Slug Eating Snakes, a dream come true!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Just got a pair of Keeled Slug Eating Snakes (Pareas carinatus)! I don't know the sexes, and I don't know how to sex them without hurting them.

These little guys are my biggest dream come true!

I've never been able to get my hands on any of them until now.

They are so cool!

One of them even fed as soon as I put it in the tank!

The eyes are truly a bronze or copper coloration, there is no Photoshop involved.

Check out the beautiful pattern, especially on the head!

These snakes don't get very large and they stay very thin. The widest part of the snake is only 2 finger widths (if that at all) wide.

They also come as close to looking like vipers without the aspect of being extremely dangerous to handle.

This species of snake is not quick to strike. You'd have to seriously mishandle them for them to even consider tagging you.

Enjoy.

[Daethen]

Very pretty. Are you going to let them run wild through your orchids to hunt for snails?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

That'd be cool, but the snakes are from the Malaysia and Indonesia area. It wouldn't last a day in the near freezing cold.

[trdyl]

Cool snakes Philip!

So are you going to start raising slugs?

[Paul]

Cute bug-eyed lil devils!

What else do they eat? I would expect trying to supply them with enough slugs would be difficult.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by trdyl

Cool snakes Philip!

So are you going to start raising slugs?

Snails and slugs may be a new hobby as a result of these snakes!

Originally Posted by Paul

Cute bug-eyed lil devils!

What else do they eat? I would expect trying to supply them with enough slugs would be difficult.

At the moment they're proven to take small snails and slugs.

Not much else is known about these snakes.

However, I suspect they eat more than just snails and slugs.

I have a hunch they eat nightcrawlers (aka earthworms), and something along the lines of wax worms or silkworms.

For those who don't know, wax worms and silkworms are moth caterpillars.

The reason I believe this is that I observed some light digging behavior with these snakes. They plant their snouts into the ground and they twist about for a bit. One of them got some potting soil on the head scales and the nape. I think it's reasonable to believe they can dig for earthworms.

Not to mention, one of the ingredients in the potting soil that I have in the tank are earthworm castings. They may very well like that smell, and may be digging partly as a result of this.

Although the digging behavior could easily be because they are trying to make themselves comfortable before they sleep, idk.

Another reason I suspect that they are not solely predators of snails and slugs is that I read on a forum posting that someone had only kept these snakes for only 3 years, and they all just mysteriously died even when they were feeding.

Plus, because they are known to climb on small shrubs in the wild, I believe they also catch small, slow moving insects such as moth caterpillars.

I've also read that there may be other species of Pareas that are not quite as specialized of an eater; taking small frogs and lizards on top of their diet of snails and slugs. So I think this species is also not a very specialized feeder - although they are somewhat unusual feeders.

From what I've seen so far (I just bought them), they are not 100% arboreal. They sleep in the cover of fallen branches, and low laying vegetation, rather than high up on branches. Underneath leaf litter and rock crevices may also be a favorite sleeping spot.

As I type this, one is sleeping beneath a branch and the leaves of a nearby Fittonia verschaffeltii. The other is on the ground next to a branch, in the corner of the tank.

These are nocturnal animals, btw.

[Goods14]

These are really cool snakes

[Tindomul]

OK thats really really kool! I really like their snout length, makes them look good. It makes sense that they are nocturnal since slugs and earthworms are most active at that time, as well as bugs.
What do you have in your enclose, plants wise besides the Fittonia? Is this an orchid enclosure that is infested with snails and slugs?Also how common are these in the pet trade?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Well...

They're temporarily in a 20 gallon long tank. I gotta do a measurement [to be re-edited once I do].

Plants in the tank so far are:

Fittonia verschafeltii

Coleus hybrid (Solenostemmon scutellaroides cross)

Peperomina griseoargentea 'Silver Dollar'

Selaginella willdenowii

They prefer to hide under the Fittonia. for some reason. The Peperomia is the larger plant. While the Coleus is also much larger than the Fittonia, it is leggy as a result of being sold as an outdoors garden variety plant here in SoCal.

Essentially they prefer the cover of low laying vegetation with full foliage.

I have an 18" x 18" x 24" ready to ship to me by sometime this week, but now that I look at it, I may have to use that for something else and get a much larger enclosure, idk.

They're somewhat active snakes. They're not quite sedentary like the Emerald Tree Boas. But they aren't rambunctious either. Somewhere in the middle. They move somewhat slow.

Not much is known about these snakes (Pareas spp.), although there have been experiments concerning how they feed. There is a scientific article about their feeding behavior.

The following is a link where the article can be downloaded for free if anyone's interested in reading it:

Right-handed snakes: convergent evolution of asymmetry for functional specialization ? Biology Letters

These snakes are supposedly very common in the wild, but not popular in the trade.

If I have to add one thing, they don't like being handled, they get very skittish and want to slither away as fast as they can when they get held.

From what I've seen of these snakes, they are very aware of their surroundings. It's obvious they can tell that you're watching them.

They are not shy animals, btw.

[Tindomul]

I guess that means they can also tell they are in a prison. Still nice find!