WARNING TO ALL FILESNAKE KEEPERS

[Brodie]

Hi Guys,

Just got an email from a guy that I sold quite a few file snakes too. He found two dead file snakes floating in his tank. He could not figure out what killed them, so he cut them open. In each of the filesnakes, he found aquarium pebbles blocking the digestive system. Anyone who has kept file snakes for a while, will know how dopey at hunting they are. Obviously when the snakes struck at the passing fish, they accidently swallowed the pebbles, which eventually led to their death.

To be honest I never even thought of this as a potential problem. I guess I am lucky that I dont use any substrate in my file snake tanks.

I urge all file snake keepers to switch to a more suitable substrate if they are using aquarium pebbles. Perhaps a subtrate of hard clay (like what hoser uses for his adders) would work well.

Cheers,
Brodie

 

[westhamsc]

**** thats no good what about if you silicone the pebbles to the bottem of the tank? just a idear
but if we where to keep them down here i whould have nothing on the bottem going by what a few breeders of these guys have told me

 

[Greebo]

How about some of those 'river stones' as a substrate? They would be too large for juvie file snakes to swallow.

 

[expansa1]

We've kept them for years with flat river stones as a substrate. There is no way they can swallow them and the tank looks great. Also, plants can be anchored under them.

Expansa1

 

[teza]

RE

Expansa, i have had an interest in keeping file snakes, any chance you could post a pic of your tank please?

 

[Dicco]

RE

Expansa, i have had an interest in keeping file snakes, any chance you could post a pic of your tank please?

Yes, I'd also like to see your set up, yours ever breed?

 

[Wrasse]

I have my arafura aquarium gravel siliconed in a fine layer to the bottom, effectively, no loose substrate at all, just decorative. Keeps the tank much cleaner. I found when keeping tropical fish, the gravel holds the muck. The filesnake tanks are much cleaner without loose gravel and looks like it is an accidental bonus, digestion wise, for the 'fura's too.

 

[expansa1]

RE

Expansa, i have had an interest in keeping file snakes, any chance you could post a pic of your tank please?

Sure. I'll take one in the morning and post it up.

 

[africancichlidau]

It's pretty obvious that you shouldn't use any loose substrate of a size that could cause ingestion problems with these guys.

 

[expansa1]

RE

Expansa, i have had an interest in keeping file snakes, any chance you could post a pic of your tank please?

Here ya go Teza. Note the stainless steel lids that provide plenty of ventilation. Above all else, file snakes need heaps of ventilation. We have never had any skin problems or other ailments.

Regards,
Craig

 

[Jason]

i dont know any thingbout these snake, do they stay in water 24/7 do they come out to breath? do they eat fish? they are a very unusual snake, i saw one at the zoo.

 

[Dicco]

Very nice Craig, Jayson, they are totally aquatic, they breathe air by sticking their noses out, and Arafura Files Snakes eat nothing but fish, but Little File Snakes will eat a much wide variety of foods.

 

[ether]

Awesome looking snakes. How bigger tank would you need for an adult? And would you start a Juvenile in a 2fter?

Cheers Alex

 

[teza]

RE

Thanks for the pics Craig, awesome setup there mate.. Do you use a filter system in that tank, and if so, whats type..?

Teza ..

 

[foxysnake]

Hey thanks for this thread - I've been curious about these snakes for a while. Are they common in herper's collections or no? I havn't heard much of them. Beautiful setup expansa! Does anyone have any links to caresheets about the file snake?

 

[Dicco]

www.arafurae.net, Wrasse's site, there's a few interesting posts on housing fileyss there, and also a blog that she has kept, it's and interesting read.

 

[expansa1]

RE

Thanks for the pics Craig, awesome setup there mate.. Do you use a filter system in that tank, and if so, whats type..?

Teza ..

Hi Teza,

We use a powerhead with a spray bar so the aquarium is not like a whirlpool. In the filter of the powerhead we have filter wool (Mechanical filtration) scoria rocks and 'Matrix' (Biological filtration) and a 'Purigen pillow (chemical filtration). We swear by the purigen pillows. They remove all ammonia, ammonium and polish the water. They are also re-chargeable so after the initial purchase cost of around $30 you have something that should last year 10 years or more unlike the disposable activated carbon etc. All our turtle aquariums run with purigen in the filters as well!

Regards,
Craig

 

[expansa1]

Awesome looking snakes. How bigger tank would you need for an adult? And would you start a Juvenile in a 2fter?

Cheers Alex

Hi Alex,
You could start with a 2ft tank for juveys. A five or six foot tank would be the size recommended for adults as they grow as large as a carpet python.

Regards,
Craig

 

[Crocboy]

A very interesting snake.

 

[Wrasse]

www.arafurae.net

I don't actually have a caresheet on there, but there is a blog where I have outlined what I have done and found. I am building/writing more as I learn. This is, of course, not the only way to do things with them, however, due to a lack of information out there, this is what I have found works for me and my babies.

As pages are still being designed and written, if you want tank or water information, check the blog.