Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am interested in how many people are working with mandarins. Let me break it down into three questions:

1) How many people have formerly worked with them?

2) How many are currently working with them?

3) How many will probably pick some up this year?

I see familiar names once in a while but I'm curious who else is out there.

Regards
John

Hoping to get a clutch from my female this year...
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

I envy you Mark. I lost my oldest female last spring (just coming out of brumation). My oldest remaining female won't be old enough till next year.
Regards
John

Thanks John. She's a wc I got back in '02 I think. I haven't a clue why my male didn't make it this winter... but I have a back-up plan...
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

Mark,

Nice website you have there!

Regards,

Bert Grit
The Netherlands

Hey Thanks Bert! I just saw your reply.
I'll be redoing and upgrading pics as I can. Lots of them are haphazardly placed and were taken with a very cheap camera and by an amateur (me).
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

I've kept/bred a pair for years but wish I expanded them into a larger colony. They're great to work with!

especially with the nice nice stock you have there (look at those eggs).

And with the greater availability of cb's and with a few more variants available (sichuan, south china, vietnamese, maybe anerythristic) I hope mandarins can become as popular as mountain kings in the hobby. The price seems to have come down a little and that should help too.
Regards
John

i have a pair that i am breeding for the first time. Rin

How old are the snakes?

Hi, John. Not much new here, but thought I'd let you know I'm thinking of parting with some or all of my Mandarins, and the reasons why.

I think Euprepiophis mandarinus is a terrific species, but as I get closer and closer to retirement I'm wondering what will work best for me in the new climate I'm going to. The Mandarins, both s. China and Sichuan, have done great for me here in n. Michigan. I've had no trouble keeping them cool in the winter and warm enough in the summer. What has bothered me a little is that they require more humidity than most other ratsnakes, and that would be hard to give them in AZ. Also, they are almost completely nocturnal, and I'd rather work with snakes I can see sometimes w/o having to take them out. The final thing is that they can get lots bigger than the smallish ratsnakes I'm trying to specialize in. In other words, I'm probably going to replace them with a smaller, more diurnal, more dry tolerant species. I'm thinking of going back to Euprepiophis conspicillatus.

Mandarins are beautiful snakes, medium sized, and are quite hardy in cool climates. They can tolerate a pretty cold brumation and fairly long active season and are good feeders when CB and under proper management. Very interesting, fossorial snakes. Here's a s. China baby we produced a few yrs. ago...

This is a Sichuan morph pic from a couple yrs. ago...

Sorry we don't have any newer pix.

I'll be trying to produce some s. China mandarinus this year if I can get them to breed. They're out of brumation, but haven't shed, yet. We'll see.

Terry

It might indeed be tough keeping moisture levels up in the southwest. Good point.

I'm glad you're thinking of getting conspics again. That's a neat snake and there are definitely not enough of those around in the USA.

I've been trying to get a pair for a while. But I'll save that for a different post (wish list).

Best regards
John

Terry, my specimen does roam around in his enclosure during the daylight hours. Not as much as, say, a cornsnake, but still... There must be something wrong with him then... However, I do agree that most of the activity seems to occur during the night.

Regards,

Bert Grit
The Netherlands

P.S. Updated pictures of your Sichuan stock (are they from Robert Seib's line?) would be very much appreciated!

>>P.S. Updated pictures of your Sichuan stock (are they from Robert Seib's line?) would be very much appreciated!

Bert, I'll try to get back later with some new pics. Out of town right now. My Sichuans are from Rex Knight.

TC

Hi Terry,

I will be looking forward to the pictures! And by the way: Rex's pair is offspring from Robert Seib!

Regards,

Bert

Hi John, we spoke with eachother before. I currently have one male (CB 2004) from Vietnamese lineage. I might pick up a female for him this year, it depends on wether the breeder has succes with his breeding-age adults this year (they didn't produce for him last year)...

Regards,

Bert Grit
The Netherlands

Hi Bert:

All the best luck to you with the viet-mandarin project. That's one I've been drooling over for a couple of years. Hopefully one day I'll get to work with that locale. They're amazing looking mandarins. Be sure to share any photos you take of your mandarin as he grows.
Best regards
John

John, if I would have been able to get reasonably accurate pictures of the snake, he would have been all over this forum! Unfortunately, I will have to get a better camera, however I am lacking the funds...

Hey, since you managed to get a pair of Sichuans from Stefan last year, you could always ask him if you could get hatchlings from the Vietnamese line this or next year?

Regards,

Bert

Bert:
I hear what you are say about money. Car repairs and home improvements will keep me poor for the rest of my life. But every once in a while the wife let's me splurge on a new legless toy.

My sichuans came through a friend of mine and I am asking him to help me out on the vietnamese but as you said there are no guarantees. I'm sure I'm in line behind a bunch of folks. But I can always hope.

Keep in touch
John

Well John, I know of at least one person who is in front of you in that line; that would be me!

Regards,

Bert

Hi John,

I've been kind of absent from the boards lately, but I still have 1.1 Mandarins from Robert Seib. They should breed next year. The pics below are pretty old, but accurately display the color at least. The female is red tinge background color and the male is aluminum grey with no red.

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Lora

Hi Lora:

Boy, I always love to see photos of that neat looking male. Those breeders are going to produce some great mandarins for you. Can't wait to see what hatches out for you next year. Thanks for the update.

Regards
John

Have one gravid female so far this year, with possibly more to come. An awesome snake. One of my favorite old worlds.

Bryan

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Last night I was laying in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, "Where the hell is my ceiling?"

Bryan:
How early do you take your snakes out of brumation? Congrats on the breeding success.
Regards
John

John,
I usually take them out in the middle of January. I am fortunate enough to have a basement herp room that is very well insulated and easily climate controlled. So far everything planned has copulated at least once that I know of this year. Now it's time to wait for eggs. (I love and hate this part of the year).

Bryan

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Last night I was laying in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, "Where the hell is my ceiling?"

NT