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09-14-2010, 10:04 PM
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#1
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The Rodney Dangerfields of the Snake World, aka The Nerodia Appreciation Thread
"We don't get no respect, no respect at all.
Ask just about anyone how they feel about North American Water Snakes, genus Nerodia, and chances are all you'll hear is "... bunch of ugly, nasty-tempered, stinky, vicious animals no good for anything but King Cobra food!"
Well, I beg to differ. DEMAND to differ, as a matter of fact, and I am working to change that image. I currently keep four species of Nerodia, and have them all the way from newborn CB Bandeds to five-foot Red-Bellies. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been bitten, which cannot be said for Corns or Ball Pythons, two species with a rep for being docile, sweet-tempered, good "beginner" pet snakes. All but ONE of my adults are wild-caught animals, by the way, including six that were fairly recently captured in Horry County, SC. None of those six have made any attempt to bite, and two recently participated in an educational presentation during which they were held by young children. I have yet to see any snake, which as a genus, tames down as quickly and as completely as a Water Snake. Yes, if they are scared, they will musk-so will all other snakes, and their musk is no worse than a Rat or King Snake's. Trust me. I've been skunked by them all, including a 12-foot Yellow Anaconda.
Part of their bad rep also has to do with the name: WATER Snake. People assume that this means they have to be kept in a damp, or semi-aquatic environment. In fact, doing so is guaranteed to kill them, very quickly. These snakes are highly prone to "scale rot" if kept in a damp or dirty enclosure, so cleaning IS a must, as is a dry, dry substrate that can be easily replaced. They need a water bowl large enough to drink from, and that's it.
Another issue has been feeding. They DO normally feed on aquatic vertebrates, primarily fish and frogs, but I've found that 99% of them, even wild-caught adults, are easily switched over to frozen/thawed rodents by scenting, and they do much better on a rodent diet, producing less poop. You also avoid the problem of the enzyme Thiaminase, which is present in many species of common feeder fish, especially goldfish, catfish and "rosy reds", and which builds up in the snake's tissues, preventing the absorption of Vitamin B, which is essential for life. In short, it kills the snake, eventually. Many fish commonly sold in supermarkets, fresh, for HUMAN consumption, though, do NOT contain this enzyme, and I've only seen one Water Snake, my Brown male, which will not eat cut strips of fresh salmon, tilapia, flounder, croaker, or ocean perch, all of which can be purchased at nearlly all supermarkets or fish markets. What can be easier than shopping for your snake's food in the same store in which you buy your own? That's almost as easy as picking up cat or dog food in the pet food section of the store.
Now, to the "ugly" part...well, they say a picture says a thousand words, so I'll just let these images of my Water Snakes speak for themselves.
Adult female Banded, Hypo-Anerythristic, possible Xanthic:
Young adult male Hypo:
Young adult male, possible "Super-Hypo"(Hypomelanism has been proven a co-dom. mutation in these snakes.):
Adult female Anerythristic(no red whatsoever)-has old snout injury which covers nostrils, so she has to breathe through her mouth; does not affect her eating, though:
To be continued...
pitbulllady
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09-14-2010, 10:06 PM
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#2
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Part Two:
Adult female "Flame"(Erythristic?)-WC in Horry County, SC, same locale as some of the "Myrtle Beach strain Flame" Eastern Garters-Yes, she is THAT red:
Pile of Horry Co. locality Bandeds after being "dumped" from snake bag into tub for cage cleaning, including "Flame" female:
"Gold" Hypo female baby, offspring of first female, possibly Anery and Xanthic, as well:
Normal and Anery Banded babies, unsexed, offspring of Anery adult female:
"Cherry" red Hypo baby, offspring of first female pictured, littermate to "Gold" Hypo :
Normal, Hypo and Anery babies:
Adult ltc female Red-Belly, proven breeder, five feet long:
Blue-gray-colored young adult male Banded:
Young adult male Banded x Red-Belly "intergrade":
pitbulllady
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09-14-2010, 10:36 PM
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#3
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I fully conure pitbullady!! I kept a pair of wild caught bandeds for a couple of years and loved them!! I too am a pit bull fanatic and am attracted to snakes with pit bull-esque triangulated heads...the bandeds had that and thats what got me to buy them in the first place. I would love to aquire animals like the red bellys, erythristics and the specimen in the last pic on the first post! Do you breed them?
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09-14-2010, 11:07 PM
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#4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigjay
I fully conure pitbullady!! I kept a pair of wild caught bandeds for a couple of years and loved them!! I too am a pit bull fanatic and am attracted to snakes with pit bull-esque triangulated heads...the bandeds had that and thats what got me to buy them in the first place. I would love to aquire animals like the red bellys, erythristics and the specimen in the last pic on the first post! Do you breed them?
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Yes, I do breed them. I have a litter of mostly-Hypo's(ONE normal, and he's the only male)out of the Gold female in the first pic on the first post, and the Anery female in the last pic on the second post just dropped nine babies the day before yesterday-three still-borns(all Anery, of course), six live. Of the six, four are Anery, one is normal-looking, and one just might be a Flame-lots of very deep red with black banding, much redder than the normal's red-brown. I have not sexed any of those just yet, and I owe someone a pair of babies(the guy I got the Anery and the Flame from), and I'll most likely hang onto one myself. I'd love to afford an Amel, so I can get Snow Bandeds somewhere down the line, but first I have to find out how the Anery mutation is inherited. If it's a co-dom like Hypo, that won't work. I don't know what the Anery female was bred with; she was gravid when I got her, fresh out of someone's backyard in Soccastee, SC. I've also got two litters of 100% CB Red-Bellies; all but four of those are female(must have been the higher-than-normal temps in the snake room this summer). Right now shipping is kind of a pain, literally-due to me having fractured my knee about a month ago, so I'd prefer pick-ups.
I'm hoping that the Flame is gravid, but she doesn't appear to be, just chunky. Pictures do not do her justice at all; she is absolutely stunning! She has no scars or nubbed tail, unlike most adult wc Water Snakes, which are usually beat up pretty bad by the time they reach a decent size. If someone ever puts on a "conformation" show for snakes, like they have for dogs and cats, I'd love to put her up against anything the competition can bring on! You can't ask for sweeter snakes than these, seriously. If they were any sweeter, I wouldn't be able to hold them because they'd aggravate my diabetes! There is so much untapped potential in this genus of snake, with regards to morph potential. The genes are already out there; it's just up to breeders to recognize it and get over their hang-ups about keeping these snakes.
pitbulllady
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09-14-2010, 11:28 PM
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#5
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Great info! Sorry to hear about your injury, thats no fun at all. If you get to feeling up to it and can ship I may want to snag a couple from you. Who is working with them in any numbers? It would be Nice to get a couple of projects going with them.
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09-15-2010, 06:31 AM
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#6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigjay
Great info! Sorry to hear about your injury, thats no fun at all. If you get to feeling up to it and can ship I may want to snag a couple from you. Who is working with them in any numbers? It would be Nice to get a couple of projects going with them.
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You would have to move to another state, unfortunately, before I could ship any to you. CA banned all Nerodia back in the 90's, so it would be illegal to even ship them to the state.
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09-15-2010, 10:17 AM
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#7
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Beautiful shots! Beautiful snakes! Personally, I love the looks of heavily keeled snakes.
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09-15-2010, 11:45 AM
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#8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pitbulllady
You would have to move to another state, unfortunately, before I could ship any to you. CA banned all Nerodia back in the 90's, so it would be illegal to even ship them to the state.
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well thats disheartening! The good old peoples republic of commifornia strikes again
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09-15-2010, 03:14 PM
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#9
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One of the tamest snakes I ever had was a w.c. concho water snake. Never so much as reared back to bluff a strike or musked. If you want mean and smelly I have a king that is darn near as nasty as my atb.
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09-15-2010, 08:24 PM
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#10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AK907
One of the tamest snakes I ever had was a w.c. concho water snake. Never so much as reared back to bluff a strike or musked. If you want mean and smelly I have a king that is darn near as nasty as my atb.
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I've got a big male Corn that thinks HE is an ATB, lol! He's been one of the bitiest snakes I've ever dealt with, and he's a sneaky biter, too. He doesn't strike, just hauls off and starts chewing on you when you least expect it. I have had ONE Water Snake that was a biter when she was first caught, a huge female that looks like an intergrade between a Red-Belly and a Yellow-Belly, but she calmed down pretty quickly and can be easily handled now. Most of mine haven't made any attempt to bite, ever. One thing that DOES take some getting used to with Water Snakes, though, especially if you're accustomed to handling constrictors or arboreals, is that a tame Water Snake will go nearly limp when picked up. They just become like a scaly giant strand of wet spaghetti. If any of you have ever had a cat that seemed to become "boneless" when picked up, it's like that, just without hair. I call them "bean bag snakes", because that's sorta what they remind me of. They just are so relaxed that it can be unnerving because it seems like something is wrong with them; they are alert and curious to their surrounding, but their bodies will just sorta "flop". They do not try to support themselves or hold on to you like a Boa or a Corn or most arboreal species will while being held. If you want a snake that is happy to sit on your lap for hours, without being restrained, get a Water Snake, because they have this down to an art form!
pitbulllady
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