Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've kept over 20 Shovel-nosed Snakes over the years and they really seem to like small centipedes. I used to feed centipedes to them every time I found any and the snakes acted like they just got a treat.

Interestingly, Variable Sand (formerly Banded Sand) Snakes that I kept did not eat anything except mealworms. As mealworms are larvae of beetles in the family Tenebrionidae, and Tenebrionids are common in deserts, it makes sense that Sand Snakes would feed on their larvae. I had one Sand Snake for over 7 years and the only thing it ever ate was mealworms.

That's very interesting. Do they kill the centipede first, or swallow it alive like some black-headed snakes?

Have any of your snakes been bitten? What was the response? Do they ignore the centipede's venom?

The ones I've kept just ate the 'pedes--sucked 'em down. I fed small centipedes and the snakes did not show any attack behavior that was different from their usual feeding, except they seemed to go after the centipedes with a bit more gusto than they showed with crickets.

I did not notice that the centipedes succeeded in biting the snakes. When small scorpions try to sting Shovel-Nosed snakes, the scorpions' stingers seldom penetrate the snakes' scales.

BTW, I've also kept Scolopendra heros, the giant desert centipede from Arizona, which were larger than some snakes I've had. One of those would eat a small snake if it caught one. The desert floor is a wooly place--"Nature red in tooth and claw", as Teddy Roosevelt put it. I'm glad I'm part of the megafauna.

Has anyone bred their shovelnose snakes?

If so what where the conditions as far as temps,etc and how can they be sexed ?

thanks

Hi, do you still keep any of these or can you get some? I'm looking for 2 or 3, M/F or M/F/F. I have the setup I just need the inhabitants!

Please reply & thank you for your time.

I would be happy to pay all fees & a fair price.

Thank you.
Stephanie