I just want to relate an incident while working with my Juv. Echis coloratus. Nothing bad happened, just how weird interactions with your captive animals can be.

These specimens were obtained at the Daytona Show and were WC animals but small ones < 6 inches long. They are doing well feeding every 10 to 14 days. The male is quiet and shy, the female is a vicious beast that likes to get in your face and is very aggressive. She actually comes at me with her mouth open most of the time, see picture below. She starts the "sawscale routine" as soon as I enter the room if she is in the open and not under the rocks. It's cool because the other two species of Echis I have almost never get hyper anymore.

Since they are small I've been giving them water with an 6 inch plastic disposable pipet a few times a week. I gently move the tip of the pipet up to their mouth and squeeze out a drop to see if they are thirsty, most of the time they are... The male will just pick up his head at the approach of the pipett and calmly drinks until he had enough, then moves away. The female on the other hand has the strange behaivior that remind me of some of the cartoons I watched when I was growing up.

Picture her all wound up sawscaling at top speed because I opened the enclosure which is an act of war as far as she is concerned. I carefully approach with the pipett because she will and does strike leaving big drops of venom behind. As soon as the water touches her lips all activity stops like a time out was called. She remained this way till I withdraw the pipett from her lips and then instantly the war is on again, the sawscaling begins again.

I just think it's funny that she calls a truce to have a drink since I'm offering and then it's back to lets kill the keeper when the drinking is done.

Cheers!

Al



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"Snakes in Peru are not there for decoration, they really bite people."

Professor David Warrell, Omaha 10/21/05

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