How to Obtain Breeding Snakes for Artificial Snake Farming? A Detailed Guide to the Methods

An ideal breeding snake should look robust and powerful, with glossy body color (except during molting), full muscles, lively and active movement, free extension and retraction, no disease or internal injuries, and moderate body weight. External injuries on snakes are generally easy to spot with the naked eye, and most minor external injuries can heal after simple treatment without affecting their use for breeding. The key is to check whether they have internal injuries, and the specific method for checking is easy to master. That is, place the snake on the ground and observe whether its crawling posture is agile and natural; or hold its head and tail with each hand, slowly straighten it out, and place it on the ground. See how well it can curl up. A snake with strong and quick coiling ability indicates that it has no internal injuries and can be kept for breeding; otherwise, it cannot be used as a breeder. If the snakes being kept are venomous, it is best to check each one's mouth one by one, carefully examining whether it has a complete set of fangs. Venomous snakes whose fangs have been pulled out mostly have red and swollen mouths, difficulty swallowing and catching food, leading to inadequate nutrition and gradual decline and death.

In addition to testing with the above methods, for those snakes whose quality is temporarily difficult to judge with the naked eye, they can first be isolated for a trial period and their activity or feeding conditions closely observed. Only after confirming that they are healthy and disease-free can the breeding snakes be placed into a previously disinfected snake enclosure for centralized rearing; otherwise, they should be dealt with or culled promptly.

There are two ways to obtain breeding snakes:

(1) Catching in the wild. After obtaining approval from the relevant authorities, you can go out into the wild to catch them yourself, and then carry out strict screening before they can be used for breeding. The best season for catching breeding snakes is after Qingming Festival each year. When the outside temperature slowly rises above 18°C, snakes crawl out of their hibernation sites to bask in the sun. Because they have just begun to end their hibernation period of several months, their physical strength has not fully recovered, and they appear lazy, with no ability to resist at all. Therefore, they are very easy to catch. In addition, after these snakes come out of their dens and become active, they do not rush to forage, but instead gather relatively intensively to seek mates and copulate. Once mated snakes are caught, they will soon (in June to July) lay eggs or give birth after being brought in. The first batch of young snakes after screening and entry is very suitable for growing up to be used for breeding.

(2) Introduction from snake farms. When local wild resources are lacking, it is necessary to directly introduce breeding snakes from snake farms that have been raising snakes for a long time, operate at scale, have mature technology, and enjoy a good reputation. When introducing breeding snakes, be sure to check the relevant certificates of the snake farm, carefully ask about the age, specific feeding habits, and management methods of the introduced breeding snakes, firmly grasp the selection and breeding standards for breeding snakes, minimize the phenomenon of “acclimation failure” caused by introduction from other places, and help the breeding snakes adapt as soon as possible.