Echis pyramidum leakeyi

Almost a year since i got these beauties. They are feisty and especially one will move towards me rubbing the scales in S-shape and attack at the same time if i disturb them like clean the tank or offer them food. But because these are small it´s very easy to stay out of their range and they have been pretty easy on hooks too. Very nice snakes to have in my honest opinion as long as one is carefull with them and remembers how dangerous they can be Smile

And last but not least, some pics of the lil´ devils Razz

Echis pyramidum leakeyi Echis-pyramidum-leakeyi-07

Echis pyramidum leakeyi Echis-pyramidum-leakeyi-05

Echis pyramidum leakeyi Echis-pyramidum-leakeyi-02

Echis pyramidum leakeyi Echis-pyramidum-leakeyi-11

Very nice Vipers. What is this locality?

Hi

Great animals, and I don't like snakes coming out of skulls, but it fits on echis Laughing

Thanks, i can´t remember closer (i have it written somewhere) but from Kenya.
I don´t like using skulls as decoration but for these it fitted and it´s their favourite hide Laughing

It´s almost like from movies as they roam through the eye to bite at intruders Razz

And these also gladly take crickets..

Guest

They look great. I like the proportion of eye to head makes them look so innocent.

Stefan, have you noticed any change on the color of the animals?
in some cases -at least with true vipers- the colors seem to appear brighter when fed with crickets.
Wether this means that the insects are preferred prey for young vipers, I don't know, but this is what I've heard, red, and actually witnessed on dry area species.

I do not have waterproof evidence on this theory, mind. Could be just in my head too.

That's an interesting bit of info Janne. I wonder if the crickets would indeed brighten the colors. Maybe I should try once again if mine would take crickets.
I recall I once tried but they didn't take. When I tried locusts, the snakes got away quick, so I went back to giving mice.

Yours look fantastic Stefan.
And if you don't mind, let me refresh your memory; these are from Lake Baringo.
By the way, skulls rule... Laughing

As do severed fingers, haha.

Not 100% certain, but my female looks like she might have eggs again.
We'll see... Smile

Hi,

indeed they look innocent but they surely don´t act that way. But their small size makes it more than easy to keep out of their way Very Happy

Hi Janne, that´s an interesting thought. I must admit that i haven´t noticed any colourchange, atleast not so dramatic. But i wonder what the case would be if they were fed a larger variety of insects and more, could very well change. They mostly eat mice with good appetite but it would be more than interesting to see would the colouration change to any direction if most of their food would be of insects. I must definitely try someday, thanks for the idea. Smile

These are the only snakes that have taken insects here, others i´ve tried aswell but seemed to have no interest on them.

Thanks Christian for the refreshment, my memory acts like an very old (wo)man.
Well in some cases skulls rule but no comments on those severed fingers Very Happy

Let´s hope that she lays eggs for you and you get some out of them, and ofcourse that offspring from these would be easier than ocellatus Razz

Every now and then I nearly get a couple, but theyre just too damn lethal.
This however does not make sense concidering what animals I actually keep in my collection.
Perhaps it is the fact that something so little and functional terrarium snake can be so devastatingly venomous.

A lancehead is an easy translation; it hits the glass waaaayyy before you even decide to make the wrong move.

Anyway, these spectacular little vipers are sold even too cheap at conventions, almost disrespectful.
Same goes with many species.

Guest

Very true Janne, but they are amazing little guys to keep never the less!

Yes they are amazing to keep Smile

But as said earlier or in other topics, these are much easier to have than some elapids or lanceheads due to the fact that they are easy to handle with hooks and i don´t need any matrix moves to stay in a safe distance Wink

Maybe some larger and aggressive species warn in good time but i try to stay sharp with all venomous that i have, even the ones that aren´t considered that dangerous.

If I'm not mistaken Echis too will give you a fair warning, so that would be a poor excuse from me.
One might wan't to have a huge Echis-gallery to protest the ridicilously low prices of these animals sold on conventions.
It does have qualities; small, easy to house, breeds without alien technology and doesn't die immediately on one breath like dwarf Bitis could very well do.

Depends on Echis and day, sometimes they warn in good time and sometimes they don´t warn at all, atleast the ones i have. So i don´t use an excuse as i state that i try to be carefull with all venomous species regardless how dangerous they are. And eventhough they would breed more easily than some species, atleast some Echis young seem to be rather difficult in getting going.

Poor excuse FROM ME, not you, mate!
Yeah, it's very true that there's no harmless venomous.

How big exactly are newborn leakeyi?

Oh yeah and congratulations, you're getting old!

Like F. Weinsheimer mentioned at another Echis-thread, it's really strange to see what type of hots some people keep - large Bitis, mambas etc. - and then Echis is just too much.
It's funny, really, I never understood that either Smile

I don't have too much experience with this genus so far, but my specimens from both species I keep have been a real pleasure to work with. Never aggressive, but inquisitive and curious.
If my ocellatus are hungry, they are quick to come and check out what I'm doing if I'm changing water, cleaning etc.

Sorry, i understood it the wrong way Smile

If these are compared to ocellatus (the newborns are small in my book), considering the size difference in general, the newborn could be very small. And i haven´t got any experience in raising such but if some Echis are very difficult or nearly impossible to get to eat without forcefeeding, i´ll also consider these difficult before proven otherwise. Thenagain these adults have many times fed on crickets here so you never know...

But as Christian mentioned it is strange that someone has mambas etc. but Echis are too much for them, thenagain if someone feels that way it´s wise to leave them. There are many interesting species in the hobby and all aren´t equally dangerous. In my opinion these are very beautiful and interesting snakes and that´s why i have these also Smile

But my leakeyi are aggressive (the male very aggressive) and eventhough sometimes i don´t hear any rasping as i change waterbowl or otherwise work in their enclosure, it´s always best to stay sharp with these.

Thanks, hopefully this engine will keep me going for some more years to come Razz

Guest

When I think of the top 3 species to watch or not lose site of during interaction the first response I have is 1. Bitis 2. Echis and 3. Cerastes don't trust any of them for a second or regret it if you survive it.

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