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He is now a ten year old snake. he was hatched in 1997.

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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

Awesome snake, and obviously well cared for!
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Roy Blodgett

1.1 Drymarchon corais
0.1 Coluber mormon
1.0 Masticophis flagellum piceus (black phase)
1.1 Lampropeltis getula californiae (desert phase)
1.0 Boiga dendrophila dendrophila
0.1 Candoia aspera (red phase)
0.1 Uroplatus henkeli
0.1 Corytophanes cristatus
1.1 Pogona vitticeps (snow and red/gold)
1.0 Iguana iguana

thats probably one of the coolest snakes ive ever seen, youre lucky to have him (:

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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

Thats a beautiful animal!! ,Can you tell us a little more about him....for example,Captive bred?..variation locality?...how you keep him?
I'm new to Coachwhips so any info. is good.
There is'nt many books out there about these great snakes.

Cheers....Paul

I've said it once, and I'll say it again.

I am so envious of you for having that snake. He is a beaut.

Kevin

Thanx

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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

I used to post lots of info farthur down on this forum. They are complicated snakes but my favorite. The snake that is Piiinnnk is from the Elephant mountain area of Texas neat Alpine and my captive hatched male is from the Christmas Mountain area of Texas near Study Butte. If you have questions just ask one at a time and I will do my best to answer.
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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

Ok, here's a question. How on earth did you get that coachwhip to be that docile? Every coachwhip I've ever seen, even the ones that weren't particularly agressive, so to speak, would still zip around in your hands like a rocket, and yet that one in the pic with your daughter seems to just be content with hanging out. Do the high reds and pinks get more docile with size or what? Thanks.

Kevin

Also, what size of a tank would you keep a snake that size in?

Kevin

well considering most coaches in captivity are wild caught, its probably hard to ever really get them to calm down beyond a certain point.

id assume with a captive born baby raised for 10 years that it wouldnt be quite as hard to do?

once i actually managed to catch mine, thats pretty much how he behaved, i could walk around with him for over an hour with little trouble however, inside his cage/on my floor he was the fastest snake ive ever seen and showed an almost artistic defense balancing between sudden changes in speed and direction, mock charges, gaping and actual strikes. he almost showed a confidence about him, not to mention ive gone after racers on hot days and i can only think of one individual that came anywhere close to being that fast.

so in a way, i might be a little dissapointed if i didnt get to see my coachwhip do what it does best (:

Yes they will comunicate their oposition to your invasion of their space. I am very delibrate when I remove them you can tap them with a snake hook before removal to tell them they are coming out. If your procedior is the same each time they will know what you are about to do and be calmer. You can wear a longsleave shirt if being bitten bothers you but they are smart and if they decide to bite they may look for skin!!
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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

Cage size is not as important as a hide spot and basking spot for them. I use 2x2x3 but smaller is fine if you have a way to give them play time once in a while in some sort of outdoor cage mesh ones are fine but I make mine from plastic coated wire.

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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

Nice outdoor enclosure! Sometimes I do wish I had something like that to let them do their thing.

As for being bitten, it never really bothered me, although I do notice, and maybe this is just me, that coachwhips seem to either have bigger teeth, a stronger bite, or both, than most other colubrids. My big male bit me once and it felt like getting hit with a knife. Then again, he got me in the thumb, not exactly a nice place to get bit.

Sighthunter, do you have any pictures of high reds? Those guys are my favorites.

Kevin

I have bred for Bright Pink but I do find Red in the same areas. I may work with Red in the near future but I do not have enough hours in the day.

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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

For the most part Coachwhips are misunderstood. I rarely get bitten from wild or captive hatched. Their problem is not that they are agressive but they are very smart. Thay are low level problem solvers and once they are in a routine and adjust to captivity and get to know you they will learn to trust you. Wild animals need a hide spot so they can remain calm. Once they start to adjust they will bask, a basking light is also suggested. They will learn that you are feeding them since they are sight oriented. First step is to reach in slowly and remove the snake with bare hands AFTER adjustment period and simply move to a different cage so you can clean cage. After cleaning move him or her back. You may get bitten but do not react and hold snake mid body use of a hook is ok but bare hands are better. Once the snake is in a routine for cleaning they know what to expect you can hold them for longer periods and the will tell you when to put them back they will get fidgety.

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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

Yeah, my big male isn't at all what I'd call aggressive. He's very active in hand, and likes to do fly around like a bat out of hell, but I can count on one hand the number of times he's actually struck at me.

I've got a little three foot female that's a riot though, she's such a handful whenever I do have to get her out. She's a cocky little thing, first snake to ever successfully get me in the face. Love bite.

By the way, Sighthunter, I might have talked to you about this some time ago, but are you planning on having any baby pinks this year? Thanks,

Kevin

And this is just for my own curiosity, because I'll be going there in about two weeks, but have you found, or heard of, anyone finding masticophis in, or around San Antonio? Thanks,

Kevin

The best way to find Masticophis is to find A TRASH PILE IN THE DESERT AND FLIP OVER STUFF AT NIGHT JUST BEFORE THE SUN COMES UP. IF IT IS A HOT DAY I FIND UM AFTER SUNSET UNDER TRASH.
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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

Thanks for the advice...that's what a lot of people have told me...I guess upon hitting Texas I'll just start searching for a trash pile.

Kevin

A great thread you guys...I've learned alot.
Sighthunter you are very knowlegable about Coachwhips...is this all self taught or could you reccommend some source of information that would help me to learn more about Masticophis?.
I've read the Mara book...good but very basic!

Here's my bite only had the one...so the learning curve has begun.

Thanx Paul

The main objective for a good bite is to bleed from both sets of teeth and to have as large a span as is possable!

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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

There needs to be a special sub-forum on this totally devoted to bite pictures

Kevin

Yeah ..He got me on that bit of skin between the thumb and forefinger as my hand was going towards him to grab him.
This was one of the first times I got him out of his viv.
I've learned now how NOT to get bit..by lifting him gently further down his body/coils.he makes no attempt to bite when lifted in this manner.

That's a cool looking coach. How long is he and where is he from?

Kevin

Kev
Read the thread 'Western Coachwhip in the U.K.'...on this forum,this will tell you about my coach.
He's about 4 ft...bought from a dealer here in England1!

cheers...Paul

>>The main objective for a good bite is to bleed from both sets of teeth and to have as large a span as is possable!

LOL - don't you mean all FOUR Sets?

Say - wasn't that bite from a Dry?

In the words of my late wife: "Try not to bleed on the carpet again!"

Cheereio!

JohnD
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I am so not lesdysxic!

0.1 Creamsicle Cornsake "Yolanda"
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake "Steely Dan"
0.1 Desert Kingsnake "FATTY"
0.1 Black Rat (WV Rescue) "Roberta"