Reptile & Amphibian Forums

has anyone every come across a captive breeding program for scarlet snakes(cemophora coccinea)? they are really pretty and i would have thought hey would be popular on the trade. you dont really hear to much about them anywhere though. thanks.

Scarlet Snakes are VERY difficult to get feeding in captivity. Apparently a few will take lizards, but most won't.

There was actually an account published out of the Savannah River Ecology Lab where the researchers kept scarlet snakes alive by feeding them egg. They deprived them of water so they would be thirsty, and then provided a dish with an egg mixture as the only liquid to drink. It worked, but I don't think it is a viable solution to captive care of Cemophora.
The babies are tiny, as well.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

I have found them to be not that difficult to keep and breed. Straightforward as just about any other colubrid but given their preferred diet of lizard eggs, may be difficult for some.
I have had some take pinks and one that would take slivers of beef heart.
Scenting just about anything (with anole egg/contents)is possible if you have an aggressive feeder.
All that being said, it was much easier to keep them on lizard eggs BUT I live where I can get brown anole eggs nearly all year long.
The system of keeping them thirsty then giving them chicken egg to drink never was used by me. Sounds like it would work though.
The babies can eat the anole eggs as well and it's possible to find small sized ones if you look long enough. Skink eggs are taken too.
I tried gecko eggs with some of mine but often they were regurged whole. It seemed the gex eggs were too hard and didn't puncture or whatever like the anole eggs.
The scarlets can have skin problems just as other snakes if kept too moist.
Anyway, that's about all I have for you.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

so you have sucessfully bred these guys?