Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone,

Just posting with an update about my steadily growing colony of Brahminy blindsnakes. Over the weekened, I was able to obtain a nice small rotting log, which contained a large, thriving termite colony. Transporting this log very carefully, all of the way from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, I was able to place it on the top layer of my blindsnake habitat. I then sat down and watched to see what happened. Not long after I did so, the blindsnake came to the surface of the substrate, and crawled on top of the log, out in the open under the bright light. I watched the snake consume several termites at a very rapid speed. In between termites, the snake would pause, press its head to the ground, and then move on searching out another. Perhaps the most interesting observation was that after the snake had finished feeding, it climbed into the leaves of a small plant beneath the light, and actually basked for quite a long time, perhaps digesting its food. This may go against the theory that blindsnakes hate light entirely. The snake exhibited no signs of fear or caution, despite its small size, and performed all of this within minutes, clear out in the open. It then slithered down under the rock to finish digesting its meal. One thing is for sure; there are pleanty of termites to last this snake until June. The blindsnake colony, and termite colony, seem to be thriving, and I am still finding out more and more about this fascinating species every day... there appears to be much information about them that we still don't know...
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DAVE

0.0.1 Oriental fire-bellied toad
0.1 Western hog-nosed snake
0.0.1 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Dubia day gecko
0.0.1 yellow * Everglades rat snake
1.0 Yunnan beauty snake
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.1 albino African clawed frog
0.0.1 Northern black racer
0.0.1 African brown house snake (Zambia locale)
0.0.1 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 European fire salamanders
(parthenogenic) Brahminy blindsnakes *

Thats interesting. What did you feed them before you got the termites?

Hey,

Before the termites, I fed the snake freeze-dried ant eggs which had been reconstituted in water, frozen, and thawed. The snake accepted these eggs on ocassion. Still, it looks like now, fresh food will be no problem at all.
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DAVE

0.0.1 Oriental fire-bellied toad
0.1 Western hog-nosed snake
0.0.1 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Dubia day gecko
0.0.1 yellow * Everglades rat snake
1.0 Yunnan beauty snake
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.1 albino African clawed frog
0.0.1 Northern black racer
0.0.1 African brown house snake (Zambia locale)
0.0.1 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 European fire salamanders
(parthenogenic) Brahminy blindsnakes *

Here are my braminus. I feed them mainly adult termites as well. They pass the heads undigested. I bet there are freeze-dried termites somewhere too as a last resort.

Were you feeding them Orlux ant eggs?

BTW, mine don't show any color whatsoever under a blacklight.

Posted by: shoegazer at Tue Apr 18 11:37:36 2006 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

Here are my braminus. I feed them mainly adult termites as well. They pass the heads undigested. I bet there are freeze-dried termites somewhere too as a last resort.

Were you feeding them Orlux ant eggs?

BTW, mine don't show any color whatsoever under a blacklight.

Oh they are neat. I imagine those are snakes you never see as they live in the soil.

Posted by: caecilianman02 at Tue Apr 18 10:10:38 2006 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

Hey,

Before the termites, I fed the snake freeze-dried ant eggs which had been reconstituted in water, frozen, and thawed. The snake accepted these eggs on ocassion. Still, it looks like now, fresh food will be no problem at all.
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DAVE

I wonder if you freeze some of the termites so when your out of them will they eat them thawed.

Hi,

Beautiful braminus! These really are an amazing species, and I really like your photo of them. Just today, I noted several eggs beneath the substrate, suggesting that the same line of snakes can either lay eggs or give live birth, as had been asked previously. About the black light... where did you get it? What kind of black light did you use? Many of the lights marketed today as "black lights" actually do not contain the right frequency needed to view the pattern of these snakes... many are simply painted on the inside, or use a different frequency. This would be the type of black light seen outdoors at night. The same goes for the Western and Texas blindsnakes of North America. I intend to allow the termite conlony to continue reproducing inside this habitat, providing an "infinate" supply of food for the snakes. Nonetheless... great photos, and keep up the good work!
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DAVE

0.0.1 Oriental fire-bellied toad
0.1 Western hog-nosed snake
0.0.1 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Dubia day gecko
0.0.1 yellow * Everglades rat snake
1.0 Yunnan beauty snake
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.1 albino African clawed frog
0.0.1 Northern black racer
0.0.1 African brown house snake (Zambia locale)
0.0.1 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 European fire salamanders
(parthenogenic) Brahminy blindsnakes *

I use a UV-emitting diode light, not any painted light. I know this light is good because I use it to hunt scorpions as well.

How big are the eggs? Can you get an exact measurement?

I just noticed today as well that they are not eating the termites and then passing the heads undigested...they're eating the bodies and then snapping the heads off and leaving them. Their enclosure was full of about 20 termite heads with still-moving antennae.

Hi,

The eggs measure maybe a quarter of a centimeter, although I am not sure exactly. They are VERY, VERY tiny. I was also treated once to watching one snake give live birth beneath the soil. The amniotic sac was orangish in color, and was deposited rather quickly. In the morning, a tiny blindsnake was found not far from it.
Your observation about the black light interests me greatly, and may answer many questions. A fellow herper of mine suggested not long ago that rather than this species being able to produce its own light, perhaps the bioluminescence is caused by various minerals present in the soil, that would stick to the snake and glow. Still, this does not explain the very specific reports of patterns that I have heard noted in these snakes. The story as always the same- greenish-silver snake, bright blue nose. It sounds like you are out west (with the scorpions and all). If you are, I recommend that you try using the black light on some of the native blindsnakes, and see what happens. If they glow, perhaps keep them in captivity a bit, and see if the color fades in time... very interesting. Thank you for your help.
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DAVE

0.0.1 Oriental fire-bellied toad
0.1 Western hog-nosed snake
0.0.1 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Dubia day gecko
0.0.1 yellow * Everglades rat snake
1.0 Yunnan beauty snake
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.1 albino African clawed frog
0.0.1 Northern black racer
0.0.1 African brown house snake (Zambia locale)
0.0.1 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 European fire salamanders
(parthenogenic) Brahminy blindsnakes *

Actually, I'm in MO. We have scoprions here too

I'd love to see some pics of the eggs/hatchlings/newborns if you have any. How long was the live-born snake?

REALLY, REALLY, REALLY tiny. That's all I know.
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DAVE

0.0.1 Oriental fire-bellied toad
0.1 Western hog-nosed snake
0.0.1 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Dubia day gecko
0.0.1 yellow * Everglades rat snake
1.0 Yunnan beauty snake
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.1 albino African clawed frog
0.0.1 Northern black racer
0.0.1 African brown house snake (Zambia locale)
0.0.1 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 European fire salamanders
(parthenogenic) Brahminy blindsnakes *