The Eastern Tiger Snake

The Eastern Tiger Snake Notechis scutatus
In Captivity
by Scott Eipper

Introduction:

The Eastern tiger Snake, Notechis scutatus, is an elapid from South Eastern Australia. It has a highly toxic venom and until recently held the record for most Australian snakebite fatalities (now overtaken by the Eastern Brown Snake, Pseudonaja textilis).

It is a medium sized elapid generally reaching about 3.5 feet in length but has been known to reach 6.5 feet. In the wild they mainly feed on frogs and mice as adults, but will take the odd bird or lizard. As juveniles however, skinks make up a large portion of their diet. They are active mainly by day (Diurnal) but on excessively hot nights (over 34 degC/ 93F) they become semi nocturnal.

In the wild they are mainly a swamp dwelling species, often found around waterways etc. They have also been known to climb into surrounding vegetation to a height of 1 metre. They have probably become more common with the arrival of people in Australia. It is not uncommon to find them in and around houses in the Melbourne area. (They are the main snakes I catch on Snake calls). The record I have caught in one day was 31 on a 22 deg. C / 72 F, overcast day at a tip about 20 kms / 12.4 miles from the city centre of Melbourne, (Melbourne has a suburban sprawl of 40 kms / 25 miles).

Photo by Scott Eipper

My adult snakes are kept in front opening hinged cages (the dimensions are as follows 600mmL x 450mmD x 350mmH ) or (24 in. x 18 in .x 14 in.). I have found cages of this size to be most suitable, however I also use Plastic boxes of a similar dimension with success. Juveniles and Sub-adults (to 600mm / 24 inches) are kept in smaller cages made of plastic measuring 300mmx190mmx150mm. ( 12 in. x 7 in. x 6 in. ).

The substrate used is newspaper for the adults and paper toweling for the juveniles. A colleague uses gravel with breeding success in the closely related Western Tiger Snake, Notechis ater occidentalis, I personally hate gravel as it seems to harbour mites and I also feel that you never quite get it clean.

N. scutatus are a temperate species so they require relatively cool enclosures. I personally keep them at room temperature (about 20 deg C / 68 deg F), but at night the temp falls sharply - occasionally down to 8 deg C / 46 F). They are on a 10 /14 night day cycle in winter and a 14/10 cycle in summer. This is very similar to what we have here in Melbourne at that time of year. The snakes also have access to a warm spot via a spot lamp set at a thermostat setting of 26 deg C (79 deg F). Juveniles and sub-adults have access to heat via heat pad, which is under half the cage again set at 26 deg C.

N. scutatus love to soak , so a large enough water bowl that is sturdy will be used a plenty!

General Captive Care:

These snakes are very easy to keep as adults. All you have to do is feed them a couple of decent sized adult mice, keep the cage clean and the water fresh. The only thing that you need to keep an eye on is when they get ready to slough. They can be bad shedders, so keep that in mind.

Around feeding time N. scutatus become VERY cheeky often trying to bite anything that may consist of a meal, including HANDS. So do not feed them by hand as one nameless keeper did here in Australia a year ago. These snakes also tend to be very fat in captivity, so if your Tiger is getting a bit fat put him/her on a diet.

Juveniles are small (about 200 mm / 8 inches at birth and 16 grams) and delicate. They often want to eat skinks rather than pinks so scenting is the preferred method. However I force feed until they take on their own, which is usually within 4-5 feeds.

Some words of warning about N. scutatus: they often bite their keepers. As juveniles it's not usually too bad; your hand just swells up to the size of a football. But once they hit over 500mm (20 inches), they can kill you. The reason they often nail keepers is that they are unpredictable - quiet and calm one day, evil the next. Just like Melbourne weather.

Breeding:

I bred my N. scutatus in a pit, so they were subjected to the joys of Melbourne weather. The averages temps are as follows: about 28 C / 82.4 F in summer (December to February), 22 C / 72 F in autumn (March to May), 13 C / 55 F in winter (June to August) and 20 C / 68 F in spring (September to November). On the 28th and 30th September the female and male were mating. This was observed for an hour. On the 5th of December the female was well and truly gravid so she was brought indoors. She fed until 2 weeks before giving birth.

The 12 juveniles were all similar to the adults, however the extent in which banding was present varied. Size ranged from 178 mm ( 7 inches ) and 12 grams to 237 mm (9 inches) and 35 grams.

The sex ratios were 7 females to 5 males (determined by tail shape and then confirmed later on by probing). All of the litter survived to adulthood, bar one, at which point in time they were distributed to other collections.

Other people record litters of up to 70 ,which is possible, but the neonates would be so small it would be hard to get them to feed. I helped raise a litter of 42 and the average neonate N. scutatus was 113 mm ( 4.4 inches) and 8 grams. Also the mortality rate in this clutch was fairly high with only 12 snakes reaching adulthood. The amazing litter of 109 was not from an Eastern Tiger Snake, N. scutatus, but from a Tasmanian Tiger, N. ater humphreysi.

Venom:

Mainly neurotoxic with some cytotoxins and myotoxins present. A strong coagulant with some haemolytic activity. LD 50 of 0.0118 mg and an average yield of 35 mgs. If bitten by N. scutatus get to the hospital quickly with multiple vials of Tiger Snake anti-venom (manufactured by the Commonwealth Serum Labs). A friend who was recently bitten required 14 vials from a bite that only had 1 fang puncture. He was treated promptly in the Hospital where he was given the antivenom treatment and was discharged after a week.

References:
Mirtschin P, Davis R: (1983) Dangerous Snakes of Australia, Ure Smith Press.

About the Author:
I am 20 years old and I have been keeping snakes seriously since the age of 10. My favourite genera are Pseudechis, Oxyuranus and Acanthophis, but Bitis are well on their way to becoming a favourite. I have about 50 snakes, which mainly are Australian Elapids. I can further be contacted at Taipan@mbox.com.au.

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