Bothriopsis bilineata bilineata

I can only agree with Stefan.

Those are truly beautiful!
Good luck with the feeding part!

Thanks from the imput Albert!
These are really strange snakes, they don't start drinking as normal snakes would when you mist them.. Is really frustraiting to mist them every otherday and see them dry.
Here's an example of couple.
Bothriopsis bilineata bilineata - Page 3 Dyhyd

Bothriopsis bilineata bilineata - Page 3 Dyhyd

The boxes where I keep them should have good ventilation so this should not be the problem.. I have also put them in a box with water and then mist them (this sometimes makes them drink), perhaps this is more natural because they should live near small streams and so on..
I'll post a pic of the box later so you can see how I keep them.. if anyone is interested.

Cheers
Sami

OK here you go..
Bothriopsis bilineata bilineata - Page 3 Bili_terra1

Bothriopsis bilineata bilineata - Page 3 Bili_terra2

This is how I keep them.

I change the paper to peat in couple of boxes (on those induviduals which dry the most) just to check if that changes anything.

Hello, Sam, no problem my favorite subject next to rare Cuban Palmtrees is Palm-Pitvipers and Forest -Pitvipers.
Sami the fotos help out a lot to diagnose your situation , if the Forest-Pitvipers were mine this is what i would do.

A) Leave the ones that are doing well alone or "As-Is".
B) Up the feed on the ones that are not progressing as well to once every 5 days .
C) Continue from B) Add 4 -8 centimeter of water as an entire floor covering substrate.
D) Continue from B) Reduce ventilation as with Tree Monitors V.Reisingeri , V.Prasinus group .
E) As an option bring perch closer to water or place plastic plants with some in the water some out.
F) These snakes would feed well today , on live frogs , but this is not an option due to parasite and protozoan load of even captive born Amphiabianoid specimens.

* Palm-Pitvipers are amazingly tough and resilent snakes and can handle a lot of mistakes except dehydration.

good luck,

Albert.

Thanks again from the tips.
I could try adding just water as "substrate" on the ones which dehydrate most easilly. The ones which eat ok do not dehydrate any more btw. they drink almost everytime when I mist them. So they have "learn the trick" Razz

Reducing ventilation is something what I don't want to do because it can lead to respiratory problmes (happen to one of my T. wagleri). Not of course sure with bilineatas..

I have also think your plan B. I'd perhaps need to force feed the ones which aren't eating so good more often.. I have tried to avoid this for many reasons, but it seems it will be the only way to get them feeding properly.

Cheers!

hello Sami how are the babys doing, hope all of them are starting to drink and eat by themselves, keep updated and wish ypu the best.

regards

Yes Sami, please update us on the progress of this litter and the parents (especially the father). This is a notoriously difficult species to culture; the history you relate (of this litter) combined with your deep experience w/ diverse arboreals only validate this reputation for the rest of us. I'd surely have killed them all by now...

Not to hijack your thread but (since you mentioned a respiratory issue w/ poor air circulation) I'd also love to hear more of your husbandry experience w/ Tropidolaemus - another "white whale" (American literature reference - Moby Dick) for many of us. I have no personal experience w/ Bothriopsis but Waglers - other than adult females - have been a bitch for me. At least whatever they're calling the Sumatrans nowadays - that's all I've tried.

Best,
Jimi

Hi! Here's an little update.
Rest of the babies are now working ok exept one, they are also quite shy feeders so you need to tease them a bit (tapping on the side of the snakes or tail usually do the trick). There is also still a few that dehydrates easilly. I try to mist these more and so on, but some days the misting doesn't seem to work (they just don't start drinking).
I'm not 100% sure of the gender of the babies but what I think is that the more harder ones might be males.

I have also notice that their metabolism is much faster than I expected (like the other arboreal vipers) and I could have fed them little more perhaps..
What else I could say.. hmm oh some of them have shed their skin for the third time now.
If there anything else you need to know just ask and I'l ltry to write something Smile

The adult male and female are doing fine, the female shed it's skin couple of days ago and it's about time to get it feeding again (it was off from food around a month just hiding on the ground).
I try to take some new photos of the adults and the juveniles soon.

Ah, very glad to hear of your amazing good fortune (and that some of your pals over there may benefit soon from it!). Sami I think we wrote in some years past (another forum, I forget maybe Ratelslangen?) but it must have been at least 2008 maybe earlier. Probably talking Vipera, or perhaps C lepidus.

I thought the academic phylogeny of Bothriopsis has gone back and forth, and this genus may actually be back in Bothrops (for now? ha ha) which would sort of back up your observation about faster metabolism than most other arboreals.

Um...do you find the parent or at least the big mother are more like a Bothrops asper or colombiensis in temperament than most other arboreals? Or are they similarly mellow at least in daytime? I've only actually been close to one of these (adult female Suriname import), at Glades back around 2005. Cool beast for sure.

Cheers,
Jimi

Sami,

I am curious about the progress of the young bilineata. Also, did you attempt to reproduce the adult female again?

Great snakes, best wishes,

Michael

» Bothriopsis bilineata bilineata, images deleted.
» My B. bilineata
» Bothriopsis bilineata
» B. bilineata / B. lateralis
» Bothriopsis bilineata (Perú)