Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been looking for a captive breed specimen for a few months now with little luck. Any advice?

To my knowledge not a very commonly bred species, or even that commonly kept for that matter. You do see them on dealers lists though, but I've only noticed wild caughts...try Exotic Reptile Jungle, they've had some wild caughts on their lists recently.

Psilocybe is correct. I looked for CB cerats for years before I gave in and bought WC animals. I ended up getting some that were born in captivity from WC adults, but that was it. You may try contacting Robert Meidinger of the Costa Rica Serpentarium to see if he has them and would be willing to export them. You can look on the World of Atheris website to find his email addy, I believe. Good luck. BTW, I also tried to breed them for a few years and never had any luck.

Derek Morgan

Indeed, they are extremely difficult to breed. I've kept them only for 3-4 years now, and I currently have 14 specimens, all wild-caught.
In my experience males are more difficult to get, and majority that I have imported have been females. I currently have only two males. Of the unsexed ones, 1-2 more might be males.
I just thought I'd share this following experience with you guys;
Last year, during the fall, I thought I'd give my cerats a decent cooling period, as the summer -especially July- was rather hot (plus I live in the sixth floor of an apartment building with poor ventilation). I housed all of them in 15 l. plastic boxes and placed them in my balcony. I kept them there until night-time temps went below zero. During that time I took them in for the night, but placed them out for the day. A bit twisted, I know; warmer nights, cooler days...
Anyhow, I stopped placing them outside for the day once the temperature was colder than 6 degrees Celsius (at 9 degrees Celsius 2 or 3 specimens actually ate!). However, I kept them in front of the balcony door, which was the coolest spot in the apartment (can't remember for sure but I think fluctuations were something like 10-15 degrees Celsius and no additional heating).
During the period they were inside, I actually witnessed the usual mating behaviour in one male (1.1 in that box) over the course of one week. Didn't see copulation.
The female didn't appear to be gravid at any point, so close to the end of the year - half-accidentally - I traded that female among few others to Sweden.
Early this year I heard that the female had dropped two or three babies, but unfortunately they were stillborn. The female in question had been in captivity well over two years prior to the mating activities I witnessed, so I think it's safe to assume that the babies would have been CB. Also, upon arrival several years ago, she dropped unfertilized eggs.
As to why the babies died, I'm not sure. The stress of the mother from the transporting, change of surroundings or not being able to utilize a basking spot? Someone professional or wiser might give a comment on this, as I am by no means an expert when it comes to snakes of any species.
But I sure love these snakes, one of the greatest species ever. Hopefully one day I'll succeed in breeding some...
All the best,

Christian

One of my favorites.

Christian

Hi Christian

Nice pic, as usual! Good to see you around. Thanks for the update on the cerats and the insite into your breeding ventures. I once had a group of 2.4 that I brumated in my basement. I had them set up in nice realistic vivaria and had kept them for a couple of years before I tried to breed them. I cooled them for three months at 50-55 F and they readily ate at those temperatures. All were housed individually during that time.

When it came time to warm them up I brought them back to the snake room and slowly got them back up into the 70's before I put them in together. I had a 50 gallon long tank that I put them all into and it had two basking spots. I saw typical Atheris courtship (male sleeping on female, female sleeping on male) with two pairs for a few weeks though I never witnessed copulation. I never witnessed any stress or aggression from any of the snakes. I then separated all animals to their own cages and hoped for the best. One animal died within a few weeks of their separation. Then I noticed another one star gazing. I ended up losing all of the animals over a period of six months and I believe it was some kind of virus that one of them may have been carrying (the c.o.d. from the lab came back as salmonella). Since all of the animals had been in my possession for at least one year, I ruled out PMV. Something similar, perhaps? Either way, watching my prized jungle phase die turned my stomach enough to not work with the species anymore. I think that three of the snakes had been in my collection for over three years.

Anyhow, good luck with your snakes and maybe if you have any luck you can share it with the rest of us. They are super neat snakes. Take care and good chatting with you.

Derek

Hello Derek!

Great to hear from you too. I've been meaning to write to you for ages now, but trying to find a new job(my contract ends at the end of this year) has kept me too busy.

Anyway, I'm truly sorry to hear about the misfortune with your group. I haven't seen similar symptoms you describe in the ones I've lost, so I can't even guess what might have happened. As if I otherwise could...
I have really come to hate those mysterious deaths.
The pair that copulated -unseen to me- in my posession were kept together for the whole cooling period, and I also witnessed them sleeping on top of each other. In addition to that, I also witnessed the male jerking back and forth on top of the female.
Do you think multiple males in the group could result in better chance for a breeding?

BTW, the female pictured is currently suffering from breathing difficulties.
This is one aspect that also troubles me; currently all the ceratos subjected to only room temps, with no additional light/heat are doing well, but this one female with the possibility to bask for 8 hours a day gets sick (1.2 in the same enclosure are doing well). It has always been in good condition, so could it be some form of stress? I separated her and hope it recovers with constant warmth and humidity, as it is the only tiger I currently have.

I have to make one correction to the earlier statement I made; the article I referred to can be found in April '99 issue of Reptiles, and the cerato the group spotted was eventually captured, but according to the story, it wasn't easy to see/capture.

On a side note, earlier this week my pair of Javan T. puniceus copulated. It was exiting to see, although they're quite young and the female has been rather small and weakish since birth. I hope it results at least in a few babies, as this is also a very pretty species.

Until next time, all the best and take care.

Christian

I am concerned to see that so many apparently wild caught A ceratophorus are appearing in the reptile trade both in Europe and the USA. These snakes live in a few limited forested areas in tanzania. Their habitat is rapidly shrinking and the export is only adding insult to injury further threatening the survival of thsi species. please try not to buy wild caught specimens.

Tom

Hi Tom.

I understand your concern. However, with all due respect, I beg to differ;
I am aware of the three localities which usually are mentioned as ceratophorus' range. Personally, I'm not sure what their status is at the moment; is it possible that they exist in other localities. Whether or not they do, I share your concern about the habitat loss (in this case I must admit that I am not aware at what rate the said three mountain areas are deforested/altered) of any given species.

As I pointed out from my personal experience, especially the males are very small and dull in coloration (shades of grey/brown/greenish...). If you also consider the fact that they are likely not easily removed from the center of -possibly thorny- bushes, they are well camouflaged and very small, I would assume that they are not among the easiest to collect. And I would also think that in such case they'd not be very profitable for the local collector to seek out, if they had been depleted to just few remaining individuals.
If this species really was on the brink of extinction, would they be so numerous (whatever the real numbers are in the wild vs. on the market) on US & European market? Assuming that their habitat currently is not the tiniest of spots, from which the seasoned collectors would pick up the last remaining specimens, they may be doing well in their natural habitat at the moment. Am I way off here?

Considering how well some larger species like the Gaboon viper can escape detection in the nature, I'm thinking 'How does one find such a small creature like ceratophorus?' In 'great' numbers no less...

In fact, I recall one article from a past issue of the Reptiles magazine, in which a group of herpers (can't remember who) spent some time in Usambara mountains; their no. 1 to catch & photograph was A. ceratophorus. They only spotted one and it escaped from their reach to the center of a thorn scrub.

And I have to say that I disagree with your remark about wild collecting adding insult to injury; as you pointed out, natural habitats are being altered or destroyed. But did you think about the fact that along with that habitat, you'll lose the species that call it home? In fact, if the habitat is destroyed, the only way to see a certain species may be in the hands of hobbyists and professionals, right? Why avoid buying a wild-caught species if it no longer has a place in the wild (which propably is not the case here)? So, I don't think wild-collecting as such threatens the survival of this species. I'm afraid the habitat would be the first to go, rather than the snake. Could be wrong though We need a professional's comment on this.

Here is an example I'd like to share; The very first time I ever imported ceratos was with one of my best friends. For some reason most of his specimens died, and this discouraged him from ever getting wild-caughts, let alone ceratos! And he's more successful and accomplished snake-keeper than I am.

I believe that the more people succeed in maintaining this species in captivity, the greater the likelihood of captive breeding. And in time I hope it becomes more common to see successful breedings of this species. Is this not the way other species have made their way into the hobby? Challenge, dedication, success - I'd like to think.
Besides, with the right set-up and a healthy specimen/s, this one makes one of the most interesting and beautiful snakes ever to keep.

Well, these are just my thoughts. If anyone spots illogical thinking, or has more up-to-date info on the subject -such as the current size of cerato habitat- let's hear it.

All the best,

Christian