Pigmy rattlesnake care

Mustangrde1 · 10-29-03, 12:54 PM

People appear to be asking questions about a good first hot and this is one species that is brought up. Also people have been asking for care sheets on hots. I thought maybe I would make an effort on species I am familiar with and work with and hope the rest of you will as well.

Let's face it there are hundreds of books out there. Like many people I read books left and right but have came to the conclusion they are written for profit in many cases and to sell. Not taking away from the good ones but I would rather get my information from people who have and do work with species I wish to own. People who are not writing a book to sell but rather freely giving information to help the animal and the keeper. This being said on to the Bell Tail.

I have worked with Sistrurus Miliarius Barbouri " Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnake"for going on 3 years now. I personally keep in my personal collection 12 specimens as of this time. They range in size from 14 inches to over 30 inches with a sex ratio of 5.7.0. I have observed this species both in captivity and in the wild.

Most pigmy rattlers you will purchase have been wild caught. This has inherit problems that must be dealt with. As with all newly acquired reptiles a quarantine is a must. When I speak of quarantine I mean a room completely separate from the rest of your collection as to not introduce any unwanted pest or illnesses to your general collection.

I personally use a 90 day quarantine on any and all new arrivals. First thing I do is in tank preparation I completely clean out the tank with bleach and water letting it stand for 15 minutes before rinsing it thoroughly after rinsing and drying I spray a heavy layer of "Provent O Mite"on the entire cage inside and out paying special care to the rim at the upper inside of the tank. I let this stand for 20 minutes and then add cypress mulch for a substrate and then respray the tank again and allow to stand 15 minutes. One thing people over look is the lid of the cage be sure to spray it as well. I repeat this procedure every 7 days though out quarantine. When you dispose of the substrate spray the inside of the trash can and the trash bag itself as well just to insure no external parasites try to get away. I have never had a mite or tick problem since I started using this procedure.

For internal parasites I have found that keeping water from the newly acquired animal for 7 days and then adding a diluted mixture of Flagella and Panacure in the water bowl works great. What I use is a 24oz bottle mixing 4cc of Flagella and 4 cc of Panacure in the water and shake it well. Then poor it in to a 4oz water dish and offer it to the animal. Remove the water dish after 2 days and then reoffer fresh water after 2 days remove that after 2 days and offer no water for 7 days then reoffer the medicated water again do this throughout the 90 day quarantine. I prefer this method over the tube in the mouth method do to the fact for their size pigmies have very large fangs and do not handle well along with its less stressful on myself and the animal.

Once they are out of quarantine I set up there standard housing cages with the same methods only adding a permanent water dish and other cage decorations. For 12 to 18 inch pigmy's a 10 gallon size tank is fine. For anything over that a 20 gallon long size is perfect and will easily work for their life with you.

Substrate can very greatly I use cypress mulch or shredded coconut. When I first started keeping Pigmies I put a hide box in but have found it is not needed. They seam to prefer to actually burrow out an area in the substrate and lay in it. I still keep one in there to offer them someplace. One interesting thing I have learned is pigmies are not completely terrestrial but in fact are arboreal as well. I have one that spends 90% of its time in a bush and even when feeding will strike its prey and hold on much like arboreal vipers in the Trimersaurus family would. In the wild I have actually seen numerous pigmies hanging out in branches up to 6 feet high. Also a water dish is a must I have another that spends a great part of its time day and night in the dish. Daily changing of the water is a must.

I use a 40 watt full spectrum light in the 20 long cages and a 20 watt full spectrum in the smaller cages. I have found they prefer a day time heat range from 83 to 88 and a night time range from 72 to 83. Their active throughout the day with dawn and dusk being most active.

Feeding these little guys is a blast I thought they would be like most rattlers and be an ambush predator but have found that they actually will chase down a rodent. For pigmies from 12 to 18 inches large pinkies and fuzzies are perfect every 7 to 10 ten days. Animals from 19 to 24 inches 2 hoppers every 7 to 10 days is fine and larger specimens can take large to x breeder size mice with no problem at all every 7 to 10 days.

Daily maintenance is a must. Watering can be done very simply with using an oil funnel to add water. If you need to clean out defecation or clean the water dish ALWAYS remove the animal. Just because they are small and you think you can get in and out safely is not smart and can be a very painful mistake, like I said they will hunt down their prey and your finger is about the size of food. Have a bucket standing by with a lid. Pigmies do not ride hooks well at all. I have tried the double hook method and found it doesn't work well either. I use 24 inch tweezers which appears to work well without causing them undo stress so long as you do not apply a great deal of pressure. Usually getting them about 2 inches behind the head works fine. Be ready for a wiggle though and to have to start over. They are a very nervous snake which will strike readily so be patent.

I have not yet breed them successfully myself but have talked to several people who have. Normal matting occurs in early spring with birth in the later summer months. The average size of the litter is from 6 to 12 live young that are from 4 to 7 inches on average. Several of the people I have spoken to suggest putting 2 males with every female and allow ritual combat to occur.

When purchasing a pigmy or any animal. Contact people that keep the animal you want ask them questions and listen to them. When you contact a seller some question you might want to ask is.

1 has the animal been feeding
2 is it a wild caught or captive born
3 has it been wormed
4 how big is it
5 if wild caught do you know the location of capture or general area.
6 Get them to take pictures with numbers next to the specimens to aid you in your purchase.
7 ask them what their shipping method and terms are.

I know a lot of people who sell them think they are only a 25 dollar pigmy but it is there responsibility to help you as much as possible, you are the buyer. It should not matter if its a 25 dollar pigmy or 1200 dollar king cobra a seller must be willing to speak to you and aid you in your purchase from them. What they forget is that 25 dollar snake might mean return business in the future for higher dollar animals. Keep in mind in the that venomous may only be shipped via air cargo "delta" and the average box charge is 25 dollars shipping can be has high as 70 dollars. If a person wants to send it any other way DO NOT buy it.

Are pigmies a good beginner snake? I will let you decide On a scale of 1 to 10 in my experience 1 being easiest 10 being hardest or dangerous here is how I would rate it.

Aggression 9
Strike speed 8
Venom based on ld50 and confirmed bites 3
Handling with tools 7
Maintenance 5
Feeding 3
Antivenom availability "US" 1
Availability 3

Total out of 80 39

I hope this helps anyone who wishes to own these wonderfull bell tails or just is curious about them.

Scott

SerpentLust · 10-29-03, 01:06 PM

I have been looking at them for a LONG time now. Ever since I saw a show on TV describing them. Out of all the Vemonous snakes, I have a feeling this is the only one I would purchase. That was an awesome and very informative care sheet

Jenn

Mustangrde1 · 10-29-03, 03:15 PM

Thank You Jenn. If you are looking for more information and studies Stetson University has a wonderful site on them at http://www.stetson.edu/artsci/biology/pigpage.shtml

Scott

Mustangrde1 · 01-30-04, 06:27 AM

been asked a few times lately about them so i am bumping the thread up.

JuliusSqueezer · 01-30-04, 02:35 PM

Great writeup mustang...

I'd like to share a little disaster I had involving one of these little boogers a little over a year ago. I too use cypress with nearly all of my collection. I love it. It works well for those who prefer dry and it works great at holding humidity for the ones that need it wet and doesn't seem to grow mold or mildew. Great stuff!...But I never feed anything on mulch for fear of them swallowing some. Now ....Here is my disaster. I fed this little pyg in a plastic feed tote (one medium-largish f/t pink mouse)...after he ate...maybe an hour or so later, I went to put him back in his cage but my little cage hook was missing (constant problem with keeping large collections and I have many many hooks because I make them and sell on ebay lol) but anyway...I just kinda dumped him back into the cage. Apparently some mouse goo dripped in too because when I checked him that evening...I found him looking like this!

Apparently he tried to swallow a piece of cypress....So I had no choice but to pin him..and trust Mustang when he told you that they have HUGE fangs for having such a tiny little head! Here is what pinning a baby pyg looks like...It wasn't fun..I hate pinning baby pygs and baby copperheads more than just about anything in this hobby.

I had to go in with hemostats and gently wiggle the stick around ..I was able after SEVERAL tries to get it turned by first breaking it in the middle but when I went to adjust the grip, he swallowed it. 5 days later he took a dump and the stick was in the feces. I waited another week to feed him...He ate and everything seemed fine....whew! but then 3 days later, I found him dead and the regurged pinkie next to him...so I don't know...maybe he punctured something or maybe I diid trying to get it out. Anyway...I still feel that the benifits of cypress far outweigh the bad...but it is extremely important especially with the tiny little ones that they aren't put in any situation where they will swallow any...ie: feed in a tote and be careful not to drip mouse goo in the cage. Buzzworms are awesome little animals and to me the most beautiful of all rattlesnakes big or small.

ps..Sorry my photos are too dark...I never noticed that before because I uploaded them from my laptop which has an extremely bright display. I'll fix that later maybe.

Mustangrde1 · 01-31-04, 05:15 PM

Great pics . I would rather pin and handle a thousand Cobras then 1 pigmy rattler. Big fangs small head and fingers to close to very manuverable afore mentiond fangs only equal trouble.

chas*e · 02-02-04, 11:02 PM

Oh, you are right about that..pinning the little guys is brutal....I found that they(duskys) were never that aggressive if bought as cb neos...although, it is a bit hard getting them started at that age; but nonetheless, they are a beautiful species..ps...the 3 turns to a 8 or 9 when dealing with availability in Canada...lol

02-03-04, 03:53 PM

I have gone to EnviroGuard (recycled paper product found in garden supplies) for most of my animals, on nice thing is that pieces are generally too large for small snakes to swallow.

Campbellvenomou · 02-03-04, 10:09 PM

great post Scott!
Good information about a beautiful snake. More effort needs to be made with these little beauties.......

jtpRUGGER · 02-25-04, 05:47 AM

Nice post, scott. I agree with riley...these guys deserve more attention. On that note, when are you gonna give me your big female?

Mustangrde1 · 02-25-04, 09:22 AM

the big girl is never for sale and you know that lol. you may look but she is insured by a mans best friends the 4 horsemen MR's Smith , Wesson , Remington and Colt. these gentlemen insure her safety in her house. And when you come to visit this summer im hirring Rattlerhut Security for her too.