Snakes are cold-blooded animals found on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. In total, there are more than 3,000 species of them on Earth. are harmless and very poisonous, small (only a few centimeters long) and giant (more than 10 meters). Their habitat is also very diverse. They live in salt or fresh water, swamps and forests, steppes and deserts. And sometimes they are found in home terrariums. Reproduction of snakes largely depends on what species they belong to and on the habitat. Most reptiles are oviparous, but there are also viviparous specimens among them.

About the marriage period

Although among the snakes there are hermaphrodites, in most cases they are still of different sexes. Therefore, 2 individuals participate in the process of reproduction: a male and a female. Often, outwardly, they do not differ much, except perhaps in size, less often in color. Sometimes males have a flatter tail shape.

The mating season for snakes usually begins after hibernation when the air temperature becomes comfortable enough for rearing offspring. Reptiles inhabiting desert and semi-desert areas breed with the onset favorable period which does not always depend on the time of year.

The male takes care of the chosen one is not too active. Having found her by smell, he begins the pursuit, and when they meet, he expresses his intentions by stroking or shaking his head. During this period, animals show particular aggression. Therefore, do not try to see how snakes breed in vivo, especially if we are talking about poisonous representatives of scaly reptiles.

There are species that mate large groups curling into a huge ball. The process may take several days. It is also surprising that a fertilized female is able to carry sperm in herself for a long time, while maintaining her ability to fertilize. Conception itself occurs when the environment becomes as favorable as possible for this.

Hermaphrodites

Among snakes, they are rare, but still such cases do occur. As a rule, we are talking about the island botrops, inhabiting mainly South America. Surprising is the fact that among individuals of the same species, both heterosexual and hermaphrodite can come across. The latter have sexual characteristics of both male and female. Therefore, one snake is enough for reproduction.

But it's not the only one interesting fact from the life of reptiles. Some females manage to lay unfertilized eggs, from which offspring successfully hatch. This method reproduction is quite rare and is called "parthenogenesis".

Place of masonry

For any female, eggs are the most valuable thing she has. And snakes are no exception. Therefore, a place for masonry is chosen quiet, safe and as comfortable as possible. Steppe snakes often live in burrows and hide their clutches there. Forest ones do it under snags, and desert ones often bury them in the sand. It all depends on the environment and living conditions.

Females usually guard their offspring by keeping them warm by actively contracting their body muscles until they are born. It is difficult to call caring parents of snakes, cubs show independence literally from the first minutes of life, earning their own food and not counting on adults. In some species, the male is responsible for the safety of the nest, and sometimes the parents guard it in turn.

viviparous species

Regardless of how snakes reproduce, their embryos almost always develop inside the egg, feeding on its environment. In most cases, this happens in a nest or other hidden place. But sometimes the young develop directly inside the female and are born while hatching from the eggs. At the same time, they are quite independent from the first days of life.

Viviparous snakes in the classical sense are also found in nature. These mainly include inhabitants of reservoirs, as well as some boas and vipers. In this case, the embryo breathes and feeds through a single circulatory system with the mother.

Breeding snakes in captivity

Reptiles are increasingly found as pets. This is mainly due to ease of maintenance. You do not need to walk with the snake, they rarely eat, they behave mainly passively. The main thing is to choose the right terrarium and follow the recommendations of a specialist in terms of climate.

It is rare to observe how snakes breed in captivity, since this happens only under a favorable combination of several circumstances. Firstly, there should be 2 of them, and of different sexes. Species related to hermaphrodites do not contain houses. People mainly acquire boas or snakes. Some of them in wild nature live in trees. Therefore, for a comfortable stay in captivity, in addition to suitable temperature and humidity, it is necessary to create an imitation of the trunk, roots, spread pieces of bark. You can see how snakes breed in a terrarium only if they are absolutely comfortable. Before the planned mating season, it is better to resettle the couple and hold them separately for several days, slightly lowering the temperature. Thus, there is an imitation of hibernation in natural conditions. Then they are placed in a common terrarium, increase the temperature and wait for the result.

Snakes are amazing and mysterious creatures that inhabit our planet. Many myths and legends are associated with these animals. Many are afraid of them, and some have them in their apartment as pets. Sometimes in terrariums it is even possible to get offspring. But for snakes to breed in captivity, they need to be really comfortable.

Snake eggs laid after mating usually have a parchment shell. There are oviparous and viviparous species snake.
During egg production, the embryo develops in an egg laid in the external environment.

During ovoviviparity, the embryo develops inside the mother's body, but at the expense of food reserves laid down in the egg.

With this type of reproduction, the young appear enclosed in a shell, from which they are subsequently released. Live birth - the appearance of a fully formed young in a transparent leathery shell, which immediately breaks.
IN natural conditions the mating season in snakes is preceded by a long wintering period, which takes place in rodent burrows and other shelters. Some species of snakes, such as Amur snakes, adhere to individual sites that remain with them for several years.

Formed mating pairs return from wintering to their usual place, where females lay their eggs. Under natural conditions, the reproduction of snakes is, as a rule, seasonal. So, the period of activity of snakes is March-April, October-November. Mating time is from March to May. During the mating season, several dozen snakes accumulate in certain place, forming a ball. After mating, males disperse, while females remain in place, carrying eggs. Female common grass snake can lay up to 50 eggs. There are cases when up to 1200 snake eggs were found in one nest. In such places, the eggs are often glued together and look like one large clutch. Unlike other types of snakes, snake eggs can tolerate significant temperature fluctuations. environment without prejudice to the development of the embryo.

Garter snakes are viviparous. After several months of pregnancy, the female is born from 40 to 70 cubs.
The duration of pregnancy of snakes is different: in the Amur and Aesculapian snakes - 33-45 days, in the patterned snake - 60-70, in other members of the snake family - 48, in various kinds pythons - 60-110.

When the pregnancy comes to an end, the snakes build a nest of leaves and branches, arrange it in the hollows of low trees and under fallen trunks, in rodent burrows and anthills. In the laying of reptiles, there can be from 3 to 40 oval or elongated eggs, which differ in size depending on the type of animal. Coiling around the masonry, the snake warms the eggs with the help of muscle contractions. Some snakes simply bury their eggs in the ground, a pile of plant debris. Most snakes do not show further care for their offspring. But some species, such as the four-stripe snake, King Cobra and silt snake, guard the masonry until the appearance of the young.

Captive-bred snakes for starters mating games deep sleep is not required. It is enough to separate the content, a slight decrease in temperature throughout the month and the cessation of feeding during this period. A month after wintering, females are planted with males for mating. The connection of a pair of snakes can be carried out at any time of the year, but usually the dates remain the same as for breeding in the wild - February-March.

For reproduction of reptiles in captivity, it is necessary to select a pair. The sex of the reptile is determined by the characteristics of color: females are less brightly colored. In addition, males have a longer tail and there is a thickening in the lower row of scales in the region of the anus. Puberty snakes depends on their age and body length. The length of the female must be at least 60 cm, the male - 50 cm.

During the breeding season and for the first time after it, the maintenance of snakes requires increased attention. Eliminating noise, creating comfortable conditions in the terrarium is necessary to increase the sexual activity of snakes. Feed with a high content of vitamins, phosphorus, calcium is introduced into the diet of animals. However, many females refuse food during the period of gestation and laying eggs.

If the female takes care of the offspring, incubates the clutch, then it is possible to carry out incubation in natural conditions. At this time, you should not disturb the snake, you should carefully monitor its behavior in order to provide normal conditions for the appearance of offspring. It is important to systematically monitor how the snake is located on the masonry in order to avoid its partial opening and temporary removal from it. This contributes to the rapid cooling of the eggs and can lead to disruption of the development of the embryos.

It is interesting to observe the behavior of snakes during natural incubation. Thus, a female green python lays up to 40 eggs and guards the clutch for about 50 days. Rolling around it, the reptile is able to regulate temperature and humidity, either completely closing the masonry with the rings of its body, or partially opening it for ventilation. The maturation of green python eggs can also be successfully carried out in an incubator. Necessary condition while maintaining high level humidity. The duration of the incubation period depends on the type of snake. In a terrarium, it usually takes place at a temperature of 27–30 ° C and an air humidity of 90%. This regimen is especially important for the red-backed snake, whose young are born in translucent egg shells.
In order to ensure the safety of young animals during natural incubation, it is desirable to place shelters for newborns in the terrarium, into which adult snakes could not penetrate. Such precautions reduce possible cases eating offspring by parents.

In cases where natural incubation is not possible for a number of reasons, eggs should be removed from the terrarium in a timely manner. This is especially important for clutches consisting of a large number large eggs that tend to stick together. Subsequently, because of this, difficulties may arise when transferring them to the incubator.

In order not to damage snake eggs, they should be handled very carefully. When moving eggs, you can not change their position, turn over, as this may adversely affect the further development of the embryos. This factor is most important for large snakes. For species that lay small eggs, such as common snake, it is not critical.

Artificial incubation is carried out in special incubators, consisting of a container, heating systems and maintaining humidity in sawdust, peat, moistened moss. The container can be a box made of glass, plexiglass, plywood.

The temperature controller and the incandescent lamp are elements of the temperature control and maintenance system. A source of humidity, which can be used as a wide pan with water, and a device that regulates its level, a psychrometer, are components of a device for maintaining and controlling air humidity, increased for eggs with a shell and reduced for parchment.
The laying is monitored more carefully from the moment the first cut appears on the egg. Often, young snakes do not immediately leave the egg, but remain in it for a day. It is important to remember that the artificial extraction of snakes is unacceptable, as it leads to injuries and death of a newborn animal.

Young snakes about 12–20 cm long appear after a month. A week after the birth, the snakes begin to catch small insects, frogs, during the same period the first molt takes place. When feeding young animals, it should be borne in mind that he needs large quantity feed than adults, and should be given 2 times more often. Then, as it grows, the amount of food and the frequency of its intake is gradually reduced, bringing it to a level sufficient for an adult snake of a particular species.
The offspring grows rapidly: by 6 months the mass of snakes reaches 70 g, by the year - 100 g, the length exceeds 50 cm. Signs of sexual activity appear after a year, at 18 months the reptiles reach puberty and are ready to breed.

In 1985, in the Chinese village of Jishikao, Yang Hongchang, a local disabled person, began breeding snakes, first for self-treatment, and then for sale - for pharmaceutical companies and restaurants. Gradually, the whole village became interested in this business, and today a third of its inhabitants are millionaires, and Zhishikao has become a world center for raising snakes with a population of 4 million reptiles.

Yang Hongchang was a typical Chinese peasant in the early 1980s: a small plot of land, an average monthly salary of 100 yuan, 16 dollars. At the same time, he fell ill with Bechterew's disease, a chronic disease of the joints with a predominant localization of the process in the sacrum and spine. China is not the First World - there are almost no free medicine and pensions, and even more so 30 years ago.

Hongchang, 62, realized that he would either starve to death, unable to farm the land, or die of illness. From a local doctor, he learned that an extract from a certain type of snake could save him, in fact it was special kind legless lizard. But it was worth 3 months of Hongchang's salary. Then the old man went to the mountains, caught several reptiles and himself made an extract from them, a tincture of alcohol.

A two-month course of taking an extract from a snake made Hongchang able to work. Then he thought, why not start breeding snakes, since they are so expensive and there is a steady demand for them. In 1985, on bail of his land plot took a bank loan, 10 thousand yuan.

With this money, he bought equipment - incubators, in which the process of maturation of snake eggs could take place. Serpent different types(from vipers to those very legless lizards) for breeding, he caught himself. The first incubation experiments were unsuccessful. Only in 1987 did he manage to debug the process, and the first 30 thousand snakes were born. After a little growing, he sold them in bulk for 80,000 yuan.

The news of this success spread throughout the village of Hongchang, and after 5 years, out of 162 of its yards, 108 contained snakes.

Small factories for their processing immediately appeared: snakes are dried, vodka is made on their basis, ointments on snake venom, etc., a significant proportion are “fodder” reptiles that go to Chinese catering. 80% of products are consumed within China, the rest in the US, Japan and Germany. Feed factories also appeared, where mice and frogs are bred, which make up the main diet of snakes.

In the village of Jishikao, 4 million snakes are grown (up to 30 species: cobras, vipers, pythons, etc.), at least 20 families earn from 1 million yuan per year or more (150 thousand dollars), the rest - in an average of 50-60 thousand yuan.

In general, the village has an annual income of 60 million yuan (about $9 million) from raising snakes.

Over the past 5 years, both the number of reptiles and the income of the village have grown by 50% annually.

Hongchang himself earned his first million in 1990, and he turned his business into the brand Moganshan Snake Co.

In 2008, his company expanded beyond China by establishing a 10,000-square-meter snake farm. m in South Korea.

But in France, snake farms are going through hard times.

For example, in the town of Velance, a company that keeps snakes for the sake of their venom, sales in 2011 fell by 20%, to 1.6 million euros per year.

You have something wrong with knowing the laws and how they really work. What tax are we talking about? From the point of view of Belarusian legislation, spiders and snakes are not pets at all. They are not treated in veterinary clinics, they are not given health certificates, they are not vaccinated, they are not registered with the housing and health services, since they do not need to be walked, no one cares about them at all. To get the certificates shown in the article - it still needs to be tried and know where to go. (Surely the snakes were purchased from Prokhorchikov, they have contacts the right people, where they make the necessary papers) Well, we haven’t developed it yet, and here you are still trying to download your rights. Yes, all the governing bodies will send you to hell so that they don’t load them with extra trifling work.

And yes, for 9 years I have been keeping tarantulas and my own self-study in the field of araneology. Not because it's "oh fashionably cool", but because these animals are really interesting. Now the truth is I’m not in Belarus at all and I had to sell all the spiders, so there’s one less “keeper” in Minsk.
However, there are many of us. More than you can imagine. That's only if the snakes can really go to the neighbors for a walk, then you can not be afraid of tarantulas, most species are not adapted to life in Minsk apartments and die within a couple of weeks. Yes, and they will not go for a walk anywhere, sewn up under the sofa and sit there.

And on account poisonous snakes, I don’t know how it is in Belarus, but in Russia a lot of people keep poisonous snakes in their apartments. Particularly successful live in private homes and do the right thing.
By the way, they are not bred for milking poison, if anything, in the CIS countries, this nafig did not fall to anyone. They breed and keep because they like it. Well, there are, of course, those who just want to be the owner of a cobra, they say it's cool. Where without such individuals ... It is strange that so far there have been no deaths) There were bites, but a maximum of fingers were lost))

In general, if you dropped a little fry, you would understand that this is absolutely new world. A world that has existed for decades next to you, but since this hobby is quiet, it has no publicity.
And I just advise you to somehow go in and talk with people who are actively involved in keeping snakes. Overcome your fear and try to look at the situation from a different perspective. Believe me, on verification, everything turns out to be not so scary and many stereotypes are smashed to smithereens.

Good evening.
I did not want to unsubscribe more in this thread, but out of respect for your answer, I can not answer.
With this topic, in principle, everything is clear.
The onliner promoted the business, the onliner is satisfied, the entrepreneur is satisfied 60k views - everyone is happy. We figured it out.
On business, the fry dug, superficially (I could be wrong, but as a friend said for a rare color from one and a half meters to 1.5k killed raccoons) - if these snakes are of a rare color, then probably Andrey could make his family a kopeck piece and the child could have his own room. .. but business is business, as they say, money doesn't smell.
And yes, indeed, this is a whole world, the good news is that the exotic is not only snakes and spiders, but the whole world, from snails to ... raccoons :). And you are wrong, considering that I personally have a fear of reptiles ... this is not fear, but indifference, because I can say for sure - holding the snake in my hands, I did not experience anything ... well, akin to watering from a hose in the country, but hugging a Malamute you experience a diverse range of feelings :).. even squeezing in your hands rat I got more tactile sensations ... in short reptiles, not mine.
Regarding the keeping of animals at home, it is also clear - do you want the whole house to be afraid of your apartment? I think not, fear, acquired long ago, is deep in any person.
I read the forums, in 2013 there was a fashion for iguanas - as a result, the Minsk entrepreneur almost lost his arm from the "gift". Or in Canada, the keeper, who was bitten by his beloved female spider, and who was found by rescuers because the neighbors could not bear the putrid smell (that living creature that was at large at that moment ate it for a long time) it would seem a horror story - but no (.... And the topic can be continued forever ... it's like dog lovers vS cyclists or walking in parks.
I dug, unfortunately I didn’t like the world. I treat this world with respect and, in principle, I won’t get into it anymore.
I voiced my opinion earlier.
You wished to see the world of reptiles for me - I wish you to get a dog ... he can pull your bike :) and you can also put your feet on it when you write something on the online .. warmly and softly.
Nothing personal, sorry if I offended you.

Snake breeding

In the countries of the former USSR, there are isolated deaths among people bitten by snakes, mainly in Central Asia. In this case, a tragic outcome usually occurs due to untimely or incorrect assistance to the bitten. In the United States, snakes kill up to 160 people each year, although about 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes, mostly when trying to catch or kill a snake.

most efficient and effective tool treatment of snake bites is the introduction of anti-snake serum. This tool was discovered at the end of the last century, and for the manufacture of such serums in São Paulo (Brazil), the Butantan Institute was founded in 1899. Now it is the largest center for the study of poisonous snakes, for the use of snake venoms. From all over Brazil, many residents voluntarily send here about 12.5 thousand snakes annually (mainly cascavela and zhararak), from which they receive up to 5-6 liters of poison per year (1-1.5 kg in dry weight).

Poison is taken from snakes once every 2-3 weeks. From small snakes, 20-40 mg of venom is obtained (in dry weight), and from large snakes, 500-900 mg per dose. The traditional method of "milking" snakes is mechanical, by massaging the venom glands. However, taking the poison with the help of an electric current ("electric milking") is recognized as the most effective. To do this, electrodes with a voltage of 5-8 V are touched to the oral mucosa, which causes a quick and complete return of the poison.

Sera are prepared from the blood of horses immunized with increasing doses. snake venom. These serums come in two varieties: monovalent - against the bite of a certain type of snake - and polyvalent - against the bites of various types. Timely and correct administration of serum quickly relieves the symptoms of poisoning. In addition, with bites of vipers and pit snakes blood transfusion has an excellent effect.

Snake venom is a complex mixture of proteins that have the properties of enzymes and enzyme poisons. In the dried state, it retains its poisonous properties for decades. Snake venom has long attracted scientists as a source of medicines However, significant progress has been made in this direction only in recent decades. From the poison of the gyurza and Russell's viper, hemostatic drugs are obtained - lebetox (in former USSR) and stipven (in the UK). The main active ingredient, cobrotoxin, has been isolated from cobra venom, which has an analgesic and calming effect on spasms of the heart vessels, bronchial asthma, and malignant tumors. In addition, snake venoms are used in the diagnosis of diseases, in various laboratory studies.

Since poisons began to be used very widely, the need for them has increased dramatically. To obtain poison in many countries of the world, serpentaria have been created, where snakes caught in nature are kept in enclosures or cages and poison is periodically taken from them. The life expectancy of snakes in such serpentaria is usually short, and it is necessary to constantly replenish the population of snakes with new individuals caught in nature. In many tropical countries this is not much of a problem, and serpentaria subsist on the constant exploitation of nature's venomous snake resources.

The main types of snakes used in our serpentaria are gyurza, cobra, common and steppe vipers, to a lesser extent - sand efa. Due to Natural resources poisonous snakes are limited, and some poisonous snakes are included in the Red Book, scientists and workers of serpentariums faced the problem of conservation and careful use of populations of poisonous snakes. Much has already been done in this direction. Thanks to the optimization of the conditions of detention, it was possible to significantly extend the life of snakes in captivity. All this makes it possible even now to keep the main population of snakes in serpentaria for a long time and to gradually reduce the volume of catching snakes from nature.

However, the most promising way to preserve the natural populations of venomous snakes is to turn serpentaria into nurseries. Snake nurseries are serpentaria of the future, where snakes will not only be kept in optimal conditions, but will also breed, and their offspring will grow to adulthood. Then the need to remove snakes from nature will completely disappear, and economic exploitation will move to the level of "serpent breeding". Such prospects are quite real, since on an experimental scale, herpetologists have already managed to successfully breed some species of poisonous snakes and grow their young in captivity.

Successful breeding of snakes in captivity has great importance and for species used by humans, and for those species that are on the verge of extinction in nature and are listed in the IUCN Red List or national Red Books. In such cases, if a species becomes extinct in nature, captive breeding populations of that species can serve as a life-saving reserve fund for the subsequent restoration of this species in nature. Captive breeding of endangered species remains the only reliable guarantee of their conservation.