Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone here know of someone who breeds Scarlet Kingsnakes on a regular basis?

Thank you!

Dusty R.

Dusty the only one I know doing much of anything with scarlets is Joe Bernardo with his well established W/C.
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BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.
1.2 P. m. melanoleucus B/W N. J. Northern Pines
1.2 P. d. deppei Mexican Pines
2.2 P. l. lineaticollis Linis or Lined Pines
1.2 P. m. lodingi Black Pines
0.3 P. c. sayi Kingsville X Stillwater red bulls
1.1 Drymarchon melenurus Blacktail Cribo
1.2 D. corais Yellowtail Cribos
1.2 M. s. cheynei Jungle Carpet
2.6 L. p. pyromelana Arizona Mt. Kings
1.1 L. g. californiae B/W Cali kings
0.0.3 M. f. flagellum Eastern Coachwhips
1.2 G. m. bottegoi Western Plated lizards

>>Dusty the only one I know doing much of anything with scarlets is Joe Bernardo with his well established W/C.
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>>BigT

Thanks, I saw that ad of his. It looks like he's getting out? Are you saying he's still got some adults besides those he's selling? I'm looking for someone who produces captive-bred regularly, including 2011.

DR

Joe's not getting out. He has a commercial collector's permit.

It would be nice if someone were breeding scarlet's. Since no one else is I've been considering getting some from Joe in 2011 and try my hand at it.
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BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.
1.2 P. m. melanoleucus B/W N. J. Northern Pines
1.2 P. d. deppei Mexican Pines
2.2 P. l. lineaticollis Linis or Lined Pines
1.2 P. m. lodingi Black Pines
0.3 P. c. sayi Kingsville X Stillwater red bulls
1.1 Drymarchon melenurus Blacktail Cribo
1.2 D. corais Yellowtail Cribos
1.2 M. s. cheynei Jungle Carpet
2.6 L. p. pyromelana Arizona Mt. Kings
1.1 L. g. californiae B/W Cali kings
0.0.3 M. f. flagellum Eastern Coachwhips
1.2 G. m. bottegoi Western Plated lizards

Oh, there are a number of people working with elapsoides. Cool animals. Nice, tiny hatchlings!

-Cole

What ever happened to Chris N.???. He had some KILLER elapsoides!

That extremely wide yellow-banded hypo-ish individual he had was about the smokinest SK I have ever seen in my life!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I'm alive man... heh just hiding under some bark.

HAHAAA!!,.....glad to see you came out of "brumation" to say hi bud!..LOL!

Come out from under the bark a little more often...

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I think Chris Nicholes must have kicked the bucket! that sob was sick as hell last I heard. he is probably alive but MIA.

Naw man this SOB is still alive n kicking...

Bout time for hunting season Joe... good luck this year! Hopefully, the insanely cold weather down here this year helps. Just a guess -- it might.

Chris

I guess you didn't like the mention of snakes for sale on the forum, I didn't mention money intentionally....But my bad. Big T thanks for the leed, hows the eastern cochies doin...? As for the Scarletkings I am a collector not a breeder but I do get a few gravid females every year and some breed while waiting to be sold but I dont like to raise them, I usually give away the eggs to the folks that buy pairs of adults, babies are tiny, trick is you gotta raise them in moist coconut or soil and keep their bellys full for the first two years or they'll stay tiny for years, point is ya gotta get them big, fast! JB

Joe I was just chatting up a buddy. I cooled them for several weeks. Just brought them back out and they're coming around. 1 pounded 4 f/t fuzzys on his own. The other 2 showing interest. I think if they watch the 1 eat this week they will get the picture.
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BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.
1.2 P. m. melanoleucus B/W N. J. Northern Pines
1.2 P. d. deppei Mexican Pines
2.2 P. l. lineaticollis Linis or Lined Pines
1.2 P. m. lodingi Black Pines
0.3 P. c. sayi Kingsville X Stillwater red bulls
1.1 Drymarchon melenurus Blacktail Cribo
1.2 D. corais Yellowtail Cribos
1.2 M. s. cheynei Jungle Carpet
2.6 L. p. pyromelana Arizona Mt. Kings
1.1 L. g. californiae B/W Cali kings
0.0.3 M. f. flagellum Eastern Coachwhips
1.2 G. m. bottegoi Western Plated lizards

There are several folks on here who breed L. elapsoides on a regular basis. What is it you're looking for?

-Cole

>>There are several folks on here who breed L. elapsoides on a regular basis. What is it you're looking for?
>>
>>-Cole

Hi Cole,

I'm just looking for a captive-bred office pet. I took my Exo Terra glass terrarium up to my office and would like to put a small terrestrial snake in it with live plants etc, just for my enjoyment. I think I've narrowed it down to elapsoides, but am also considering syspila and Cemophora.

I don't really care about gender, but may keep more than one, as long as they don't try to eat each other or fight with each other (if it were two males)? If getting more than one increases chances seeing one moving about in its enclosure without risking injury, then I'm all for it.

I'd appreciate any leads to people who breed any or all of those three taxa.

Thanks.

DR
Suboc.com

Dusty, I know you're pretty knowledgeable regarding North American Colubrids, so please don't take the following as condescending!

I have fairly extensive experience with syspila (NA milks in general...) - keeping them together is a big mistake... they're well known for eating one another. In fact, I had one adult female consume another adult female several weeks ago... while they were in brumation at 50*F. That's one mistake I'll never make again. Even the neonates will readily eat one another. They also generally shut down for the winter, regardless of temperature or light cycle. Be prepared to allow your animals 3-5 months of brumation (as in all NA triangulum.

I've heard many rumors of elapsoides having a similar predisposition to eating one another, but I've only got a few of them and have never housed them together.

Male syspila generally despise one another. Placing them together often results in thrashing, biting, and even constriction. Long story short: Don't do it.

I've never kept Cemophora, but I've heard some people have had success with them by syringe feeding them chicken egg with a multi-vitamin added.

Have you considered a small Natricine or Opheodrys? They're both diurnal and active. I've got an ExoTerra in my office, too. While I keep mostly locality milks at home, I've got a pair of Crested Geckos at work. They're visible and easy to feed, since they eat a powdered diet. Just some things to think about.

-Cole

>>Have you considered a small Natricine or Opheodrys? They're both diurnal and active. I've got an ExoTerra in my office, too. While I keep mostly locality milks at home, I've got a pair of Crested Geckos at work. They're visible and easy to feed, since they eat a powdered diet. Just some things to think about.
>>
>>-Cole

Thanks for all of the helpful info, Cole. I have thought of both Garters and Opheodrys, and may go that direction...one thing that bothers me about some dealers is that they take so many of the Rough Greens from the wild. If there were captive-bred Opheodrys available, I might do that.

I'm even considering a large ringneck like regalis.

Easy feeders is a plus...I know that Scarlets and Ringnecks aren't the easiest, but I don't mind a slight challenge as long as it's a species that could use some publication as to its care and natural history, OR is just an interesting captive.

Okay, 20 questions...

Do the Cresteds eat almost entirely powdered diet? That's pretty tempting. I don't relish the thought of having to purchase crickets for one animal. Funnily enough, I have de Vosjoli's Crested book, but I don't think I've read it.

Do syspila retain their bright red colors into adulthood?

Thanks again!

DR

That was good advice from Cole in my opinion also, Dusty. And by the same token, elapsoides wouldn't make a very good office snake anyway, as they are EXTREMELY secretive and nervous by nature. In other words, you would simply be staring at what seemed to be an empty tank all the time because they would be hiding. And if you didn't offer them good hiding places, they wouldn't do well anyway. Sort of a "catch-22"...

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

>>That was good advice from Cole in my opinion also, Dusty. And by the same token, elapsoides wouldn't make a very good office snake anyway, as they are EXTREMELY secretive and nervous by nature. In other words, you would simply be staring at what seemed to be an empty tank all the time because they would be hiding. And if you didn't offer them good hiding places, they wouldn't do well anyway. Sort of a "catch-22"...
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>>
>> ~Doug
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>>"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"
>>
>>my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thanks, Doug. I know they're nervous and secretive. I should have been more clear that this would be more of a vivarium subject than a "pet", since I never intend to handle the snake. It's more of a project. I'd be trying to use some of de Vosjoli's suggestions, as per his Art of Keeping Snakes book, to use a lot of shading (from plants, etc.) to get forest-dwelling milksnakes to come out more. He says it works. We'll see what happens when I put it to the test!

Best,

Dusty

I think this is a matter of opinion. When I had the hypo scarlet king I kept it in a half tall 10 gallon tank. OK so it was a five gallon tank with the same foot print of a 10. Anyway I kept it like a little piece of forrest floor. The bedding was a combo of leaf mulch and sand and it was littered pieces of pine bark and shats. Once acclimated the snake made routine showings and if I wanted to see it when it wasn't out all I had to do was turn a few pieces of bark and there it would be. I thought the tank was quite decorative and easy to care for.
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“Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Emmerson

WWW.TDSNAKES.BLOGSPOT.COM

Yeah, what I mentioned was simply a generaliziation for elapsoides as a whole. Many years ago when I had several and bred them, I had one in a very plain setup that would come to the top of the enclosure when it felt the lid being taken off, and snatch pinks right from my hand. It's definitely all about individual animals, and also how well they are acclimated to their particular environment. Some Hondos I have produced from certain bloodlines will casually sit in the palm of my hand right from the egg, and I have a few of those here right now, but that isn't real typical of them as we all know...

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Dusty,

Many adult syspila actually get brighter with age. It's pretty common for some localities to develope extensive orange flecking or even an orangish wash over their background color of white, cream, yellow, or gray.

My office Crested Geckos eat almost strictly the Repashy diet. I give them insects from time to time and add a piece of over-ripe fruit on occasion, too. They're hardy as can be and I can't seem to stop my pair from breeding. I have one of the ExoTerra combo-hoods on top with an incandescent bulb in one socket for additional heat via a basking area (which they actually use when it's cold here in MT) and a full spectrum (6,500K) compact fluorescent bulb in the other. They're awesome animals and are a stark contrast to my triangulum collection at home.

-Cole
L. t. gentilis - Golden, CO

Thanks, Cole. Well, I've spent too much time not washing dishes/helping with the house and reading one-too-many herp books today...but you've got my interest peaked, so it looks like I'm going to have to get my Crested book out now, and just hide in the bathroom or something.

Cheers!

DR

I have experimented with housing several elapsoides together as I suspect they may actually do so in some sort of subterranean construct we know little/nothing much about. Actually, not sure if it was area specific but the animals were all a similar locale of S. FL and I did house several sizes and both sexes together quite easily. As they acclimated and began taking pinks with fervor they migrated into individual cages but not a single snake was lost -- even with mass feedings... Matter of fact, more often than not -- they were "knotted" together when I checked on them.

Happy New Year man!

>>Does anyone here know of someone who breeds Scarlet Kingsnakes on a regular basis?

Dennis Thomas in north florida has had hatchlings he's produced at most if not all of recent year's daytona expos.

>>>>Does anyone here know of someone who breeds Scarlet Kingsnakes on a regular basis?
>>
>>Dennis Thomas in north florida has had hatchlings he's produced at most if not all of recent year's daytona expos.

Thank you very much, Mr. Dunham.

Best,

DR