# Coral snake



## kevin91172 (Nov 7, 2010)

Hey any one here had experience with keeping Micrurus tener?

 A foreman at work brought me one he caught on his property close to where I live.I have did research on them in past and present on keeping them and found they are hard to get them to eat.He has not ate for me yet,I had for 2 weeks now.I tried anoles,and yesterday i took it out and provided him/her a very small w/c gecko.My research tells me they love brown stinks,we have a lot of them but cooler weather I guess got them to burrow deeper in the ground...

  Suggestion would be greatly appreciated and the snake does not feed with a couple of weeks i will absolutely  set it free,but is a very sweet snake and would like to keep for educational purposes.But my main concern is the welfare of animal.....


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## Crysta (Nov 7, 2010)

I thought coral snakes ate other snakes?


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## KoffinKat138 (Nov 7, 2010)

You could try a w/c toad, or even as a last resort get a live pinkie and scent it with what ever lizard you have available. Most likely if it's not going eat now, its probably not going to eat at all with winter coming up. I would just let him go and let him Brumate before it gets too cool and let him reproduce more for next season.


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## kevin91172 (Nov 7, 2010)

Crysta said:


> I thought coral snakes ate other snakes?


Yes I heard they do but can not find any of the brown earth snakes either,before last winter I had 10+ of them in a big terrarium along with geckos,anoles,toads, tree frogs,ect but turned them loose because needed the enclosure for other things and thought it would be great for all these guys be colonized to view in the garden and porch,which some of the anoles still come up and expect me to tong feed them a nymph B.dubia lol! They are just to much!I thought I was crazy saying no,no find your own bugs till I caught my wife doing it and pointing out bugs for them to get,just hilarious


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## the toe cutter (Nov 7, 2010)

I dont know about that particular species, but Easterns M fulvius, do eat smaller snakes, frogs and lizards. As far as husbandry, its much like the captive husbandry of any North American snake. Now these elapids do brumate for the winter months, and it may just be starting to enter that cycle! Micrurus are rather difficult species to maintain in captivity mainly due to stress levels. They are naturally very secretive and rather shy creatures, so captivity of WC specimens often leads to death. I have been herping in the south for over 18yrs and have NEVER seen one in the wild! So it is quite fortunate that you have actually seen one much less been able to keep it! If I were you I would consider releasing it before it gets too chilly down there for him to find a suitable place to cool over the winter. But if you wish to be a bit more daring, try buying or finding some small skinks, coal, 5 lined, brown, small broadhead skinks and small frogs and see which it prefers and attempt that! I believe you could find a few people in Fl that could supply you with some ground skinks and frogs. Try Mark M Lucas or Glades herps! Good luck!


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## the toe cutter (Nov 7, 2010)

Arboreal lizards and tree frogs are not very suitable for a terrestrial snake, simply because they do not come into contact with them often so may not recognize them as prey items.


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## kevin91172 (Nov 7, 2010)

KoffinKat138 said:


> You could try a w/c toad, or even as a last resort get a live pinkie and scent it with what ever lizard you have available. Most likely if it's not going eat now, its probably not going to eat at all with winter coming up. I would just let him go and let him Brumate before it gets too cool and let him reproduce more for next season.


 I will def take that in consideration,Texas is crazy about weather and from experiences of late confuse animals a lot and flowers I must post pictures of it before I turn loose.I never seen one in the wild after 30 years of herping,so it will be hard to let go,going to hang on to it for another week or 2 and that's it.Had forced feed other things, but this thing has very small mouth and seems very delicate,so will not even attempt


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## kevin91172 (Nov 7, 2010)

the toe cutter said:


> I dont know about that particular species, but Easterns M fulvius, do eat smaller snakes, frogs and lizards. As far as husbandry, its much like the captive husbandry of any North American snake. Now these elapids do brumate for the winter months, and it may just be starting to enter that cycle! Micrurus are rather difficult species to maintain in captivity mainly due to stress levels. They are naturally very secretive and rather shy creatures, so captivity of WC specimens often leads to death. I have been herping in the south for over 18yrs and have NEVER seen one in the wild! So it is quite fortunate that you have actually seen one much less been able to keep it! If I were you I would consider releasing it before it gets too chilly down there for him to find a suitable place to cool over the winter. But if you wish to be a bit more daring, try buying or finding some small skinks, coal, 5 lined, brown, small broadhead skinks and small frogs and see which it prefers and attempt that! I believe you could find a few people in Fl that could supply you with some ground skinks and frogs. Try Mark M Lucas or Glades herps! Good luck!




 I knew I could key you up LOL!! Great advice.If :?it does not eat for me in the next week i will talk to the guy in my area where he got it from and turn it loose in exact location,but yes It feels like I got a trophy for some reason.

Very nice.not a aggressive at all,but real flighty and constantly rubbing nose trying to find an escape,another reason they are not good in captivity,so I shall set it free


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## kevin91172 (Nov 7, 2010)

KoffinKat138 said:


> You could try a w/c toad, or even as a last resort get a live pinkie and scent it with what ever lizard you have available. Most likely if it's not going eat now, its probably not going to eat at all with winter coming up. I would just let him go and let him Brumate before it gets too cool and let him reproduce more for next season.


 Ya I know the turning it loose will be the hard part but will get some nice pics before I do and put it over mother in laws picture


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## Alejandro45 (Nov 7, 2010)

I have managed to keep M fulvius for a while. she was so large that I could hook and tail her!!

I managed to keep her in a 20 long with five inches of peat/sand mix. I would pour water down a pvc pipe into the bottom layers. She was fed ringneck snakes and five lined skinks. I almost never saw her yet i really enjoyed haveing her.

best of luck.


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## KoffinKat138 (Nov 7, 2010)

kevin91172 said:


> Ya I know the turning it loose will be the hard part but will get some nice pics before I do and put it over mother in laws picture


Yeah I hear you, I recently caught a copperhead and kept him for about a week and decided to let him go. They look great in cages, but even better in the wild.


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## dtknow (Nov 7, 2010)

Yeah-at this time I wouldn't even be worried if it didn't eat. First thing I'd look for would be a cornsnake breeder-maybe they have runts or bum babies they could give to you. 

I would keep it if you are up for the challenge of feeding it and doing lots of research. More could be learned than by letting it go.


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## kevin91172 (Nov 8, 2010)

Well I would defiantly need a bigger enclosure than what she is in now,and use the depth of substrate of the 5".Now I only have about 1",and the pvc pipe trick seems very clever.

 Here are I few pictures my son took of her yesterday from his iphone.


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## the toe cutter (Nov 8, 2010)

You lucky b@$%@*&! Good luck with that little fella


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## kevin91172 (Nov 8, 2010)

the toe cutter said:


> You lucky b@$%@*&! Good luck with that little fella


HaHa!! Thanks!


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## Earthworm Soul (Nov 10, 2010)

Buy an entire clutch of cornsnakes for like $8 a piece, or breed some corns yourself.


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## kevin91172 (Nov 28, 2010)

OK scented pinkies with snake...did not work

Next step TRYING VERY HARD to find some rough earth snakes but weather is being cooperative


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## Ookamii (Nov 28, 2010)

haha, i saw 5 of them yesterday in my back yard, a 2foot female one was sadly killed by my dad.


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## kevin91172 (Nov 29, 2010)

Ookamii said:


> haha, i saw 5 of them yesterday in my back yard, a 2foot female one was sadly killed by my dad.


Wow! you are very lucking,been herping since I was knee high to a grass hopper and have not seen one yet in the wild.Glad my buddy who hates snakes, is my buddy and thought I would love this guy/gal

 I have been conforming a lot of folks not to kill snakes,and just come get me.
They love watching me wrangle them at a distance.


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## Terry D (Nov 29, 2010)

*Heads up.*

Kevin, Woah!  I took a look at the photos once again and it sunk in the second time- it's been a long time. I'd be very careful keeping it in the sterilite-type enclosure. Micrurus spp can be extreme escape artists. If you have rough earth snake, DeKay's snake, and five-lined skinks (as previously mentioned), they'll often take them. The more fossorial-natured any live reptilian prey offered is, the better it should work. Coral snakes are very rarely seen above ground except during digging operations, after rains etc. The only indiv I've ever found on the surface was near Copenhagen, La. about 15 years ago. It was well over 90 degrees with drought-like conditions and late in the afternoon. It was moving rather quickly through short grass in somewhat open pine woods. It didn't make one bit of sense to me at the time and still doesn't. It was in the middle of nowhere and all I can figure is that it got disturbed/dislodged from it's subterranean lair by a predator, etc. not long before.

Nice texas coral and hope you're successful getting it to feed. Cheers,

Terry

edit-I worked briefly at a nursery near Delray Beach, Fla. We found several M fulvius at different times/dates when walking around the edges of the greenhouses pulling back excess black plastic draped on the ground at the base of the walls. This is the only place I've seen them other than the La. individual- except for the very rare d.o.r. or two


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## Ookamii (Nov 30, 2010)

i have 3 outdoor cats, and a dog that love to  dig up things, right now its all baby ones i see mostly, and we are in a burn ban currently, not enough rain. i killed one about 2 months ago, but only because i freaked when it came after my foot in the middle of the cement motorcylce driveway we have. middle of the night, i was half asleep and a hot comes after me and im against a wall of the shed, i freaked.....stepped on it.


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## kevin91172 (Nov 30, 2010)

Ok guy here at work brought me a Texas brown snake he caught in the shop.Little guy.

Will try this when I get home,got my fingers crossed.


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## kevin91172 (Nov 30, 2010)

Terry D said:


> Kevin, Woah!  I took a look at the photos once again and it sunk in the second time- it's been a long time. I'd be very careful keeping it in the sterilite-type enclosure. Micrurus spp can be extreme escape artists. If you have rough earth snake, DeKay's snake, and five-lined skinks (as previously mentioned), they'll often take them. The more fossorial-natured any live reptilian prey offered is, the better it should work. Coral snakes are very rarely seen above ground except during digging operations, after rains etc. The only indiv I've ever found on the surface was near Copenhagen, La. about 15 years ago. It was well over 90 degrees with drought-like conditions and late in the afternoon. It was moving rather quickly through short grass in somewhat open pine woods. It didn't make one bit of sense to me at the time and still doesn't. It was in the middle of nowhere and all I can figure is that it got disturbed/dislodged from it's subterranean lair by a predator, etc. not long before.
> 
> Nice texas coral and hope you're successful getting it to feed. Cheers,
> 
> ...


Yea this is safest one in my experience.The same type but larger gets to get weak/flimsy  in the middle of top and can be pushed open a hair,which is all it needs.this shorter one's top is pretty stiff and no giving.


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## sharpfang (Nov 30, 2010)

*Shiny Happy Snakes*



Alejandro45 said:


> She was fed ringneck snakes and five lined skinks. I almost never saw her yet i really enjoyed haveing her.


A local friend to me, that has proper venomous permits for Ca. has one....
.....and he feeds pacific ringnecks {so cute} and a skink similar to 5-lined's {bl. tail} to his specimen, and has had it for years.....Don't get bitten Kev 



the toe cutter said:


> You lucky b@$%@*&! Good luck with that little fella


Yes - Lu~cky {in a Napoleon Dynomite *voice*} & TY 4 sharing Pix! GL - Jason

P.S. I just traded for my 1st Grey-banded King rescently, bet it's immune to the venom of that coral - just a thought.


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## kevin91172 (Nov 30, 2010)

*Will it is a snake eat snake world!*

Picture says enough,looks like he is a keeper!Thanks everyone!


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## MOBugGuy (Nov 30, 2010)

Awesome job man.:worship:


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## kevin91172 (Nov 30, 2010)

MOBugGuy said:


> Awesome job man.:worship:


 Thanks bud!


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## kevin91172 (Nov 30, 2010)

sharpfang said:


> A local friend to me, that has proper venomous permits for Ca. has one....
> .....and he feeds pacific ringnecks {so cute} and a skink similar to 5-lined's {bl. tail} to his specimen, and has had it for years.....Don't get bitten Kev
> 
> 
> ...


You meaning of coarse it will take out my coral  Interesting thanks.I will make sure I will not feed kings.


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## Teal (Dec 1, 2010)

*I can't even begin to describe how jealous I am! I have wanted a coral snake since I was just a child lol Congrats on getting him to eat!! You must post a ton of pictures, so I can live vicariously through you lol *


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## the toe cutter (Dec 1, 2010)

Aww the poor little Dekayi!! Nice job, I wish you had gotten in touch with me back in September I had about 50 Dekays babies and a half dozen adults. If I were you Id get in touch with breeders and get them to send you some frozen or live non-feeders hatchling corns for dirt cheap.


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## the toe cutter (Dec 4, 2010)

Hmm I just noticed that Ookami's comments about Corals being rear fanged and not dangerous and her friend milking them and taking the venom to a hospital so that they could make Anti-venin and my retraction about how they are Elapids, have rear facing front fangs, and that there was only one company in the entire country making Anti-venin for Micrurus and they have stopped making it for over 3 yrs was removed? I wonder why no one notified me? There was some pretty good information anout there being no more anti-venin for these in the US in that thread including a good link. Does that happen here alot?


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## the toe cutter (Dec 4, 2010)

Heres the link again for future persons interested in these snakes.
Enjoy!!

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/snakebites-about-to-get-more-deadly


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## kevin91172 (Dec 4, 2010)

the toe cutter said:


> Heres the link again for future persons interested in these snakes.
> Enjoy!!
> 
> http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/snakebites-about-to-get-more-deadly


Cool man great article.Thanks.Yea there was some amusing other posts here on these snakes


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## Galapoheros (Dec 4, 2010)

Cool, I've kept a couple of them, fed them small snakes and ground skinks.  I often hear that they need to "chew" for the capillary action moving the venom to work better.  I was bitten once over 20 years ago but I had gloves on.  It didn't immediately let go, it hung on but only for a second or less.  I did barely feel a side to side pinch when it was on the glove finger.


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## kevin91172 (Dec 4, 2010)

Galapoheros said:


> Cool, I've kept a couple of them, fed them small snakes and ground skinks.  I often hear that they need to "chew" for the capillary action moving the venom to work better.  I was bitten once over 20 years ago but I had gloves on.  It didn't immediately let go, it hung on but only for a second or less.  I did barely feel a side to side pinch when it was on the glove finger.


I actually observed this "chew" when it was working on this snake.Man it took a while for the venom to work on this snake it ate.Still I as it swallowed down to the tip of tail it was still twitching a bit.Nerves still twitching trying to do what ever.For interesting experience to see none the less.........


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## the toe cutter (Dec 4, 2010)

Their delivery system is a bit behind the power curve, but its a dangerous game none the less to keep hots. I would love to find an M fulvius one day, and observe it for a while in captivity. If you want a really interesting and awesome snake you should look into getting an Ahaetulla species. I have kept these in the past and they are by far one of my absolute favorites to watch. As long as you can get a steady supply of lizards and mist it a few times a week they are pretty hardy actually. I used to love watching them sway and slowly creep up on their prey. Mine used to get about an inch away from the anoles I fed it before striking and they never knew what hit them. Their venom was also surprisingly fast acting on lizards and frogs too. Anyway I hope you have alot of luck with that guy!


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