HUSBANDRY OF THE LITTLE FILE SNAKE, ACROCHORDUS-GRANULATUS

Aquatic snakes of the family Acrochordidae are unusual in terms of app earance, biology, and natural history. In spite of many attractive and fascinating features, there are few zoological exhibits of acrochordi d snakes, and as a result many aspects of their husbandry are poorly u nderstood. The present paper summarizes aspects of acrochordid biology related to health and welfare of captive snakes, with emphasis on the little file snake, Acrochordus granulatus. Several key points emerge having crucial relevance to successful husbandry. 1) File snakes are s ensitive to low temperatures and to rapid thermal change. Captive snak es do well when maintained at water temperatures of 27-30 degrees C an d will not thrive if water temperatures are below 25 degrees C. 2) Fil e snakes can be kept in either fresh water or seawater. Snakes in sea or brackish water dehydrate, however, and must be allowed to drink fre sh water periodically. If snakes from marine populations are maintaine d in saline water, 60-70% seawater is recommended. In all cases, water should be filtered or changed periodically to maintain quality. 3) Fi le snakes feed almost exclusively on fishes which are usually captured in body coils. Snakes are more inclined to feed well if live prey are offered in shallow water where they are more easily captured. 4) File snakes are nocturnal and prefer quiescent seclusion within darkened r efugia during daylight hours. Providing snakes with refugia such as se ctions of PVC pipe (which simulate burrows) helps reduce stress and im proves the chances of snakes feeding regularly. 5) Snakes tend to burr ow, and they locomote by crawling as well as by swimming. Use of sharp or rough materials in aquaria should be avoided because of possible s kin abrasion which increases permeability and provides sites for bacte rial infection. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.