Shovel Nosed Snake

What can you tell me about the shovel nosed snake?

I saw a picture of one on FB and I was surprised that its red on yellow banding but it said non venomous.

Does or has anyone kept them?

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Originally Posted by cecilbturtle

What can you tell me about the shovel nosed snake?

I saw a picture of one on FB and I was surprised that its red on yellow banding but it said non venomous.

Does or has anyone kept them?

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I have a pair of klauberi.

People used to ball pythons and boas may find the husbandry curve a little daunting. They are fossorial - meaning that they like to spend their time underground - or in the case of the captive snake, buried under the substrate.

They feed mainly on invertebrates, and this species can be safely kept in pairs without incident.

Temps are the same as with most western colubrids - mid to low 70s on the cools end, and ambient in the mid 70s and a hot area in the mid 80s.

Red banding depends on locality and species. Some chionactis have no red. They are nominally rear fanged and mildly venomous - think hognose.

Could you post some pics of the snakes and the enclosure please?

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Originally Posted by cecilbturtle

Could you post some pics of the snakes and the enclosure please?

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Don't have any.

You can find pics of klauberi on line. As for the enclosure, imagine an old rubbermaid 32x20 tub filled with about 2.5" of sand.

sand? sounds like a pain to maintain. (I'm a poet apparently) What do you feed yours? Can they be switched to rodents?

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Originally Posted by cecilbturtle

sand? sounds like a pain to maintain. (I'm a poet apparently) What do you feed yours? Can they be switched to rodents?

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Well, I have a shop vac mounted to the wall of the snake house with a 21' hose. I keep all my other snakes on micro flake pine and the shop vac works well for spot cleaning sand and the flake.

The most difficult part of keeping them is feeding them. They will take gut loaded and dusted crickets, roaches, scorpions (I have a source) and beetle larvae. The problem is that - unlike other snakes - there is no F/T when it comes to invertebrates and you can't leave live insects in there for an extended period of time.

I haven't heard of these before, and after googling some pics they are pretty neat snakes! Thanks for all the info Skip :)

Someone posted one on facebook and there was a debate on whether or not they were coral snakes. I looked up shovel nosed snakes and sure enough some had the red on yellow. Some people said they are non venomous and some said venomous. Skip answered that question before I could even ask. Thanks!

I was hoping to find one with lots of red and yellow but after what Skip said I don't think I want to get into that much specialized care.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cecilbturtle

Someone posted one on facebook and there was a debate on whether or not they were coral snakes. I looked up shovel nosed snakes and sure enough some had the red on yellow. Some people said they are non venomous and some said venomous. Skip answered that question before I could even ask. Thanks!

I was hoping to find one with lots of red and yellow but after what Skip said I don't think I want to get into that much specialized care.

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If you like the look but are hesitant about the husbandry, some locality long nosed snakes look similar but will eat rodents.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

Well, I have a shop vac mounted to the wall of the snake house with a 21' hose. I keep all my other snakes on micro flake pine and the shop vac works well for spot cleaning sand and the flake.

The most difficult part of keeping them is feeding them. They will take gut loaded and dusted crickets, roaches, scorpions (I have a source) and beetle larvae. The problem is that - unlike other snakes - there is no F/T when it comes to invertebrates and you can't leave live insects in there for an extended period of time.

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Hi, Skiploder. I see you have a pair of Chionactis, and you feed them loaded and dusted crickets. I know about dusting, but what is gut loading? What is F/T? And while my occipitalis doesn't leave anything overnight, what is wrong with leaving insects in there for an extended period? Are the other "bugs" dusted?

I caught a Chionactis occipitalis about a month ago, and it is doing well (so far) on crickets, roaches and spiders, including the Black Widow Spider. I live in the Coachella Valley, so Black Widows are easy to find, and crickets and roaches are everywhere. I wish I could find scorpions though, as I think that would round out its diet.