Captive Care & Breeding of the Red Pigmy Rattlesnake

Sistrurus miliarius miliarius

By William Beard, MRBIGZSNAKES

I have been keeping and breeding `reds' for over ten years now and have been doing extensive research and fieldwork on red pigmy rattlesnakes. This article is a compilation of my personal experiences.

Red Pigmy Rattlesnakes in the Wild

The famous red pigmy rattlesnake is thought to reside only in Hyde County, North Carolina, but this is not entirely true. Though the main population of them does exist there, I have also observed red pigmies in Beaufort and Dare Counties, North Carolina as well. These are bordering counties to Hyde. They tend to favor the thick pine forests bordered by marshes and/or canals. I believe that the color of this animal is their natural camouflage to the falling pine needles of their habitat. Anyone who has herped Hyde County and has seen the strands of pine needles and bark scattered on the road or logging trail will know exactly what I am referring to…after the pine needles fall and dry up they turn the same brilliant red as the pigmy.

I have personally observed about 45 to 60 red pigmies in the wild. `Reds' are normally active from April to October, with the height of their activity in the hottest of the summer months. Most of these animals were spotted in the early mornings and late afternoons, during June and July. The temperatures were ranging from 75° F in the morning and soared into the high 90°'s F in late afternoon. The many snakes I saw in the mornings were basking on old sand logging trails and on patches of grassy areas bordered by thick pinewoods. Their late afternoon activity was usually the snake moving from one locale to another seeking a water source, hunting grounds etc. I also have witnessed red pigmies in the middle of the night, coiled up tightly in an ambush position, lying atop small patches of pine needles on the side of a logging road, thus verifying that they are nocturnal hunters as well.

The main diet of reds in the wild will consist of lizards, frogs and small rodents. A newborn red pigmy rattlesnake will mainly consume baby 5-lined skinks and even smaller species of snakes such as baby brown snakes, baby garter snakes and baby smooth earth snakes. As maturing adults they are able to take larger prey items like mice and moles. I have even observed one eating a large katydid, so as not to rule out the possibility of them consuming insects also.

Mating

I have studied mating reds in the spring and fall months. Gravid females will utilize a micro-habitat consisting of small patches of pine forest bordered by fields with water canals nearby. I once viewed three gravid females basking atop of an old tractor motor that was sitting in the middle of a field of saw grass surrounded by pine trees. There was plenty of debris-tin, plywood etc., in this field, but I have yet to ever see a red pigmy underneath anything! I believe that they burrow under the thick layers of pine needles to escape harm's way.

I believe that most mating takes place in the fall months. The females will then give birth in the spring and early summer when there are plenty of prey items available for the neonates. Therefore the females' gestation period ranges between 4 and 6 months.

Sexes in the red pigmy rattlesnake can be determined fairly easily in adults. The adult female will have fewer saddles than males; females will have between 28 and 34, where the males will have 36 and 40. The females are usually shorter in length and heavier bodied. The most fascinating difference that I have found between the sexes is their head shape and length. The females have shorter broader heads and the males have elongated, thinner heads. But again, these features are only visible in the adults.

One interesting event that I witnessed while herping for red pigs was seeing a pure red pigmy rattlesnake basking only inches away from a Carolina pigmy rattlesnake. The red pigmy with its signature coloration - bright red with black saddles and the Carolina pigmy, a lavender color with dark gray saddles.

I will follow up this section regarding the red pigmy in the wild at a later date, as I am currently involved in an exclusive data-collecting project on reds in the wild. Just remember that if you are in the field and come across a red pigmy-leave `em where you found `em! They are a protected species and there are stiff penalties for removing them. There are plenty of captive bred reds available on the market today. Mind you, I am not a “tree hugger” and I have collected them myself, but that was well before they were protected animals. I now have second and third generation pigmies that are producing steadily. I am glad to see this fascinating creature protected; they are seriously dwindling in numbers in the wild, not only due to collectors, but also due to a major loss of habitat in their range. Ten years ago it was fairly easy to see 15 to 20 pigs over a weekend, now you are fortunate if you see 2 or 3.

Red Pigmy's in Captivity

I house my red pigmies in a custom rack system containing Tupperware sweater size boxes. My racks are lined with 3-inch heat tape and wired to a dimmer switch to achieve the desired temperature. The cage furnishings consist of a shallow water bowl, a rubbing branch and a hide box; substrate is aspen bedding.

From the beginning of February to the end of October, I keep adults at temperatures ranging from 75° to 80°, with an 88° “hot spot”. My neonates are kept slightly warmer. From October to early February, I turn off all heat source to my racks, letting my pigs get a cool down for their winter months. These temperatures will range from 60° to 75°.

My pigs are maintained exclusively on a diet of frozen thawed mice, this helps to eliminate the risk of parasites carried by live rodents. Between December and early February I will cease all feeding.

Captive Breeding

I keep males and females separated at all times except during the breeding season. I maintain them with their summer temperatures and on a weekly feeding schedule of every 7 to 10 days until late September. I then start to slowly reduce temperature at night, misting them every third day. My reduction time in temperature lasts over a two-week period, ultimately achieving brumation lows.

Now here is my trick- I introduce females into the male's enclosure during this two-week reduction period. Copulation usually takes place within hours of introduction. It may last for 2 to 3 hours and occur several times during this time period. After females have successfully bred, I return them to their normal enclosure for the remainder of brumation. Be careful not to allow the female's temperature to drop too low, for they now have developing embryos inside of them. The best temperature to keep the gravid female at, at this time, is between 68° and 75° F.

Most females will give birth between late February and mid-April. But I have had females that have bred in fall and did not give birth until mid-summer. The reason being is that the female may have retained the sperm from the fall breeding, but did not ovulate until spring.

Males that are reluctant to breed might sometimes need a little urging to get them started. The best way to do this is after pairing the male and female together, introduce a second male. The presence and scent of another male in his area sparks him into combat mode. I will let males combat for 15 to 20 minutes before removing the second male. Copulation almost always takes place shortly thereafter. If you do not have a second red pigmy male, attempt using a dusky pigmy male. But keep a close eye on this trio during this stage so that the red pigmy male does not lose the combat and the dusky male breeds the female.

Once gravid females are taken out of brumation, they should be fed on a regular basis, but with smaller food items. Gravid females will normally feed up to two weeks before giving birth. They will also frequent their basking spot more often than usual.

Giving Birth

Gravid females will need a dark, private place to give birth. Neonates are born live, but encased in a clear membrane sack. They will squirm around inside this sack for several minutes until puncturing it and emerging into the world.

I keep neonates separated, in a rack system of plastic shoe size boxes, with their temperatures slightly higher then the adults, ranging from 80° to 85° with a hot spot of 90°. Neonates are housed in similar habitats to the adults, but scaled down to suit their size.

Baby red pigs are tiny! Only being large enough to cover a quarter when coiled up. Feeding baby pigs can be a real project. First of all, finding a prey item small enough for them to consume; and secondly, getting them to start feeding. Let's face it- newborn baby 5-lined skinks aren't that easy to come by! So if you are planning on breeding red pigs, I suggest starting a small colony of 5-lined skinks.

My first step with the neonates is to get them feeding Pronto! This is after the first shed, which is usually 5 to 7 days after their birth. It is very important to get that first meal into them as soon as possible. I offer a live, freshly hatched 5-lined skink, if I have them available. If I don't have it available at the time, I resort to my bag of frozen skinks and warm one up in a cup of hot water to make sure it is thoroughly thawed. I then put a small slit in the nose of the skink; gently squeeze the nose so that a small amount of blood pushes through the slit. I offer this to the baby pig from tweezers, shaking it lightly as if it were alive. This generally works like a charm! The little pig bites it and holds on ferociously, following with consumption. After several feedings of skinks, the little pigs have gained enough size to consume day old mice-“pinkies”. First I scent the “pinks” with a little blood from a skink-this helps to switch the piglet over to eating mice. Then, if they still refuse the pink mice, I will snip the tail of a skink and stick it in the mouth of the pinky. And if this does not work and all else has failed, I resort to the “Pinky Press”, manufactured by Midwest Products. Baby red pigmies will grow rapidly once they achieve the size necessary to take on the pinky mice. They should be on a steady feeding schedule of one pinky every 5 to 7 days, except during their shedding process. On a consistent diet, they should reach breeding size and maturity after 24 to 28 months. My youngest captive born female produced her first litter after 25 months of age. A litter can be as small as 2 neonates and as large as 10, depending on the age and the size of the female. The average size of a litter is approximately 6 neonates.

It has been very rewarding to me to be able to examine and research the red pigmy rattlesnake in its natural habitat. Also to help in its existence by achieving captive propagation through trial and error. The breeding techniques and procedures that I have stated in this paper have worked for me and hopefully will work for you as well. I am by no means an expert on pigmy rattlesnake propagation, but I have logged my many experiences, trials and errors and would like to share them with the rest of the herping community.

This article is based on the personal knowledge I have gained over the ten years that I have worked with this intriguing beautiful little jewel of a rattlesnake.