Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had a few questions regarding the green cat snake as I don't know anything about them. Are they docile? Can they be handled? Is their venom mild like a hognose, liar snake or potent like a coral snake? How big do they get? Are they pretty hardy animals? What should I look for in a price range? Are there many people breeding them? Are they all pretty similar green or do you have to be choosy in picking them out, in other words, what do i look for?

also, can anybody identify what kind of ratsnakes the ptyas carinatus and p. mucosus are and similar answers to the above questions.
thanks to everybody's input. I have learned a lot that I have had questions on, by reading others' questions. What a great tool!
Brian

I have kept those and my experience was that they were fairly docile. It took a while to get mine (which were w/c) on mice but eventually they did.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Thanks Frank. How big did they get? Is there venom potent? Are their fangs placed in a position to easily make contact in a bite? Any of the other questions you could answer would be helpful also.
Thanks again and happy herping!
Brian

My books say that it reaches over 6'. The largest I had was 5'. As to the venom BGF could answer that better than I. I was never bitten by this species in spite of plenty of free handling. However it would be safe to say that the bite under normal circumstances would not be all that serious (However a large specimen and a person who is sensitive to venom could present some problems.

As a typical Boiga the teeth that you need be concerned with are to the back of the mouth. This makes envenomation unlikely from a simple bite. Just don't let them chew.

As to care, Temps in the mid-low eighties, mist daily. Give it a roomy cage with lots of branches.
Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Thanks Frank. Appreciate the information. A book my kid brought home said that they get over 11 feet. Only feedback so far is from you, so I haven't talked to anybody who has had one.
Again,thanks Frank, appreciate the information.
Brian
PS Anybody else have anthing on these guys?

What is the name of that book (he asks curiously)?

I know of no Asian Boiga sp. that get anywhere near that size. Large is around 7'.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Most Boiga venoms are extremely potently neurotoxic. However, the inefficiency of delivery and smallish venom yield combine to make medically significant envenomations very unlikely. In any case, they can be safely worked with just simply using gardening gloves and a long sleeve shirt.

Cheers
Bryan
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Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry
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Australian Venom Research Unit,
University of Melbourne
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Population and Evolutionary Genetics Unit,
Museum Victoria
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.venomdoc.com

Thank you Frank. The book is called "Snakes" and it is written by Peter Stafford, but my mistake. i crossed information from a ridgeback rat snake. Thank you again.
Dr. Fry, thank you also for your information. I prefer to free-handle my animals and I DO understand that I have to make provisions for a venomous animal, so worse case scenario(with the exception of an allergic reaction) knowing that neorotoxin is usually associated with corals and cobras, etc., what could happen to me? I am about 200 pounds (on a good day).
Thanks again for info. and anybody have any additional info. it would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Brian

I'd say that (allergy issues aside) the most you'd typically be looking at would be a headache and perhaps a little dizziness but that'd most likely be about it.

Cheers
Bryan
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Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Australian Venom Research Unit,
University of Melbourne
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Population and Evolutionary Genetics Unit,
Museum Victoria
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.venomdoc.com

Dr. Fry,
Thank you, that is good news if I ever get into these. I originally thought they exceeded 11 feet which interested me and I love the beautiful green and the cat eyes. I also enjoy aboreals (I have green bush rats and GTPs).
Generally, in Arizona, which is where I am at, do not allow you to import venomous species, though you can have most any kind of native species. Since these are rearfanged, are they generally considered venomous? I think I have seen hognose snakes for sale in petstores and I know I have at snake shows.
Any idea?
Thanks again, i really appreciate the help.
Brian

Hognose are considered harmless and so officially are seen as not venomous. Boiga on the other hand have recieved a lot of bad press (due to Boiga irregularis which has been a disaster on Guam) and so is known as a venomous genus.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Once again, thanks Frank. Take a look at the ratsnake forum when you get a chance.
Any other input from anybody?
Thanks
Brian