During daytime I can find most of my Corallus hortulanus hiding between the leaves high in the terrarium. They become active from approximately 18.00 hours until 24.00 hours. The best time to feed them is between 19.00 (lights out) and 22.00 o’clock.
They are ambush hunters. In the wild they feed on birds, frogs, bats, rodents, and lizards. I feed them mainly with mice and rats.
Adults are offered rats of approximately six week old every 14 – 21 days. It is important to make sure the prey is not to large and don’t power-feed them as these are very slender snakes.
The size of the prey shouldn’t be to big:
During the weekly feeding one of the young Corallus was in the middle of his shedding. That didn’t bother him at all; he rapidly accepted a naked rat. The next morning he hang upside down for dead. Probably choked… After making the photos I wanted to remove him but found out that he was still alive !! The rat (I admit; a large one for a just born) was stuck in his mouth and he couldn’t remove the rat himself. The rat became stuck because the snake didn’t bother to find the head of tail first. Now, a few days later he’s allright, waiting for his food.Probably choked… After making the photos I wanted to remove him but found out that he was still alive !! The rat (I admit; a large one for a just born) was stuck in his mouth and he couldn’t remove the rat himself. The rat became stuck because the snake didn’t bother to find the head of tail first. Now, a few days later he’s allright, waiting for his food.
The size of the prey was almost too big:
Two days after being fed I found a 15 months old Corallus hortulanus lying on his back under the hot spot one morning. He was needing all energy he could get to digest the prey.
I only saw this behaviour before on pregnant female
The size of the prey was too big:
I offered an adult mouse to a one year old offspring Corallus hortulanus. She never had an adult mouse before but did not hesitate to accept him. The next morning I found her dead with the stomach twice the size of the mouse. She probably died of a stomach perforation.
Rats:
I breed rats myself. This gives me a guarantee for always having enough food of a superb quality. Food of a superb quality is first principle for keeping snakes healthy. For that reason I feed my rats with quality brand food.
The rats are kept in a group of one male with four females for all their lives. Keeping them in such a group and in a housing that is spacious reduces stress a lot. To reduce stress even more I never take out a complete litter but always leave a few youngsters behind.
When, after two years the litters become smaller I take the complete group out of breeding.
Mice:
I breed mice to feed the juvenile snakes until they are big enough to accept naked rats. To avoid the specific smell that mice produce I only breed with multi-nipple mice.
These mice are also kept in constant groups (two males and six females) in spacious housing. I offer them plastic tubes for shelter and a place to have their litter. It is a effective way to reduce stress. Less stress means larger litters.
