# Chrysopelea pelias



## Bradleybradleyc (May 7, 2012)

I was wondering if these chaps Chrysopelea pelias are on the DWA ????
I know these are rear fanged mildly venmous I believe ???

These are Beautiful snakes !

Thanks for your help


----------



## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

No they aren't luckily. I don't know much about that species, but we have C.ornata, the OH got tagged once but didn't get a reaction, so either he's lucky or it isn't that potent!


----------



## Bradleybradleyc (May 7, 2012)

Oh I love these do you know what size Viv they need by any chance ??


----------



## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

I would suggest as large a viv as possible; I would warn you though that as this is a rare montane rainforest species (with all the associated complexities in microcimate) it is delicate and pretty difficult to keep alive in captivity for any length of time - also it would probably be quite hard to get going on anything other than live frogs or lizards... historically, of this genus only _C. ornata_ is relatively easy too keep and feed.

That said, I have seen CB examples of _C. pelias_ quite recently but whether they are truly captive-bred or merely hatched from eggs laid by a WC female gravid when caught I couldn't say (I would suspect the latter).

Regards,
Francis


----------



## Bradleybradleyc (May 7, 2012)

Thrasops said:


> I would suggest as large a viv as possible; I would warn you though that as this is a rare montane rainforest species (with all the associated complexities in microcimate) it is delicate and pretty difficult to keep alive in captivity for any length of time - also it would probably be quite hard to get going on anything other than live frogs or lizards... historically, of this genus only _C. ornata_ is relatively easy too keep and feed.
> 
> That said, I have seen CB examples of _C. pelias_ quite recently but whether they are truly captive-bred or merely hatched from eggs laid by a WC female gravid when caught I couldn't say (I would suspect the latter).
> 
> ...


 
Oh maybe I will have to look at something else not every day you see a snake as striking as this :bash:

Thanks for the info


----------



## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

Could always go for _Chrysopelea ornata_; they're far more commonly kept and much easier to acclimatise and will almost always accept f/t rodents sooner or later... if you can get one that is LTC, then they are really no great shakes as long as you observe a few simple rules; I find mine like high temperatures during the day but need quite a large drop at night; they appreciate a spray of warm water but the enclosure should not be too humid, it must be airy and well ventilated.

They really do best under good quality lighting as these are snakes that spend a long time basking; I use a combination of Repti-Glo 10.0 and Hagen Life-Glo 2 fluorescent bulbs, although Arcadia's t5 system should also work wonders.

They do seem do enjoy utilising that spade-shaped snout for digging so I would say substrate is pretty important; you could use fine orchid bark, potting soil (make sure it is free from fertilisers or chemical additives) or a mixture of the two (I use a roughly 50:50 mix of pro-rep tortoise life substrate with potting soil, into which fine orchid bark chippings are mixed thoroughly). You could also add a layer of dead leaves on top of this for that added realistic look.

These snakes can startle easily and don't necessarily do well in all-glass tanks, especially ones that are too small... they do not see the glass and can smash into it when they flee at high speed. It is best to cover the sides with something like brown paper to help prevent this. Also, they have a tendency to rub their snouts raw on mesh, but don't seem to do this as much if the mesh is above them... in other words, something like an Exo-Terra is ideal for them (I would recommend the 90cm long, 60cm tall version which should be big enough for most smaller animals... the really big females would need something larger than this though).

Bear in mind these are still far from the hardiest snakes, but if you can get your hands on some that are already settled and taking rodents then there is no reason they won't do well.

I have been keeping this species for around six or seven years now and have even had limited success breeding them a couple of times (the babies are tiny though, but some will occasionally take crickets).

Here are a few shots of mine:























































Regards,
Francis


----------



## Bradleybradleyc (May 7, 2012)

Thrasops said:


> Could always go for _Chrysopelea ornata_; they're far more commonly kept and much easier to acclimatise and will almost always accept f/t rodents sooner or later... if you can get one that is LTC, then they are really no great shakes as long as you observe a few simple rules; I find mine like high temperatures during the day but need quite a large drop at night; they appreciate a spray of warm water but the enclosure should not be too humid, it must be airy and well ventilated.
> 
> They really do best under good quality lighting as these are snakes that spend a long time basking; I use a combination of Repti-Glo 10.0 and Hagen Life-Glo 2 fluorescent bulbs, although Arcadia's t5 system should also work wonders.
> 
> ...


Wow there are some beautiful pictures there beautiful. What size vivarium do you use ?? Thanks for all the other info though


----------



## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

Bradleybradleyc said:


> Wow there are some beautiful pictures there beautiful. What size vivarium do you use ?? Thanks for all the other info though


Thanks! The males are kept individually in Exo Terras exactly as described above (I keep them individually because I have had one kill another when they were kept together).

Regards,
Francis


----------



## Bradleybradleyc (May 7, 2012)

what about a 3ft long by 18 inch by 18inch wodden viv ??? its what i got spare from one of me royals i wante dto fill it but if its not suitable i may have get a new viv if i go for one ??


----------



## Bradleybradleyc (May 7, 2012)

my bad the viv wont be tall enought, it been a long day


----------



## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

Bradleybradleyc said:


> what about a 3ft long by 18 inch by 18inch wodden viv ??? its what i got spare from one of me royals i wante dto fill it but if its not suitable i may have get a new viv if i go for one ??


Personally I would say a wooden viv isn't the best choice for two reasons... the first is to do with wood being too much of an insulator; it takes too long to cool down in the evenings and may not cool enough to give the snakes the thermal drop they need... as this species also can often come from montane forests (they are virtually always WC and you are never sure where exactly they came from) they do seem to prefer a drastic temperature drop at night (I leave mine completely unheated in their Exo terras at night).

Also, although they shouldn't be kept in an environment that is constantly humid, they do need to be sprayed once or twice a day, and it can be more difficult to keep the right balance in a wooden viv (they need to get wet and then dry out quickly) than in a glass tank with a mesh lid. Wood isn't the best to have a rainforest-style enclosure in either. 

Finally I find wooden vivs tend to get very stuffy and invariably do not have ventilation, and ventilation is very important for these species - they probably won't survive long in stuffy conditions.

These snakes like to be heat from overhead (I use a spotlight) and having one of these in all but the largest wooden vivs is likely to mean there is no real thermal gradient to speak of and the insides will overheat quickly. With the Exoterram you can have the two fluorescents twinned either in a compact canopy, or have longer ones lighting two in a row as I do, and also have the spotlight on top of the mesh shining down to provide the heating. For this type of snake I find this is a much better method all round.

Regards,
Francis


----------



## Bradleybradleyc (May 7, 2012)

Thrasops said:


> Personally I would say a wooden viv isn't the best choice for two reasons... the first is to do with wood being too much of an insulator; it takes too long to cool down in the evenings and may not cool enough to give the snakes the thermal drop they need... as this species also can often come from montane forests (they are virtually always WC and you are never sure where exactly they came from) they do seem to prefer a drastic temperature drop at night (I leave mine completely unheated in their Exo terras at night).
> 
> Also, although they shouldn't be kept in an environment that is constantly humid, they do need to be sprayed once or twice a day, and it can be more difficult to keep the right balance in a wooden viv (they need to get wet and then dry out quickly) than in a glass tank with a mesh lid. Wood isn't the best to have a rainforest-style enclosure in either.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the advice as you can tell i need to do a lot more reasearch before i look at keeping this type of snake.

I shall start my reaseach and decided if i can give the correct husbandry if i can great i shall go fot it, if not its not a snake for me


----------

