Hi Christian

I have never witnessed male competition with any species of Atheris. Have you? I have heard mention of it from time to time, but I know of no one who has actually witnessed male combat. Of course, I have a wife and two kids and have never spent an entire night in my snakeroom watching for male combat, so I cannot say that it never happens. I seldom use more than one male with my breedings of chlorechis and squamigera and have managed to have decent luck. I am certain that chlorechis and squamigera are more sexually prolific than either ceratophora and nitschei are (under current captive conditions, that is...in the wild, who knows?) and I would not doubt that there is an important element that we are lacking with the cerats.

Perhaps we will discover something when we better know how to manipulate barometric pressure, as I am certain that it has as much to do with sexual activity in some species as temperature and humidity do. Perhaps barometric pressure fluctuations (instead of temperature and humidity) in the Usambara Mountains stimulate females to ovulate. Or perhaps we are simply not ideally simulating the onset of the rainy season and the temperature variances that occur in their natural environment.

Are you currently still trying with the cerats? I now have two children and my collection has gone from seventy Atheris to seven and I just tinker with the squams, primarily. If I can produce just one or two litters a year I will be happy with the results.

Best of luck with the puniceus. They are beautiful and I remember seeing photos of yours. It's funny that I at one time wanted to keep and breed every species of Trimeresurus that was available to me. Then my brother produced two litters of T. albolabris (47 all together, I think!), one of T. purp., one of T. borneensis, and two litters of squams one year. He had babies coming out of his ears and the Trims were so difficult (even with captive born froglets handy) that we suddenly knew that we would not be breeding too many more of them. While we watched baby squams and chlorechis pound pinky parts and grow quickly, we spent hours teasing Trims and sitting still until our butts, legs and arms were asleep. More power to you, man

Talk to you soon. Take care.

Derek Morgan