Nice photos indeed. And a truly nice species.
I wanted to wait a bit to have Derek answer first, as he's been my main man in Atheris-related questions and he provided me with helpful comments and information when I got my first nitschei and stressed about setting them up as good as possible. I didn't want to write stuff about the topic like I'd figured things out all on my own. Thanks again Derek, for all the advise & help.
Can't add much to what he said, but I can share some observations and info on how mine are set up etc.
I keep mine pretty much the way Derek described above, similar to the way I keep squamigera.
I too have many a times seen this species being referred to as one of the higher altitude species. However, in the book True Vipers (Mallow/Ludwig/Nilsson) there is a comment that goes roughly like this: "nitschei can be found up to 1600 meters and above"...
I currently have 1.2 adults and 4 roughly year-olds, three of which were born to the older female some time after arrival. All of mine are from Kasese, Uganda, but I have no idea of the altitude or more precise location where they were collected from.
I have kept them for a little over a year now, and so far, so good.
I have also read reports that even acclimated specimens may suddenly drop dead even after a year or so. So I'm just going a day at a time, hoping and praying that these awesome snakes would settle, long-term.
I kept the adults in a terrarium measuring 60 x 70 x 80 (height) cm. There's a 25W spotlight to provide a basking spot and I have unfertilized soil as substrate. There's medium sized water dish, lots of branches and loads of fake vines to provide cover.
Mine have been rather nervous from the start, so I think stress-free envinronment is big plus. Mine aren't prone to striking, but even after a year, they may dash away when I offer food or spray them. Sometimes dropping to the ground really fast.
I spray them about 2-3 times per week.
Daytime temps vary, depending on the season & room temp. Mostly in the above-mentioned terrarium the daytime temps range from 23C to 28C (that's about 73 to 82, American
). At the basking spot the temp is around 30C (86F). Night-time drop is roughly several degrees.
In the winter the air is drier and cooler, so the seasons are provided kinda naturally.
Last winter I think the lowest temps were around 20C (68F).
Sorry for not having a better memory or notes...
In July '07 I witnessed the male copulating with the younger female and I couldn't believe my eyes! That was one of the greates experiences ever, even if I don't get babies, as I thought that I may be doing something right after all.
The male is horny as hell, he's been trying to copulate with the female from time to time until the early months of '08, at that time the female didn't approve his attempts. Never witnessed any aggression, though. So, between July '07 and early '08 there has been several long copulations - some lasting for hours - which I've been lucky enough to witness.
I was thinking that eliminating as much stress from the female as possible should help, and so I removed the male (at this point the older female had been in a smaller terrarium for some time, and has been doing well). So the hopefully, and seemingly, gravid female now has the big terrarium all to her self
The male & the older female will share a smaller terrarium at least until I see if the younger female was gravid or not.
The male has, again from time to time, tried to mate with the older female, but as far as I know, she has turned him down every time.
I do realise that there may be some crap on the way, or perhaps, if the conditions haven't been right etc. there won't be any live babies, if babies at all, but there is a bit of hope in me nonetheless.
The older female is a terrible feeder. It took me a long time to realise what is the best way to have her feed, if she's up for it. I leave f/t small to medium mouse on the branches - which she she may eat, sometimes without me even inducing a strike from her! What could be a more natural way for a WC specimen
The male, on the other hand, has a ravenous appetite, and on occasion he has taken food that was meant for other occupants in the terrarium. I have to control his food intake.
The younger female eats more 'normally'. I have done the same thing with her as I've done with potentially gravid squamigera; I offer very small mouse almost weekly, to ensure that she would have enough energy to produce healthy offspring. I don't actually prepare a female for a mating season in advance by feeding more.
Recently, she has been steadily turning my offers down...
The yearlings are doing fine at the moment, housed singly and growing.
Possibly in the future, as space etc. permits, I will consider housing the adults singly as well. The large terrarium seems to be sizeable enough to house at least a pair. Since this male seems very active in chasing girls, I guess it's a good idea to try and not to burn out the female/s.
Well, there are some unedited ramblings on the topic, wonder if anyone makes any sense out of it.
If there's anyone else in this forum who keeps this species and has kept long-term, it would be nice to hear your experiences as well. I'd really like to know if there are people who have bred this species, possibly on a regular basis.
In closing, here's a recent shot of my adult male:
