Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently recieved a glossy snake. I know nothing about this type of snake. I am mainly into dragons and corns. If anyone can tell me anything about this snake I would appreciate it. I would also like to know how much it is worth (I got it in a trade). It is about two and a half feet long and about as big around as a quarter. Please email me at bs23ky@yahoo.com with any info.

Thank You,
Brian

To be honest I'm not sure of much involving those. They aren't true pituophis. But if they are anything like them (which it seems they are) then they probably will take rats or mice or a small size since two fee of snake is not going to choke down a jumbo rat. They are common in the bakersfield area with can be very hot(nearly 100F) so they should probably be kept at a temp of 76-80 degrees F. Other than that basic info you are asking the wrong person. Other people on this forum keep these sucessfully so try contacting someone else. But you are welcome to ask me anything more about them but be warned that with glossy snakes I am not expert.

Evan

Glossy snakes eat rodents. They are generally worth about $20.

Their snientific name is Arizona elegans. There are several subspecies. A. e occidentalis is the California glossy snake. If you scroll back to a post of mine on June 29, 2003, I posted a pic and gave some info on them. Glossy comes from the fact they have smooth scales. They will generally eat rodents and baby chicks in captivity, but their main food in the wild is lizards. They have a rostral scale like pituoiphis that they use for borrowing down during the day and for laying eggs under the ground surface. They are nocturnal and aren't out during the day. Don't expect to see the glossy outside of its hidebox very much. It will roam around its enclosure at night when no one is around, but will go back into its box when the light is turned on or someone enters the room.

>>I recently recieved a glossy snake. I know nothing about this type of snake. I am mainly into dragons and corns. If anyone can tell me anything about this snake I would appreciate it. I would also like to know how much it is worth (I got it in a trade). It is about two and a half feet long and about as big around as a quarter. Please email me at bs23ky@yahoo.com with any info.
>>
>>Thank You,
>>Brian

Glossy's are closer to a western patch nosed snake in habitat requirements, feeding habits, and general activity. They like sandy soil to burrow in and feed on lizards mainly and are more nocternal than pits. Their value is minimal..

Later-Del

I've been keeping glossies (though never in large numbers, I've got two at the moment) for about 9 years... I've just been keeping them under the same conditions as you would a corn snake. Just give them plenty of substrate to dig around in. If they'll eat mice they're very easy to keep, but some (particularly the western subspecies, from what I've heard) are reluctant to take mice. In that case, I'd try the usual tricks with lizard-eating snakes that you can find on pages about alterna and the like. The prices on these guys tend to be in the $20-25 range. FWIW, though they've traditionally been considered to be closely related to Pituophis, more recent genetic analysis by Rodriguez-Robles and De Jesus-Escobar show them to be most closely related to Bogertophis.

Patrick Alexander

I have been catching/keeping/breeding glossy's from the Palm Springs Ca. area for over 20 years and have yet to get one to take a lizard. All of mine (including the tiny hatchlings) will take pinks and mice.
Also, they will shut down in Sept/Nov and refuse food until late winter/spring. They must be cooled down much like pyros or will starve.
They can be cared for just like corns but it is important to keep their cage very dry...they will quickly get resp and skin infections if kept to damp/humid.