NEWS113
16
Lexion
GermanSnakes
Natrix:means ”water snake”
tessellata:means ”withamosaic-like
pattern”
Coronella:means ”small crown”
austriaca:means ”fromAustria”
Elaphe: from theGreekword for deer,
referring to speed.
Zamenis:means ”great power”
longissima:means ”the longest”
Vipera:means ”viper”
berus:most probablymeans”(live-
)bearing snake”(see references)
TheDiceSnakegot itsname from thepatternon itsunderside.
populationconcerned.
Nomanure+notanning=noDiceSnakes
Historically, during the 1880s, Dice Snakes
were captured and sold dead (as biological
displaymaterial in alcohol) or alive (theprice
depending on size) in the pet trade for
terrariummaintenance. That certainly won't
have done much good to the wild
populations,small evenback then,but things
didn'tgo reallybadly for theDiceSnakeuntil
”modern”times.
As long ago as 1918-1923 the terrarium
keepers of old were complaining about a
massive decline in Dice Snake populations
due to environmental destruction and cam-
paigning for conservationmeasures.The dry
stone walls near warm springs, formerly a
perfect home for the snakes,were rendered.
The tanning trade,whichused so-called tan-
bark(choppedbarkfromoakandsprucetrees,
togetherwithdeadoak leaves) to tan leather,
ispracticallynon-existentnowadays.Thehuge
piles of tan-bark served Dice Snakes as an
importantplaceto laytheireggs,andtheyalso
hibernatedthere.
Heaps of horsemanurewere a second, very
important ,egg-layingsite for theDiceSnake.
Thewarm,moistdungwasaperfectincubator
for the eggs. But nowadays nobody uses
horses for transportation,everyone travelsby
car,and reptileeggswon'tdevelop inexhaust
gases.
And finally, the landwas cleared right to the
banksoftherivers.Thesnakes,which leavethe
water to hibernate, now have to migrate
acrossopenlandtotheirwinterquarters(ifthe
latterstillexist),becausetheextensiveareasof
reedsthatonceborderedtherivershavebeen
destroyed.
Thegoodnews is that thanks topainstaking
conservationmeasures,especiallythecreation
of piles of horsemanure in suitable spaces.
Dice Snake populations in Germany are
currentlystable.
DiceSnakes intheterrarium
Obviously, under no circumstances should
DiceSnakes be collected for the terrarium in
Germany.Thatwouldbe irresponsible,not to
mention illegal.But becauseDice Snakes are
easy tobreed,captive-bredspecimenscanbe
purchased
cheaply.
They
can
be
recommended without hesitation as ideal
aquatic snakes for the aqua-terrarium. Dice
Snakesgrowtoonly60-90cm (extremelyrare
exceptions 130 cm) long, arenon-venomous
andrarelyaggressive,and leavethewateronly
to lay eggs, to hibernate, and to sun
themselves.DiceSnakesprefertohuntamong
largepebbles in thewild,and it ispossible to
set up a very attractive terrarium following
Nature'sexample, imitatingacalmbay in the
river bankwithabottomof largepebbles. In
practice the landarea canbe relatively small,
but an absolutelydry spot should always be
available. When rearing youngsters it will
suffice tohave a floating islandof thick cork
bark as the land area.The lighting shouldbe
installedabovethe landarea;thetemperature
shouldreach35°C inthewarmestspot.
Heavily gravid females are best placed in
anotherterrariumto layeggs (seebelow).This
correspondstothesituation inthewild,where
femalesmigrate to their egg-laying sites.Any
attempt to cobble together a land area
offering the female optimal egg-laying
