Quote:
Originally Posted by Lori P
But gosh, they are gorgeous animals. I like the night snakes, too... what's up with them? Are they not kept much as pets? Never hear of them.
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Yes, Night snakes are really neat, underappreciated snakes.
Night snakes have a fairly large range in the western U.S., with part of their range going as far n.w. as washington (state), and as far S.e. as Texas, with the bulk of the range being in the desert southwest and into much of Mexico.
Although common, they are rarely seen by anyone other than herpers, because they are nocturnal and very small. The feild guide says 26" max, but I have never seen one over about 12", with many being 7-9". So, being that size, and their color, they are not easy to see on the ground at night unless you are driving really slow and looking really hard.
They are mildly venomous, rear fanged snakes, but not considered dangerous to humans. I handle them with bare hands. Their venom is just enough to subdue a small lizard.
They are not common in collections due to their diet of lizards, frogs, and salamanders. They also are not very easy to handle- mine have never bitten yet, but they are very darty, very fast, and nervous when handled.
I have a couple that I have had for about 2 years. They are fed frozen/thawed(f/t) treefrogs (to help avoid parasite issues), or occasionally f/t small lizards. I cut the legs off the f/t frogs for my little ringneck snake.
They can eat suprisingly large meals for their size, and not hardly show a bulge the next day, yet seem to do fine on 1 large meal per feeding, about 3 feedings a month average. They are doing very well, and seem very calm as long as I leave them alone. I hope to get them onto scented small pinks someday.
One looks just like those we have pictured- the other is lighter colored(found a couple hours away from these), and very nice looking.
By the way- I did not collect any of the snakes pictured above (in case anyone wondered).
So, anything else you would like to know?
