Boiga Dendrophila

[ElapheMan]

I want to try and get all the info i can on the mangroves but nobody seems to know anything about them so everybody tell me what you know please will post pics as soon as i can
thanks in advance herpers

[Ontario_herper]

what would you like to know?

[ElapheMan]

Food,temp,humidity,common problems,and also trying to find a reputable breeder and any other pertinent info

[psilocybe]

Originally posted by ElapheMan
Food,temp,humidity,common problems,and also trying to find a reputable breeder and any other pertinent info

Okay...

Food: Mine feeds on rodents (live only, can't seem to switch her), but wc snakes might be trickier to get over on rodents...mine was cb.

Temp: I keep a rather low ambient temp, between 75-80 with a warm spot on one side of the enclosure.

Humidity: I spray her enclosure once or twice a day (usually at night) and have never had any problems with bad sheds or resp. problems...I also soak her when she's in shed just to help her out a bit, and always have beautiful complete sheds.

Common problems: Haven't had any problems with mine, but they can be susceptable to eye infections (so i've heard), if you don't maintain the proper habitat, they could suffer from upper resp. infections, bad sheds, etc.

Don't know of any breeders off hand, the person I got mine from was getting out of mangs so he no longer deals with them.

They are venomous and can deliver a potentially nasty bite (though some people play them off as harmless), so do yourself a favor and practice proper handling methods (i.e. hooks ), my female is VERY aggressive and if I didn't use tools, I'd have been bitten many many times by now. They are rear-fanged, but that doesn't mean they can't hurt you.

Hope this helps.

[Gary O]

Mangs Venom is really mis understood by many. Like psilocybe said they can deliver a nasty bite. Their venom is nothing to laugh at. It is their delivery system that they lack.

Problems- WC are very hard to switch to mice/rats. And they come full of attitude and have a strike range that make other snakes drool. So they will keep you on your toes. Shedding seems to be one of the big things after feeding. Keep them misted! Also when givin a lot of branches they can be tough to get out. Their tail catches everything lol

Hides-Wc do better if given 3 to 4 hides. Give one on the ground and 2 or 3 in the canopy. You will never see them in the day but it is better for the animal.

Water-WC will drink from a water bowl but still needs misted as they will drink from leafs and stuff more.


Their cages should have some nice height to it.

Breeders.......get with me next year lol........I hope

[spiderman]

what tricks have people used to get these feeding??

i have a w/c 04 hatchling. was the baby of the bunch so didnt get sold.

ive tried defrost, live, scenting with lizards and amphibs, live lizards, t-rex lizard maker (worked for nigriceps).

i was assist feeding defrost but have now switched to using a pinkie pump as it seems a lot less stressfull. was just going to carry on until it finally gets the idea but was just wondering whats worked for anyone else??

[Gary O]

I am going to ask you some questions and in no way is it a slam on you.......

How many hides does it have and is atleast one in the canopy?

Do you have lots of green(leaves and stuff) in the cage?

Is it in a high traffic area?

These are very important when dealing with the mang. They are jumpy snakes and need to be in quite areas. Make the cage like a jungle. I mean put a hide in the canopy and get them fake vines and rap everything in it. Give it the most natural setting you can!!

Now next step is misting and stuff. Do this about 3 times a week should be good. Some do it daily. either work. (heavier if you do it three times a week)

Now you got the cage down. Lets talk about prey. The caging is very very important to a snake and feeding. Feeding time should be at night. These guys are devils at night lol. Try lizards to get him eating and once you get him eating try to follow a lizard with a mouse.

After awhile scent just a mouse. And then just feed a mouse.

It takes time and do not get upset if the switch does not happen in a week.

Adults can be very hard to switch but it can be done. People say WC ATBs are hard to get eating mice. Both mine it F/T mice or even rats and hamsters.........REALLY.....

Also leave the snake a lone as much as possible untill it eats for you. Then leave it alone untill it eats about 10 meals straight......

This is just my opinion. When snakes don't eat go to the basics and work your way up. making a natural cage is the first step

[skinheaddave]

I recently got two WC adults. One ate mice right off the bat. The other still will not eat mice, but I have found that it will readily consumer chicks. I have these for my monitors anyways, and since they eat birds in the wild I figured I'd give it a shot. Works like a charm -- I thaw them out, throw them in and he comes down from the trees and eats them.

Cheers,
Dave

[spiderman]

cheers guys

gary:

"I am going to ask you some questions and in no way is it a slam on you......." lol no worries

hes about 40 cm and in a 35x25 viv. sprayed every day or so as and when needed, usually at same time as green trees as hes in same kind of viv. the traffic here can be a bit noisy sometimes, might move him to other end of room. theres several places to hide on the floor and above, he usually hides on the floor during the day and finds a perch above at night. ive always tried feeding at night time and hes never handled unless needed.

hes looks to be in pretty much perfect condition now compared to when i got him a few months back (not that he was in bad nick then). hes shed twice since ive had him, first one wasnt good but 2nd was fine.

hes not worryin me that much, jus wondered what others experiences were. a friend has some baby house geckos waiting for me so will give them a go when i get them.

cheers gary :D

[Gary O]

HIm I would try the Chick thing like skinheaddave said. That may just work for you. I totally forgot about the bird thing lol. Sounds like you got the caging down so no worries there.

These guys are just hard to get going but once they do they are eating machines lol

[Big_V]

Even though I dont keep magroves I was just wondering how potent their venom is. If they are rear fanged do many people get envenomated ?

[psilocybe]

Well...it depends on how define "potency".

The venom itself is incredibly toxic, on par with death adders and other primarily neurotoxic elapids. The venom is rich in 3-finger-toxins, which are the exact same components found in elapid venoms.

The catch is that it is produced in very small amounts (relative to elapids) and the delivery system is primitive. This being said, a large mangrove can still deliver a painful and potentially serious bite (though it is very unlikely to be fatal, no deaths are attributed to this species). Babies are less of a worry, and really aren't capable of too much, but an adult should definitely be treated with the same respect you would give any other hot.

[Hamster of Borg]

Originally posted by psilocybe
Babies aren't capable of too much, but an adult should definitely be treated with the same respect you would give any other hot. [/B]

Especially when you consider an adult mangrove can be over six foot, they are fast and have a strong strike. Mine is in that range, but thankfully she doesn't have much of an attitude. Only time she gets upset is if I mist her and the spray hits her in the head. :)

Ham

[psilocybe]

Originally posted by Hamster of Borg
Especially when you consider an adult mangrove can be over six foot, they are fast and have a strong strike. Mine is in that range, but thankfully she doesn't have much of an attitude. Only time she gets upset is if I mist her and the spray hits her in the head. :)

Ham

My female is CB'02, about 5.5-6 ft., and pissy as hell. Sometimes she is pretty calm, but other times it's an all out war against me she's waging. I've never freehandled her and don't plan on it.

[zappaguy]

difficult babies can be feed baby snakes...the 1's i have breed all start on baby snakes then get switched to scented pinkies then to pinkies....e-mail me off line if you wish.

[JD@reptiles]

i keep 5 mangrove snakes. they seem to do better when they have lots of hides and a large water dish. use hooks when you work with them and just enjoy them.

[Gary O]

Have you bred them JD?

[JD@reptiles]

not yet. i am going to attempt this year