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

I used to keep them from 98-01

What got you started with them? What convinced you to stop keeping them. What's your opinion of keeping them?
Regards
John

I had liked them for years and waited until I could afford some CB's.

the way they looked drew me to them, and I still think they are beautiful.

Once I had them, and started getting to know them, they didnt excite me anymore.
They stayed hidden pretty much all the time, and I would have to dig through substrate or lift hides just to make sure they were still in there, and I hate doing that to such a shy animal.
perhaps I felt we werent "meant for each other

Im sure we've all taken on animals being really excited to keep them, only to realize we may not of truly been THAT interested once you had the chance to actually work with them.

Their nocturnal fossorial existence is definitely a big disadvantage when compared with a more visible species like a schrencki. I guess it's definitely a matter of temperment whether their characteristics end up as a positive or a negative. They can be difficult to work with. But I always take solace in their beauty. Thanks for your clear statement of important facts. It may prevent someone who reads this from going down the wrong road.

Regards
John

Hi John,

Mandarins are one of my favorites. I find them very easy to handle, and their care is relatively straight forward. You can't beat that yellow on a clean specimen! Last year was my first attempt to breed them, but I had infertile eggs. I will give it a go this year. I think, from a hobbyist's point of view, that breeding them and getting a clutch of fertile eggs is half the fun. It is like Christmas in late summer.

JS

Joe:
I know what you mean about the yellow. The light mandarins are pretty incredible. I hope that a good strong population of light mandarins establishes itself in this country. And I hope next year to be waiting on a clutch myself.
Best regards
John

Yes, No, No.

The climate down here seems particularly stressful for them.

Frank
-----
"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

They do seem to like it on the cool side.
Regards
John

Yes, no, no. I dealt with some of the first ones to come into the country and kept them too warm. If I were to try them again, I would only get captive bred, keep them on the cooler side and have an enclosure that wasn't around the main flow of foot traffic. Not a great display or handling animal IMHO.

Yes, cb or ch is the way to go. Only very few wc's make it. Thank's for your input.
John

>>Yes, no, no. I dealt with some of the first ones to come into the country and kept them too warm. If I were to try them again, I would only get captive bred, keep them on the cooler side and have an enclosure that wasn't around the main flow of foot traffic. Not a great display or handling animal IMHO.

Posted by: jfirneno at Fri Mar 31 18:08:32 2006 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

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

I looked into them years ago. There wasnt much about their care as there has been in last 2 yrs or so and they were wild caught so opted not to.
They also hide constantly but so do some of my milks . The ones I saw looked NOTHING like yours as yours is a piece of art. I am glad because would have bought him and might have kept him to warm and doubt esp being WC he would have made it.
After seeing this pic might look into them again lol.

I had a similar situation about 5 years ago. I bought a few wc's and they were hopeless. Definitely a bad situation.

I think as the number of cb's increases in this country that he price will come down some and the number of keepers will increase. And that will make it easier to maintain the breed in our hobby.

Thanks for the kind words on my mandarins. I'm trying to put together a good breeding colony.
Best regards
John

>> I looked into them years ago. There wasnt much about their care as there has been in last 2 yrs or so and they were wild caught so opted not to.
>> They also hide constantly but so do some of my milks . The ones I saw looked NOTHING like yours as yours is a piece of art. I am glad because would have bought him and might have kept him to warm and doubt esp being WC he would have made it.
>> After seeing this pic might look into them again lol.

I think you definitely hit on something when you mentioned the price coming down. I don't think anyone would argue that they are some of the most impressive rat snakes out there, and I'm not sure people mind so much that they hide most of the time (someone mentioned that milks hide all the time, too, and they are still extremely popular). I would love to have some Mandarins but I find the price prohibitive. In addition to price, I think some people are turned off because they have a reputation for being fragile and easily stressed. No one wants to spend $600 on a pair of snakes that might starve themselves to death. I realize captive bred animals aren't as susceptible to that kind of behavior, but reputations die hard.

I just purchased my first pair in mid '05. Thus far, I haven't had any problems keeping them. However, it should be noted that I am keeping a CBB pair. I don't keep them much differently than other colubrids. I do keep them at the lower part of my snake room to keep them a little cooler, but I don't keep them at the low temps that are sometimes suggested. I've heard of people keeping them in the mid 60s, but I've not found that to be necessary. I think those ideas originated from the days when all captive Mandarins were WC. CB specimens seem to be much hardier. I also provide a moist hide at all times, and they seem to really benefit from that. They are, indeed, shy captives - not for display or handling. However, just seeing them at feeding time is reward enough for me. I consider them to be some of the most impressive snakes in my collection and plan to keep them for many years to come. I look forward to seeing some different color variations in the future. I think selective breeding will produce some cool variations, and I look forward to being a part of it. Take care...

David Roach

I'm glad to hear from another mandarin enthusiast. AS far as temps, when they're juveniles I think they may tolerate temps up to the low 80's. But I think as they reach maturity and especially after they've been through a true brumation they seem to enjoy temperatures a little lower than most colubrids. And yes, the wc's are much more unhappy at high temperature. I have a long term captive that stops eating as soon as it gets above 78.

Best regards
John

>>I just purchased my first pair in mid '05. Thus far, I haven't had any problems keeping them. However, it should be noted that I am keeping a CBB pair. I don't keep them much differently than other colubrids. I do keep them at the lower part of my snake room to keep them a little cooler, but I don't keep them at the low temps that are sometimes suggested. I've heard of people keeping them in the mid 60s, but I've not found that to be necessary. I think those ideas originated from the days when all captive Mandarins were WC. CB specimens seem to be much hardier. I also provide a moist hide at all times, and they seem to really benefit from that. They are, indeed, shy captives - not for display or handling. However, just seeing them at feeding time is reward enough for me. I consider them to be some of the most impressive snakes in my collection and plan to keep them for many years to come. I look forward to seeing some different color variations in the future. I think selective breeding will produce some cool variations, and I look forward to being a part of it. Take care...
>>
>>David Roach
>>

Mine currently stay at 78 during the day. I'll watch them as they grow and might experiment with some lower temps. Thanks for your kind comments!

David

I've Been offerd a wild caught pair. I was keen but, I'm not sure if it's a good idea, Seen they are so sensitive.
If I decide to get them, they will be housed in the same room, as a pair of King rats, notorius snake eaters,and they'r found in the same countries. I'm affraid their scent, might disturb, the mandarin's.
I know it's a long shot but do any of you keep both species ?

I've kept mandarins in the same room with snake eating snakes without any particular issue. I'd be more concerned about the wild caught mandarins. They have a poor track record. The only way I buy them is if they are long term captives that an experienced importer has rehabilitated (attached is a photo of a long term captive I got from Napa Valley Snakes a few years ago). Otherwise it's a crapshoot.

In addition they like a cool room (even more so than cb mandarins). If you are experienced with wc mandarins then there shouldn't be an issue with the carinata being there.

Good luck
John