The coral snake or "rabo de ají" is a highly poisonous red, black and yellow snake. It is very famous in the United States for its powerful poison and the multitude of rhymes that have been created to distinguish it from the real, non-poisonous scarlet, which mimics itself to resemble it and thus avoid attacks by predators.
Is it okay to have a pet snake? Discover more information on our site to find out if it is possible to have the coral snake as a pet.
Basic needs of the coral snake
If you have decided to acquire a coral snake as an exotic pet, you must first know its physical needs in order to satisfy it and have a specimen he althy.
What does a coral snake eat?
In the wild, the coral snake feeds on frogs, lizards and other types of smaller snakes. For this reason, in captivity we will have to provide small mouse pups (it does not have to be live food).
What terrarium do I need for my coral snake?
A baby coral as short as 15 centimeters is already highly poisonous and will grow to a meter and a half in length if you're lucky. For this we must have a terrarium of at least 100 x 60 x 90 cm. They are nocturnal and solitary snakes, spending most of the day hidden in the leaf litter of the jungle or in tree trunks.
Create a suitable environment for your coral snake with logs and vegetation, add gravel at the bottom and you can even create a false burrow. Remember that snakes are expert escape artists and any hole you could miss would be perfect to run out of.
The temperature should be between 25ºC and 32ºC and the light will be natural (it needs periods of 10 to 12 hours of light while at night it will remain in the dark). Finally we will add a drinking fountain for reptiles that we will find in any specialized store.
Coral snake care
As care we can comment that all your basic needs, detailed in the previous section must be 100% covered. Neglecting the temperature, water or light will mean death for our coral snake, which requires constant attention.
During moulting times the snake will love rubbing itself with the small stones in its terrarium to remove dead skin.
You must have the contact of a specialist, who will tell you how often he will come to visit her and check that she is in perfect he alth.
The bite of the coral snake
The coral snake is a beautiful but deadly animal. Its effects can begin to develop up to twelve hours after which we would begin to feel failures in the connections with the brain and muscles, speech failures and double vision. Death could be caused by cardiac or respiratory failure.
Even if you feel the urge to do so or think your reflexes are slow, if you are not an expert in the care and handling of snakes you must not touch it under any circumstances.
What if my coral snake bites me?
Although his bite can be lethalto man if left untreated don't worry, since 1967 man has had the antidote that makes you immune to his poison. In any case, we advise you to notify your friends or family before buying a coral and alert them in the event that you have suffered a sting. Don't wait a second and go to the hospital. Keep in mind that depending on each person's metabolism, the poison acts faster or slower, don't play it.
