Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I have ordered a nice variety of Western, Midwestern, and Eastern worm snake intergrades for my research. In addition, I am creating a hooknose snake habitat. I finally found a dealer who currently has this species for sale. I am expecting 2 hooknoses. I do not know their sexes, but just observing the habits of such an unusual species is good enough for me. Who has kept these little guys before? What is your set-up like? I have a 2.5-gallon glass auarium with uth ready.
What substrate do you use? Is there a water dish in your habitat? What food do you use? Do you have any breeding tips? I am really excited, because hooknose snake are virtually noneistent in the world of herpetoculture. Working with suc a diminutive and bizarre snake is a dram come true for me.
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DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
0.1 Spanish ribbed newt
0.0.1 Eastern ribbon snake
1.1 red-cheeked mud turtles
0.1 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
0.0.1 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
0.0.1 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.1 Western hognose snakes
1.2 fire salamanders
1.1 scarlet kingsnakes
0.0.1 scarlet snake
0.0.1 Argentine horned frog
1.1 Southern ringneck snakes
0.0.1 night snake
0.0.1 Florida brown snake
1.0 rough earth snake
0.1 Northern brown snake
COMING SOON: Western worm snakes, Midwestern worm snakes and West/ Midwest intergrades, more Brahminy blind snakes!

You can find a good descrption of hooknose habitat in Stebbins. I've read that they feed almost exclusively on spiders.

Good luck with your new additions.

-Alice

naw, as long as they are large enough to do so, I never have any problem getting Gyalopion canum to eat pinky mice. I just perforate a frozen thawed pink many times with a scapel till it's nice and bloody and leave it in over night. After a couple of feedings they will eat un-mutilated pinks. Never tried with G. quadrangulare yet as it has proved to be my nemesis, but hopefully someday I will find one.

That's good to know. What were your experiencies like (set-up, longevity, feeding frequency, etc)? I really like the thorn-scrubs too. If you suceed in getting one, be sure to post about your experiences.

-Alice

The first few I got going were for friends. The first was in 1994 and is still alive and well. I am not sure about the others. It took me several years to find a large enough canum myself, but it has been doing very well for a few years now on a mouse diet. I released several small snakes on the spot rather than take any chances with them. I keep them just the same as my corals. Rubbermaid shoebox with slightly moist vermiculite for a substrate, a black plastic micro-wave dinner tray as a hide and a water dish. Simple and not the most attractive setup, but it has proved to be the most successful for me for most small fossorial species over the years. I use the same for shovel nose and banded sand snakes except I keep the vermiculite completely dry.

Do you heat them in those rubbermaid boxes or the area you keep them is heated?

and place enclosures to take advantage of air stratification. It ranges from about 73F at floor level to about 87F at 6ft. I keep the Gyalopion just above floor level at about 74-75F as this seems to be their prefered temp range.

Okay thanks.

Is there a reason you use vermiculite for your shovelnose rather than sand?

-Alice

It's just handy, much, much lighter in weight, and doesn't scratch up the plastic like sand. I have always loved sand for snakes. I have used it for forty years, keeping all different kinds from the little guys to kings and rattlesnakes with nothing but great results. My only real issue with it is the weight factor.

Vermiculite is always very handy for me as I have always used it for my corals and Az. milk snakes (interestingly the milks are the northern version of Chionactis, they sand swim just as well),and of course incubationg eggs. I like vermiculite because it can be moistened for the snakes that need some humidity but does not mold or mildew. What I usually do is to keep a rather deep layer and pour a little water in the bottom. This way the surface remains dry and it gets more moist the deeper the snake goes, much like natural earth. The snakes can choose their humidity level.