# Bothriechis Schlegelii, eyelash vipers



## Mason (Jan 21, 2008)

This is a species we are considering I just wanted to run a few things past you knowledgeable folks...

Firstly can anyone whos kept this species could you list and husbandry issues (or similar) you've come across, any little quirks with this species?

A few more things:

as youngsters do they take defrost rodents readily? I'm expecting to have to live feed/scent for a bit. 

Next up. Bites. Am I correct in thinking this has no species/venom specific AV? But certain AVs can be effective?

Do any keepers (obviously mainly UK keepers) have a decent bite protocol for this species? Ideally i'd like to compare three or four so I can check consistancy and completeness

Size, I have only ever seen neonates and sub adults, i've read up but was wondering in reality what kind of size do keepers find these achieve in captivity? does it differ much from the "textbook averages"? Basically would I be realistic to expect most female not to exceed 3ft and most males 2ft?

Also does colour form/locality have a bearing on size? It is the yellow colour form I have my heart set on I think, I have no idea if this has a bearing but I suspect not.

I know the average litter is 10-20, can anyone tell me exactly how the colour forms work when breeding? I would like 1.1 yellow and am not fussed if this (should I ever pair them) results in an all yellow litter or a mixed bag (ie all the greys and greens etc too)? Like I say, not fussed, not even sure if they will ever be bred BUT I must say I will find the idea of breeding more attractive If I know that by breeding my two yellows i'd stand a chance of hatchling myself a nice green specimine or two..


Right, husbandry. If this goes ahead planned is a pair of 2x2x2 cubes, is this enough height? Do they fair better in smaller or lager enclosures? I know they are arboreal and can be VERY arboreal but will too much viv space effect them in a negative way?

Thanks, feel free to point out any other interesting litte quirks this species has too.

Cheers for any help folks


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## 400runner (May 15, 2006)

brian (tigersnake) keeps them so maybe pm him or maybe he'd be good enough to share with all of us on this thread. i know nothing about them personally but brian has told me his are little buggers and they wait for you to open the glass then strike round the corner at you! sounds fun doesn't it!


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## pythondave82 (Nov 14, 2007)

There is a costa rican A/V that would cover you, i always double check before i keep a species.

most of them do accept frozen from the start but you do need to fiddle and brush arount their P/H tail

youd be lucky to get 3ft

Dave


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## mantella (Sep 2, 2007)

I believe the anti venom is polyvalent ?


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## Mason (Jan 21, 2008)

aye I was expecting to have to do a bit of GTP-esque bum poking with the food!! :lol:

do you often see youngsters luring (caudal)?

and yes, i'm pretty sure the AV would be a poly, as i'm sure I read there definately isn't a species/venom specific one in this case.

and.. ARRGHH, but all the costa rican AVs I can find seem to be specifically designed to handle coral snakes!


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## Mason (Jan 21, 2008)

have now found it, yep definately polyvalent and costa rican! cheers.

As a bit of a brucey bonus that seems to cover a fair few species that float my boat


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## iriechris (Apr 10, 2007)

ah i love eyelashes, good luck with them. 
there stunning clever little fallas, 

this is a momma after laying bout 3 hours previously, she is suprisingly mellow.


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

fatalities are pretty low from the species.


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## Declan123 (Dec 29, 2007)

iriechris said:


> ah i love eyelashes, good luck with them.
> there stunning clever little fallas,
> 
> this is a momma after laying bout 3 hours previously, she is suprisingly mellow.


LOving the Golden Phase


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## Moshpitviper (Oct 21, 2005)

Mason, i have a mate that keeps these. they have a pant shittingly long strike range! they are also on my list. i'm sure i was told that they need quite a bit of air circulation so like computer fan over part of the vents perhaps? or am i talking crap?


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## axlandslash44x (Jan 3, 2008)

I have a question Mason

are you looking at buying your own AV??

or are you literally finding out the name of the stuff 

when bitting (if) you can go hospital - call up liverpool or london and say

eyelash viper - PV - NOW!!!!!

?


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

you dont by it yourself its well expensive, plus illegal to administer as well as dangerous if you dont know exactly what your doing, and have correct monitering equipment.


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## Mason (Jan 21, 2008)

no i'd never buy my own, in the wrong hands it can be as dangerous as the venom it's supposed to combat. Not to mention prohibitively expensive.

I just wanted to know the AV for my own piece of mind and for my bite protocol, I prefer to give the species name alongside the AV suggested for bites from that species if any exsists.


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

I would quite like one somewhen, but at the moment id like a red eyed T.popeiorum more.


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## Young_Gun (Jan 6, 2007)

A mate at the School Of Tropical Medicine had some bloke ring up tryin to buy Poly A/V yesterday, for his 'coming soon Schleg's' wasn't you was it Mase? :lol2:

Moshpit your perfectly right, they can get RI's and just tend to thrive with a supplemented circulation via fans etc.

Mason, get my MSN off Sami later


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## Mason (Jan 21, 2008)

Young_Gun said:


> A mate at the School Of Tropical Medicine had some bloke ring up tryin to buy Poly A/V yesterday, for his 'coming soon Schleg's' wasn't you was it Mase? :lol2:
> 
> Moshpit your perfectly right, they can get RI's and just tend to thrive with a supplemented circulation via fans etc.
> 
> Mason, get my MSN off Sami later


 
Hahaha not guilty! :lol2:

Seriously though it's as sure away to end up in a world of crap than getting bitten is messing with AV.


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

i've read that they can be tricky to work with..... i found this...

Eyelash Vipers - The Venom List


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## Mason (Jan 21, 2008)

i've been told quick and clever. Still 90% sure this is species #2 for me, but i'm still thinking...


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

Mason said:


> i've been told quick and clever. Still 90% sure this is species #2 for me, but i'm still thinking...


they are wonderful things... when i was in costa rica i never saw one though.... dang it!:lol2:


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## Young_Gun (Jan 6, 2007)

Mason said:


> i've been told quick and clever. Still 90% sure this is species #2 for me, but i'm still thinking...


Clever isn't the word mate, they will get used to your tank maintenance cycles, and position themselves wherever gives the best vantage point but still gives maximum cover to conceal themselves in, never go into the viv/cube/tub without knowin exactly where they are and forget about strike range, they will chuck emselves literally at you 
:lol2:


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## Mason (Jan 21, 2008)

fair play.

To be honest I think I may prefer them that way, no temptation to break any of my rules that way!

Only thing I need to experience myself now is how the little buggers ride hooks.


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)




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## Young_Gun (Jan 6, 2007)

Mason said:


> fair play.
> 
> To be honest I think I may prefer them that way, no temptation to break any of my rules that way!
> 
> Only thing I need to experience myself now is how the little buggers ride hooks.


When your boa pops, if you have any slugs, try without puttin the hook 'through' it :lol2: to keep it on the hook, then imagine it's small, it's yellow and it's rapidly strikin in your direction with a mentally long strike distance for it's size and quite an impressive strike speed.

Thats how the work on hooks:whistling2:


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## Mason (Jan 21, 2008)

Cool beans!


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

the ones I have been around havnt even been that bad, the hardest bit is removing an aboreal viper from its tank, same as any aboreal snake, but once on a hook they just grip it, and you wont ever be within strike range anyway, well you shouldnt be. I cant see how they are harder than any other aboreal hot really, as long as your sticking by the same general rules.


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## Mason (Jan 21, 2008)

that is what I thought, i'm still not 100% totally decided on this species...but at this moment I can't think of anything i'd rather have.


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## tigersnake (Sep 30, 2007)

Hi all,
I keep my Eyelash Palm-Pit Vipers the same as arboreal Trimeresurus.
They do have a long striking range and tend to strike at anything that comes within range. I would not regard them as aggressive, but they are willing to strike. I have observed my animals drinking from their water bowl, so I have one in their tank all the time. I also spray them once every two days.
As for eating, I bought them in October, last year, when they were about 7 inches long, they are now about 14 inches long, and get fed every 7 to 10 days, and they have never refused food yet. They take two fuzzy mice each. I do not think they are any harder to keep than any other Tree Viper. I have just transfered them into a Herptek arboreal tank which is 24 inches square by 40 inches tall. This I consider big enough for an adult pair.
All the best,
Brian.


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