That Reptile Blog – Reptile, Amphibian and Exotic Pet Care and Information
Please see Part I of this article for some cobra and python escape stories set in NYC.
The “Ditmar’s Trap”
I first became aware of snake traps through The Reptiles of North America, written by legendary Bronx Zoo curator Raymond Ditmars. Mr. Ditmars recounted capturing Northern Watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon) by securing fish to strings that were anchored to stumps in likely locations…a feat I was later to repeat successfully on several occasions (snakes have trouble backing off prey once it has been swallowed, and Watersnakes are especially ravenous feeders). If you have collected Watersnakes by hand, you’ll understand the attraction of a method that spares one’s skin!
Snakes that escape in zoos invariably wind up in the room housing the feeder rodents, drawn by the scent of prey…you might try the “Ditmar’s Trap” with a dead mouse or rat if a rodent-eating snake of your own escapes. Just be sure that the snake cannot injure itself by thrashing about, and check the trap frequently.
Minnow Traps
Although rarely used, minnow, crayfish and eel traps also work well as snake traps and can even be baited with live earthworms (I’ve captured Common Garter Snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis, in this manner) or small fishes. When setting traps in shallow water, be sure to position them so that an overnight rain will not cause the trap to become submerged, or your captives will drown. You may need to cover the traps’ rough wire entranceways with silicone to prevent snakes from injuring themselves.
Tracking Snakes
It is usually very difficult to find an escaped snake in a home. However, the old trick of spreading powder or flour about, to reveal snake tracks, is often productive.
You can even find snake tracks outdoors, if conditions are just right. During Venezuela’s dry season, I was surprised to find that Green Anacondas (Eunectes murinus) left very clear drag marks when moving from one pool to another. As the wind usually erased the tracks within an hour or so, any that I saw were bound to be fresh, and often led me to a snake.
Bird Cages as Snake Traps
I suppose the most unusual snake traps I know of involve bird cages on the island of Guam. The Brown Treesnake (Boiga irregularis) made its way to Guam as a ship stowaway sometime in the 1940’s. With ample “snake naïve” prey, the rear-fanged predators experienced a population explosion. To date, the Brown Treesnake has caused the extinction of 9 of Guam’s 11 native bird species (5 endemics), 4-5 lizards and, possibly, 2 bats.
A colleague who went to Guam to address the situation in the early 1980’s told me that, as food supplies dwindled, the nocturnal snakes began invading homes. The keeping of pet birds is (or was!) quite popular, and bird owners often awoke to find the cage of their former pet occupied by a snake that fit through the bars on the way in, but not on the way out!
I’ve worked with this species (and 2 of its “victims”, the Guam Rail and Kingfisher) in captivity, and believe his story – they are extremely aggressive hunters.
Further Reading
The story of the Brown Tree Snake on Guam is most unusual. A comprehensive USGS report is posted here.
Please see The Northern Watersnake for more on this easily-trapped snake and its relatives.
Hello Frank, hope this finds you well.
Are you familiar at all with Peter Brazaitis by any chance? I recently picked up his book ‘You Belong in a Zoo’ for kicks and giggles(and their are plenty!). He has quite a few snake escape stories including one in which a Ditmar’s trap as you describe was used. Not sure how much/if his time at the Bronx overlapped yours.
Also, I’ve posted the photos/info on my eggeaters here on this forum. Since the previous set of comments in moving further and further back behind all your new blog postings! Includes a few feeding pictures and 2 pictures I took of the mating bite.
http://www.captivebredforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=799
All the Best
~Joseph
Hello Joseph, Frank Indiviglio here.
I sure do know Pete – I was the keeper who asked him to join in the Cuban Croc battle he relates in that book (I was not the guy who upset his son). That experience was and remains one of the most exciting of my career – had Pete not shown up, it may also have been the last!!!
It was my good fortune to have been able to benefit from his lifetime of experience, we’ll not see another like him anytime soon. I’m still in touch – he’s one of the top herpetologists of our time. In addition to everything else, he pioneered the identification of processed croc skins (i.e. to determine legality) – long before genetic ID was possible, he was in demand the world over for his expertise.
Thanks so much for the wonderful photos of your African Egg Eating Snake in Action. I’ll be sure to refer back to them when I write about this species.
Good luck and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio
Hey- I enjoyed reading about these traps.
As a boy I lost snakes a couple of times in our family car driving home from capture, once in a friend’s dad’s car we were borrowing (lol- not happy dad there) and a couple of times in my room at home.
My dad came up with a simple trap that worked every time. He took a black plastic trash bag, filled it partway with fresh grass clippings, sprayed them with a little water so they were moist, not soaked. and layed it on it’s side. I guess the snakes need water and the fresh grass smelled like nature, because it worked every time within 48 hours.
Hello Scott, Frank Indiviglio here.
Glad you enjoyed the article, thanks.
Thanks also for passing along your dad’s most original idea. I’ve used boards to attract snakes outdoors, artificial hibernaculums for Pine Snakes, but have never run across your dad’s trap; I’ll be sure to pass it along at every opportunity.
Many Herps have an amazing ability to locate water, or moisture as in the snake trap..I’ve had some luck recovering escaped Leopard Frogs by leaving out pans of water.
Good luck and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Hello Frank,
Thanks for confirming my hunch that you guys might have crossed paths one time or another. Indeed quite an amazing story about carving out ones niche in zoology! Some of those stories are plain out of this world. I had to chuckle at the part on finding food for sea snakes…I can relate after keeping eggeaters!
With the eggeaters you bred, do you happen to recall the amount of time between successful mating and laying of eggs? The female is in the blue again(she last shed 1/26) and has grown much plumper…whether solely because she’s been eating ravenously or due to developing eggs I have no idea. Perhaps this shed is her pre-lay shed? Maybe she’s going into shed to repair the abrasions?(which along with her patterned have faded out so hopefully will look ok after this shed). Would it be wise to provide a place to lay eggs?
This is actually my first time keeping snakes, let alone breeding them. Your advice has been a great help.
Thanks!
~Joseph
Hello Joseph, nice to hear from you;
Pete’s story and so many others really bring home how important it is to follow your passion – well, I have no doubt you will keep at it!
I don’t recall the details, but do know that they did not vary from the norm for that species, which is 30-35 days (mating to laying). Rapid shed cycles are common after an injury, mite attack, etc. I would set up several sites – damp moss below cork bark, caves and so on. Hope it goes well, please let me know,
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Hello Frank,
Thanks for the encouragement, means a lot coming from someone like you who’s been through it and is still at it! I am slowly(but surely!) progessing towards an undergrad degree. Might think about getting into a research lab sometime soon.(have done some volunteer work for a marine lab and a learning museum on campus) My particular university has a large amt. of marine biologist faculty, but only one who does anything involving herpetology. I suppose at the moment any experience would be great but I do admit I have lately been doing a lot of personal research into herpetology. It is somewhat due to keeping them at home and the fact that they are easier to keep/observe than many marine animals.
On the Dasypeltis, female should shed any moment now. One problem right now is that the male has so far not eaten for me(possibly he ate a dove egg, but I think it was more likely the female). I bought button quail eggs but neither snake seems interested in them! The female readily takes larger Coturnix eggs. I will try to get some small cockatiel eggs for the male. They are still in together and frequently use the same hide(probably due to thermoregulation as opposed to particularly liking each other). Possible the male is distracted by the female? He is still in good weight and probably has not fed for about 3 weeks at this point(fed for the dealer 1.5 weeks prior to my getting him).
What did you guys feed baby Dasypeltis at work? I’m assuming zebra finch eggs?(it seems finches kept in stores are reluctant to lay so I’ve only managed to get ahold of one finch egg…which broke on the way home!). I’m wondering if keeping some kind of gecko around(mourning, etc.) may be appropriate. I’ve read lots of anecdotal reports of reptile eggs being eaten.
All the Best
~Joseph
Hello Joesph, Frank Indiviglio here.
Thanks for the note…still more ops in Marine Biology in general, I think, but Herpetology is gaining; a good friend keeps up with what’s going on in some of the universities that are known for herpetology, let me know if you ever need anything.
Males of many species will go off feed when actively courting/mating; I think it is as you suspect, that he is distracted. I’ve noticed also that there are individual preferences concerning eggs, and that sometimes the snakes switch from 1 species to another, but not usually. Zebra/society finch eggs were the standby…CA has a number of bird clubs, perhaps a member can point you to a source.
Good luck and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Thanks for the info, I have since seperated the male.
The female shed last night, and while shedding ate 2 button quail and one coturnix quail egg(finally got to see her down a big egg!). It seems the time for egg laying may be coming around the corner shortly(30-35 days puts us at about early March). I’ve read you are often able to feel lumps in the snake when egg laying time is near. Although she is very plump and heavy, no lumps as far as I can tell.
I would love to talk with your friend, if you could send me his contact info or otherwise get in touch that would be great!
All the Best
~Joseph
Hello Frank, I now have an escape story of my own.
Will spare you the exact details of the occurence but a milksnake is now somewhere in the ventilation system of a roomates care after having crawled in through one of the vents on the dashboard. I’ve done some reading and surprisingly this is actually a quite frequent occurence.
I left a FT fuzzy in a container next to the vent overnight in hopes of him coming for it since he doubtlessly should be rather hungry but no luck. I know only rudimentary car anatomy but have been told that the only route of escape is the way he went in. Of course if he leaves the vent and falls onto the floor of the car he could go just about anywhere I bet. Otherwise he is busy trying to get himself as close to the warm engine as possible. I would really like to avoid dismantling the dashboard!
Thoughts?
~Joseph
Hello Joseph, Frank Indiviglio here.
Thanks for the story…you’re right, I’ve heard a few like that as well. The oddest ceeature I’ve found in a car was a woodchuck, which somehow rode from upstate NY to NYC in a car engine, then jumped out on E. 4th street and ran around the East Village for awhile (I relocated him to central Park, where a small population still hangs on).
Another reader mentioned that his father recovered lost snakes by setting out a plastic garbage bag filled with moist grass clippings – moisture or smell of “outdoors” perhaps lured them, and they stayed as it was also a safe retreat. Perhaps this, coupled with a few hot water bottles if it’s cool there, would work, esp. if too cold for the snake to have an appetite.
Unfortunately, I know less about car anatomy than almost anyone (last time my car was stolen I had to call my brother-in-law to find out what type of car I owned, so I could report it to the PD!), so I’m no help on actually locating it.
Good luck and please keep me posted.
Well, no signs of the little bugger. I tried kleenex and cereal boxes filled with moist coconut fiber. I sure hope he hasn’t overheated or dehydrated somewhere in the car. Might attempt taking apart the dashboard if it comes to that but even then I wonder if we will find it. Seems like heaven for a snake. Came across a youtube video of some guys in Australia who pulled a pretty good sized python out of a car dash!
Female eggeater is still quite plump, but not outwardly lumpy. I think I can feel some lumps a few inches above her cloaca…but they are not visible outwardly Seems we are at or near the 30 day mark since mating.
I found someone who has gotten a lot farther than me with this species and who takes incredible photos. Included is his female swallowing a chicken egg! He has been tube feeding his babies most of the time(whipped chicken egg with biotin supplement)and they seem to be coming along quite well and have since reach 50 cm
http://www.venomdoc.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4492
Hello Joseph,
Thanks so much for the link to these amazing photos and useful info, much appreciated. To others reading this: don’t miss these photos: African Egg Eating Snake Swallowing Eggs. I’d have to say that I’ve recovered more snakes by accident than any other means – I hope yours turns up. Good luck with the egg-eater, I hope she is gravid,
Please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Hello Frank,
Well, no signs of the milk despite also trying a paper heavily scented with mouse. Also no signs of any smell emanating from the vents. Either he is waiting to appear at a random time(probably when a snake phobic friend is in the car!) or has managed to escape the car/dried up somewhere.
Have you any experience with tube feeding yourself? My male eggeater has not fed since I got him(Now a little over a month). He reminds me of one of those Imantodes or other wiry arboreal snakes…but then again does not appear to have lost a lot of weight during this time. He went blue and shed yesterday so I will try feeding him again. If not I think after reading the guys experience in the previous thread I will attempt tube feeding. Need to find a local source for syringes with tubing attached equipped for feeding snakes(as opposed to injecting drugs!).
The female has tapered off her feeding somewhat, but still eats. Interestingly the last egg she took was a large quail egg and she only squeezed about half of it out, a lot of yolk was still left in the egg. I suppose her stomach capacity is smaller as she looks just as swollen as usual post feeding.
All the Best
~Joseph
Hello Joseph,
The main problem with tube feeding is that its easy to force liquid food into the lungs – not so easy with snakes as compared to other creatures, but still best done with the help of an experienced person.
I stay away from force feeding in general unless there are obvious signs that it is essential – “ridge-like” protruding backbone on snakes, for example. They really are good about scaling back their metabolisms to suit the situation – please see This Article re the ability of some to grow while fasting.
Force feeding sometimes stimulates animals to feed on their own, but more often than not it puts the snake off feed for a still longer period, due to stress.
Good luck and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Hello Frank,
Thought I’d update on the eggeaters. Female shed again for me about a week ago(actually while we had her on the table for inspection…must had missed the blue eyed part of the whole thing) and lately has been incredibly restless.(rattling the screen top of the cage, tipping things over etc.). The mating was several months ago. I put a lay box in and she’s been going in and out. Any way to tell whether she is just being weird or if maybe she is actually carrying eggs? I’ve tried feeling for lumps(think I felt a few) but I’d imagine it takes handling a good number of snakes before you can say for sure what you are feeling.
Also, have you ever noticed difference in behavior of snakes(or perhaps other animals) before earthquakes? We felt that 6.9 Baja quake through Socal but aside from the eggeater female(who currently has calmed down a good bit) all my other animals seemed rather unconcerned.
~Joseph
Hello Joseph,
Thanks for the feedback. Assuming all else is the same and there are no problems such as mites, sounds like she is looking for a nest site…you may need to provide more room, additional sites (a partially buried box sometimes works). Snakes usually lay even if site is not ideal, not prone to holding eggs as are turtles, amphibs.
Some reptile houses are installing barometers in order to study behavior before storms – American and Chinese Alligators I worked with always bellowed a day or 2 before a storm, even though kept indoors. I posted a note on Twitter a few days ago about toads that deserted their breeding ponds just before a recent earthquake in Europe; friends in Japan say they have seen this with frogs, also odd behavior from bats. Medieval farmers kept weather loaches to help predict rains etc – they rise to the surface and thrash about, -I’ve kept them most of my life and have never seen this, perhaps they need to be outdoors. I’ve never experienced an earthquake, while in Japan I did speak with a rice farmer who saw odd activity among frogs, loaches and bats, but I did not speak with zoo folks about it – next time.
Good luck and please keep me posted.