Slithering Waters

Homalopsines (Asian Water Snakes) The water snakes I currently possess all belong to the Homalopsinae family; a group of Southeast-Asian rear-fanged snakes thought to be colubrids but have been hypothesized to derive from a more archaic branch of the order Serpentes. Each species possesses it sown unique and highly specialized evolutionary adaptations for life in the water.

I currently own 2 species of homalopsines; 3 Rainbow Water Snakes (Enhydris enhydris) and 2 Plumbeous/Olive/Yellow-bellied Water Snake (Enhydris plumbea) My experience with them has been an absolute pleasure. Their readiness to feed is satisfyingly coupled with the convenience of feeding them; simply dump in a load of feeder fish and replenish the stocks as they deplete.''


Enhydris Set Up Aug 2008 – The Crown Jewel My current Enhydris setup is a 3ft community tank with a DIY top and a submerged filter with a custom water-fall outlet (custom meaning piecing together filter scrap-parts).


Fine gravel is used as substrate and live plants are anchored to a buried plastic grate to prevent the snakes from uprooting them.


For a dry basking spot, I rigged a combination of choice driftwood stacked over a broken flower pot.


The fracture of the pot itself conveniently created a large underwater chamber; ideal as an underwater retreat for the snakes to and swallow their meals.


Floating water-lettuce are highly favorable as anchors, but they have to be replenished occasionally as the plants don’t seem to do well in-doors. Here's a side view of the tank showing two of my Rainbows.


The Plumbeous (below) is the more terrestrial of the two species and is more inclined to hoist its prey up onto dry land, whereas the Rainbow is accustomed to engulfing its prey underwater.

Similarly the Plumbeous spends more time basking on the logs when not feeding while the Rainbows seem content to coil-up among the water plants as shown below.


It is understood that it is not usually a good idea to mix snakes of different species. Nonetheless, I was also informed that these species do indeed share the same habitats and distribution range such as the brackish water systems of the Tonle Sap. In captivity, they do not seem to mind each others company. If need be they would curl up side by side or in writhing mass as shown in these pics of older setups.




I have future plans to throw Enhydris bocourti and Homalopsis buccata into this mix in a much bigger setup.
Here are some selected pics of some of them individually.

Lucifer on the prowl


Annubis the giant, my largest Rainbow Water Snake, now deceased''



Chimera, my largest Plumbeous Water Snake, pre-moult colors above.


Recently I rearranged my my tanks in my Pet Room to this current setting.

I have my Liocheles collection and my prize female Het spinny shelved on the left. The tank with the latches and the skull houses Midnight; my Equatorial Spitting Cobra and the tank below it is Nabau’s (my retic) pad.

The tanks to the right contain predatory fish; a Crocodile Gar, a Tire-track Eel, two Clown Knife Fishes, a cyprinid I caught in a river and a Synodontis on top; a Red Tailed catfish that ate countless tankmates until we had to house him alone below.'' The empty tank in the middle is awaiting some Tentacled Snakes (can’t wait)''.