New Reptile Room and New Additions!

Back from the Hamm show and it went amazing if you don't count the 1200km I have driven within 15 hrs .

I ended up getting some very rare animals.

Here is the list:

1.1 Acanthophis antarcticus (Common Death Adder, Sydney Red form)

These snakes are just amazing! Adults are about a meter long, and they are banded red and orange, giving them a spectacular appearance as adults. Only one breeding took place in Europe and I got a pair.

1.1 Naja sp. "Congo Water Cobra"

One of the rarest captive bred snakes. Only one breeder exists in Europe and he produces only three babies a year if it is a good year. These are probably the smallest cobras available, max out at around 60cm and are quite docile for a cobra when they are captive bred. The live in Congo near a lake and eat fish. Unfortunately, they are under risk of extinction due to gill nets in the lake that they hunt. I was told that switching them to mice is very difficult but took me 10 minutes to do so with my special scenting recipe .

0.1 Crotalus d. unicolor (Aruba Island Rattlesnake)

Now, pitvipers are not my thing. I do not like venomous snakes with additional arsenal but I couldn't refuse this species. Critically endangered in the wild, these rattlesnakes are illegal to own in the states but they are quite common in Europe. However, the ones available are very dark in color with clear markings. The wild ones are very light, with very faint pattern so I assume the stock in Europe is either hybridized or originated from a very dark pair. The baby girl I got on the other hand is very faint and will surely turn out to be exactly like they are in the wild with a lot of blue and pink. She may be the prettiest snake I have seen with my own eyes.

I will obviously have a lot of pictures and videos of all the new snakes one by one but now I have only one video showing my new reptile room in my new place. Here you are:

[YOUTUBE]GFCi1vnaQso[/YOUTUBE]

When I was in Aruba I went to Arikok National Park and saw an Aruban Rattlesnake. Unfortunately, it had been run over. They did have when in the visitor center.

ShredderEmp said:

When I was in Aruba I went to Arikok National Park and saw an Aruban Rattlesnake. Unfortunately, it had been run over. They did have when in the visitor center.

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Yeah, this species is under tremendous stress. Export is illegal but there is no other local protection and their habitat is almost completely gone. There is captive breeding program to save the species but that's just it. It is a shame as in my opinion, these are one of the ebst looking snakes in the world with all the blue and pink.

Here is the Crotalus d. unicolor right post shed, amazing colors...:



My main camera is broken and I am getting a new one so sorry about the crappy photography in between...

^ Gorgeous snake!

The unsubscribed species of water cobras are doing amazing. The female just shed and I took some pictures. It is so cool, she has a brown dot on every scale, which creates a very interesting look.

Anyway, here you are:

what a beautiful arrangement you have for your snakes.

hearsemadam said:

what a beautiful arrangement you have for your snakes.

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Thank you.

Even though all my snakes are captive bred and they probably lived their lives in a plastic rack before they came to my place, I still like to provide them as naturalistic a setup as I can. I think, if the setup is planned and executed properly according to the animal species and the locality they originate from, the animals adjust much better, which helps to avoid feeding problems and weak immunity. Yes, it is a bit more work compared to cleaning a paper towel but I think it pays.

ShredderEmp said:

When I was in Aruba I went to Arikok National Park and saw an Aruban Rattlesnake. Unfortunately, it had been run over. They did have when in the visitor center.

Click to expand...

Here is a video of the C.d.unicolor:

[YOUTUBE]dAOp7Ycqv-E[/YOUTUBE]

That's exactly what I saw. Very cool!

Magic said:

Would you be willing to share your scenting recipe??

I'm always eager to hear what others use that is successful!

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Sure.

Here is an update on the unnamed species of water cobra, Naja (Boulengerina) sp. "Congo".

[YOUTUBE]cpFtiWQAMdU[/YOUTUBE]

And here is a picture:

Naja (Boulengerina) sp. "Congo" male:

You just happened to do your posting just perfect to create eyeball confusion. As I watch the video, the still pic of the snake below in my peripheral vision looks exactly the way O Hannah looks when patrolling. So I have to stare at the pic and yes, there is a superficial similarity. Then back to the video and O Hannah is back! So back and forth, back and forth through the whole video.

I've been meaning to ask, do you pursue a breeding program whenever possible? Is it in your 'repertoire' to eventually have a gene pool and possibly release into the wild?

Thanks for the vids. Very nice. Am looking forwards to the video of you being just as casual handling the pit vipers. Try to include the emergency procedures if/when the inevitable happens. :sarcasm:

The Snark said:

You just happened to do your posting just perfect to create eyeball confusion. As I watch the video, the still pic of the snake below in my peripheral vision looks exactly the way O Hannah looks when patrolling. So I have to stare at the pic and yes, there is a superficial similarity. Then back to the video and O Hannah is back! So back and forth, back and forth through the whole video.

I've been meaning to ask, do you pursue a breeding program whenever possible? Is it in your 'repertoire' to eventually have a gene pool and possibly release into the wild?

Thanks for the vids. Very nice. Am looking forwards to the video of you being just as casual handling the pit vipers. Try to include the emergency procedures if/when the inevitable happens. :sarcasm:

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Thanks for the comment mate.

I do breed snakes and sell them to Europe and USA but I do not have a plan or means to release any to the wild. But captive breeding programs make it possible when the animals in question are in danger. The problem is most rare snakes are quite inbred and I don't know how they would help the wild populations. My eventual plan is to return to Turkey when I am in my 50s and open a big reptile zoo to do conservation and captive breeding of Turkish snakes.

Haha for pitvipers . I have received enough bites from my dear Blackheaded Python to learn to not to mess with snakes, which have heat sensing capabilities. The only pit viper I have right now is the Crotalus d. unicolor and I rarely go near her cage without a meter long hook.

Maybe you could coordinate with other captive breeders. It would be neat if a database was kept you all could refer to. I know. Dream on.
That's what is so nice about vipers; you can't sneak up on them. A dry moat with a few vipers in residence and a drawbridge and you would be so nicely burglar proof!

The Snark said:

Maybe you could coordinate with other captive breeders. It would be neat if a database was kept you all could refer to. I know. Dream on.
That's what is so nice about vipers; you can't sneak up on them. A dry moat with a few vipers in residence and a drawbridge and you would be so nicely burglar proof!

Click to expand...

Well, there actually are some herpetologists, who have moved to places in Asia and do a lot of conservation work. Mostly against smuggling but some captive breeding and releasing as well.

World's rarest viper is Montivipera pontica, found in a small area in Turkey. I want be involved in a program to save that species one day.

In the meantime, since you have mentioned pit vipers, here is a teaser from next week's video:



The image is a direct capture from video, hence the low color quality, doesn't do justice to the animal. Sorry about that...

I am so jealous of your collection najakeeper, hopefully one day ill get into keeping venomous snakes, have you kept any hydrodynastes gigas? I love those guys they are truly amazing.

Thanks mate. Nope, I don't have any H.gigas as I don't keep rearfanged snakes. But I agree they are awesome snakes.

And here is the famous Crotalus d. unicolor feeding while being filmed:

[YOUTUBE]VFX-oiFhufA[/YOUTUBE]

Here is my beautiful Crotalus d. unicolor:

[YOUTUBE]wxaTc0tLigA[/YOUTUBE]

And some pictures:

Head:


Scale detail:



Rattle:

Love the scale shot!