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Posted by Chance on November 16, 2002 at 22:52:11:
In Reply to: How toxic are Mangroves? posted by cf on November 16, 2002 at 20:29:03:
:Hi, I've done alot of searching and have bacically come up with nothing regarding how toxic the Mangrove snake really is, and what type of toxin it carries. Can some of you that are working with this snake give me some info on the danger levels of working with this snake, and some basic care requirements? I'm not planning to get one, it's more of a curiosity from my interest in this species!
I've heard mangrove envenomation described varying from almost no effects, to mild neurotoxicity, including nausia, headache, and both fatigue and giddiness. This wide range of described symptoms are probably because of the amount of venom the victim let the snake chew into them. More would always be worse. For specific venom facts, I'd ask Bryan Fry (or BGF on these forums) as he's doing lots of research on various colubrid venoms. Judging by the wide range of degrees mangrove envenomation can cause, I'd say that pretty good precautions should be undertaken when working with them. You never know when you might be that first person to go down in history as dieing from a mangrove bite...be it from your own sensitivity or from a particularly toxic individual. As far as general care advice, I keep 1.1 of these animals. I keep mine together, though that's not always advisable as cannibalism can certainly happen in this sp. I'm just hoping for some breeding attempts. They can be very finicky eaters, some only wanting to take reptiles. Some, however, can do great on rodents. Mine seem to prefer baby rats in the early fuzzy stage, alive. I haven't been able to get them to take mice just yet. They are nocturnal so they would require a hide for the daytime hours, and the humidity should be moderate to high, as they are from tropical areas in the wild. Some mangroves can be very aggressive snakes that just love to try and bite (like my male), and some can be rather calm and seemingly not mind handling when necessary (like my female). Every one is individual. Unfortunately, most of these animals offered on the market are w.c., as evidently it is sometimes difficult to get them to breed readily in captivity. C.b. animals are always preferable, but sometimes not practical (such as when someone has a supposed "c.b." mangrove, decides he's the only one in the world with one, and asks a heck of a lot more than the animal would ever be worth for it, lol). Anyway, hope this helped a little.
