What issues need attention when raising snakes artificially?
I. Bait and Feeding
Because snake species differ, their palatability for food is not the same, and each snake species has a certain selectivity in its food requirements. For example, the many-banded krait (Bungarus multicinctus) likes to eat rice-field eels and loaches; the cobra likes to eat frogs and other small snakes; the sharp-nosed pit viper (Deinagkistrodon acutus) likes to eat frogs, toads, lizards, rodents, and birds; the king cobra likes to eat non-venomous snakes; the oriental rat snake (Ptyas mucosa) likes to eat frogs and toads; the beauty rat snake (Elaphe taeniura) likes to eat mice. Food should be selected according to different snake species and in combination with local feed resources, and the food source can also be enriched through capture, rearing, and breeding. According to foreign experience, coarse protein, crude fat, crude fiber, calcium, phosphorus, minerals, etc., supplemented with vitamin A and B2 and mixed with an appropriate amount of water, are poured into sausage casing to make sausages, inducing snakes to eat, which provides a reference for greatly expanding the food sources of snakes.
How large is a snake's food intake? At present there is still no complete information, and it is generally believed that during the active period, the monthly food intake is close to 1/2 of its own body weight. A sharp-nosed pit viper weighing more than 500 grams is fed 250 grams of bait per month. In addition, the bait must be rich and varied, which is the key to raising snakes well.
During the active period from May to November, feeding is generally once a week, or "live food" is kept available in the feed pool, so the snakes can eat at any time and catch at will. The months when most snakes have the greatest demand for food are May, July, and October. May is the egg-carrying period, with high nutritional requirements. July is the egg-laying period, and after laying eggs the body is weak, requiring large amounts of food to nourish the body. October is on the eve of hibernation, requiring accumulation of nutrition to resist cold and survive the winter. Meeting the nutritional needs of these three stages is a major issue related to whether snakes can be raised well, and great attention must be given to it. Normally, large and small snakes should be managed separately to avoid the phenomenon of large snakes swallowing small snakes. Feeding time is determined by the activity patterns of the snake species; for example, the banded krait (Bungarus fasciatus) likes to be active at night, so bait should be placed near the snake nest before the snakes come out in the evening, making it easy for the snakes to find. Feed should preferably be fresh live food; it is strictly forbidden to feed spoiled eggs, and spoiled residual bait should be removed promptly.
II. Overwintering and Summering
Snakes are poikilothermic animals, and when the environmental temperature is below 13°C, they enter a dormant state. Wild snakes often die during overwintering at rates of 1/3 to 2/3 due to poor winter insulation conditions. Therefore, overwintering management is very important, and this is a major issue related to the success or failure of snake raising. The following aspects should be noted for overwintering.
(1) Before the beginning of winter, do a good job of fattening and restoring the snakes' condition, letting them eat more, eat their fill, and eat well, so that more fat is deposited in the body. Do not take, or take less, bile and snake venom.
(2) Add soil and grass to the snake nest and snake house, and seal the doors and holes of the nest house to strictly prevent invasion by cold wind.
(3) Overwinter in groups. Gather more than ten or dozens of snakes of the same species together to overwinter, and cover the nest with a relatively thick layer of soil and insulation such as rice straw and wheat straw, so that the snake nest is below the frozen soil layer. Group overwintering can raise body temperature by 1 to 2 degrees. Normally do not disturb the snake group, so that the snakes enter the best hibernation state.
(4) Place a basin of clean water in the nest house, which can both regulate humidity and be available for the snakes to drink when they wake. The relative temperature of the overwintering environment should be maintained at 8°C.
By adopting the above comprehensive measures, they can generally overwinter safely. If the temperature is lower, further cold-proof and heat-preserving measures should be taken, covering the top and surroundings of the entire snake nest house with soil 1 to 5 meters thick, or artificially heating the passage, installing an electric heater or electric heating stove, etc., but the nest house temperature should not exceed 8°C, and even more so the nest house temperature must not suddenly rise or fall, otherwise the snakes in the entire nest house will sometimes emerge from dormancy (wake) and sometimes enter dormancy (hibernate), causing mass death.
In addition, when spring returns to the earth, it is exactly the time when snakes revive and come out of their holes, and it is also a stage when snakes easily die, so special attention should be paid to wind protection, cold protection, and heat preservation, and bait and drinking water should be supplied in time.
In the hot summer season, when the outside temperature exceeds 35°C, a shade shed must be set up in the snake farm and water sprinkled to lower the temperature.
III. Raising Young Snakes
One to two months after the young snakes hatch, they can be raised in snake boxes, large cement pipes, or large vats. The cover can be made of fine-mesh wire netting, and the front board of the box is best made of thick glass for easy observation. The bottom is spread with mud and sand and turf, and some bricks and tiles are placed on top for the young snakes to hide. A thermometer is placed in the snake box to control temperature and humidity well.
Young snakes begin their first molting about 10 days after hatching. For newly hatched young snakes, force-feeding a mixed bait of raw eggs with a certain amount of calcium tablets and vitamins A and D, etc., has a good effect; the feeding tool can be a dropper or syringe. After two months of age, they can continue to be raised in snake boxes or moved to a snake garden. Feed such as small earthworms, insects, pinky mice, and small loaches can be provided.
Young snake deaths are mainly caused by failure to actively feed and drink after hatching and by temperatures being too high in the early overwintering period. Therefore, before overwintering, measures such as force-feeding should be taken so that they obtain sufficient nutrition. The overwintering temperature should not exceed 8°C, and it is best to keep it relatively constant.
IV. Other Management Points
(1) Do a good job of cleaning and sanitation in the snake garden and snake boxes, frequently removing food remains, animal carcasses, and feces, etc. Ensure feed and drinking water hygiene. If sick snakes are found, they should be isolated and treated promptly.
Do a good job of safety precautions, wear protective clothing and trousers, carry snake-catching tools, and do not catch snakes barehanded. It is best for two people to enter the snake garden at the same time, and the snake garden should be equipped with first-aid medicines and equipment. Whether farm-raised or box-raised, covers must be locked, and walls, doors, and windows must be inspected frequently and repaired promptly.
(2) Once bitten by a venomous snake, give first aid immediately. First reduce activity and stay calm; second, ligate immediately. The ligation site should be at the near side of one joint above the wound. If the lower leg is bitten, it should be tied at the upper end of the knee joint, and every 20 to 30 minutes it should be loosened for 1 to 2 minutes. Next, wash the wound and enlarge the wound to drain the venom. It is best to repeatedly wash with hydrogen peroxide or 0.1% potassium permanganate solution, use a sterilized small knife, etc., to cut a "-" shape between the two fang marks, then gently squeeze around the wound, preferably using a cupping jar to suck out the venom, then apply medicine and take medicine. Those with relatively good efficacy include Nantong snake medicine, Shanghai Qunsheng snake medicine, Guangdong Zhanjiang snake medicine, Fujian snake medicine, etc. Use them according to the instructions. If there is no treatment experience or the symptoms are severe, the patient must be sent to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible, and delay must be avoided.