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.
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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
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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
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