Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm experienced with Indigos and I know the challenges that come with Drymarchon in general CB or WC.

After leaving PA for FL I was forced to give up Indigos, but once you're infected, its for life. I must have something related and I have been eyeing up Black and YT's for some time now, years actually, just haven't had the guts to pull the trigger considering availability.

My question is, WC, how much trouble am I in for taking a chance on a pair. Most offered are imports in the sub adult to adult range. And CB young seem to be completely unavailable. Is it an incredible longshot to establish and breed, or would someone familiar with their beautiful cousins have a leg up??

these subs are not particularly difficult to establish although wc's will often have to be treated for parasites. & feeding them is seldom a problem as they are usually ravenous by the time you get your hands on one & often will even accept f/t from day one. just give them plenty of peace & water & most will adjust quite nicely given time although some may remain nippy. it should also be noted that they do not tolerate night time drops in temp like their n/american cousins. 85* to 70* is a good range but in the summer, i keep them at ambient room temp. here's a wc male yt [foreground] that arrived as a skinny youngster about 7 years ago & has grown into an impressive adult. btw, this summer should see quite a few cb babies of all the various clans. good luck!

Thanks, less intimidating than I expected. Can't wait to get them back in my collection.

WC animals are not to difficult to get feeding and I have found most of the YTs and BTs to eat FT rodents readily, some eating the same day I took them out of the shiping bag! Some did not feed as readily, but came around and all of them love birds, whether it be chicks, ducklings, quail, etc. and they wll readily accept chicken parts from the grocery store such as drumsticks thighs, wings, etc.
As long as the WC animal has good weight to it then you will most likely have no problems with the feeding.
What you are more likely to encounter is parasitic problems arising from the stress of capture, acclimating to captivity, etc. If the snake is weakened it will not be able to fight off protozoan and or parasitic loads within and will perish in a short matter of time. WC snakes usually have lots of "bugs" to deal with. I have had snakes that I didn't have to treat and they did great, but again, those were very healthy snakes to begin with.
So if you go WC, start off with snakes with good body weight, get them feeding, treat them for "bugs" and don't get bit!
I bred and hatched out 22 YT eggs from a WC pair a few years back and just got a small clutch of 13 eggs a few weeks ago from a different pair of WC YTs.
I'll buy a WC YT or BT any day of the week if it looks good and is healthy!
There are also a few people here that breed YTs, BTs, and Unis and occasionally babies are available.
Good luck!

When Bobby would buy ALL of the WC yellow tails before anyone else even had a chance.

This habit earned him the title of "The Wall". So you know he knows what he's talking about.

What's up Mike! Yeah, I think Dan gave me that name! LOL
Man, one year I bought 24 WC YT Cribos!
I'm glad I'm over that snake buying sickness that is until I see a nice one available!!!

You know, I remember a time (earlier part of this decade) but not names, when there would be adds one day, and then gone the next. Being too hesitant to grab WCs I never had a prayer.

I'm thinking we are referring to the same culprit

The days of the $150-$300 WC YT Cribos are long gone!
If you see a nice WC snake grab it. High yellow CB YTs are rivaling Eastern Indigos now.

Although I have not “won over” as many wc cribos as the minicopilot, I have had some experience. I have had a few that were stubborn, and as for the yellowtails, MEAN

I have had good luck using natural substrate like cypress + warm, humid temps with a gradient (like mid 70's to mid 80's) and very secure hiding (paper over glass). Then try the normal foods…if they fail, try chicks, I have had good luck with chicks. Good news is even the skinny ones can become big fat impressive animals in no time with proper care. All the subs but the YT's tend to be pretty laid back and gentle. WC Yt's, in my experience, are just not the friendliest animals in the world. Very cool snakes...but just so you know what you are getting into, for many of them they only thing keeping them from slamming you into a rock, dislocating your neck vertebrae, and eating you...is...well, size. If you go WC, I'd go Uni or blacktail if you want a handleable snake.

Some joker actually wrote a pretty decent article in the June 2004 Reptile magazine about yellowtails that goes through some acclimation technique for wild caught cribos.

If you don’t have it…let me know I may be able to find an email-able version.

for the article in Reptiles mag

Thanks Dean, I think I may have spoken to you YEARS ago while I was in PA raising Indigos, and the conservation initiative was in effect.

I'm aware of the "spiceyness" of the YTCs. I spent a few years in the 90's dealing with WC White Lipped Pythons, these not so little gems (7' female) gave me all the education necessary in dealing with, well, not so ready for prime time snakes.

My first adult wild caught pair were affectionately known as the bi#$% and the bas#$%^. Nice LONG teeth they had, absolutely loved when they were lucky enough to hit a nerve in my forearm, nothing like it. Blood is nothing, feeling that electric jolt until they decide to let go is an interesting ride.

I'm really ready for any member of the Drymarchon as the Indigo withdrawal hasn't let up, but I have to say YTC's are a close #1, with BTC's 2nd... assuming someone isn't going to knock on my door and offer me a pair of Mexican Reds

Collection is heavy BCCs, Balls and Corns (I'm in FL, its what we do ), but its time for me to get the Cribo crew rolling. Too much time away. And seeing those faces just makes me nuts.

I've had a few extremely aggressive WC YTs that never stopped trying to bite, but for the most part, the large majority of them were not aggressive at all. They are definitely more skittish than the other subs, but I truly can say that in the MANY, MANY, WC YTs I've worked with most were NOT aggressive.
Of the group that I currently have only one tries to kill me when I interact with her and the rest have never tried to bite me ever.
Hey Dean, I was just looking through my old mags and read the YT article by that joker you mentioned! LOL Good stuff.