Bowl of Buzztails

[Nightflight99]

This was a subset of specimens from my 2014 litter of Sonoran desert sidewinder rattlesnakes (Crotalus cerastes cercobombus). Like a bowl of cereal with a kick to it...:rolleyes:

[Tsubaki]

Very cool! :D I will pass up on a tasting though.

[reptiledude987]

Very cool. were the in the water due to a shedding issue?

[Nightflight99]

were the in the water due to a shedding issue?
This species sheds very quickly after being born, sometimes within just a few hours. Unlike any other time during their lives, they can get stuck sheds pretty easily for that very first shed, so I always give them a good soaking right after they're born to avoid this.

[Sublimeballs]

How adorable. I'm planning on picking up a pair of Colorado winders this summer. How much do you enjoy working with the species? Only heard good things about them.

[Nightflight99]

I'm planning on picking up a pair of Colorado winders this summer. How much do you enjoy working with the species? Only heard good things about them.
They're great--once started, they're largely bullet-proof. The only slightly challenging aspect is that newborns can occasionally take a bit of work to get to feed on pinkie mice. Apart from that, they're really a pleasure to keep.

[Albert Clark]

Do you need any special licensing to keep them in Texas? I know the laws vary from state to state with hots.

[Nightflight99]

Yes, in Texas you need a controlled exotic snake permit for all non-indigenous venomous snakes and some of the large constrictors.

[Sublimeballs]

The feeding thing is the only "bad" things I've read/heard. But that's to be expected from very small lizard eating species. I keep C. Albolabris so starting tiny hots that don't want to eat rodents isn't anything new to me. Waiting on my male to get to age and ill try my first hot breeding project.

[BranceM]

Yes, in Texas you need a controlled exotic snake permit for all non-indigenous venomous snakes and some of the large constrictors.

Just to elaborate a bit more: unfortunately it's not very difficult to acquire. A simple trip to Wal-Mart along with $20 & being 18 years old is all that's required to own them.

When I was breeding hots back in TX I used to wish the license required a bit more to obtain (FL has a great system) for the simple fact of weeding out a lot of the individuals that had no business owning venomous reptiles. On more than one occasion I witnessed individuals leaving the Lone Star Reptile Expo holding cobras (or something equilivant) when it was obvious that it was their first hot. I'm actually quite surprised Texas hasn't made the laws tougher by now.

[Nightflight99]

Unfortunately, there is no system or approach that prevents idiots from doing what they do best, as some of the recent incidents in Florida have shown. Plus, with the herp community being cannibalistic and generally self-destructive, the long-term prospectives of herpetoculture in the U.S. are pretty bleak.

[BranceM]

I absolutely agree & that was a strong foundation for why I changed directions in my decision to keep the amount of hots that I once did.

Sorry to get of topic.....beautiful little 'winders you've got there.

[D Grade]

I love these guys, my buddy and I call them the "Devils Advocate" because of their obvious head features. We road cruised a location in Tucson last summer and found seven within 30 minutes. That was by far the coolest herp night as far as numbers are concerned.

Nightflight: I plan on keeping a C. C. Cercobombus in the future. One thing I noticed about wild Cerco's is how they are virtually impossible to hook because of their size and speed (we had to use tongs). Do you handle with hooks or tongs? Does the speed and "get-away mode" subside a bit once in captivity?

[Nightflight99]

Nightflight: I plan on keeping a C. C. Cercobombus in the future. One thing I noticed about wild Cerco's is how they are virtually impossible to hook because of their size and speed (we had to use tongs). Do you handle with hooks or tongs? Does the speed and "get-away mode" subside a bit once in captivity?
I use hooks for subadults and adults, and padded forceps for neonates and juveniles. Most captive specimens will calm down over time, but they're almost never good on a hook.

[sirtalis]

Yeah, I think their even cheaper at academy which is just plain stupid in my opinion

[D Grade]

I use hooks for subadults and adults, and padded forceps for neonates and juveniles. Most captive specimens will calm down over time, but they're almost never good on a hook.

Thats what I figured and thanks for the info. Padded forceps is a good idea!