Reptile & Amphibian Forums

many thanks for the reply, they have have had a short brumation of 8 weeks but no joy so far.

>>many thanks for the reply, they have have had a short brumation of 8 weeks but no joy so far.

You shouldn't buy snakes with no knowledge of their natural history. This species hibernates for about six months in the wild. Good luck...

TC

How about the breeder making potential buyers aware of the care/feeding requirements of the animals they are making a profit from?
Due to their size i wrongly assumed that mine were already feeding.
The seller didn't volunteer any helpful info.
When i do a show a caresheet goes out with all my stock as i want my animals to survive!

>>How about the breeder making potential buyers aware of the care/feeding requirements of the animals they are making a profit from?
>>Due to their size i wrongly assumed that mine were already feeding.
>>The seller didn't volunteer any helpful info.
>>When i do a show a caresheet goes out with all my stock as i want my animals to survive!

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Yes, in a perfect world breeders would care so much about their charges that they wouldn't let them go w/o making sure the buyer understands fully how difficult they are to keep and what it will take to maintain them in captivity. But unfortunately we are way far from perfect and it's more like "buyer beware." With a snake like 'persicus' there should be a warning that these are tough snakes to get started and should need a few special requirements to keep them well once acclimated. Also, I would never assume anything along these lines. It's partly the buyer's responsibility to make sure he/she knows everything he can to help the situation, starting with knowing something about the seller. Often the seller just wants to unload the snakes to make a sale, but with persicus probably because they are a pain to get started.

A caresheet would be nice, but I've found that rarely occurs. Of course, I haven't been to a show in ages. Shows are worthless unless you're a "seller" or a "buyer" of many items. If you're looking for something special or the info I described above that's hard to get at a show. That's why I like to know most of the breeders personally and do a lot of research on my animals.

The Persian ratsnake, Zamenis (Elaphe) persicus, is a tough snake to keep. They come from the mountains in northern Iran which have relatively long, cold winters. Babies likely don't eat much before their first hard winter. If you can't get them to eat they should be brumated right away to simulate winter hibernation. After a few months of cold temps, a gradual warmup should get them in the mood for activity and eating.

Persians are not exactly a "ratsnake" by North American standards. They belong to a group of snakes that have "ratsnake" qualities, but are much like a "racer" in many ways. A little research on the others in the Zamenis clan will help I think, especially Zamenis situla. Don't get me wrong, I hope you have some luck with this beautiful and interesting species of exotic snake, or I wouldn't have spent the time writing all this, believe me.

Cheers....TC