Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im housing them inside where its cool just soaked em today (day 2)ill try to feed tomarrow they a 2.3 are 2-3' crawlers or hoppers RSVP .Chris.............

Well, I'm not expert, but since you really seem to want advice, I can tell you what I read, but consider it that - just what I read. No personal experience here. First, I read that mandarins like it a little cooler than other rat snakes, so, like 70-80, and not much higher than that. Also, I read that wild caught mandarins are fragile. That is, they stress easily, develop diseases on that account, and then die. Apparently they had a rep. for not being easily kept, until some captive breds got spread around and changed some minds. So, what I would say is to leave them alone for a long time, don't insist on handling them, don't bother them until they're used to you (if snakes ever get used to you). Maybe you should hold off feeding for a little while, and let them cool off and settle in. Good luck. I hope you and others manage to breed a lot of them, so the prices will go down. They're beautiful snakes. Enjoy them.

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After I got a 1.1 pair i was told the mortality is something like 95-98%...just could never get them to eat...had one eat once then stopped, the other never...I set them up at room temp with no heat, on shredded husk and newspaper, small half buried hides in rubbermaids, left them alone, would try feeding pinks, rat pinks, anoles...put pinks in a deli cup half buried in the substrate over nite...was frustrating, but a lesson learned...good luck, read up EVERYTHING you can Google on them....and cross your fingers ;*)

Well I was kind of holding off on my post because I did not have much luck with my 1.1 pair of adult WC Mandarins that I got a couple years ago. They were fresh imports and looked pretty good when they arrived, just very dirty. I kept them separated in quarantine in non heated cages (70-74 degrees)with moss filled hides for humidity and no disturbances. The female refused to eat and died after about 6 weeks. The male ate pinks, small fuzzies and hairless rat pups but never gained any appreciable weight. He died last month after two years of never really thriving.

I wish you luck! They're a gamble and the odds for mortallity are high. Now captive bred Mandarins are a totally different story... They had to come from somewhere, so someone out there managed to keep their wild caughts alive long enough to get them to breed.

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Lora

thanx for all the replies more are welcome i notice you offer them tiny meals.Chris

Yep, they don't seem to like anything much bigger than a hopper, at least the w/c didn't. The w/c male would eat frozen thawed as well which was a plus. My captive bred male will eat a small adult mouse, but I don't like to push them on meal size. I prefer to give them a few smaller food items over a big meal. Since they're shy, I also leave them alone after they eat to avoid regurge.

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Lora

Chris, you can see that w/c Mandarins are not usually recommended here. Folks think Mandarins are hard to manage and raise up because of the stories about imports mostly. You have to worry about parasites, missing body organs, stress, etc. But CB and raised mandarina are quite hardy and easy to care for. Usually I put food items in the large plastic container you see in the front of their cage...
They will take thawed or live food items, up to half grown mice. I put them in before going to bed and they are gone in the morning. Mandarins are nocturnal. For your w/c mandarina I would recommend smaller items.

Also, Mandarins love humidity. I sometimes use a moist nest box if the humidity is too low, less than 40-45%. As far as temps go, I keep mine bt. 70 and 82*F, but usually around 75-78*F. My mandarina are thriving under these conditions and are one of my easiest snakes to care for. They just eat and grow. I don't disturb them, btw.

With w/c mandarina, I can't say it will be easy for you. You may have to take them to a vet, or know how to deworm them. I think most of the survivors from w/c were from gravid females kept alive long enough to get the eggs. Good luck.

Terry

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Ratsnake Haven: Calico and albino Chinese stripe-tailed ratsnakes, Mandarin ratsnakes, Chinese twin-spotted ratsnakes, South Korean Dione's ratsnake, Great Plains ratsnakes and corns

np

Some snakes, including ratsnakes, are valued in the Orient for their medicinal values. Snakes being held often have their gall bladders removed, for instance.

Chris,
Not really intending to try my hand at wc mandarins, I went along with a friend to Strictly where I obtained 1.1 in Jan/02. I even went with no cash, but my self control went out the window when my buddy offered a loan for the snakes since he was getting 3.7.
Anyway,I picked a little 74 gr female because she grabbed a mouse right away--still in a box with maybe 25 other snakes! I figured that showed she wasn't as stressed as the others, so even though she was small, she was it. As I was leaving I saw a much bigger, (170 gr) snake in a tank with only one other as a cage mate. Turns out he was indeed a male and only seperated from the others because of a very slightly stubbed tail.
At $15. he'd make the "pair".
As a matter of course all were "shotgun" treated with Flagyl, gatorade, and panacur once a week for three weeks.
After that the ones not voluntarily feeding were tube fed a mix that included A&D animal food.
I took my snakes home from my bud's when their fecals were clean and the female was eating only every other try (a week apart) for some time and still doesn't eat weekly. She has steadily improved throughout the 2 yrs. as has the male that now eats much as any corn snake I have.
I only hear the "thump" of his attacking the live prey I offer,(fuzzy to small mouse)and never really bother them other than to check avery few days for water and cleaning. I almost never see the female eat, but she takes the rodent in short time.
My friend had much more trouble with his and also included baytril in his meds after I took mine. He has lost them all I think since.
I keep mine in my snake shed outside with all my other snakes. They are on the floor level and pretty dark. The room gets damn hot in the summer if I don't use the a.c. and varies in avg. temps of 75F-85F I'd say.
Cypress mulch is used as substrate and a hide box with sphagnum is used as well.
I did put them together this year for a short time but never really had high expectations of breeding.
Next season, however, I am hopeful.
Good luck with yours!
:Mark

just checked on them and were fed yesterday hoppers,and 2 out of 5 ate, they are living indoors dark and on moist cypress mulch.Chris

Chris,
if you have a chance and the resources, have their fecals checked. It seems that some have lots of parasites etc. that "bloom" when they get a meal after being without for a while. The sudden massive proliferation of the baddies in the gut can be overwhelming to the fragile snakes. Keep an eye on them.
Mine are on cypress, but it is fairly dry and not too moist at all.
Keep us posted.
:Mark