Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

This is a general call for information on kukri snakes (Oligodon species). I've read everything there is online about them, and I'm looking for personal experiences.

This is a big genus (about 70 species) that is widespread from Iran to Taiwan and south into Indonesia. They have enlarged, blade-like teeth adapted to slicing open eggs, but that also can inflict some damage on people, exacerbated by anticoagulant properties of their saliva/venom. Oligon apparently tend to be on the small side; most species stay under a meter.

Asian websites that discuss them (as local fauna) vary in how they describe temperment - some refer to their painful bites, others call them innoffensive, and one Indian site mentions O. arnensis being commonly kept as pets there.

I know Dan Scolaro has one O. formosanus that eats egg (see his post below). I have corresponded with two people from the Netherlands who have worked with (and bred) O. formosanus, and O. cyclurus - both apparently larger Oligodon species. The wc formosanus like egg, the hatchlings take pinkie chunks. The wc and cb cyclurus take mice as well as egg. Both keepers mention their aggressiveness and wicked bites, and one sold his pair of cyclurus because of how hard they are to handle safely (hard to hook, can bite through leather work gloves, etc.).

I'm curious if anyone else out there has worked with them. Does anyone from Asia have experience with them there? We know the formosanus and cyclurus are aggressive and have wicked bites; are smaller species the same way? Any first-hand observations would be really cool to read.

Thanks!
Billy
Phillyherping

Have allways wanted to. unfortunately every time I've asked about them I get nothing but blank stares from the dealers.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Yo Billy,
Oligodons are not a common species in the pet trade. Which is why most people will draw blank stares from dealers at the mention of 'kukri'. Even in Malaysia where Im from, they're not easy to find prob due to their terrrestial and shy nature. Im tryign to attain as many kukri snakes as I can but so far, I've only been able to get one oligodon purparescens where else there are prob five species of oligodons in Msia.

Surprisingly from my experience with my oligodon, they seem to be a fairly easy snake to keep. I'll dispense my view on oligodons as general based on MY ONE specimen so bear that in mind as you read this post. Make sure u put in some hides in the tank or better still, small logs/driftwood. Oligodons will come out to bask on the top of the wood, so there's no problem at all in trying to see them.
Feeding is easy but messy. Take a shallow petri dish or yoghurt cap cover and put some eggs on it. Just beat and mash up the eggs till u get a golden yellow. I had problem feeding mine in the beginning because absolutely NO ONE had experience with oligodons. I tierd crickets, lizards and WHOLE eggs till i finally discovered in an early post on this forum by someone with a kukri. There I discovered the trick. Beat the eggs and piur it out ! Not whole eggs! ( Although in the wild, they would probably break the eggs themselves).

OLigodons are usually shy and do not usually bite. However, if u happen to poke or grasp them the wrong way, they will not hesitate to MAUL, not bite or nip. Once they get their fangs on u, they won't let go, unlike other snakes that snap. They also have enlarged rear fangs which are razor sharp and a highly flexible neck which means ure in deep [bleep] if it bites ur finger.
They can easily twist their necks to rotate their fangs causing more damage to you. I've been bitten before and I can tell u, ur wound will bleed like [bleep] and the cut is very deet but clean.

Otherwise, a rewarding specimen to keep.

Thanks for the info. Believe me that I am saving everything anyone sends me on them. One of the Dutch keepers I have emailed with sent me pictures of the teeth and they are impressive. He also warned against feeding live prey (specifically to the cyclurus that take mice) because of the bloody mess that results. If I get one, I think I'm going to try out some kitchen cut/puncture resistant gloves.

That's a nice snake you've got there. I've seen other pictures of that species and they looked much more drab. How large is it?
Phillyherping

It's about 68cm, i think almost fully-grown. Rite now Im really hoping to get a striped kukri, now that would be excellent!