Hey guys, I have a quick question. I am interested in buying a pair of fresh import A. nitschei however, I am a bit concerned about their health. I have heard that most nitschei imports do not fare well long term and die within months. Is this true? Is there any way to avoid their deaths?? Any advice is greatly appreciated. I am also concidering a pair of ceratophora. Should I just get the ceratophora instead of the nitschei?? Thank you in advance.

-josh

No one has ANY advice at all?????????????????????????????????????????????

If you want ANY advice (but this will not answer your question): Try and get cb ones. That is better not only for your success with them but also for the population of these snakes in nature. If you get one pair coming to you in the usual (commercial) way that will survive - how many will be lost for the population yours´come from?

I wish you much luck in finding some really nice and healthy cb-ones and I´m sure you can,

Rainer

The problem with CB animals is there are no CB animals available in the US. If anyone here is breeding them, I am guessing they are most likely keeping them to themselves or to close friends.

Hi Josh. Yes, it is true that many, or most, of the nitschei and ceratophora imports do not fare well long term and most will be dead within a year. This is mainly due to people who have never kept any Atheris species starting off with one of the more difficult species, instead of a hardier Atheris species. Most of the imports come in with heavy parasites and may be in poor condition, as well. My advice to you is to start off with squamigera or chlorechis since they are much hardier and you can learn their requirements and their proper husbandry and then you can work your way up to the more difficult species. With some Atheris experience under your belt, you'll be better adept to deal with problems as they arise with the other species. Also, squamigera and chlorechis are readily available as CBB, whereas nitschei and ceratophora are not. Good luck.

Derek hit the nail on the head! With arboreals you never stop learning. Not only will the care of each ssp. Differ, but so will the care and quirks of each individual within the same species. Best of luck.