So, with water snakes, could you keep them in a mostly aquatic setup?

[jebbewocky]

Like, say, an aquarium with all water at the bottom, and just like, PVC pipe across it at various intervals. I don't plan on doing this, just asking if it would work.

 

[Alexandra V]

Personally I'd be leary of a setup like that unless it was an almost fully aquatic snake (think Sea Crates). I'd be nervous about maintaining heat and such with a setup like that, and not to mention all the maintenance that would be associated with a lot of water in the enclosure. Just my $0.02

 

[telaranabella]

Is it a Nerodia species? As mentioned above, unless it was an almost fully aquatic snake you are still going to need some sort of terrestrial area for it to bask and some sort of shelter on the terrestrial side. You can make an easy combo tank by using aquarium sealant to glue in a piece of acrylic to separate the land and water.

 

[findi]

Hi,

Native US species (Nerodia) need to bask and dry off or they quickly develop fungal diseases of the skin ("blister disease"); shy individuals and hatchlings may spend a great deal of time in the water and refuse to bask; if so, water should be provided in a bare bowl until they adjust; please see this article of mine
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatr...-and-its-relatives-in-the-wild-and-captivity/

and the comments following it for details, and feel free to post comments there, best, Frank

 

[telaranabella]

Hi,

Native US species (Nerodia) need to bask and dry off or they quickly develop fungal diseases of the skin ("blister disease"); shy individuals and hatchlings may spend a great deal of time in the water and refuse to bask; if so, water should be provided in a bare bowl until they adjust; please see this article of mine
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatr...-and-its-relatives-in-the-wild-and-captivity/

and the comments following it for details, and feel free to post comments there, best, Frank

Great article! Nerodia sipedon sipedon was once of the first snakes I worked with as undergrad and they are still one of my favorites (I love watching them in the water).

 

[jebbewocky]

Ah--I was just curious, the only snake I have is a corn (which this wouldn't work for at all obviously). Are there ANY snakes that this could work for that aren't hot?

 

[pitbulllady]

Like, say, an aquarium with all water at the bottom, and just like, PVC pipe across it at various intervals. I don't plan on doing this, just asking if it would work.

NONONONONO...NO!
Sorry if I sound overdramatic, but again, just NO! I have seen WAY too many Nerodia killed by owners who thought that they were doing the snake a big favor by keeping it in a damp, semi-aquatic enclosure! These snakes are HIGHLY prone to bacterial and fungal disease of the skin, which is often fatal by the time it's noticeable at all, and which is caused by staying damp. They absolutely MUST have a dry, and clean, substrate! I keep them exactly as I do any other terrestrial Colubrid, such as Corns or Kings-dry and clean aspen or newspaper as a substrate, and a bowl just large enough to drink from or soak in periodically, which they actually seldom do. Some of mine do prefer to eat their food in their water, while others don't even do that. Since they have a fast metabolism and poop often and in more liquid form than most Colubrids, you have to clean up behind them more often, assuming that you're feeding a fish-based diet. You cannot allow their enclosure to remain dirty or damp in the least. If you're rich as dirt and can set up a naturalistic, walk-in simulated type of environment where you can have clean running water through it and plenty of dry space for the snakes to haul out and bask and stay dry, great, wonderful, but most herp keepers can't afford that or aren't that "handy" with building and constructing such enclosures, and there's no need to do that. I cannot stress enough how important it is for this genus to be able to dry off completely!

pitbulllady

 

[dtknow]

The only snakes that could be kept in such aquatic setups would be truly aquatic species such as

Homalopsis buccata

Enhydris sp.

Acrochordus sp.

Erpeton tentaculatum

They all require warm clean, well aged setups. It seems that the first species(common name puff faced water snake) is the easiest to deal with.

 

[jebbewocky]

Are any of those hot?

 

[minpod]

The only snakes that could be kept in such aquatic setups would be truly aquatic species such as

Homalopsis buccata

Enhydris sp.

Acrochordus sp.

Erpeton tentaculatum

They all require warm clean, well aged setups. It seems that the first species(common name puff faced water snake) is the easiest to deal with.

I have to disagree with some Enhydris species. I keep an Enhydris enhydris in a dry setup with a large water bowl and it still gets blisters sometimes from stewing in the bowl for too long. I have to keep the water extremely clean.

 

[LeilaNami]

Kofron (1978) did a study on aquatic snakes in the Louisiana swamp focusing on habitat and food. It mostly focuses on Nerodia and some on Agkistrodon pisivorus. I have the PDF of the paper on my computer if any one would like to read it. Might be an interesting read for those asking about and those owning Nerodia.

EDIT: Also seconding H. buccata as good aquatic snake. They are not venomous and are apparently very prolific according to owners in Thailand.

 

[Bigboy]

Like, say, an aquarium with all water at the bottom, and just like, PVC pipe across it at various intervals. I don't plan on doing this, just asking if it would work.

File snakes, but lose the PVC. Not much else.