copperhead colours

copperhead colours

Postby pitviper95 » Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:41 am

i have a baby copperhead about 25cm long which is a very dark colour,and an adult which is much lighter.can you guys tell me if the dark colours will fade as the baby gets bigger or is it just a darker phase of the copperheads.i know it might sound stupid but i have never had a baby copperhead before,only adults.
copperheadlight.JPG
copperheaddark2.JPG
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Re: copperhead colours

Postby Serpy » Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:11 pm

100 % normal, they do get lighter as they get bigger, they're even darker when they're smaller.
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Re: copperhead colours

Postby pitviper95 » Thu Sep 25, 2008 5:52 pm

okay thanx buddy.i actually love the dark colour,it looks so nice.now i have learned something new about copperheads lol.do you get copperheads in any other phases?
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Re: copperhead colours

Postby Bushviper » Thu Sep 25, 2008 6:28 pm

There are a number of subspecies of copperheads but it is more pattern differences. We do unfortunately have a whole bunch of intergrades (bastards) in this country so to tell exactly which you have can become difficult.
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Re: copperhead colours

Postby pitviper95 » Fri Sep 26, 2008 8:18 am

its quite confusing sometimes to figure out which snake is from what subspecies.doesn't sound like you're much into copperheads hey lol@bushviper
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Re: copperhead colours

Postby Bushviper » Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:33 am

Pitviper you have that wrong. I probably have about 10 breeding copperheads on my name but many are away on breeding loans. I think they are one of the prettiest venomous snakes you get. Some are aggressive but I have many which are "dog tame". They are possibly the easiest snakes I have ever tried to breed. Some of the babes can be finicky but they usually feed well (even on each other).

I have tried to breed what look like a specific species with others of a similar looking species. When an american herper was here he mentioned that they either have the wrong colours or the wrong patterns but nothing I owned was pure. That was disappointing so now they all get listed as copperheads and no mention is made of subspecies. If you think they are "southerns" then thats what they are.

I even have the definative book on Copperheads and Cottonmouths but still cannot determine which are which. I would love some pure specimens from the various localities.

There is a famous picture in some book where the plate is missing a colour so the Transpecos coperhead (A. c. pictigaster) is shown to be a purple snake. I have searched high and low but never seen one that is even slightly purple.
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Re: copperhead colours

Postby pitviper95 » Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:22 am

yes i agree,copperheads are really pretty and easy to keep.i would recommend copperheads for 1st hots any time.i would love to see that photo that you,re talking about,it really must be something to see hey.i wanna start breeding copperheads,i have never tried it before.@bushviper
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Re: copperhead colours

Postby Bushviper » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:50 am

Breeding this species is easy. Get a pair (at least) and put them together after winter. Winter should be cold and constant (I like to have then around 5 to 10 degrees). The winter is about 3 months with a 2 week period to cool down and a two week period to wake up.

If you are lucky enough to have multiple males allow them to combat first. Before there is a definate winner separate them, move them to a new cage and give them each a female. They then each assume that they won. Do this two or three times. I usually swop the males so that they all get a chance at all the females. This is assuming you have similar looking specimens. If you have different subspecies you can still induce male combat and then give each one his own female. Unlike Mole snakes or Green tree pythons, male combat with copperheads is like arm wrestling and does not cause injuries.
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Re: copperhead colours

Postby pitviper95 » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:52 am

i have a breeding pair copperheads,will try that.so when would be the right time to start?april or may?@bushviper
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Re: copperhead colours

Postby Bushviper » Wed Oct 01, 2008 10:47 am

Nope you can put them together now. If the winter was cold enough they should be able to breed successfully. Babies are born in mid to late summer.
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Re: copperhead colours

Postby pitviper95 » Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:15 pm

okay thanx,you're helping me a lot.will let you know if anything happens
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