What are the key technical points for managing a snake farm in different seasons?

Snake farming is a specialized breeding industry that has emerged in recent years. When it comes to understanding snake farming techniques, many people who keep snakes still have only a partial understanding, and unreasonable snake farming management often leads to problems such as snake diseases on snake farms. So how should a snake farm be managed in different seasons? What are the key technical points of snake farm management? Let me walk you through them below.

1. How should a snake farm be managed in different seasons?

1. Spring management work (February to April)

Snakes used for farming are generally best introduced in spring, as there is no need to worry about the weather being too cold or too hot during transport, and the farm will soon enter the egg-laying period. Before introducing snakes and placing them into the snake farm, the site should be cleaned in advance, and cleaning and disinfection work should be done well. Snakes that have just emerged from hibernation basically do not eat for the first 2 to 3 weeks. They only begin to eat a small amount of food in April, and their food intake increases greatly in May. Sufficient and hygienic feed should be provided regularly, and the snake farm should have clean drinking water. At the same time, snake farmers should frequently observe the snakes' activities and promptly record the snakes' predation, drinking, shedding, mate-chasing, mating, reproduction, pest and disease conditions, and deaths.

2. Summer management work (May to July)

Summer is the main mating and breeding season for snakes, and also the peak season for predation, activity, and growth. Female snakes should be well cared for, snake eggs should be collected in time, and preparations for breeding and incubation should be made well. Female snakes and male snakes should be separated and kept individually, and the food supply should be sufficient and varied. Female snakes that are about to lay eggs should be carefully observed. If egg granules are seen 3 to 4 cm from the cloaca, eggs can generally be laid about 1 week later. Attention should be paid to collecting snake eggs and doing a good job of artificially incubating young snakes. During the intense heat of midsummer, cooling work for the snake nests should be done well, the snake farm should have clean drinking water, and feces should be cleaned up in time.

3. Autumn management work (August to October)

Autumn is the peak predation season for snakes, so the feed supplied to snakes in autumn should be of high quality and large quantity, so that the snakes store a large amount of fat in their bodies to supply the body's consumption during winter overwintering and the emergence period the following year. At this time, individual snakes with small food intake should be artificially force-fed so that they can pass the winter safely. Because wild snakes have a large predation volume in autumn and often leave their holes to seek food, this is also a good time to capture breeding snakes.

4. Winter management work (November to January of the following year)

Winter is the key season for artificial farming and is related to whether snakes can safely overwinter. In particular, snakes from which venom was extracted before overwintering or snakes with weaker constitutions require even stronger management during the overwintering period. Before overwintering, snakes should be allowed to eat and drink their fill, and the feed should be of high quality, large quantity, and varied, so that they can accumulate enough fat to meet the needs of overwintering. During the overwintering period, snakes should be kept at an appropriate temperature (young snakes require an indoor temperature of 2 to 6 degrees C for overwintering), and indoor temperatures must be strictly prevented from fluctuating high and low, so as to avoid causing young snakes to wake up during hibernation, which is unfavorable for overwintering. In winter, the temperature and humidity of the snake farm should be checked regularly. Plastic film should be covered over the snake overwintering pond. When the temperature rises again, the plastic film should be opened so that the snakes can leave their holes and move around in the sunny areas of the snake farm. Sick snakes should be isolated or killed in time to prevent infection of the whole group. Because snakes are especially concentrated during overwintering, infectious diseases spread very quickly and are highly harmful.

2. What are the key technical points of snake farm management?

1. The snake farm should be kept clean and hygienic. The snake farm and snake nests must be inspected every day (except in winter). Dead snakes or dead food that has been bitten to death by snakes but not swallowed should be picked out in time, so as to avoid rotting and spoiling due to excessively high temperatures and causing environmental pollution. The drinking water in snake ponds or snake ditches should be replaced in a timely manner. When cleaning the pond, the moss attached to the pond edges or ditch edges should be scrubbed off to ensure that the water source is clean and fresh. In addition, the vegetation in the farm should be pruned regularly so that it can both provide shade and relieve summer heat, and also green and beautify the environment.

2. The walls, wall foundations, and drainage outlets (holes) around the snake farm should be frequently inspected, and rat holes and cracks should be repaired in time when found. Trees close to the snake farm wall should be pruned in a timely manner, and snakes must be strictly prevented from climbing along the trees and escaping.

3. If venomous snakes are being raised, drinking alcohol is not allowed before entering the snake farm, and even less is it allowed to directly handle venomous snakes bare-handed after drinking. Workers entering the farm should wear high boots and protective clothing and hats. Generally, two people should go together so they can look after each other and prevent being bitten by venomous snakes. When catching snakes, snake-catching tools such as iron tongs and special snake hooks should be used. When grabbing, the movements must be gentle and quick, and one must never be slow and sluggish. When patrolling the snake farm at night, lighting equipment should be kept away from one's side or a head-swiveling flashlight should be used, and attention should also be paid to the ground underfoot or the grass. If there are no special circumstances, it is best not to directly enter the snake farm at night; watching from the top of the wall is enough.

4. The feeding personnel at a snake farm must love snake farming work and have a potential awareness and good attitude of caring for animals, so that they can establish a positive mindset of being “friends” with snakes and taking “joy” in snakes, which is also a reliable guarantee for reducing snake injuries caused by humans. Although artificial snake farming does not require feeding personnel to expend relatively large physical labor, affected by the snakes' activity patterns and obvious seasonal patterns, it also requires feeding personnel to show lasting patience and confidence.

5. Feeding personnel should strive to combine farming experience with scientific research work, so that it has both economic benefits and scientific results, truly achieving the combination of “theory and practice.” No matter which kind of snake is raised, a detailed snake farming diary should be kept, such as the snakes' dwelling conditions in the farm or nests, the temperature and humidity of the four seasons, mating conditions, dates of pregnancy and egg-laying (or birth of young), number of molts, predation habits, feeding patterns, growth of young and juvenile snakes, hibernation process, disease prevention and control, and a series of other work, laying a solid foundation for future large-scale snake farming, gradually increasing the survival rate of snakes, or the keeping period of snakes in feeding.

6. Sick snakes, injured snakes, and thin and weak snakes should be isolated and treated in time to avoid further spread and expansion of the disease and to reduce as much as possible the chance of infecting other healthy snakes. At the same time, a good habit of regular disinfection should be developed; “diligent people mean snakes do not get sick” applies to every snake farm (household).