Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is anyone working with these guys? Looking for info on caging requirements, heating , substrate, humidity etc.
Thanks
Mark

I have kept them with mixed results. My first was a pet shop snake I purchased that did awesome. The second pair was purchased off the internet and did horribly!! Their care is pretty straight forward. One can live comfortably in a 20 gallon long tank or a sweater box sized plastic box. They can be kept on cypress mulch and need a fairly large water bowl to keep humidity up in their cage. They burrow, so provide several inches of substrate. I am sure aspen would work too. A spray down to dampen one side of the cage never hurts every few days. The first one took f/t fuzzy mice like a kid eating Halloween candy. The second pair I got a few years later never fed for me. Many suggest live rat pinks to get them started. Apparently they have a preference for them over mice of similar size. They are very shy and can stress easily. The first one I had must have been acclimatized before I got it as it ate fine, and never seemed to mind handling that much or went off feed when handled. Very neat snakes IMO and as long as feeding consistently and well, arent really a problem to keep.

Thank you very much for the info. Im thinking i will try and find some well established ones then. Although all i see at shows seem to be recent imports or atleast appear to be, and seem kinda on the think side. thanks again.
mark

I have seen CB or CH calabars in the past. Very rare though and they demand a premium. I'm interested in this species myself.

Take care.
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Travis Rose
Lazy S Snake Ranch
3.7 Kenyan sand boas (various morphs)
1.2 Indian sand boas
0.3 Dogs
0.1 Cat
X.X Fish
0.1 Very understanding wife
2.0 Future Snake Lovers

I would recommend CAREFULLY shopping around for these snakes to ensure you get good feeding stock. The ones at the shows are notoriously fresh WC and unless from a reputable vendor who is honest about the condition of the animals and feeding reliability, I would steer clear from them. They are exported at certain times of the year, and thats why they appear seasonally available. I ususlly only see them at shows and advertised around this time of year. This is probably when they become active in Africa and easily captured in quantity. They also stress easily and its possible a feeding snake at a facility may get stressed during shipment and placement in a new cage, being displayed at a show, handled roughly or too much, and go off feed. That may have been why my original one did so well. It was not shipped to me. You may also have to resign to the fact you will have to feed live rat pinks/fuzzys, which may put a crimp in your keeping them if a reliable source isnt easily available. Still, they are awesome snakes and well worth the effort to work with them. Just shop well and be prepared to pay extra for feeders, just like the farmed and WC baby ball pythons.