Species Profiles

How to Care for Your Sunbeam Snake (Xenopeltis unicolor)

~ BackwaterReptiles

If you are unfamiliar with the sunbeam snake (Xenopeltis unicolor), you’re not alone. Because these prismatic snakes have pretty specific care requirements, they’re actually not very popular in the reptile world.

Truth be told, there’s also not a lot of information online explaining how to best care for the sunbeam snake. Therefore, in this blog article, we’ll detail how we care for our sunbeams and hopefully help out anyone thinking about investing in one of these gorgeous animals.

Sunbeam Snake Description

The most striking feature of the sunbeam snake is its unmistakable iridescence. In fact, this brilliant rainbow hue is how this snake got its common name. Other snakes such as the rainbow boa might also be iridescent, but when the sunbeam snake’s scales interact with the sun’s rays, the result is unbelievable. Other snakes just can’t compete!

sunbeam snake care
Sunbeams snakes are known for their iridescent scales.

Aside from shimmering scales, sunbeam snakes are fairly monochromatic. Their dorsal sides are dark, deep brown or even black. Their under bellies are cream-colored or whitish. They have small eyes and pointy heads with little neck demarcation.

Sunbeam Snake Habitat & Housing

The first thing that is important to know when keeping a sunbeam snake is that these reptiles are burrowers. They live in Asian rice paddies in the wild where there is lots of moisture, humidity, and plenty of places to hide. Therefore, sunbeam snakes spend lots of time underground.

Because sunbeams are burrowers, it is of utmost importance that you provide your snake with a substrate that accommodates this behavior as well as retains moisture. Cypress mulch, moss, and loose reptile bark all work well. Be sure that the substrate is damp, but not dripping wet.

sunbeam snake
Sunbeam snakes have specific care requirements. We recommend doing your research and making sure this species is suitable for you before you purchase.

Humidity levels need to stay between 80 to 100% at all times. This might seem a bit high, but keep in mind that rice paddies are nearly always flood lands and sunbeams are used to this type of environment. One of the worst things an owner can do for a sunbeam snake is to allow its home to dry out.

The hot end of your sunbeam snake’s enclosure should stay between 85 and 88 degrees Fahrenheit, while the cooler side should be in between 75 to 80 degrees. We recommend a heating pad to regulate temperature, but you can also use a lamp that doesn’t give off light. Sunbeams aren’t nocturnal or afraid of light, but they do spend most of their time underground, so there is no real need for UV lighting.

Sunbeam Snake Disposition

As we’ve already mentioned, sunbeam snakes are burrowers. They spend most of their time underground and usually only emerge to catch prey and eat. This means they are solitary, secretive animals that appreciate privacy.

Sunbeam snakes are not aggressive, but they don’t really enjoy being handled too frequently. In fact, it rather stresses them out. If you want a hands on pet snake, we don’t recommend that you get a sunbeam. Sunbeam snakes should be handled minimally and left to their own devices when possible.

handling your sunbeam snake
Sunbeams are shy snakes that definitely prefer to be left alone. However, when you have to clean their cage or remove them for any other reason, they are not aggressive and can be handled like any other species of snake.

One thing that you should also be aware of is that sunbeam snakes can excrete a very nasty musk when stressed. So, unless you want to shower, we highly recommend not poking, prodding, holding, or otherwise making your sunbeam feel threatened.

Feeding Your Sunbeam Snake

Many people are surprised at how quickly sunbeam snakes eat. They lunge for prey very speedily, constrict, and swallow it nearly as rapidly.

In the wild, sunbeams are known to consume frogs, shrews, moles, lizards, and other small vertebrates. In captivity, they will strike at anything that disturbs their substrate, so we recommend using tongs and offering them appropriately sized frozen/thawed mice.

Conclusion

Although sunbeam snakes are absolutely stunning animals with brilliantly shiny rainbow scales, we don’t recommend them to everyone. These snakes are best suited to owners who understand that sunbeams enjoy solitude and like being left alone.

Keep in mind that sunbeam snakes have four basic requirements in captivity to stay happy and healthy: solitude, humidity, a place to burrow, and warmth. If you are ready to provide these things to a pet sunbeam snake of your very own, Backwater Reptiles does sell them.

Leopard Lizard Care (Gambelia wislizenii)

~ BackwaterReptiles

Although they might have similar names, leopard lizards are very different from their popular cousin, the leopard gecko. Leopard geckos are very well-known and have very good reputations within the reptile hobbyist world, but we think leopard lizards deserve love too.

In this blog article, we will describe how we care for our leopard lizards and why we think they make good pets.

Leopard Lizard Care

Leopard Lizard Description

Although their coloration varies by location, leopard lizards get their name from the detailed spotted pattern on their backs and tails which resembles that of a leopard. Their dorsal side will be a shade or brown, grey, or tan and the spots will be a dark brown and can also be paired with bar patterns as well. A leopard lizard’s belly will be cream-colored or light beige/tan.

Leopard lizards are somewhat flat animals with long, powerful limbs and long fingers and toes to match. Even their tails are long. In fact, it’s usually true that the tail of a leopard lizard is longer than the length of its head and body combined.

leopard lizard care
Leopard lizards have very long tails, long limbs, and pronounced spots on their backs.

Not taking into consideration the length of the tail, leopard lizards are moderately-sized. Males will be around five inches long from snout to vent. Females will be slightly larger and usually be around seven inches long snout to vent when fully grown

Leopard Lizard Habitat

Leopard lizards are desert-dwelling creatures native to North America and some areas of Mexico. They prefer landscapes that are flat, sandy, and filled with shrubby plant cover. This means that to keep a leopard lizard happy in captivity, you will need to replicate a desert environment.

Even though leopard lizards are not considered large lizards, they are active foragers, rather than ambush predators, which means that they will require a relatively large enclosure. A single, full grown lizard should have a cage that is a minimum of three feet  long, two feet wide, and 28 inches tall.

Because they are energetic, diurnal lizards capable of jumping quite high, we do recommend that your enclosure have a secure screen lid. They are strong and if they have the will to escape and your cage top is not firmly in place, your leopard lizard will get out.

Fun fact: male leopard lizards are not territorial or cannibalistic, so provided all the lizards are of a comparable size, you can actually keep several animals together in the same enclosure. Males shouldn’t fight over females provided there is ample room for them all to exist comfortably.

As far as lighting is concerned, because leopard lizards are diurnal, they need to be provided with a day/night cycle. You should have a full-spectrum UV light on during the day and turn it off at night.

leopard lizard
Leopard lizards are active animals and will require a fairly large cage.

A heat lamp will also be required in order to maintain desert basking temperatures. Ambient temperature should be at least 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The hotter basking area should be around 100 degrees.

Because your leopard lizard’s cage will be on the warm side, be sure to provide some hiding and crawl spaces. In the wild, leopard lizards will hide out when the weather is too extreme and they also use these hiding areas for security purposes to stay away from predators.

Leopard Lizard Feeding

Leopard lizards are powerful and adept hunters. A fair portion of their diet in the wild consists of smaller vertebrates including small lizards. This is why we mentioned that all lizards kept together in captivity must be of comparable size.

Although they mainly subsist on small vertebrates in the wild, in captivity, leopard lizards should be fed mostly insects. Too many feeder lizards, feeder mice, or other types of vertebrate food items will cause health issues. Be sure that you provide a variety of gut-loaded insects such as crickets, meal worms, wax worms, and reptiworms. When it comes to captive diets, variety is key to keeping your leopard lizard healthy.

Leopard Lizard Temperament

Because they have powerful jaws for such a small lizard, we recommend keeping the handling of your leopard lizard to a minimum. Leopard lizards are not overtly aggressive, but they are certainly not afraid to bite if they feel threatened.

Gambelia wislizenii
Leopard lizards are carnivores that seek out prey actively.

Without proper handling on a consistent basis from a young age, leopard lizards are skittish, shy animals. Therefore, we recommend that unless you are willing to work with the animal from the time it is a hatchling, that you leave it to its own devices for the most part.

Conclusion

Leopard lizards don’t have particularly stringent or difficult care requirements, but they are avid carnivores with active temperaments. We recommend them for herp enthusiasts with the room to house them and the time to devote to working with them.

If you are ready to take on a pet leopard lizard of your own. Backwater Reptiles can definitely help you out!

Western Hognose Snake Care (Heterodon nasicus)

~ BackwaterReptiles

If you’re looking for more information on Western Hognose snake care, you’ve come to the right place. A snake that is quickly growing in popularity among reptile enthusiasts is the Western Hognose Snake (Heterodon nasicus).

These small colubrids are not only cute, but they are well-suited to captivity and make great pets for families and classrooms. In this article, we’ll go over the care requirements for this quirky little snake.

western hognose snake care
Pictured is a juvenile Western hognose snake. They are known for their distinctive upturned noses.

Western Hognose Snake Description

The first thing most people notice about the hognose snake is its trademark pointy nose. This little upturned nose is used to assist the hognose when it burrows and digs in lose, sandy soil.

Hognose snakes are stout in build with keeled scales. They can be a variety of colors, but they tend to be a light brown or cream color with darker brown, beige, black, orange or olive patterns.

Hognose snakes are also known for their peculiar defense mechanisms. First of all, these snakes will sometimes roll over and play dead when they feel threatened. They even open their mouth and allow their tongue to loll out! However, we would like to mention that if they feel too threatened, they will also release a foul-smelling musk to accompany this playing dead behavior, which is less amusing than the act of playing dead.

western hognose snake
Western hognose snakes are adept burrowers.

Another harmless hognose defense is to puff up and push air through its skull and rostral bone creating a unique hissing noise. They will also flatten out and attempt to appear much larger than they are in reality. This might be accompanied by some feigned aggression. Hognoses might strike out, but they won’t bite. Instead, they’ll essentially headbutt any enemy with their nose! When it comes down to it, hognose snakes are all bark and no bite.

As we’ve already established, Western hognose snakes stay relatively small. Males tend to max out around twenty-four inches long (two feet), while females can grow to be just shy of three feet long. They have been known to live between ten and eighteen years in captivity.

Western Hognose Snake Care

Due to its small size, you will not need a large home for your hognose snake. Hatchlings will thrive in a five-gallon size enclosure and an adult will do great in a twenty gallon tank. Because they are a ground-dwelling species with burrowing and digging habits, vertical space is not as important as floor space. We also recommend that whatever type of cage/enclosure you opt for have a secure lid since all snakes tend to be escape artists, no matter what species they are.

You need not supply many cage furnishings for a hognose. They prefer to burrow and hide, so vegetation is not needed unless you want to decorate the enclosure. All a hognose really needs in its enclosure as far as “furniture” is concerned is a sturdy water dish and a few hiding spaces.

There are a lot of choices when it comes to substrate for a hognose. Hatchlings do best in newspaper since it is inexpensive, easy to clean, and also helps prevent bacterial growth. For an adult, you can provide aspen snake bedding, newspaper, paper towels, or sand. But please keep in mind that housing any snake in sand can cause impaction. If you do use sand as a substrate, we highly  recommend feeding your snake in a separate, clean container so that no accidental ingestion of the sand occurs.

Hognoses are diurnal snakes and will require a full-spectrum UV lighting set up in order to stay healthy. You can manually turn your snake’s lights on and off each day, or you can buy lights that are on timers at nearly every pet store.

Your hognose’s basking spot needs to stay around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The cooler end of the tank is usually fine at room temperature. This means anywhere from 72 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Just be sure it doesn’t get too cold at night or too warm during the day and that the enclosure has a hot side and a cooler side (i.e. that there is a temperature gradient).

handling your western hognose snake
Western hognose snakes are friendly little snakes that interact well with humans.

Western Hognose Snake Care: Feeding

Hognose snakes are little piggies when it comes to meal time. They’re also not too concerned with accuracy when it comes to striking at their food. This means that even though they aren’t trying to intentionally hurt you, they might accidentally bite you when you attempt to feed them. All you need to do to avoid this is feed your snake using tongs or tweezers.

At Backwater Reptiles, we feed our hognose snakes appropriately sized frozen/thawed mice. Adults can be fed once per week, but growing hatchlings should be offered food at least twice per week.

Conclusion – Western Hognose Snake Care

We recommend Western hognose snakes for reptile lovers of all experience levels. These compact and humorous little snakes are not only easy to care for, they’re easy to fall in love with!

Ready for a Western hognose snake of your own? Backwater Reptiles has several morphs available for sale.

Western Painted Turtle Care (Chrysemys p. belli)

~ BackwaterReptiles

Aquatic turtles make great pets for all types of people and we’d say that the Western Painted Turtle (Chrysemys p. belli) is one of our top selling animals for this reason. In this blog article, we’ll lay out how to best care for your pet Western painted turtle.

Western Painted Turtle Care Sheet

Western Painted Turtle Description

Western painted turtles are certainly a very attractive species of aquatic turtle. They are dark olive, brown, or green with very colorful markings that range from bright orange to striking yellow. The underside of their shell is an explosion of orange or red, while the top of their carapace is bordered with yellow or red seams. They also have red, yellow, or orange stripes on their heads and necks.

There are several varieties of painted turtles that are widespread throughout the U.S, but they all have virtually the same care requirements in captivity. The Western painted turtle is native to the Western side of the U.S. as its name suggests.

Another reason Western painted turtles are such popular pets is that they will reach a moderate size which makes them manageable as indoor pets. An average painted turtle will be anywhere from six to eight inches with females being relatively smaller in comparison to males.

Western painted turtles are also very long-lived pets. Captive animals have been reported to live as long as fifty years! However, most painted turtles will live between ten and twenty five years realistically.

western painted turtle care
Painted turtles make great aquatic pets and they are very attractive to look at.

Western Painted Turtle Care Requirements

Many people are inclined to create elaborate homes for their painted turtles, however this is not a requirement for the turtle to be healthy. In fact, you can create a simple enclosure or a very decorated one depending on your preference so long as the turtle’s basic needs are met.

Although Western painted turtles are aquatic by nature, you should never be filling an entire tank with water. A good rule to follow is to never make the water level higher than twice the width of the turtle’s shell. It is also imperative that you have a platform of some type that allows your turtle to get out of the water completely and bask.

The water temperature should stay between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Ambient air temperature should be between 80 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit and the basking area underneath the lights should be kept between 85 and 95 degrees. In order to keep the basking area warm, we recommend providing a full spectrum UV light. You can regulate temperature using a thermometer placed at a convenient place inside the tank.

Even though they are mid-sized turtles, painted turtles are relatively active reptiles, so they do need a moderately sized tank. A hatchling can be accommodated in a ten gallon tank for a short period of time, but as it grows, you will of course need to upgrade your tank size. Housing a bigger animal means a bigger tank will be required.

Adult painted turtles will do equally well indoors or outdoors. If you live in a climate that does not have temperature extremes, painted turtles will thrive in a backyard pond. You might even end up with baby turtles if you have more than one per pond. They will naturally reproduce according to the seasons.

western painted turtle
Western painted turtles are omnivores and will eat both plant and vegetable matter.

Western Painted Turtle Diet

All painted turtles are opportunistic omnivores. They will gladly consume meat or vegetation with  no hesitation as they are not picky feeders.

There are many commercial turtle foods on the market, but we like to supplement our painted turtles’ diets with fresh food. Hatchlings are growing and need lots of protein, so we give them small invertebrates like crickets and mealworms in addition to leafy green veggies. Kale, spinach, and even aquatic plants are all good choices.

Conclusion

Western painted turtles might not be the most hands-on pet, but really, most turtles prefer to be left to their own devices anyways. Painted turtles are most certainly beautiful to look at and they make excellent additions to backyard ponds.

If you are ready to purchase a Western painted turtle of your own, Backwater Reptiles has got you covered!

Common Snapping Turtle vs. Florida Snapping Turtle

~ BackwaterReptiles

In this article, we’ll set out to answer a question we get asked occasionally:

What’s the difference between the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) and the Florida snapping turtle (Chelydra s. osceola)?

And because the answer to this question is actually very straight forward and simple, we’ll follow up the answer with some care tips and tricks for snapping turtles.

Common Snapping Turtle vs. Florida Snapping Turtle
Here is a side by side depiction of a common snapping turtle (top) and a Florida snapping turtle (bottom).

Common Snapping Turtle vs. Florida Snapping Turtle

Florida snappers and common snappers are extremely similar in appearance. We’d even go so far as to say that it would take an experienced reptile enthusiast to be able to distinguish between the two.

But there are two main characteristics that mark these species as different from one another – the location where each animal can be found in the wild and their physical appearances.

First of all, the common snapping turtle can be found all across North America in any slow-moving or brackish water environment. The Florida snapper on the other hand, is only found in peninsular Florida.

However, it should be noted that just because a snapper is found in the state of Florida, that does not automatically make it a Florida snapping turtle. That’s where knowing the physical differences between the two species comes in handy.

Truth be told, there are not a whole lot of physical differences between Florida snappers and common snappers and those few differences are not that marked or noticeable.

Both species of snapping turtle have soft spikes on their necks and heads that are known as tubercles. Common snappers have rounded tubercles, whereas the tubercles on Florida snappers are pointed.

The second physical difference between the two species of snapper is coloration. Florida snappers tend to be a warm, light brown in color when they are young. Common snapping turtles, on the other hand, are usually a dark grey or black.

As far as habits and behavior are concerned, both turtles are identical. This means that they have the same care requirements in captivity. Continue reading if you want to find out how we care for our snapping turtles at Backwater Reptiles.

common snapping turtle
Pictured is a common snapping turtle. They are found all across the U.S. in slow-moving or brackish bodies of water.

Snapping Turtle Behavior

Young snapping turtles are relatively docile, but as they mature, they definitely live up to their common name and are known to deliver quite a powerful bite.

Snapping turtles are aquatic reptiles and reside in bodies of water. They can usually be found resting along the bottom of rivers, lakes, and ponds burrowed into the dirt, debris, and silt along the bottom.

Juveniles are more active than adults and will sometimes forage for food, but adults tend to stay in once place and ambush prey as it stumbles across their path.

Although they do live most of their lives in water, snappers can be found on land at times. In Florida, they are commonly seen crossing roads in order to reach new bodies of water.

As far as behavior is concerned, there is noting to mention in the Common snapping turtle vs. Florida snapping turtle conversation, as they are virtually identical in this area.

Snapping Turtle Care

When keeping a snapping turtle as a pet, you will require an aquatic enclosure. It’s not necessary to have a tank filled to the brim with water. A shallow layer that fully allows the turtle to submerge will suffice.

We always place plenty of hiding spaces in the tank as this allows the turtle to feel secure. Logs, hollowed out rocks, and even items purchased from pet store are all great hides.

Even though snappers are not particularly avid baskers, we do always put some sort of platform in the water that enables the turtle to climb out and bask if it desires. This also means that we have a full spectrum UV light on during the day time.

Florida snapping turtle
This baby Florida snapping turtle is lighter in color than a common snapper.

Snappers are voracious eaters and are therefore not difficult to feed. They are true omnivores as well as opportunistic feeders in the wild, so this makes it easy to provide a healthy diet in captivity.

We feed ours everything from feeder fish to worms. You can also try vegetation. The best method is to place a little bit of fresh vegetable matter in the tank daily or even every other day, and remove it if it is uneaten.

Regarding the Common snapping turtle vs. Florida snapping turtle conversation, there is no difference in care between the two species.

Conclusion: Common snapping turtle vs. Florida snapping turtle

Although there are not too many differences between Florida snapping turtles and common snapping turtles, they both make good pets for experienced herpers who can handle their ornery dispositions.

If you are ready to adopt a snapping turtle of your own, Backwater Reptiles has got you covered!