Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello
I started a webpage to document any and all of my Husbandry methods, in hopes that I (we) can successfully keep these awesome snakes in captivity.
Mike
"The Mud Hole"

Good lookng set up. I use a peat moss/aspen shaving mixture as a burrowing medium. It holds a burrow very well and I am hoping that the acidity will keep down the bacteria and stop blisters.

Good Luck and Great Site,
Keep us posted.

Cam
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"I'm tired of being a wannabe bowler! I wanna be a bowler!!"
-- Homer Simpson

Excellent start on your setup and thanks for putting your info on a site that everyone can see and learn from.

Are you providing your Muds with a heat source? I'd seriously consider an overhead basking lamp that illuminates a portion of the cage. Again, the may not come out and bask like a Nerodia would, but they may migrate up and down the substrate column to thermoregulate. Also, keep an eye out on their skin condition as it relates to your water pH (it look like you're using tap water?).

Good luck and keep us posted.
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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture

Hello
I currently have two full spectrum floresents lighting the cage, and heat it with a pearlco ceramic heat emmiter.
I will photograph the heat/light setup, and post it on the page. Along with water temps, mud hole gradient temps, mud hole surface temps as well as ambient temps.

As for the ph of the water I plan on filtering through some peat.
Any info on a target number?
Thanks
Mike
"The Mud Hole"

Target pH should be in the 6.0-6.5 range. You can try filtering it through peat but I don't know if that will produce the necessary pH drop.

Another option is 'swamp tea'. These are the instructions as described by John V. Rossi in "Snakes of the United States and Canada: Keeping them Healthy in Captivity" (1992).

"Six tea bags are placed in one and a half quarts of water. Bring the water to a boil for about 3 minutes, then allow it to cool. Add to this solution enough water to bring the total to 3 gallons. This produces about a 1/3 strength tea solution with a pH of about 6.4 (depending upon the kind of tea and the acidity of your water) which very closely approximates the acidity of the swamps we have removed these snakes from."

This is in reference to Regina alleni but these snakes are sympatric with Mud Snakes over most of Florida. Expect the solution to be dark which will reduce visibility for the keeper but increase the snakes' sense of security. Also, the reduced pH prevents many common bacterial infections.

Rossi reccomends changing the water every couple weeks or topping it off with a necessary amount of tea solution to regulate the pH.

Hope this helps.
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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture

I've been keeping my water PH at 6.3-6.6 and have not had any blisters yet (it's only been 43 days). My PH is lowered with peat. My snake does not spend nearly as much time in the water as it does in the substrate (4" deep). I don't know my substrate PH but I use a moist mixture of aspen shavings and peat so I imagine it too is rather acidic.
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"I'm tired of being a wannabe bowler! I wanna be a bowler!!"
-- Homer Simpson

I just thought I would add that my PH lowering peat (LOTS of it) is floating free in the water rather than in a filter system. The visibility is quite low.
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"I'm tired of being a wannabe bowler! I wanna be a bowler!!"
-- Homer Simpson

Hi there:

Those are real beauties! They seem healthy, and I can't wait until mine comes! I have sent the money order and he is putting my name on the snake. If he gets the money order by Tuesday, he will ship me the snake on Tuesday. My setup is different than yours, but of course, with so few people keeping these snakes, there are no real care sheets to follow.
That looks really excellent. Someone told me that these guys eat eels almost as much as sirens. It also says this in even some of my standard books, using phrases such as "preying upon many eels and eel-like salamanders such as amphiumas and sirens". One reference suggests that the captive snakes will feed on chopped eel, which I can get from my local gourmet store.
I also have shiners, minnows, nightcrawlers, crayfish, and several creatures that I could scent prey items with, including newts, salamanders and caecilians.
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DAVE

Western green toad
green treefrogs
mud snake
brown Anole
Mediterranean gecko
Oriental fire-bellied toads
American bullfrog
South American caecilian (Dermophis occidentalis)
Spanish ribbed newt
rough-skinned newt
golden Axolotl
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red-cheeked mud turtles
dwarf peacock day gecko
Dubia day gecko
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rough green snakes
giant African black millipedes
White's treefrog
Okeetee corn snake
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Kenyan sand boa
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African bullfrog
yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
Western hognose snake
fire salamander