grass snakes

[Faunaofthenorth]

hey, i know in the past there have been threads for these guys but i was still wondering where i may find one for sale or any breeders of grass snakes, ive always wanted one, and i know they are protected in europe but are they available int he u.s.??? anyone know?

[ConcinusMan]

They used to be in my local pet store all the time. Haven't seen any in quite a few years though. You mean these? (Natrix natrix)

http://www.bto.org/gbw/herps/species%20accounts/grasssnake.htm

When european countries pose protection on species, the U.S. usually follows suit and bans their importation.

They also used to have these super thin shoestring looking snakes with pointy heads. Very tiny snakes, striped. They had cryptic coloration but were tan and blended in with grass very well. They called them grass snakes too. Not sure what they were. I think they were from east asia or the orient. I was trying to find it when I found this very interesting article:
http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0129-snake.html

Ahhh, I found them, but under the name "oriental vine snake". These are green but the one's in the pet store were tan or brownish with light stripes and were feeding on small crickets. Apparently, they do well in a humid, lushly planted viv. Aren't they just the coolest? Trippy.
http://agray.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/66410-004-11036a3d.jpg

[Faunaofthenorth]

sweet, yea the ones im talking about are the natrix species, i remember hearing that they arent illegal in the u.s. but i don't know for sure, and those vine snakes i love their eyes, they are one of the only species of snakes in the world to develope advanced eyes that have structures similar to retinal fovea, that are used for identifying stationary targets, and thats why their pupils are horizontal, man snakes are extraordinary

[ConcinusMan]

Natrix are not illegal to have in the U.S. But I believe that importation stopped years ago so availability may be limited.

oh here we go. The brown version: Aren't they neat?
http://richard-seaman.com/Wallpaper/Nature/Reptiles/Snakes/BrownVineSnake.jpg

[Faunaofthenorth]

haha yea most def, i had a dream recently that i could communite in language with reptiles, and when i asked this chameleon in my dream what was on it's mind, and it said eh not much and that was it, lol, then i asked a snake and it said the same thing, but yet when i asked the snake, it was in the middle of balancing on the end of its tail on a branch, and reaching out to attack a tree frog, hmm what a cool dream

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah, cool dream. I had one or two like that over the years. I dreamt that my concinnus could talk to me but they actually could. Just not with words. Alright guys, snakes are happy, I gotta get to work at the computer shop. Cya later.

[Stefan-A]

Didn't take long to get this thread off topic. :rolleyes:

[drache]

there are natrix available in the US occasionally through people who import them
I don't know how expensive they are, but I do know of one source, and I believe Shannon got some

[ssssnakeluvr]

shannon does have a few.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Yes, I do actually, I have two females and an unrelated male, all 09's. I originally had a male that was the brother of the two females but he was a weakling and he did not make it. They are eating and growing well... but let me tell you something, the babies are rather fussy and I find them to be more delicate than garter snakes. My two females just ate pinky parts for the first time, off my tongs, with zero scenting! I was so proud... it took a LONG time to get them there. They are big enough to eat who newborn pinks but it takes them a while so it's better to chop them now. My male will not touch anything but live platies and guppies so far, but he is rather new so I will work on that. At the moment I don't know anywhere you could obtain a grass snake of any sort. But if you'd like to wait about 2 years... I will hopefully have eggs cooking!

When I want a snake... I try very hard to track them down, but the natrix natrix were a real challenge. They are very hard to find and when you do find some you have to be quick because everyone else wants them too. I got -very- lucky to snag my girls... and with them I also picked up 1.1 natrix tesselata. These (Dice Snakes) are larger and eat whole medium pinkies and silversides.... they seem to be "tougher". They are really good at hissing. Their musk reeks to high heaven. If you do find natrix natrix, they are going to cost you a pretty penny! I spent over $400 acquiring the female grass snakes and the tesselata, and those were at dirt cheap prices that made my heart soar.

[Faunaofthenorth]

hey shannon thanks for the info, i figured they were more of a challenge than garter snakes, thats awesome, minus the one that you lost, and i thought they would be rather expensive, i have come accross three before at shops i have absolutely no idea why i didnt purchase them there but it happens, ill try my best to find them, i did a loong time ago see someone advertise them on kingsnake.com but i have not seen any on there since and that was five years ago, i guess i'll just have to keep my eyes peeled, and if you ever have eggs later on....I'm In lol lol, but i'm sure they were worth the 400 though, they are quite beautiful, i've always wanted natrix natrix, and natrix maura since i was a young boy after watching pbs and i saw one eating a toad on there i was like WHOOOAAA haha

[ConcinusMan]

Being the funny (or annoying) guy that I am, I'd still rather have a viv with a few vine snakes. :p

[Faunaofthenorth]

ahh ur not annoying, id like those too, especially the ones with the adapted eyesight that'd be cool, i'm just a huuuge fan of the natricinae family, don't know why but i am, and besides natrix, ive always wanted a clonophis, or kirtland's snake, although i'm aware that they are very rare now so i'm no longer as interested, and would rather keep them in the wild then possibly have one die on me if ya know what i mean

[ConcinusMan]

I'm always looking for cheap reptile enclosures on craigslist. I found a 29 gallon long with slide lock top for $15 and a 20 gallon for $12. Going to snatch those up today. Anyway, in the process of looking through the ads, low and behold, I find a 4 foot asian vine snake for adoption! very tempting but I want to fill these tanks with Thams! Besides that, this vine snake will only eat anoles. That can get a bit expensive and in recent years, many of the pet stores around here don't even carry them.

Oh, also found a male 6 foot everglades rat snake. He's a beauty. Again, very tempting.

[Faunaofthenorth]

sweet man how ironic huh? haha, man i wish i lived in the everglades, yea i know there are alligators but i'm not afraid of alligators, whats weird is that in virginia, mn, which is where i live, its waaaay up in northern minnesota, a friend of mine has a 5 foot alligator, i was like no way he was like yea my dad's had it for years, they turned their entire basement into a giant enclosure and they feed it chickens and other things like that, but yea craigslist is sweat

[ConcinusMan]

I believe it's illegal to keep an american alligator as a pet. They actually used to sell babies in the pet stores here when I was a kid. Caimans remained legal in WA up until a couple of years ago.

[Faunaofthenorth]

yea i believe so too, i kno that he had to go through the DNR or something and he rescued it from being killed that's all i kno but anyways, ever get bit bye a large water snake??? now thatll keep u on ur toes, i had a broad-banded in high school and man he would tair my skin off like a glove pretty much, well actually it was a she, many times i went to school with blood all over the teachers once thought i was a masicist, lol but i wasnt i just told them i have a really powerful snake haha

[ConcinusMan]

I had a 7 foot gopher snake tear me wide open before. Needed stitches! That was only because of the reflex to jerk back. :rolleyes:

[Faunaofthenorth]

ahh yes the gopher snake powerful animal, but on topic i'm still gonna look for grass snakes, i still really want one although i'm STILL looking for a smooth green snake although i'm into other snakes now more so but ive still always wanted one

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I believe it's illegal to keep an american alligator as a pet. They actually used to sell babies in the pet stores here when I was a kid. Caimans remained legal in WA up until a couple of years ago.

it isn't here:(

although I wish it was, because people simply should not have access to alligators as pets.

[Faunaofthenorth]

i agree

[mustang]

they have similar looking snakes called vine snakes and i bet they have the grass snakes at www.reptilesncritters.com they might not have any in stock for a while so look at all the snakes they breed in stck and out of stock!

[Faunaofthenorth]

hey thanks, ill check it out and ill keep checking back to see what they have or get later, thanks

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

they have similar looking snakes called vine snakes and i bet they have the grass snakes at www.reptilesncritters.com (http://www.reptilesncritters.com) they might not have any in stock for a while so look at all the snakes they breed in stck and out of stock!
That's just a website that gets stuff in and re-sells it, like an online pet store. I would not buy an animal from an online "store" deal, ever... you never know what you might get with that but it definitely won't be what's in the picture!

[Faunaofthenorth]

i agree, and even if it was what was int he picture im sure the quality/condition of the animal would not be the best

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

yea i believe so too, i kno that he had to go through the DNR or something and he rescued it from being killed that's all i kno but anyways, ever get bit bye a large water snake??? now thatll keep u on ur toes, i had a broad-banded in high school and man he would tair my skin off like a glove pretty much, well actually it was a she, many times i went to school with blood all over the teachers once thought i was a masicist, lol but i wasnt i just told them i have a really powerful snake haha


ever been nailed by a retic? Now THAT will keep you on your toes :D

it makes even a very large angry water snake bite feel like cherry pie!:cool:

[mustang]

i agree, and even if it was what was int he picture im sure the quality/condition of the animal would not be the best
some people on forum have bought from this website and no fatalities....and pics u want to ignore them....look at scientific names they give and googleem and look at those pics. due to lack of dealers in certain places ill probably be getting my monitor(when i move out) from them. but if a local dealer hasem id settle for that

[ConcinusMan]

they have similar looking snakes called vine snakes and i bet they have the grass snakes at www.reptilesncritters.com (http://www.reptilesncritters.com) they might not have any in stock for a while so look at all the snakes they breed in stck and out of stock!

Yeah, earlier in this thread we already talked about asian vine snakes.(2nd and 3rd post) They are way cool but not what he's looking for. I would have got a vine snake in a heartbeat if they weren't such specialized feeders. Found a 4 footer on craigslist a few days ago. Unless you have an anole farm, feeding them would be challenge. And OMG! I found an adult black milk snake for $75. God I would love to have that but my garter goals and space won't allow it. I just don't have room for a snake that can reach 8 or 9 feet.
http://kingsnake.com/highsierra/images/photos/803blackmilk-med.jpg

Still, he's looking for Natrix natrix I believe. Good luck with that!

[mustang]

Yeah, earlier in this thread we already talked about asian vine snakes.(2nd and 3rd post) They are way cool but not what he's looking for. I would have got a vine snake in a heartbeat if they weren't such specialized feeders. Found a 4 footer on craigslist a few days ago. Unless you have an anole farm, feeding them would be challenge. And OMG! I found an adult black milk snake for $75. God I would love to have that but my garter goals and space won't allow it. I just don't have room for a snake that can reach 8 or 9 feet.
http://kingsnake.com/highsierra/images/photos/803blackmilk-med.jpg

Still, he's looking for Natrix natrix I believe. Good luck with that!I want to use craigslist to sell stuff but mom dosnt want wierdos at the house

[ConcinusMan]

LoL. Yeah, I understand. Wouldn't want someone like me showing up.

No, but seriously I do it but I never reveal my address OR phone number. I have them respond by email. I get their number and we work out a place to meet. No biggie.

What kind of "stuff" do you have in mind?

[mustang]

LoL. Yeah, I understand. Wouldn't want someone like me showing up.

No, but seriously I do it but I never reveal my address OR phone number. I have them respond by email. I get their number and we work out a place to meet. No biggie.

What kind of "stuff" do you have in mind?
finding exotic reptiles

[ConcinusMan]

I couldn't believe it when I found that black milk snake. Amazing and beautiful snakes.