Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was at our local petstore today and I found an Erpeton tentaculatum (tentacled water snake) and I talked to the guy who ordered him in and he said the price he paid for it meant it was most likely wild caught. And I know about 1/10 survive when they are WC due to them being shipped like normal snakes, in a breathable bag, but he said it was brought in with the fish, in water. It's 200$ and they paid under 40$ for it, waste of time/money or should I go for it? It didn't have any of the little white spots on it that people talk about, and it's been at the store one week and at the supplier/importer for another week.

-Brock

To tell you the truth you are only going to find WC tentacled snakes. Anyone who is telling you otherwise more than likely can't be trusted. Pretty much all Erpetons are imported from the same few guys and they are all shipped in the same fashion. A wet bag is the best bet since the snakes get to cold when sent in water. IF you are ready for the challenge then I can only wish you best of luck, but this is a challenging animal which can get very expensive to properly maintain. They have a lot of requirements and need a well established planted aquarium that is safely heated and well filtered. This is not a beginers snake. It is easier than acrochords but not by much. Let me know what you decide, but I still would say, you must be very very very ready for this one.
Look forward to hearing about it.
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Erpetons haven't been shipped dry for in 20 years as far as I know. There are captive bred available, but if they were he would definetely know it. Two things, don't get these snakes unless you have a large well established tank already setup. If you don't have green algae growth, then the tanks not ready. Most people I have talked with have had the best result with pond water, which is full of algae and other microflorafauna. Secondly get some melafix just in case and read the posting about it below.

Hey its great to see my melafix research has paid off. You guys make these study projects worth it, thank you. I second Ricks note on algea and have my own aside. Reptile UV Bulbs fit many aquaium hoods (Zoo Med has a high output one) and UV is what cause algea to prosper. There are also many CO2 supplements and nitrate enhacing formulas available for increasing plant life in an aquaium. If you use all three of these you should have algea in no time. The warmer the water the better for algea. Also if you are getting hte tank ready remember that fish will help cycle the water so get it started with some fish first. Danios work great but avoid anything with high ammonia out put such as gold fish or koi. This will slow down your plant growth and leave an undesired effect in the water. Lastly algea grows best in still water so use minimum filtration maximum oxygen while getting your growth to start. Leave ther water less salty that when you get the erpeton (which prefers brakish water) because algea grows very very slowly in salty water.
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1.0 Javan Wart Snake
1.1 Emerald Tree Boa
1.1 Malaysian Blood Python
1.2 Sumatran Blood Pythons
1.2 Pastel Red Tail Boas
2.5 Ball Python
1.0 Albino Retic
0.1 Tiger Retic
1.0 Indonesian Tree boa
1.0 Macklotts Python
1.1 Jungle Carpet Python
1.2 Kenyan Sand Boa
0.0.1 Queen Snake
0.0.1 Florida Banded Water Snake
0.0.1 Costa Rican Parrot Snake
0.0.2 Desert Night Snake
0.1 Mangrove Snake
1.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.2 Western Shovel Nose snake
1.0 Mendota King Snake
0.0.1 Mohave Side Winder
0.1 Neon Cape Gopher
1.0 Newport Phase King
1.0 Blood Red Corn
1.0 Oketee Corn
0.1 Creamsicle corn
0.1 Anery Corn
0.1 Reverse Oketee
0.1 Pewter Corn
0.1 Secret F1 Corn
0.1 Apricot Pueblan Milk
2.4 Albino Natida King
1.2 Albino Conjuncta King
1.1 Desert Banded Gecko
1.1 Central American Banded Gecko
1.1 Tibetan Frog Eye Gecko
1.1 Dwarf Dune Gecko

I'll keep myself from commenting on using nitrate suppliments or alage growth and stick to the main subject that stood out.

Erpeton are not brackish!!!! You'll kill them in brackish water, and only stress them out with such a high pH required or brackish water, because you will be more open to water quality problems.

>>Hey its great to see my melafix research has paid off. You guys make these study projects worth it, thank you. I second Ricks note on algea and have my own aside. Reptile UV Bulbs fit many aquaium hoods (Zoo Med has a high output one) and UV is what cause algea to prosper. There are also many CO2 supplements and nitrate enhacing formulas available for increasing plant life in an aquaium. If you use all three of these you should have algea in no time. The warmer the water the better for algea. Also if you are getting hte tank ready remember that fish will help cycle the water so get it started with some fish first. Danios work great but avoid anything with high ammonia out put such as gold fish or koi. This will slow down your plant growth and leave an undesired effect in the water. Lastly algea grows best in still water so use minimum filtration maximum oxygen while getting your growth to start. Leave ther water less salty that when you get the erpeton (which prefers brakish water) because algea grows very very slowly in salty water.
>>-----
>>1.0 Javan Wart Snake
>>1.1 Emerald Tree Boa
>>1.1 Malaysian Blood Python
>>1.2 Sumatran Blood Pythons
>>1.2 Pastel Red Tail Boas
>>2.5 Ball Python
>>1.0 Albino Retic
>>0.1 Tiger Retic
>>1.0 Indonesian Tree boa
>>1.0 Macklotts Python
>>1.1 Jungle Carpet Python
>>1.2 Kenyan Sand Boa
>>0.0.1 Queen Snake
>>0.0.1 Florida Banded Water Snake
>>0.0.1 Costa Rican Parrot Snake
>>0.0.2 Desert Night Snake
>>0.1 Mangrove Snake
>>1.0 Western Hognose Snake
>>1.2 Western Shovel Nose snake
>>1.0 Mendota King Snake
>>0.0.1 Mohave Side Winder
>>0.1 Neon Cape Gopher
>>1.0 Newport Phase King
>>1.0 Blood Red Corn
>>1.0 Oketee Corn
>>0.1 Creamsicle corn
>>0.1 Anery Corn
>>0.1 Reverse Oketee
>>0.1 Pewter Corn
>>0.1 Secret F1 Corn
>>0.1 Apricot Pueblan Milk
>>2.4 Albino Natida King
>>1.2 Albino Conjuncta King
>>1.1 Desert Banded Gecko
>>1.1 Central American Banded Gecko
>>1.1 Tibetan Frog Eye Gecko
>>1.1 Dwarf Dune Gecko
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Justyn Miller
Intense Herpetoculture
www.IntenseHerp.com (Proudly hosted by Fauna Net)

I agree, they one of the few complete aquatic snakes that are found entirely in fresh water at a low PH. My direct experience with them is limited, but I 've been talking to alot of people who keep them or have keeped them and found some things that corresponded with successfully keeping them. Algae, being one of them, whether its the algae itself or the conditions in which algae grows, is unsure, but it's definetely a indicator of a good habitat for tentacled snakes. I tend to believe it's a bit of both. Algae grows in well established clean water without ammonia or nitrites. With full spectrum lighting as indicated above, both of which are good things for tentacled snakes, Also it's very likely that Algae that grows on an Erpeton, are symbiotic and out compete the infectious fungi that these snakes are prone too.