colubrid info

[Kenshin]

hi there was wondering if ppl could share some info/pics of their colubrid setups/snakes
main interest is in
slatey greys
keelbacks
gts's
bts's
if anyone has any they want to get rid of in the near future let me know to

might (not sure yet) be able to get two keelbacks that are about a foot long each unsure yet have to wait on email

 

[Greebo]

Kenshin, I only have a gts so I can't comment on the others.
GTS don't tend to hang on to you like a python does. They are very slender and extremely agile which means you have to be careful when handling them. The can also leave a horrible smell on you if you upset them too much. Mine is well behaved in that respect.
I've had mine nearly 2 years. It was captive bred by Bruce Riddell and I still have not been able to get her to eat mice. I feed her 1 goldfish every week.
Her cage is the same as all my other enclosures, just with a couple extra branches for her.
Colourbrids are fascinating to keep. They are a little harder to look after than a python and are not for everybody.

 

[Magpie]

Handling a wild BTS last night and it kept twisting round and round and round trying to break my grip. Very clever behaviour I thought.

 

[craig23]

slate greys are really nice snakes, can be very quiet and look fantastic with that deep shiny grey colouring. Keelbacks are generally a litle more bitey and can also leave a lovely pungent stink on you if they are upset. Both do well in plastic click clack tubs or normal enclosure around 60cm x 45cm or similar will be plenty big enough. In the wild they both eat skinks and frogs and small fish, but will take small mice in captivity. I dont know where you can get them at this stage, once again Snakes NT had them but are no more.
Goodkuck.

 

[Kenshin]

thanks guys at this stage i have 3 possible sources to get various colubrids from but need to wait awhile before i find out enough

so far possibility one has bts's,gts's, keelback pair that are 1ft long each
posibility two has bts's and gts's rdy in two weeks
and posibilty 3 im not entirly sure on yet


i would prefer to keep to tubs until they reach such a size that they will require a propper cage i have afew spare cages (4ftx2x2's) but i like the tubs because the use of heat cords is preferable to me


anyone got happy snaps ?

 

[Guest]

Kenshin, how much are these sorces wantning for the BTS and GTS?

cheers
pete

 

[farmdog]

don't keelbacks need a setup similar to turtles, by meaning some water course to swim in a to hunt the fish and a basking dry area??
The bts and gts are the arbeoral if they are isn't a 4x2x2 lacking climbing height???

 

[Kenshin]

dunt know yet waiting on emails and info and such

 

[Kenshin]

building a cage to suit the animal is no problem

 

[ozherpconservation]

don't keelbacks need a setup similar to turtles, by meaning some water course to swim in a to hunt the fish and a basking dry area??
The bts and gts are the arbeoral if they are isn't a 4x2x2 lacking climbing height???

Yes to both of those questions.

 

[Guest]

is it better to have it sy 2ft long, 2foot wide and 3/4ft tall? will this sufice?

 

[Greebo]

Yes it would suffice (2 fs).
I kept my gts in a click clack for the first year.

 

[craig23]

Keelbacks are semi aquatic, not aquatic. I wouldnt house them like a turtle at all. A normal enclosure with a large water bowl is best. Keelbacks dont live in the water they just hunt in and around the water, not unlike tiger snakes, water pythons etc. Keelbacks can be found living well away from water as well in thick well watered lowland forests etc. Mcleays water snakes and Bockdams are true aquatic snakes that require an aquatic environment.

 

[Guest]

When out the other day herping with jonno and erik, jonno found a keelback about 200 m from this creak. so thats a fair hike i think./

 

[Kenshin]

ok sourced a 1ft pair of keelbacks would like to hear any suggestions about setups for these

i was thinking possibly plastic tubs till they reach close to adult size with a largeish waterbowl and a 25watt heat cord under 1/3erd of the enclosure with some branches and a hide at the cool end

how i house my 1year old darwin carpets is in a plastic tub with a hide box, water bowl and a branch to climb on with a 25watt heat cord under 1/3erd of the enclosure this is why i thought it would be the same for the keelbacks but with more waterthen i give the carpets

any thoughts ?

thanks ppl

 

[sxereturn]

When out the other day herping with jonno and erik, jonno found a keelback about 200 m from this creak. so thats a fair hike i think./

It was in a swamp...

 

[sxereturn]

And also, you can't lump "colubrids" into one group when talking about husbandry. They are probably the most variable family of snakes, if not reptiles!

 

[Kenshin]

i realise this but in the begging of the thread i was unsure of which colubrid i was to get hold of so i asked hence why i listed the most likely species


then i found that ill most prolly get keelbacks and thus asked specificly about keelbacks.....

 

[craig23]

Sounds perfect Kenshin. Just keep them like anything else, but with a water bowl they can jump in for sure. Keelbacks arnt real climbers so you wont need branches but they love places to hide. Temps like anything else will be good average 28C or like you said a heat cord under 1/3 to give a gradient it perfect. As they dont get that big tubs are fine for life, but if you want a display enclosure tubs arnt that attractive.

 

[Kenshin]

ahh thanks craig yer id prefer to tub em untill they reach adult size then ill ither tub em more or get a tank for them

so i would go for a tub that has alot of floor space and stuff all height?

what type of literage or dimensions would you recomend?

is it advisable to keep them seperate or keep them together? (they are currently housed together)

thanks