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This is a Quick Care Sheet for fast reference Information on the Husbandry of Acrochordus arafurae and Acrochordus javanicus. For further more in-depth discussion please go to: Acrochordus javanicus Care Sheet
Hide box: Use one. For small Acrochordus building a "cave" out of rock formation is practical. For larger Acrochordus its much easier and safer just to use a Hide Box. These snakes will move things around to their liking and they are probably much stronger than you think. Make sure that any structure you build is sturdy and secure. A bit of aquarium safe epoxy will go a long way toward this goal. Focus on a hide box that will be as dark as possible inside. A tiny bit of light inside will make a world of difference to these snake's Security and Comfort level. A Tight fitting hide box that's Dark and offers a lot of Multi-Directional Contact Security. Plants and Top-Coverage: Offer some type of Top coverage--whether its floating plants (Hornwort, Frogbit, etc) or cork bark. It also doubles to help keep light out of the hide box. Don't make the snake come out into bright light to breath. Cage: The setup for these snakes can be done in many different ways, but at the end of the day--they are all aquarium setups. You can do the "Fish-only" type of setup: Gravel, water, filtration, Or You can do a "Planted Tank" type of setup. If You are not familiar with Planted Tanks--then do a fish-only setup. If You don't know what this section means--then You are not ready for an Acrochordus snake. Filtration: I would recommend a good canister filter as will all the fish/planted tank folks. Best bang-for-Buck are the Rena Filstar xP series. If You are going to do a Fish-only type of setup I would also recommend an Undergravel filter with reverse flow power head setup--Lots of slow flow and major filtration increases. Water Quality: Very Soft Acidic water--pH below 7.0 (preferably around 6.0) Gh 3, Kh 2. Use Kent's Black Water Expert to add Tannins and Humic Acid--Much easier and more controllable than using peat moss plus it contains B-vitamins. Try to keep TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) below 200ppm: around 100ppm or less seems to work very well. I add Kent's Zoe for B-1 vitamins. Water Flow: Acrochordus snakes like very slow flow environments. Use the spray bar on the canister filter and point it toward the wall and slightly upward. If the spray bar flow is too fast--just enlarge the holes with a Drill bit. If you use an undergravel filter--use reverse flow powerheads. Temperature: 84-86F (28.8-30C). I'm not going to say that slightly higher or lower will not work. But from behavioral observations this range shows/indicates the best results. Forget the 78-82F--those are winter temps and after several months your snake's health will begin to decline from being kept "in winter" all year long. Photoperiod: In nature their photoperiod is roughly 12 hrs daylight/12 hrs darkness. If the Hide box is very dark inside and the snake is acclimated then this should be Ok. However, if there are any problems, i.e., White-spot fungus, Not feeding, etc. then shorten the photoperiod until the snake acclimates or You figure out what the problem is. May simply be too much light inside the hide box for the snake to be comfortable. You can go down to a couple of hrs of light--if this fixes the problem--then there is probably too much light inside the hide box. Nocturnal animals reduce their activity levels as the Full Moon approaches and increase their activity levels as the New Moon approaches--this includes Acrochordus snakes. A little bit of light makes a Big Difference. Air stone: Acrochordus snakes do not seem to have a problem with having an air stone running in the tank. However, keep in mind to not have it against the glass, hide box or anything else generating extra noise/vibration. Water Level: Keep it Low. My +3' A. javanicus' water level is about 12" and the baby's is about 3-4". Makes getting things setup properly more difficult: But it matters. Keep it Low. Just make sure that the animal is 100% covered when inside its hide box. 25% of the body length is a good rule of thumb. Substrate: I don't think it really Matters. However, I would avoid using anything like Tahitian Moon Sand, because of possible impaction problems. At this point, I cannot say anything in reference to regular "Play" or "Pool" types of sand. Aquarium gravel works well, as does the "Flourite" type of Planted Tank gravel. A plain-glass bottom does seem to work, but I would not recommend it: It lacks the additional contact security that any type of substrate offers. Just keep in mind that finer grain substrates like sand will be consumed during feeding. Feeding: Just about any fish seem to work. I have used Comet Gold fish exclusively for many months without any problems. Yes, I am aware of the Thiamine/Thiaminase complaints/arguments. I am not saying its not true, nor that I buy into it 100%. Variety is best. Currently, I offer Comets and Shiners to my Adult Acrochordus javanicus and minnows to the baby. Keep in mind that fish that are in the tank long-term learn to naturally shift away from the snake and do not get eaten. You can take them out and leave them in a holding tank for a couple of weeks or so and then reintroduce them--often times they will get eaten before they re-learn the "Shift-Away" tactic. I add a Kent's Zoe for general vitamins including B-1 to the tank to help against any possible Thiamine deficiency. I did not do this for months--but I do it now just as a precautionary measure. Kent's Black Water Expert apparently (per the label) does not contain B1. Waste: I see solid waste from the Acrochordus javanicus, but I did not see any from the Acrochordus arafurae or Acrochordus granulatus. However, I do have a report from a Granulatus keeper that Granulatus also produce solid waste (see Kris Ramones' Caresheet). Shedding: The Wild-Caught Acrochordus seem to shed more often then the CB babies--this is simply from my limited observation. The WC adults seem to shed about every +/-40 days, whereas the baby seems to shed about every 60 days. I would say that by body weight v. food weight consumed--the baby eats more and sheds less--go figure! Handling: Simply: Don't. These snakes are not made to be handled and are not built to support their own body weight against gravity outside of the water. If everything is in order--You don't need to handle them and they don't need to be taken out to "Clean the setup". Invest some money and set things up properly. Their condition can be observed when they come up for air--if the parts of them You can see look "A-OK" then the rest of them should be also. White-spot fungus seems to normally start on the head area and often times around one nostril--Why? I don't know, and this is not 100% True. Additionally, a flash light periodically into the hide box can tell you everything you need to know about the snakes condition. Keep it limited though...
Key Factors: Security:
A dark place to hide with a lot of
Multi-directional Contact Security
Please check out the Acrochordus javanicus Caresheet for more in-depth information.
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