1.1 Ovophis tonkinensis

Hello!

Last week I got my first pitviper from a fellow venomous keeper here in Greece,,an Ovophis tonkinensis pair!
Here are some photos of them during their transport to their individual terrariums!

The transportation box


Their individual terrariums...






The pair...they were mating in their transportation box when I opened it and slid them out!












The male in it's terrarium,drinking water from it's bowl. It drank for half an hour continuously!
























The female peeking from it's transportation box...






And within it's terrarium. It went to it's hide once I moved it but minutes latter came out to explore and drink from droplets and latter from it's water bowl.












I plan to try and breed them this year and would like to ask you if this species need coolling or not to breed and when should I put them together. I saw them mate in their transportation box which is good and something the previous owner hadn't seen last year this season. So far my plan is to feed them well this month and then put them together and maybe separate them for three days around each time I want to feed the male as it has the reputation of being difficult to feed. I would also like to ask you how often should I feed each sex.

Regarding their venom,from what I have read and from two bite cases my male Ovophis tonkinensis caused prior to getting it,their venom causes mild to severe swelling,mostly localized and up the bitten limb along with strong pain,which subside after a day with anti-infammatory treatment. In all bite cases I have found and the two local ones from my make,there was no necrosis or any permanent damage. Please let me know if you have heard of bite cases from this species showing different symptoms or ending with some tissue necrosis.

I thought i would share something i found out regarding terrarium moistening and the use of hand sprayers. Well,i have found out that snakes respond defensively to the use of the sprayer,even when held upside down to allow for fine mist to fall of the animal and the enclosure. They are quite afraid of it. I tried it with this new pair of pitvipers and its the only time they freaked out some and got defensive even though the mister was away from them and i was misting upside down! I had noticed that with my Sanzinia madagascariensis but though it was just that particular specimen but now i see they share this fear! After my experience with its use,i would never recommend using a mister near a venomous snake but i wouldnt use one near a non-venomous either,it just stresses them. The same job is done equally easily with a glass of water and the hand in front of it to break the water flow to droplets. This doesnt freak them out at all and they actually liked it a lot! The only minus is when you want to surface moisten the tank as this method uses more water but in a well ventilated terrarium,i think we actually need to use more water than a fast spraying provides as otherwise things dry up too quickly.

Thank you very much in advance!

Here is a video of me handling my male Ovophis tonkinensis that i just uploaded:
Handling male Ovophis tonkinensis

Thanks God these snakes are that calm.
With more active and more nervous species you probably could run into problems when releasing and handling two of'em at a time on the floor.
Wearing shoes would not be a bad idea....
regards
Peter

Thank you very much for your reply and advise Peter! I appreciate it very much! For fast or more dangerous species i would certainly adjust my dressing accordingly and i would take every precaution i could,including heavy dressing,to prevent the fangs reaching flesh in the worst case senario. I will keep it in mind when working with more difficult species
I had seen these handled before so i knew their temperament. They were together in the shipping box so they would anyway be released simultaneously and i preferred an open space to work with them instead of a container. I moved the male first as it has the reputation of being the more difficult of the two(still a calm snake though) and the more easily agitated one that has 2 bites on its record. According to the previous owners,the female has never tried to strike and has been free handled. These snakes virtually sit where you place them as long as it gives a slight feeling of security.... Of course,i try to be prepared for unexpected agitation to act fast and because i was on flip flops,i made sure to keep my feet at much greater distance than needed for their strike range. Its great to deal with such calm snakes!!!

Here is another video of the male that i just uploaded:
Ovophis tonkinensis male drinking water

I am glad you are that happy with them Kostas, I hope the breeding success comes along in the near future...

Keep up the good work

Cheers
Nick

Thanks a lot for your kind comments and wishes Nick!!! I really hope they breed successfully soon!

Cheers!

Great species, I have a newly hatched clutch at the moment. I cooled mine for about 3 months at 7-14 celsius. Just keep in mind that they move fast if they want to and strike fast without any warning.

Free handeled; why on earth?

Its good that pervious owner cannot put his/her fingers anymore in to these terrariums.
I just wonder why some humans cannot find any other ways to contact them adrenaline levels or trying to know them "innerself" any other ways?

To me it sounds wery sick way.
Get a life....

Now i just wonder what snakes this previous keeper do still keep.

The previews owner owns 1.1 bitis arietans and 1.1 naja nigricollis now because he has other projects on his mind... soon he will be owning a couple of kaouthias and haje legionis... ... Also the previews keeper said to the current one not to do it but it is still his choice... The previews keeper also claims that their venom is one of the lighter in nature and has never freehandled any other venomous... Also the previews owner knows his innerself very well so no need for a psychoanalysis... That's is my job (psychologist :-) ) .. I hope the previews keeper answered all your questions my friend...

Regards
Nick Tsiou

Its good to hear that you do have enough experience to put things in the levels that they needed and i respect that, but still i do need to hear written words from your snake seller about his thougts handeling methods as also Ovophis sp. venom toxicology.

Im running after this because if im right, he is somehow your mentor and behing your information and so far also responsible questions?

Quote :

I hope the previews keeper answered all your questions my friend...

In my opinion more new questions rise up - concerning the previous owners basic knowledge about snake venoms and their different effects for example.....
Did i get that right - Ovophis spp. can be freehandled because of their venom belonging to the "lighter ones in nature"?

@Toni I am the prevews keeper I was being sarcastic... I have never free handled any other venomous snake exept this female ovophis... She was my first venomous and I freehandled her after almost a year, having monitored all her behaviors and I can say she is a very very nice snake to keep and work with that is why they were sold to someone without any previews experience on venomous. In my oppinion this is the best species to start with... As I would't like to mess with Kostas's thread any further I would love to answer any questions you might have via personal messages or even better email.

@Peter Zucher (Your holyness) I am going to answer on that only because I don't want to create missunderstandings that can lead to other keepers problems... As I mentioned above THIS ovophis was being handled by me... I have made it clear to Kostas that he shouldn't do it in any occasion, and now I am making it clear again that I do not recomend free handling to anyone. On the other hand I have never tried to free handle the male ovophis which is very agressive for its species or any other venomous snake. I hope I made it clear now.


P.S. I wouldn't confuse the word mentor with the word friend... For example Aris Politis (tough guy) is my friend... my mentor wouldn't even bother writing in forums...

Its a big loss, that our egos and/or "common senses" cannot sit down in to the same table/forum. But what i feel, as ex-zoo and animalpark worker is that no matter how many years you might have known whatever animal personality, there is still big opening questions that raise up from everyday situation that every animal keeper will learn etology in every day.

If there is potential danger or risk you should respect that as what it is.

I don't think that our egos or whatver cannot sit on the same table... I also respect your background as an ex zoo worker and your experience but I can assure you that this animal would never bite... I have great respect for animals that can harm people.

Cheers
Nick Tsiou

Quote :

I have great respect for animals that can harm people.

we all can see your respect, Mr. Tsioumas:

Quote :

but I can assure you that this animal would never bite

that's what avoidable bites/accidents are made from, and people with such an attitude could become a candidate for the Darwin Award sooner or later.

I had writen a reply Mr Zucher... I can't see it now, how come? I would understand if this was going on at the general venomous keeping section but to continue it on another thread isn't very smart.

Cheers
Nick Tsiou

xxxxxxxdeleted by adminxxxxxxx

Quote :

I had writen a reply Mr Zucher

and i deleted it, as i always do with offtopic personal provocations.

and my name is Zürcher, please.

and thread closed!

regards
Peter Zürcher