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Canebrake ???
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by dragonmwt on May 14, 2009
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I just purchased a young canebrake here in Alabama. I have been trying to find specifics on their care. There is a lot for rattlesnakes but not much on canebrakes. What I am trying to find out is what temp range and what humidity. I can't find a good source of this info. Is there anyone that can help with this. I found one site but it only said that they like cooler temps than most other rattlesnakes. Any help would be great so that I can make sure they are happy and healthy.
Thanks
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RE: Canebrake ???
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by agkistrodude on May 14, 2009
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Hey Michael, I've never heard that they like cooler temps, they hail from the Southeastern U.S. It gets cool in the winter here, and once in a while, down right cold. I guess if you compare them to desert snakes.... anyway,Spring, Summer, and Fall can be brutally hot and humid. I keep several canebrakes, some I've had for many years. I keep mine between 72 and 85f.They usually feed good on live or F/T mice/rats.If you look up timber rattlesnakes, you might find more info as they are supposedly one and the same snake.(I don't buy into that, but that's another discussion)The captive husbandry info would be the same.Be careful, believe me,they're HOT! I keep them in a natural type setting,with a substrate I mix up myself of potting soil, peat moss, a little cypress mulch, and a little sand, and some dried oak leaves.But some prefer plain newspaper. Be sure to give it a hide of some kind and keep clean water in the cage. A basking area is also good. Take care,and enjoy your new canebrake, Marty
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RE: Canebrake ???
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by dragonmwt on May 14, 2009
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Hey thanks a lot for the info. I am trying to be the responsible owner. I am still new with hots but I have owned many different reptiles. Mostly large pythons. I know that they are nothing like pythons and I have already set up to work with a local mentor here. He is going to help make sure I am able to take care of the canebrake and myself. Anyway thanks again for the info.
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RE: Canebrake ???
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by agkistrodude on May 14, 2009
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I'm glad you found a mentor to work with. He will be able to show you allot of things on safety and care. Much better than doing it alone and finding some things out the hard way! Take care, Marty
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RE: Canebrake ???
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by FSB on May 15, 2009
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I've lately been pondering the thermal dynamics of snakes, and have an untested hypothesis taking shape that a lot of the more heavy-bodied snakes, such as most viperids, prefer slightly cooler temperatures even if they live in warm climates. I'm thinking of the same principle as in gigantothermy, in that their somewhat heavier mass and stouter shape conserves heat better than the bodies of long, skinny snakes, that seem to be more active in the hot sun. Using the temp gun, I've informally compared the temperatures of certain snakes to the substrates they are resting on, and noticed that, with larger, heavy bodied types such as Bitis or Crotalus, the snake will often be a degree or two higher in temperature than the substrate. Conversely, I've also noticed that more slender-bodied, active species (e.g. Colubrids and Elapids), will often rate a degree or 2 lower than the substrate. Of course, this is far from being any kind of empirical scientific investigation - just something I've noticed while playing with the temp gun, and it's not always consistent. I'm wondering if anyone else has tried this though?
Michael, I would just offer a humble word of caution... I know I'm not alone in considering the canebrake form of C. horridus to be one of the most dangerous NA rattlesnakes you could work with, and small ones are probably worse if only because of the potential to underestimate them. They will strike suddenly and with absolutely no warning from a perfect resting coil, and I find them almost impossible to "read." Their personality (if not their DNA) is markedly different from their mountain kinfolk. The only venomous snake that ever nailed me was a juvenile cane, and I still give thanks each and every day it was a dry bite.
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RE: Canebrake ???
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by Crotalusssp on May 15, 2009
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That sounds like a perfectly reasonable hypothesis. Heat loss would be greater in smaller snakes due to the surface area to volume ratio, in much the same way the surface area to volume ratio prevents cells from growing larger.
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RE: Canebrake ???
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by earthguy on May 15, 2009
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Mike Dorcas in NC has done a good bit of work on snake thermodynamics. He has even written a chapter, though the name of the book escapes me.
Come to think of it there were several thermodynamic/evaporative water loss papers that came out of the SREL a couple of years ago. I'll have to go see if I still have any of them...
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RE: Canebrake ???
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by FSB on May 18, 2009
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I am so bummed that Davidson had nothing going on in herpetology when I went there like it does today. I almost want to go back now and start over...
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RE: Canebrake ???
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by earthguy on May 18, 2009
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I'm pretty sure that Davidson didn't get a herpetology program until Mike left his SREL roots to go there. It just goes to show how one impassioned person can make a positive impact!
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