File Snake! (Mehelya capensis unicolor)

[Will0W783]

Here are some pictures of my file snake. I finally remembered to take my camera up to take pics of it. It's the coolest, friendliest, most curious little guy. I think it is a female, but not entirely sure, so I will hold off naming it until I probe it. Hopefully tonight. I've had it about a month, and it eats like a little pig, just shed well for me and seems to be settling in fine. Enjoy, and name suggestions are welcome! Sorry the pictures aren't the best; file snake did not want to sit still for the camera...lol.

[shaunyboy]

very unusual looking snake willow.excuse my ignorance but is it about to shed or does it always have that appearance.i like the way it looks.
cheers shaun

[Freebody]

ya i looks cool , nice big scales like a rattlesnake's.
What kind is it? file snake? is that the breed as in corn,king.retic......?

[Wolfus_305]

Ohhhhh I love it!! =]

[marvelfreak]

Nice looking! Are they venomous?

[Chu'Wuti]

Hey, shaunyboy, she said it just shed. File snakes have rough-keeled scales, so the appearance you're seeing is due to those scales. They are nonvenomous. If you google the genus & species name she gives, Mehelya capensis unicolor, you can learn more about them.

Interesting snake, Kimberly!

[shaunyboy]

chu'wuti,my bad,i really have to start taking more time when reading posts. i love how it looks,it looks like its decided to put its old shed back on,haha i really like how its shaped as well.thats pretty much the same body shape my diamond had as a baby.what about calling it sheddy willow ?
cheers shaun

[Will0W783]

Yes, it always looks like that. It feels really neat to the touch too, due to those keeled, spaced out scales. It's not venomous and very friendly and curious. I think it's a female, and I'm hoping to get a mate next time I'm at a show. They are not too common, but occasionally they pop up on kingsnake. They're a pretty new to captivity species, high humidity and very shy. There isn't much information out there, so I've been talking to others who keep them.

[Hillsberry]

Omg Kim thats the coolest lookin snake I have ever seen. So pretty. When you find out the sex tell us please! :P

[Will0W783]

I am pretty sure it's a female, but we will be probing tonight to find out for sure. I will be picking up a mate for it at the next Havre de Grace show. In the wild they are lizard and snake-eaters (ophiophagous), but mine chows down on f/t rat pups as long as I rub them on my Pacman frog first. He ate for us within days of coming home and is a pretty good eater to boot. I am hoping for as much luck with a second one, but you never know. I can't get over how curious and docile it is!

[Will0W783]

Hmm, well it probed 6 or 7 subcaudals, so I am assuming that means it is a male. Guess I will be getting him a girlfriend!

[siz]

Interesting snake Kim. I've never heard of this species before...where do they originate from? That's great you have him on rodents...do you have any species that is solely a lizard eater?

[Will0W783]

They are from Africa. This species is called the West African file snake, or Unicolor Cape File snake. They are a secretive snake that likes to burrow and they do better with higher humidity (I mist him twice a day and keep him on cypress mulch). Like I said, they are pretty rare yet in captivity, so everyone that currently keeps them is kind of blazing the trail for future generations. It does make me a bit nervous to keep something so uncommon, but he's really adorable and doing so well for me so far (knock on wood). He's just finished his cycle of deworming and was treated for mites so that takes care of the first big hurdle. I don't keep any species that is solely a lizard eater- I have had lizards as pets, so it's hard for me to justify feeding them to another reptile. I really want Asian vine snakes, but they are almost exclusively lizard-eaters, and I really can't get access to lizards cheaply enough even if I wanted to.