The Amur snake is one of the most beautiful snakes on earth. It is similar in size to the four-striped snake. These snakes are often featured in a variety of feature films.
The upper body of an adult is dark brown or black. This background is diluted by bright yellow stripes, bifurcating on the sides. Such bright colors bring the Amur snake closer to exotic snakes. Sometimes completely black individuals are found.
Amur snake (Elaphe schrenckii).
In other snakes of our fauna, the color blends with the background of the environment. The Amur snake also has a protective color; thanks to its bright stripes, a potential predator does not perceive the snake as a single whole. When the snake moves, colored spots flash quickly, which disorients the enemy. The head of the Amur snake is usually black, and the lip brushes have yellow and black stripes. Black stripes run from the eyes to the mouth. The belly is yellow and often has black spots.
Amur snake in the exotarium of the Belgorod Zoo
Juveniles have a different coloration than adults. The upper part of their body has a brownish tone with wide transverse stripes of brown color. Each stripe is framed by a black border and separated from the adjacent stripe by a narrow white stripe. The head has an intricate pattern of light and dark stripes. This coloring helps the young to camouflage themselves in the treetops and on the ground.
Description
The Amur snake, the photo of which you see in our article, is, according to many, one of the most beautiful snakes on our planet. In size it resembles a four-striped snake. There are individuals up to 230 cm in length, but more often at home they grow a little more than a meter. These snakes have become the heroes of many feature and popular science films.
The adult individual has a black or dark brown upper body. Against this background, bright yellow stripes that bifurcate on the sides look very impressive. This coloration adds similarity to the Amur snake with some types of exotic snakes. Sometimes, although much less frequently, there are individuals that are completely black in color.
Other snakes are often much more modestly colored to blend in with their surroundings. The Amur snake has a protective color - bright stripes on its body do not allow a potential predator to perceive it as a whole. When it moves, spots and stripes flash, and this disorients the enemy. Typically, the Amur snake has a black head with yellow labial brushes. Black stripes extend from the mouth and eyes. The abdomen is yellow, but quite often black spots are visible on it.
Young animals are significantly different in color from adult animals. The upper part of the body is brown, with wide transverse stripes of a darker shade. Each stripe is framed by a black border, and separated from the adjacent stripe by a narrow white ribbon. A young Amur snake has a complex pattern on its head. It is formed by dark and light stripes. Such patterns help to camouflage on the ground and in the crowns of trees and on the ground.
Amur snakes are very mobile - they climb trees well and crawl very quickly. They easily rise to a height of up to ten meters, and also dive and swim perfectly, covering quite long distances. Interestingly, no matter where they swim, snakes always return to their home. Under natural conditions, the Amur snake has its own territory. Snakes adhere to their boundaries for many years. Snakes may leave their territory in search of a mate or to go to winter, but in any case they return.
Interesting Facts
The Far Eastern grass snake is a rare animal listed in the Red Book. Among the interesting facts about him are:
- The snake knows its territory and always returns there.
- Life expectancy is 9-13 years.
- When attacked, the animal begins to hiss loudly and beat its tail.
- The reptile often crawls into tourists' tents. When you see him, do not make sudden movements. Create a sound and the snake will crawl away on its own.
- If you are bitten by a snake, do not drink alcohol. The animal's saliva will begin to be absorbed into the blood faster.
The Amur snake is one of the largest and most beautiful snakes. The species is rare, the number decreases every year, so when meeting an animal there is no need to harm it.
Amur snake at home
Today this snake is not uncommon in home terrariums. Many people who want to get one are interested in the question: is the Amur snake poisonous or not? We can reassure you, these snakes are not poisonous. They may bite, especially while feeding, but this is not dangerous to humans.
To keep the snake you will need a horizontal terrarium. Its minimum size (for one individual) is 70x40x60 cm. These dimensions are given without taking into account the height of the lamp. The temperature in it can be maintained using a thermal mat or thermal cord. During the day it should be within +32 °C, at night – +25 °C.
It is necessary to install a cuvette with water in the terrarium, where it would be comfortable for the snake to swim and stay during molting. Shelters can be of any shape - shelves, houses, etc. In the warmest corner of the shelter there should be a ditch with sphagnum moss. This will help maintain moisture and allow the snake to burrow. The shelter should be completely dry in a cold corner. You can put various driftwood and branches in the terrarium, along which your pet will willingly crawl.
In a terrarium, soil is not necessary, but if you really want, you can use gravel, coarse sand, coconut substrate, or cover the bottom with filter paper. Do not forget to spray the terrarium with warm water once a day; the sphagnum moss should always be moist. The terrarium can contain one Amur snake or a group of animals.
Danger to humans
The Amur snake is not poisonous
and is quite calm - that’s why he can get along with people without any problems.
However, if cornered or caught, the snake will desperately defend itself: it will hiss loudly and bite.
A newly caught snake can curl up into a ring and rush at its offender through the glass of the terrarium. However, many individuals calm down if you carefully hold them in your hands for a while. In addition, a snake released into the wild can quickly escape from the hands (holding it is also not an easy task), and then without haste, royally retire into the grass or dense bushes. This is such an amazing and majestic snake.
What to feed your unusual pet?
The Amur snake, a description of the species and photos of which can be found in many publications for terrariumists, in natural conditions feeds on mammals (small and medium-sized), birds, as well as their eggs, and sometimes frogs. Juveniles consume small rodents, chicks, mollusks and frogs.
At home, the Amur snake happily eats laboratory mice, hamsters, rats, quails, chickens, as well as bird eggs. Young snakes will enjoy newborn mice.
Pets are fed approximately once every four to five days. They drink water often, so it should be changed regularly. Along with the feed, the snake should receive mineral supplements. They can be crushed eggshells and calcium. Sometimes you can add mineral water to the drinking bowl, preferably Borjomi.
Give vitamin supplements with food once a month. Balanced feeding is given strictly in accordance with the instructions.
Characteristic
In order to have an idea about the Amur snake, we suggest that you read its description.
Appearance and color
In European countries and America, you can often hear another name for the snake - Russian snake. In the wild, its length can reach 230 cm, but when kept at home, the size of an individual does not exceed 1 meter.
Important! During the mating season of snakes, you should be especially careful, as at this time they can be quite aggressive.
The surface of the body in adult individuals is black or dark brown. The yellow stripes located against such a background are visible especially clearly, and you can also see how they bifurcate on the sides.
Because of this coloring, the Amur snake is often confused with other exotic snakes. It is rare, but you can find individuals completely black.
Video: about the Amur snake Thanks to the bright stripes, the snake can defend itself from predators, since during its movement the spots flash and disorientate enemies. The most common species are those with a black head and yellowish lip brushes.
A branch of black stripes can be seen from the mouth and eyes. The belly is usually yellow, but sometimes there may be black spots on it. The young have a completely different color.
The surface of the body is distinguished by a brown color, on which wide transverse stripes of a darker shade stand out. Each strip is framed in the form of a black border, and they are separated by a narrow white ribbon.
Young animals are characterized by the presence of a complex pattern on the head, which is represented by dark and light stripes. Thanks to this color, the snake is successfully camouflaged in trees and on the ground.
Is there a danger to humans
Many people are interested in the question of whether the Amur snake is poisonous or not. The snake is not poisonous and is distinguished by its calmness, so it can get along with humans.
However, if you drive it into a corner, then, of course, the snake will defend itself by hissing, and in some cases it may even bite. A snake that has just been caught immediately curls up into a ring and can rush at its offender.
But he can calm down very quickly if you carefully hold him in your hands. Even though a snake bite is not poisonous, if such an incident occurs, you should still go to the hospital as soon as possible to treat the wound.
Breeding
After wintering, snakes must be irradiated and fed with supplements containing vitamin E for about 2-3 weeks. Then the females and males are combined. The duration of copulation is up to 3 hours. After 40-55 days, females lay eggs. It is necessary to prepare a container with sphagnum moss for them in advance. The clutch is placed in an incubator in which the temperature is maintained at +27… +29 °C. One clutch can contain up to 30 eggs. The cubs will hatch in 55 days.
Life in the wild
Let's look at where you can find the Amur snake.
Habitat and lifestyle
Various natural areas are suitable for individuals to live. They can settle in steppe regions; coniferous and mixed forests can become their home. Their habitat is the Far East, Northern and Northeastern China, Korea, Mongolia, and some regions of Russia.
The Amur snake is active exclusively during the daytime. It is quite mobile, skillfully crawls through trees and can rise above 10 meters. In addition, individuals can dive and swim.
Snakes are able to crawl far from their habitat, but always return. They set the boundaries of the territory they move through and spend their entire lives on it.
They can leave their habitat only if they are looking for a mate or for wintering. For life, the snake chooses the ruins of stumps, hollows, crevices between stones, nests and burrows of various animals.
Did you know? In China, when a son moves into his home, the father gives him an Amur snake, thereby honoring the tradition, since it is believed that the snake is the guardian of the house and savings.
If it lives near humans, it most often spends the winter in heaps of garbage. For wintering, snakes gather in groups that include up to 30 individuals.
What do they eat?
Representatives of this species are predators. They love to feast on small prey - invertebrates, as well as birds, frogs, lizards, and mice. Large snakes can swallow an entire rat or rabbit at once.
If the snake comes across a large prey, it first strangles it, but swallows the small one completely. They love Amur snakes and bird eggs, and they do not spit out the shells - they are ground in the esophagus.
Reproduction
With the arrival of spring, meetings of adults begin to occur. Males try to attract the attention of females using a special ritual - they stroke the female’s head.
After the end of the mating season, the males crawl away, and the females remain in place to bear offspring. Most of the time they rest and are in a relaxed state.
You will probably be interested in reading about the ways in which snakes give birth to their offspring.
Around the second ten days of July, females begin to lay eggs. Their diameter is approximately 2 cm and length is about 5 cm. One clutch can contain from 10 to 30 eggs.
The larger the female, the more eggs she can lay. For laying, they look for loose substrate, hollow or moss, rotted foliage. Sometimes females can unite, forming a collective clutch of up to 110 eggs.
The size of the newly hatched cubs is quite large - the length is about 30 cm. The babies feed on chicks, young rodents, and shrews.
Often, due to cold weather, most of the young animals do not survive their first wintering. Individuals become sexually mature after 3 years. Amur snakes live for about 11 years.
Daily and seasonal rhythms
During the period of activity (from spring to autumn), the length of the day (light) and, accordingly, the duration of daytime heating is 12 hours. Irradiation with UV lamps should be carried out throughout the day. Special erythema lamps are suitable for the same purpose. They should work for 15 minutes three times a day. When irradiating, the skid should be in a dry corner.
During the winter months, the snake goes into a dormant state. To do this, it is necessary to very gradually reduce daylight hours and heating operation over the course of twenty days. When daylight hours are reduced to eight hours, feeding of the snakes stops and the night heating is turned off. With a four-hour day, you can also turn off the daytime heating. From this point on, the runner is placed in a ventilated, light-proof cage with sawdust. During wintering, the temperature should not exceed +16 °C.
In one corner of the cage, the soil must be sprayed once a week to maintain moisture. Wintering lasts about two months. Snakes are brought out of this state in the same mode, gradually increasing the heat and daylight hours. With an eight-hour day, the night heating is turned on and the runners begin to feed.
Story
The Nanai have legends about the dyabdyan, a creature similar to a boa constrictor, however, researchers believe that this creature is the Amur snake. Officially, the history of the species began in the middle of the 19th century, when in 1856, researcher of the Amur region Leopold Schrenk first discovered this species in the area of the so-called Khingan post on the Amur River. He brought the skin of this snake to the Zoological Museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, and the snake received a second name - Schrenck's snake. Outside of Russia, Amur snakes have practical applications. So, in China, these snakes are kept as pets, which effectively exterminate mice and rats. Also, the Chinese have a belief that these snakes protect the house and savings, and when a son moves into his own house, he receives a snake from his father as a gift. This tradition has been passed down from generation to generation for many years.
Where does the patterned snake live?
Photo: Patterned snake from the Red Book
The distribution area of the patterned snake is quite extensive; this reptile has spread widely and has perfectly adapted to various regions. The habitat of the snake passes from the territories of Ukraine to the Far Eastern borders through Central Asia (the spaces of Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan) and the Kazakh steppes. The snake lives in Korea, Eastern Transcaucasia, Mongolia, Iran and China.
In our country it has spread to:
- Volga region;
- Stavropol;
- Dagestan;
- Southern part of Siberia;
- Far East.
Perhaps snakes have spread so widely because they can easily adapt to different climatic zones and landscapes. Reptiles prefer river floodplains, forests, semi-desert and desert areas, steppe expanses, reed thickets, alpine meadows, wetlands, mountain slopes, rising to a height of up to three and a half kilometers. These snakes are not very afraid of people, so they are often found near human dwellings, and are seen in gardens and vineyards, and cultivated fields.
The patterned snake takes root well in both mixed and coniferous forest thickets. It is no stranger to both humid regions and arid deserts. Snakes settle in the territories of salt marshes, dunes, rice fields, takyrs, and juniper woodlands. For its den, the snake chooses the interroot spaces of trees, various cracks in the soil, and hollows.
Population and species status
Photo: Patterned snake
As already noted, the distribution area of patterned snakes is very extensive, but it cannot be argued that the number of these snakes is large; their density in different regions is most often small. Of course, in some places they feel at ease. For example, on the territory of the Volgograd region, patterned snakes can be found almost everywhere; most of all, they have chosen its eastern and southern parts. Unfortunately, the situation is not so favorable for snakes everywhere; in many regions they are extremely small in number and are beginning to disappear from inhabited areas where they previously existed in sufficient numbers.
This situation arises primarily due to human intervention in the natural snake environment. There are very few untouched areas left where snakes feel safe. People are displacing them from their permanent places of residence by building cities, cultivating fields, draining wetlands, laying transport highways, destroying forests, and worsening the environmental situation in general.
So, we can say with confidence that the status of the patterned snake population in many regions raises concerns among environmental organizations; the number of snakes is steadily declining, and in some places it may even disappear completely, the blame for this is the notorious human factor, so snakes need special protection measures.
Character
The Amur snake is a calm snake and quickly gets used to humans. This is largely due to the lifestyle of these snakes. They can often be found near human habitation: on personal plots, in gardens, orchards, on concrete slabs along bridges and even under the roofs of old abandoned buildings. The natural habitat of Amur snakes is forests. These snakes are excellent swimmers and can crawl out of their “homes,” but return after some time. They like to hibernate collectively; sometimes wintering groups of snakes reach 30 individuals. The mating season of Amur snakes also takes place in groups, where they choose their partners. These snakes are active during the daytime and lead a semi-arboreal lifestyle, climbing trees to a height of 10 m from the ground.
