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Crotalus Cerastes..."final Questions..."
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by JorgeRemigio on June 8, 2007
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Hello
A few months ago I made a few questions about Crotalus Cerastes (specially about the antivenom)...and I got great help from you all...specially from Mr.Cro.
Finally now I am about to keep a pair of them. But I do have a couple of simple questions...since from reading so much...I got a bit confused...
1 - How low should be the humidity percentage in the cage?
2 - Should I put the animals in hibernation at 15ºC for 4 months?
3 - Do the adults get the water that they need from prey and water bowl?
4 - Is it problematic to feed them together?
Very basic questions I know...but after doing all the reading that I've done I've found myself reading the opposite in different books.
Thank you so much for your kind help
Best regards
Jorge Remígio
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RE: Crotalus Cerastes..."final Questions...&q
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by Cro on June 8, 2007
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Jorge, it is good to hear that you are about to start keeping the Crotalus cerastes. They should prove to be fun animalals to keep.
As far as your questions, I would suggest this:
These snakes live in arid areas, so you will want to keep the humidity low for them. Provide a cage with a lot of air flow.
If your goal is to breed the snakes, then a hibernation / brumation period would be a good idea. The temperature range you mentioned would be about right for these snakes.
As far as water, well, desert snakes do obtain a lot of the water they need from their food, but I would always keep a supply of fresh water in the cage.
As far as the feeding question, that would depend some on the size of the cage, and if you will be able to keep an eye on them until they finish their meals. Many snakes can be fed toghether, however, some will drop a mouse they are feeding on, to go try to steal the mouse from another snake that they see. So if you plan to feed them in the same cage, you need a large cage, and you need to stay and watch until they have finished their meals.
Hope this helps. Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: Crotalus Cerastes..."final Questions...&a
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by GREGLONGHURST on June 9, 2007
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The only part of John's answer I would change would be the water. A constant water dish in the cage is liable to raise the humidity level. I would recommend putting a water dish in the cage for one day once a week. Observe the animal. If it drinks, then perhaps you might try offering it more frequently. If not, perhaps less frequently.
~~Greg~~
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RE: Crotalus Cerastes..."final Questions...&q
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by Buzztail1 on June 9, 2007
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Just had a discussion along these lines with a local reptile vet (don't really want to be name dropping here).
He said that for desert dwelling animals such as sidewinders and rosy boas and shovelnose snakes etc, put a water bowl in maybe one day out of seven to fourteen. That is, offer them water during one day a week or every two weeks.
An article that the SHHS published from someone who has kept sidewinders said to use cardboard or pvc tubes to create underground (under sand) hiding spots and to LIGHTLY mist into that hide about the same frequency that you offer water on the premise that these animals utilize underground hides where the humidity will be higher.
Proper airflow and ventilation is a major concern for desert dwelling animals and for them a screened lid (double screened for venomous) is clearly the best.
Hope this helps.
I love sidewinders and wish I could keep them.
Karl
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RE: Crotalus Cerastes..."final Questions...&q
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by 23bms on June 10, 2007
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I have a 6 year old C cerastes (wild caught as a neonate) that has done superbly for the the last five years without any water bowl. The only thing I accomplished by leaving a water bowl in the cage during the first year was to repeatedly encrust the bowl with mineral deposits from evaporation. The snake never went near it.
I also have wild caught C atrox and C scutulatus from approximately the same area. The atrox has been a captive for twelve years, the scutulatus for eight and five. All of them have water bowls but, in all those years, I have never seen them use them except to defecate (the cerastes didn't even do that). In their native habitat they can go months, if not years, without seeing a standing pool of water. It is probably a waste of good water to leave the bowls in the cages, but psychologically it is a hard habit to break.
I keep the relative humidity around twenty to thirty percent. There are occasional fluctuations up to forty or fifty percent during the summer. The occasional elevated humidity doesn't bother the animals, but I do keep the substrate dry.
jrb
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RE: Crotalus Cerastes..."final Questions...&a
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by Cro on June 10, 2007
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Many years ago, when it was still legal in GA to own Crotalus cerastes, I kept a pair for several years.
During that time, they had access to water all the time, and I did see them drink from time to time. The cage was well ventilated, and I do not believe that having water available to them caused any harm by raising humidity levels.
While it is true that they can go for long times getting by on the moisture content in their food items, I believe that in the wild they will readily drink from pools that are formed after rains, and I would also be willing to bet that they frequently lap up dew in the early mornings.
When you mist their cage, I would suggest that you look for the dew drinking behavior.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: Crotalus Cerastes..."final Questions...&q
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by JorgeRemigio on June 10, 2007
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Thank you very much everybody for your help!
I will keep you updated!
Best regards
Jorge Remígio
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