Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

About a month ago I purchased a Japanese rat snake (E. climacophora). It is an '04. It looks healthy, no sign of mites, thin but not emaciated at all, and no obvious signs of illness. It's been passing uric acid but not feces. It has not yet eaten yet, and I have offered f/t adult mice (what the seller said it was eating), chicks, and even quail eggs. It has not eaten, though it does show some interest in food, giving it a once over.

I am not very much concerned by its not eating. I know that is characteristic of the species, especially now in the winter. It is not looking skinny, so I'm not worried that it is suffering from not eating. I suspect that it wasn't eating before I got it because it hasn't passed any feces (no signs of any kind of impaction either).

What worries me more is its behavior. It cruises around constantly like a horny kingsnake. I've got it in a transparent plastic storage box with shredded paper as the bedding - my basic colubrid setup. It's got a water dish it can hide under, it's got a paper towel role, and a couple other boxes of various sizes either buried in the substrate or on the surface. The picture makes the cage look a little more crowded than it actually is.

I had it without heat in a room that stays in the high 60s/low 70s. I've moved it into a room with higher ambient temps (high 70s) so see if that helps. I've also put a sheet over the three sides of the enclosure to see if the snake's been agitated by what's going on outside. Please forgive the poor photo quality, but it should give an idea of how it looks.

Anyhow, I'm still playing with things and I'm not desperately worried yet, but I thought I'd check to see if any of the climacophora keepers have seen this kind of thing. If not, I would appreciate it if you could let me know the details of the set ups you use. Who knows, maybe I'm missing something really basic but particular and important to the species.

Thanks,
Billy

_

Phillyherping

Hi, Billy.

Sounds like your climac is looking for a place to brumate. I don't keep any at this time, but have had them in the past. Climacs have a huge range from south to north and they are mostly adapted to a long brumation at pretty cold temps. Do you know what it was doing before you got it a month ago?

Another thing that might help is additional security. You could put a false bottom in your container, by making a wooden box, with open bottom, that fits snugly into your container, and with just a smallish opening for the snake to crawl out of. Then you can put things on top of this wooden hide too, such as a water container. Snakes like to feel secure. I've used this idea before with good results, and I've put stuff, like wood shavings and paper bedding inside the wooden box.

Also, I would put the snake back in the cool room, until I found out why it was crawling around so much. If it hides in the box and stops crawling I'd cool it even more...55-60*F. is a good starting point. If it keeps crawling around, you can try colder temps or bring it out depending what you feel it needs.

I hope this helps. I'm just basing my idea on the fact that climacs were always quick to brumate for me. Here's a pic of a Kunasir Island rat I had many yrs. ago....TC

Thanks Terry. I'll see what I can come up with for a cooler location.