at the Arlington Texas, NARBC that were easily 6 feet long and certainly have more girth then a equal length bull snake. When it comes to enclosures for them go with more length rather then just more floor space as these snakes enjoy traveling and exploring.
Apparently breeding them is pretty easy to accomplish and the young are more then large enough to start feeding on pink mice right away. This is a snake with a lot going for it. They are large with out being huge, intelligent, active, interesting and easy to care for and breed. There are also additional subspecies including a red variety that is even more beautiful. I will be looking for a pair or perhaps a 1.2 group at this years NARBC to add to our collection. I see this snake as the best bet of the five to go or at least get close to mainstream soon. There is just to much going for these animals for them not to make a big impact.
If I were to compare Rufous snakes to a venomous species it would be the cobras, their tendency to stand up, their amazing vision and intelligence make them something special. I honestly can’t think of any species that compares to them that is readily available and nonvenomous or at least not life threatening.
So there you have it, five realtively unknown African colubrids that your friends probably don’t have. All are reasonably easy to breed, none are likely to cost you a hand or finger and each offer something that simply can’t be obtained from the usual species.
Remember this is a blog and your comments are more then welcome. I would love to hear your comments on these species, especially if you have any experience in working with them. Additionally if you have any other under rated species you want to point out (African or otherwise) that you would like us to write about in the future. After all we are HouseSnakes.net and that means we appreciate the underrated and the unknown. Happy herping and remember to always check out the lesser knowns, it is more fun on the “other side”.
Jack Spirko
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