Keeping water snakes in semi-aquatic habitats?

[annarawrr]

I think it's been well-established here and on most other snake sites and forums that even with water snakes, their tanks should be kept fairly dry. Just by chance today I found a thread on another forum in which one of the members posted many pictures of his aquarium, half filled with water and live plants, complete with a waterfall of sorts, and two Asian water snakes! This really piqued my interest because incidentally one of the snakes he keeps in the tank is the exact same type of snake I have, enhydris plumbea. Nobody on that thread seemed to have any qualms about this wet and humid snake habitat. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to link the thread here since it's from another forum, but I'd like to know what anyone else thinks about this?

It's really hard to find specific information on my snake, most people just direct me to general water snake care or garter snake info sheets, but here is a guy with the exact same snake but keeping it in a completely different environment than is normally recommended! Does anyone else keep water snakes in semi-aquatic homes?

[stephanbakir]

Reptile Cages Custom Showcases Habitat Aquariums Iguana Cage Reptile Enclosure Snake Cages Reptile (http://www.jworlds.net) May give you some ideas. Make sure they have a dry spot to go to though, you don't want blisters and scale rot!

[ilovemypets1988]

you could do a water tank underneath a normal viv with just an access hole leading to it, this way, he can take a swim when he wants and not be restricted to a dry environment, also when it come to feeding time, all you have to do, is put fish into his water and you can leave him be, no handling after feeding and therefore safer for you, this will make you and the snake happy.

just a thought though.

[annarawrr]

The ones in the link look great!! Wow! Are water blisters and scale rot caused by humidity, or water contact? The guy's tank I saw in that other forum was pretty much filled with water and just a few rocks and upturned pots above water level, but they soaked up and were wet anyway. Personally I'm very happy with my current setup, pretty basic looking with a hide and a water bowl and a branch. Easier to access the snake and do daily maintenance!

[Freebody]

the blisters would be the water droplets sitting on the skin acting as a magnifying glass from the heat light, scale rot would be causes from the high humidity/water contact, althought i cant see a water snake getting scale rot, unless it had no way at all to become dry for a couple hours a day.

[ilovemypets1988]

correct me if im wrong but dont water snakes have a layer of protective skin or mucus to prevent scale rot or any water induced problems as they have adapted to water life and would have some sort of protection against it

[annarawrr]

correct me if im wrong but dont water snakes have a layer of protective skin or mucus to prevent scale rot or any water induced problems as they have adapted to water life and would have some sort of protection against it

I don't know about protective skin, I haven't read anything like it and with most (if not all) water snakes, they're kept dry... As for mucus, no, they don't have that. At least mine doesn't!

And thanks Freebody! Very informative, didn't know that!

[annarawrr]

I've just received big news on the husbandry front! I posted on a different forum ages ago, and finally today someone replied so just out of curiosity I went to check it out, not expecting anything new. Turns out that with my snake, they're nearly 99% aquatic! The guy who replied said he had the same snake as I did (FINALLY! Someone with the same one!) and he gave me this link (http://acrochordus.com/homalopsinae/enhydris/ecaresheet.htm). It's for enhydris chinenses, not enhydris plumbea, but apparently they're kept in pretty much the same habitat.

Wow! Hopefully keeping my snake in such a dry environment all this time hasn't been detrimental to him! I'm going to get together my aquarium supplies right now and fix his home. Good thing I had fish, turtles and crayfish before him (still have one cray accompanied by a small neon tetra!) so I have everything I need!

[marionsclan]

Great news!

What I could find was that they are venomous, but not dangerous to humans unless allergic, also called Rice Paddy Snakes, and they are on the threatened species list, but not listed as a major concern, which is good. Their first entry into the reptile database was in June of 1935.

Here is a study they did on your type of snake: http://www.fmnh.org/research_collections/zoology/pdf/Voris_Karns_1996.pdf

Here is some information with good links to references: Yellow-bellied Water Snake « Reptiles and Amphibians of Bangkok (http://bangkokherps.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/yellow-bellied-water-snake/)

And here is a link to a publisher where you can order books on husbandry of common Thailand snakes: http://www.krieger-publishing.com/PDF/Hsnakes.pdf

Hope this helps you pull together enough data for a care sheet. Good luck!

[annarawrr]

Thanks so much for all those links! I'd read that second one before but I don't think I've seen the others. I've changed his tank setup, replaced cocopeat with gravel and it's half-filled with water with a branch for him to bask on if he wishes. He's a LOT happier now and is not hiding and sleeping all day. He has most of his body in the cave with his head out of the water. I'm not sure if this is how they sleep because it doesn't look like he holds his breath for more than a few minutes at a time. I guess I'll find out soon enough!

[bangkokherps]

Thank you very much for the link marionsclan!

I can confirm that many species of Asian Water Snake (such as Enhydris enhydris, E. tentaculatum, E. bocourti, etc.) are much more aquatic than North American water snakes. It is almost impossible to see some species in the field unless you are trapping in the water itself. I have seen them kept in aquatic habitats here in Thailand with minimal ability to leave the water, and they appeared to be thriving.

All that being said, Enhydris plumbea is the least aquatic member of the genus, and I have found it on dry land a number of times. I would suspect that more dry land access might be beneficial for this species. But, considering the behavior of other members of its genus, I wouldn't be surprised to see it tolerating a moister enclosure.

http://bangkokherps.blogspot.com

[annarawrr]

Thank you SO MUCH bankokherps! I found a couple other people with the same snake and they keep them in 100% aquatic environments with land access. I've been doing the same for the past 12 hours since I found out, and the snake is much more active now. He was on his tree branch for a significant amount of time during the night but this afternoon he is in his underwater cave and coming out periodically to breathe. Thanks heaps! If you have any more advice pertaining to this snake, please do let me know!

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

I've changed his tank setup, replaced cocopeat with gravel and it's half-filled with water with a branch for him to bask on if he wishes.

Can you take a picture of it? I would like to see it.

[bangkokherps]

Thanks heaps! If you have any more advice pertaining to this snake, please do let me know!

I'm glad his behavior appears to be healthier! I don't have any real husbandry advice other than what you've already figured out from my site. Your best bet is probably this book: Snakes of Thailand and their Husbandry (http://www.amazon.com/Snakes-Thailand-Their-Husbandry-Merel/dp/0894644378).

My personal experience is that I've found three of them on a road near ponds on a non-rainy night, two of them under a rock on riverbank at night, and one submerged under a rock inside a fish pond. So they were always near water, and sometimes in the water, but they don't mind dry land. That being said, I'm 100 times more likely to find them when they're on land than when they're in the water, so the fact that I've found more on land shouldn't be taken as evidence that they don't prefer the water. I would suspect they naturally spend 80-90% of their time in water. That would still make them less aquatic than the other Asian water snakes.

[annarawrr]

Thank you so much for all your help guys, I would have been so lost without your advice! XD Here are a couple of pictures of his new and improved setup:

In this one you can see him peeking from the right hand side of the cave entrance. Further to the left out of view I've added a small filter.
http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo5tpwRVxm1qco7kmo1_500.jpg

Here is Preshuz getting tangled in the plastic vines I've attached to the screen lid! He does this every night :3 I have since removed that branch because it was causing cloudiness in the water, and replaced it with a fake branch.
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo4i2uHXNV1qbkaxv.jpg

What do you guys think? (:

[LLinz]

That is a Great looking enclosure, so happy to hear that u got the advice u were looking for :) it looks very nice and natural, I hope your snake lives a long and happy life in there.

[marionsclan]

Very nice. You've done a great job and taking those extra steps to make your snake happy. :)

And isn't it funny how a Noob Python and Corn snake owner connected two water snake owners who are closer to each other than she is? Gotta love the web.

[annarawrr]

Yesss haha I'm so glad you guys approve XD Surprisingly everything was pretty cheap (except for the tank itself!) and I'm glad it all comes together nicely for both myself to look at, and for the snake to live in! :D

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

Nice.. I would have loved to see a picture with the land part as well. What would you say the ratio: water to land is? I like what you have done here, good work.

[annarawrr]

Here is a picture I just took of the back view of the tank. You can see the branch on top of the submerged rock acting as a small land area, and it gives the snake easy access to the hanging vines. I've affixed them to the screen lid and they're strong enough to support the snake's entire body, so this is considered to be his land area! Not sure exactly how to work out the ratios in this way but you can see for yourself (:

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6420/12072011022.jpg

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

Alot more water than i expected, you keep Enhydris plumbea right? Im assuming so its known as the "Asian Water Snake" but that name follows more than one species. Did you read somewhere to set the Ratio of water:land like this? Or have an owner of the species you already know show you this?

[annarawrr]

Yes, I keep an enhydris plumbea. The name Asian Water Snake commonly covers the plumbeous, that's mine; the puff faced water snake, the tentacled water snake, the sunbeam snake, the rainbow water snake and the Chinese water snake. Could be more but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head :p

I've managed to find two snake owners with the same snake and they both have setups much like mine. One of them directed me to this caresheet (http://acrochordus.com/homalopsinae/enhydris/ecaresheet.htm) based on the Chinese water snake and told me that since the enhydris chinensis and the enhydris plumbea are co-habitable, husbandry of the plumbea is pretty much identical to what is shown here, but with a little bit more consideration on behalf of land area because the plumbea is the most known to spend time out of the water out of all the Asian water snakes (: I also love this owner's (http://scorpionforum.darkbb.com/t4581-miracle-grow-water-snake-tank) tank setup, he also has a plumbea and keeps it with two other Asian water snake types!

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

Fair enough, thanks for the information. Do you plan on incorporating more land area for them? "but with a little bit more consideration on behalf of land area because the plumbea is the most known to spend time out of the water out of all the Asian water snakes"

[annarawrr]

Actually I do! I bought that small branch yesterday in a hurry, and I'm also a bit strapped for cash what with getting a new snake less than two weeks ago and buying all the things for his tank and all that! Before I purchase a larger basking spot I'm trying to figure out a way to incorporate it without compromising swimming space.

[marionsclan]

The way I understand it is that even though the plumbea goes on land more often than the others does not mean they NEED more land. It has yet to be established whether they go hunting outside of the water because of all the competition or if they just like to grab some UV or warmth. There is a lot of research, I've posted a link in an earlier post, but nothing conclusive as to why the meander onto land more often.

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

Sounds good, i like your choice in snakes instead of getting a BP or Corn. (no offense to owners) Enhydris plumbea are rear fanged?

[annarawrr]

Good point marionsclan! Mine only goes on land late at night during his active time, but not to bask and he doesn't seem to be hunting or looking for food. He has never left the water during the day, from my observations.

Thanks KD35! Yes, they are rear fanged and mildly venemous. I decided to go for a water snake for the sole reason that I didn't want to feed it mice and rats XD I've had plenty of mice and rats as pets in the past and I wouldn't be comfortable feeding them to a snake! And the thought of keeping frozen pinkies in my fridge... Hmm! I've already had two family members telling me they'll never visit me again because of a little tiny snake XD I would love a BP or a corn and there are plenty going for good prices in my area but I thought I would start off small. Maybe one day I won't be too squeamish to own a larger snake :D

[marionsclan]

This is too funny. I got a BP and a Corn just for the opposite reason. Even though I love rats and had them as pets I don't mind feeding them because it's just part of nature. I also like the heaviness of BP and knowing that their bite might be painful but at least not venomous, even mildly, is a plus for doctor visits are so time consuming. hahaha

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

Anything venomous i adore. (snakes that is =]) Nothing against Ball Pythons or Corn snakes, just not for me.

[annarawrr]

I would love a big snake! I've always loved reptiles and amphibians, I was obsessed with frogs when I was younger XD A year ago I went on a road trip with some friends, on a lazy day we decided to go for a stroll at the local aquarium and there was a snake show on... We stayed after the show and the keepers let us handle the snakes! There were two, I can't remember what type they were but they were so sweet and after that I really wanted a snake XD But the reality is I'm a poor college student and at the moment I can't afford a large snake! Besides, I'm in the process of coaxing my snake-phobic best friend of 8 years to move in with me XD

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

But the reality is I'm a poor college student and at the moment I can't afford a large snake!

As am i... Just rehomed 5 snakes last week because im transferring from a Tech school to a 4 year. Had 2 over 6.5ft... Sad i know, but i kept one my S. Copperhead, and plan on gettin one or two more stunning Cryptelytrops. I love all Elapids, and over the last 2 months have had quite some experience with them, but i dont think i have the means of owning one quite yet.

[annarawrr]

Aw, that's too bad! Just a couple of weeks ago I had to rehome my two turtles because they outgrew their tank. Put them in my grandparents' koi pond and I was so upset! Everyone was like, "They're just turtles they don't even have real feelings!" which is silly in my opinion, I don't know whether they have feelings or not but the fact is I'd grown very attached to them! But I just don't think I could live in an apartment all on my own without a pet or ten! XD

[Aaron_S]

I like what you're doing in regards to research and the like.

I don't like how you bought a snake and buying up the items you currently have for it has run you dry and you still haven't found a 100% proper set-up.

I looked at the last thread where the guy had snakes of different species living together. (By the way I can do the same thing with balls and boas but doesn't make it right.) If you read through his little blurbs under each picture he'll tell you he lost numerous snakes in doing this set-up. He had a lot of disease run through his collection from the feeder fish just being left in there as well as from the multiple snakes. I know you won't have issues from multiple snakes but you might from feeder fish. You've effectively taken on another fish tank and it needs to be maintained as one. Ensure you're doing proper water changes and don't just "let it run it's course" like the other guy did.

[Aaran]

As am i... Just rehomed 5 snakes last week because im transferring from a Tech school to a 4 year. Had 2 over 6.5ft... Sad i know, but i kept one my S. Copperhead, and plan on gettin one or two more stunning Cryptelytrops. I love all Elapids, and over the last 2 months have had quite some experience with them, but i dont think i have the means of owning one quite yet.
I love catching tench:)

[infernalis]

Aw, that's too bad! Just a couple of weeks ago I had to rehome my two turtles because they outgrew their tank. Put them in my grandparents' koi pond and I was so upset! Everyone was like, "They're just turtles they don't even have real feelings!" which is silly in my opinion, I don't know whether they have feelings or not but the fact is I'd grown very attached to them! But I just don't think I could live in an apartment all on my own without a pet or ten! XD

That's silly.. It's YOUR feelings that matter.

[annarawrr]

I like what you're doing in regards to research and the like.

I don't like how you bought a snake and buying up the items you currently have for it has run you dry and you still haven't found a 100% proper set-up.

I looked at the last thread where the guy had snakes of different species living together. (By the way I can do the same thing with balls and boas but doesn't make it right.) If you read through his little blurbs under each picture he'll tell you he lost numerous snakes in doing this set-up. He had a lot of disease run through his collection from the feeder fish just being left in there as well as from the multiple snakes. I know you won't have issues from multiple snakes but you might from feeder fish. You've effectively taken on another fish tank and it needs to be maintained as one. Ensure you're doing proper water changes and don't just "let it run it's course" like the other guy did.

I appreciate the time you took to go through the link and write me this response! But I must disagree with your second point; I'm actually pretty satisfied with the setup to be honest. I think there is sufficient space for the snake to bask and dry itself, if that is what you refer to. I haven't actually run completely out of money, of course, and if the snake needed something I would definitely go out to get it right away!

And yes, I did read the descriptions he put in his post. He did lose a significant number of snakes but I don't think he mentioned exactly why. These snakes are available in the wild and it could have been because they were wild-caught, and were diseased to begin with... It could have been anything. He did mention the diseased feeder fish, which I think is a pretty bad move on his part... I intend to feed my snake frozen fillets and feeders I will receive from my uncle's fish farm, so that I can be sure of the quality of the fish. His diet will be supplemented with vitamins.

I've managed to learn a lot from these forums in the past week or so and in time I will learn a lot more! At the moment I'm pretty sure I'm doing everything right by the snake. I'm extremely enthusiastic when it comes to my pets and although I said I was running low on funds, money will not be an issue where the snake is concerned! (:

[annarawrr]

Oops, for some reason the picture of the entire enclosure is not showing. I can't go back and edit that post so here it is again with a link that works!

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo8df0EWKK1qco7kmo1_500.jpg

[Gungirl]

Its looking nice!