Key Points and Methods of Five-Paced Snake Breeding Technology Explained in Detail
The five-paced snake is a venomous monotypic snake under the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae in the suborder Serpentes. It lives in mountainous or hilly areas at an altitude of 100-1400 m, mostly inhabiting areas near valley streams at 300-800 m, and occasionally enters mountain village houses, appearing in kitchens and bedrooms. It is closely tied to forests and has high breeding value. Let us take a look at five-paced snake breeding technology below!
Living Habits of the Five-Paced Snake
1. Environment: The hundred-paced snake mainly inhabits evergreen and deciduous mixed forests at an altitude of 400-700 m. In summer it likes to be active around ditches in mountain valleys. Its requirements for habitat conditions are shade, ventilation, trees and water. It is also active in tea gardens, farmland and woodpiles, can climb trees, and can also enter human dwellings. In winter it mostly overwinters in natural holes formed by tree roots or old rat holes.
2. Activity: The annual activity cycle of the hundred-paced snake is about 9 months from Awakening of Insects to Major Snow. The main factors affecting activity are temperature, humidity and food. When the temperature is 20-30°C, it is most active. When the temperature reaches as high as 35-38°C, it mostly gathers toward the water's edge. At night it is relatively sensitive to illumination by pine torches and has an attacking response to torches. When illuminated by a flashlight, it shows almost no obvious tendency to move toward warmth.
3. Food: Dissection of the stomach of the hundred-paced snake revealed Niviventer confucianus, white-footed rats, yellow weasels and spiny-breasted frogs. The distribution in mountain valleys is related to the distribution and number of spiny-breasted frogs. Dissection of the stomach also revealed yellow-bellied rats, indicating that the sharp-nosed pit viper enters human dwellings. Bird feathers excreted after swallowing were also found, identified as those of the green woodpecker. Frogs and white mice were fed in the snake pool, and young snakes were once seen catching orthopteran insects, camel crickets, as food.
Five-Paced Snake Breeding Technology
1. Snake farm construction: The construction of a snake farm generally faces south, with a certain southward slope to prevent rainwater accumulation. The enclosure wall is required to be of cement, brick and stone structure, with a wall height of about 2.5 m. The inner side of the wall must be polished and preferably dark. The corners of the wall are arc-shaped, and the wall foundation extends 1-1.5 m underground and is poured with cement. Some snake dens suitable for snakes to inhabit are built in the snake farm, such as drawer-type snake dens. The snake dens open toward the south or southeast so that snakes can move in and out. The snake farm site also needs to be planted with some small shrubs that do not easily grow tall, for snakes to climb and for shade, and these should be pruned regularly. A water pool and water ditch 0.3-0.5 m deep are set up in the farm, with netted baffles at the inlet and outlet. The mesh openings must be smaller than 5 mm to prevent young snakes from escaping through them.
2. Bait feeding: The five-paced snake is carnivorous and generally eats live prey or fresh dead prey. Frogs, snakes, birds, rodents, earthworms, insects, lizards and so on are all its food. Artificial feeding is mainly with live rats, frogs, earthworms and insects. The number of feedings and the feeding amount vary with the season. Generally, in spring in April, feed 2-3 times; from May to August, feed 3-5 times per month; from September to October, feed 6-10 times per month; in November, feed 5-6 times. Each feeding amount should reach at least one third of the snake's own body weight. At the same time, some frogs are raised in the snake farm so that the snakes can catch them at any time. Black light lamps can also be installed to attract insects as feed for the snakes or frogs. If food is in short supply, or if the snakes need to eat their fill before winter, lean meat can be used for assisted force-feeding. During the snake's active period, the water supply must be continuous.
3. Breeding technology: Most five-paced snakes come into heat, seek mates and copulate after emerging from hibernation. One male snake can mate with 5-8 female snakes. During mating, the two snakes tightly entwine together. After mating, male and female snakes are raised separately. Female snakes lay eggs from June to September, laying 6-29 eggs. The snake eggs are oval, with a soft but tough eggshell, and are milky white. After laying eggs, the female snake often coils in a disc shape over the eggs, neither eating nor moving, incubating the eggs for 24-30 days, and leaving only after the young snakes hatch. The mother snake must be carefully tended both before and after laying eggs, with sufficient feed and water supplied to meet nutritional needs and ensure health; otherwise, it is prone to death from weakness during overwintering.
Four-Season Management of the Five-Paced Snake
1. Spring management: Before emergence from hibernation, comprehensive disinfection and waste removal should be carried out throughout the snake farm. Water source facilities should be strengthened and repaired, kept free of pollution, and tools should be undamaged. Feed should be kept sufficient. Pay attention to observation. As long as snakes are found to be emerging from hibernation (under normal circumstances, hibernation can end within three days), preparations for feeding should be made. At first, the feed should not be too large or too much, and should be gradually increased. In order for the snakes to recover their constitution faster and better, growth-promoting elements must be added. First, the snakes must be allowed to drink enough water (that is, appetizer soup + digestant). After they begin eating, prepare for mating for the coming summer, close the snake dens, and enter the dens to carry out a comprehensive inspection to see whether dead or diseased snakes remain in the dens.
2. Summer management: Late summer is generally the season with a relatively high incidence of disease in snakes, and it is also the peak period for snake mating. Improper management can cause serious economic losses. The snakes should be kept calm. If mating is found, keep mating records. Generally, snakes begin to lay eggs after 28 days, and inspection must begin. The eggs should be taken out for storage and keeping. If a snake is found guarding the eggs, the snake should be driven away and the eggs taken, and preparations for incubation should be made. The main snake diseases that easily occur include pneumonia, skin diseases, egg-production cessation and sluggishness, and enteritis. In the snake farm, after feeding, sanitation should generally be carried out and waste removed, so as to avoid rainwater scattering feces and contaminating the entire snake farm. If escapes are found, nearby residents should be notified in time to take precautions and prevent greater accidents.
3. Autumn management: Autumn is the golden season for snake growth. The movements of the snakes should be observed at all times. Appetite increases noticeably, so fattening and caring for the young should be strengthened to ensure protection of their constitution before hibernation. Snake eggs are not suitable for storage and should be incubated. Fattening efforts should be strengthened so that the snakes are strong and prepared for hibernation. Disease prevention and control work should be strengthened. Diseases that easily occur include stomatitis, hepatobiliary inflammation, skin diseases, and egg-laying and diarrhea diseases.
4. Winter management: During hibernation, the five-paced snake prefers a relatively low temperature, generally controlled between 5-8°C, with humidity generally at 60-70%. Before hibernation, sanitation work in the snake dens should be done well, disinfection should be thorough, and the farm site should be comprehensively searched to see whether any snakes have not entered the dens and to find out the reason. If too many are found in a den, pressure injuries and death should be prevented, and artificial separation should be carried out. Because the five-paced snake is fierce, after it has settled into hibernation, conduct a comprehensive physical inspection, cull the weak, diseased, disabled, defective and inferior ones, and retain enough breeding snakes to make full preparations for the next year's reproduction. For disinfection of the activity site and removal of weeds, fresh lime can be spread and the soil turned. Facilities should be fully replenished, and rodent control work should be done well to prevent rats from eating snakes.