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Agkistrodon Piscivorus
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by TheFifthDay on November 2, 2008
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Does anyone have some crucial information on keeping A. Piscivorus? Cage size, tempuratures, best bedding, ect. Thanks in advance for the answers!
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RE: Agkistrodon Piscivorus
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by Cro on November 3, 2008
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Jon, Cottonmouths are not difficult to keep. Cage substrates can be news papers, wood shavings, gravel, bark chips, etc. They tend to be a bit messy, so keep that in mind when choosing.
Room temperatures with a basking spot work well for them. They need a hide box and a bowl of fresh water. If the water bowl is too large, they will often soak in it, and that usually causes spillage in the cage.
You did not mention what size Cottonmouth you are interested in, but cage size should be large enough for the snake to move around, because they can be fairly active at times.
Most of them will feed readily in captivity.
For more specifics, tell us a bit more about just what size Cottonmouth you are interested in keeping.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: Agkistrodon Piscivorus
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by Rob_Carmichael on November 3, 2008
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Since you are 15 I'm assuming you are asking this question for when you are a little older before jumping into keeping a cottonmouth. My staff had quite an awakening when we were doing some live feedings last week with our venomous collection. The bite from our cottonmouth kills rodents quicker than just about every other venomous herp we keep (rattlers, elapids, various vipers, etc.) except for the Bushmaster (who kills its prey almost instantly). Just keep that in mind - the bite of these snakes can be excruciating. Check with your parents to see if you are covered if something happens - many health insurance policies exclude these types of situations which means your parents will have a $25-50,000 hospital bill to pay. Keeping your own AV requires you to purchase approx. $5K worth of CroFab. Are your parents fully aware of this? Do they have training/experience with venomous herps? If not, make sure you find an older mentor who can show you the ropes. Bottom line: don't be in a hurry to keep venomous reptiles.
Still interested in keeping a cottonmouth? If you are:
1) Cage: Escape proofe, escape proof, escape proof. Make sure it can be locked and kept in a room that is preferably locked. Check to make sure vents in the room can't allow for an escape in the event the snake does get out of its cage (inexcusable in the venomous field).
You will probably want a cage that is at least 3' x 2' x 2' and something a little bigger is even better. If you have the space, a 5' x 2' x 2' cage would be excellent.
2) Set up: We like "au naturale" around here. Our cottons are kept on a soil/peat/leaf-forest humus-litter/and a little sand substrate. This promote nice healthy bacteria levels in the soil/substrate that help break down feces. This substrate is raked every week or so to keep it aerated. We also add several inches of dead leaves to the surface that the snakes love nestling into. Or, you can go simple with newspaper bedding, a hide box and a water bowl: that's perfectly fine too but you'll enjoy it much more with something nice looking.
We provide a rocky area to bask and hide under along with several strategically placed dead tree limbs/logs...they'll use these as ambush sites in addition for basking.
Contrary to their habits, they don't need big pools of water. A large water bowl is plenty and make sure its kept clean.
We usually include a live plant in the cage (like a pothos) which promotes good humidity levels and additional refugia. If you go this route, get a water spout that has a LONG neck so that you can water the plant w/out mucking with the snake.
3) Temps: the basking spot should reach close to 90 deg F but the snake should always be able to cool down to the low 70's during the day. At night, you can just shut off all heat and let the cage cool to room temperature.
Make sure the cage is kept dry and well ventilated. A light warm water misting several times a week is usually sufficient to maintain proper humidity levels.
4) Feeding: appropriately sized rodents (one or two max) every 2-3 weeks. Avoid overfeeding.
Use LONG hemostats or better yet, tongs...don't ever underestimate the lightning speed and strike range of a cottonmouth! They are spring loaded missiles that can catch you by surprise if you are not careful.
Hope this helps. Rob
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
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RE: Agkistrodon Piscivorus
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by Cro on November 3, 2008
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Rob has provided some good advise about keeping Cottonmouths.
While I believe that venomous keepers who own Exotic Venomous Snakes should keep their own supply of the appropriate antivenom, I do not think that you should keep your own supply of CroFab. It is a product of great cost, and has limited shelf life.
It would be much better to find out which hospitals near you have a stock of CroFab, and how much they have on hand. Some will carry it, but many do not. It is much better to know in advance where it can be found.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: Agkistrodon Piscivorus
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by theemojohnm on November 3, 2008
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Jon,
Durn it, I knew I had an email to respond to regarding this, but I somehow I mislaced your email address and couldnt remember who asked me.
Both John and Rob have offered some very good advice. With cotton enclosures, there is a bit of room for personal preference aswell. Some folks go with a more aquatic setup with branches and rocks overhanging water that is filtered by a comercial aquarium filter. I have a large enclosure setup this way, but do not recomend it for someone until they have a bit more experience with cottons, as this kind of setup is alot of work.
Room temperature will work just fine, with a heat lamp or panel on one side of the cage to create a basking spot of a few degrees more.
Substrate can be whatever is safe for the animal and that you like the look or maintainance of. Personally, I use very fine "river-rock" style natural aquarium gravel for cottons. It is very easy to clean, and reusable.
Hope this Helps...
Take Care.
~John Mendrola.
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RE: Agkistrodon Piscivorus
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by TheFifthDay on November 3, 2008
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Thanks guys - and to Rob, yes. I am waiting until I have more experience and a mentor if I can find one in my area in the next few years..
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RE: Agkistrodon Piscivorus
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by FSB on November 4, 2008
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Hello Jonathan. The fact that you realize that you are "not experienced enough" to keep venomous reptiles yet displays a very mature attitude, and is a very good sign that you are on the right path... stay there! In the meantime, continue gaining experience with Nerodia... they're great cottonmouth stand-ins.
However, one thing in your profile is a bit puzzling, er, even disturbing to me.... "I also want to teach people that no creature on Earth evolved."
Are you SURE that this is true? (Am I sure I want to open this can of giant nightcrawlers??).
An awful lot, and I do mean an awful lot, of very hard, physical evidence points the other way, to the point where it is about as pointless to pursue a path in the life sciences without a firm grasp on the concept of evolution as it would be to try and be an astronomer who still maintains that the sun revolves around the earth. I hate to tell you, but you might as well want to teach people that the earth is flat, or that it's 6,000 years old. Isn't a God who can figure in the billions, or trillions, infinitely more powerful and awesome than one who can only handle a few thousand? Also, know that Charles Darwin, like most people of his time, was an intensely and devoutly religious man who devoted his life to the study of nature in order to become closer to God. I believe he was actually a latter-day prophet, and has been treated in much the same manner as all prophets before him.... dissed and reviled. Had he been born a few hundred years earlier, he may have even had the honor of being burned at the stake.
Remember that God said: My ways are not your ways. My ways are higher than your ways.
To me, this passage conveniently addresses any inconsistencies that exist between written scripture and observable fact.
Just food for though.... not fight!!
Best-
FSB
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RE: Agkistrodon Piscivorus
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by TheFifthDay on November 4, 2008
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In my opinion, if you believe that God said that and that God is real, but fail to realize the first chapter in Genisis and the CREATION of Earth and all that is in it, you are ignorant. I'm not trying to start a fight, but God is real - evolution isn't. End of story.
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RE: Agkistrodon Piscivorus
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by FSB on November 6, 2008
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There are in fact two things: science and opinion. The former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.
- Hippocrates (460-377 BC)
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