mangrove questions??

[venom_king]

hi everyone i have not posted here in a while so straight to my problem (i will catch up...in time a lot of reading to do) i know that everybody knows that mangrove snakes have a reputation for being bad feeders but my little sulawesi mangrove has been feeding with a lot of enthusiasm on every feed but i have a couple of questions regarding their feeding i'm taking a trip down to my local reptile shop tomorrow so i will ask them as well so here is my questions

1) she's been sort of refusing her pinkies last couple of feeds a was feeding 3 pinky mice as instructed by my local reptile shop and on her last 2 feeds she's only eaten 1 pinky showed all the signs for feeding fast tongue flicking, 's' postures etc but know strike and i did the same things i have been doing with her for the last month??

2) as seen above do you think her feeding habits have changed due to well she's getting bored with pikies or that she was/is coming in for shed (her eyes cleared up last nite).

so any help will be grateful thanks (and i already knew about there tendency to be difficult feeders) thanks again!!

also could it be anything to do with a bite she gave me last saturday nite when i was attempting to feed her 2nd pinky.

sorry for the long message!! :)

[Sublimeballs]

Well if her eyes just cleared up she's about to shed(assuming you mean cleared up from blue). This is most likely your problem. Did she lose any teeth when she tagged you?

I feel a need to point out that you need to be more careful around your snake. A venomous snake is a venomous snake whether or not its cosidered lethal. It's come to light that these guys aren't as harmless as perviously thought.

[venom_king]

ye here eyes cleared up from being milky and ye i will be more carefull got a longer pair of feeding tongs today no teeth lost when she nipped me well the bite was deliberate she missed the tongs by a good 6-7 inches which has never happened to me before when i used to feed my 2 royals and my bci with tongs but never even happened now that i hand feed them (not the mangrove no way :crazy:) but hopefully it will never happen again

[SSSSnakes]

Are we talking about a Mangrove snake or a Mangrove Pit Viper?

[Will0W783]

I'm assuming this is a mangrove cat snake (Boiga). If it was a mangrove pit viper, you would have been on the floor crying after a bite-I know people who've been whacked by them and they are supposed to be exceedingly painful.

Boiga are finicky in captivity and can be tough to acclimate. If this is a captive-bred specimen, I'd assume the lack of feeding is simply because she's in shed. I would leave the snake alone until after it has shed, then attempt another feed.

Also, as others have mentioned, this is not a species you want to be bitten by. They are rear-fanged, and less potent than the vipers, but a good bite from a Boiga can still cause extreme swelling, pain and some local blistering. Please be careful.

[venom_king]

ye lucky enough the bite was fast and no chewing.....i did feel a little bit sick afterwards but thats it you could look at my thumb and you would not thin i git bit there near enough completely healed

sulawesi mangrove snake SSSSnakes

[venom_king]

right then i tempted fate lastnite with feeding and she took all 3 pinkies no problem....i was following the advice i was given but she was going all through the signs of being hungry sitting in her hide with her head poking out constantly roaming and striking at anything that moved passed her rub :gasp:....and not the problem even with the longer feeding tongs she still seems more interested in having a pop at me is their anything i can do to change her ways or just wait it out?

[Will0W783]

Mangrove snakes are known to be feisty. I would not expect this animal's temperament to change at all. It's up to you to anticipate it and take the proper precautions.

[TheFrogman]

Mangrove snakes are known to be feisty. I would not expect this animal's temperament to change at all. It's up to you to anticipate it and take the proper precautions.

I have read the same but DAYUM they are gorgeous animals.

[venom_king]

Mangrove snakes are known to be feisty. I would not expect this animal's temperament to change at all. It's up to you to anticipate it and take the proper precautions.


right thanks for that i did not expect her to change but it was just a question because after all they can change to temperaments and she is easy to read because she puts up a BIG show of attitude before a strike...takes me a few minutes to just feed her 1st pinky


The Frogman...pics will follow!!

[venom_king]

here she is luna the sulawesi mangrove snake...the little thing that bit me :(

[Will0W783]

Wow, she's gorgeous! I love the really busy pattern. I've never seen a mangrove with quite that much banding. Have you tried feeding her live? It might make things safer for you, and more stimulating for her.

[venom_king]

no i haven't tried it yet but if she carries on miss feeds...constantly then i might try it but here in the uk live feeding is...well frowned on especially with my mom...but what she doesn't realize is that i have to do what i have to do whether it means feeding live f/t or f/k if needs must i will do whatever i have to do too make sure that all of my snakes are 100% healthy