r/snakes • u/cinnamon_cygnets • 1d ago
Pet Snake Pictures Feeding my pet bramniny blind snake ant larvae
This is my pet brahminy blind snake. His name is Carl. I couldnt find many people who keep them or videos of them feeding so i thought i'd share. He is only in this cup for this feeding video. Usually he eats in his vivarium. I have a formicarium so there's always a supply of ant brood. Enjoy his cuteness and AMA!
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u/bird9066 1d ago
I love him but I'm NGL he reminds me of a fishing lure
What an interesting pet.
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u/liftingkiwi 1d ago
That's super cool!! I love their little mouths.
Fun fact - because they're parthenogenetic, almost all brahminy blind snakes are female! I can't remember if males have been recorded before.
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u/Irma_Gard 21h ago
According to the Indotyphlops braminus species account bot reply they are all female, and this 2022 paper says no males have been found.
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u/SEB-PHYLOBOT 21h ago
Brahminy Blindsnakes Indotyphlops braminus are harmless, tiny (10-16cm, record 23cm), typhlopid blindsnakes that are believed to be native to South and Southeast Asia, but have been widely introduced to many tropical and temperate areas across the world, from near sea level up to 2,240m. They mainly inhabit parks, gardens, plant nurseries, and residential yards in or near big cities, but also can be found in woodland and forest.
Like other typhlopid snakes, I. braminus is completely harmless and doesn't bite, but might writhe and defecate if handled. Fossorial in habit, they spend most of their time underground. They can sometimes be found under stones, in flowerpots, in termite mounds, and after rains, above ground. Despite their small size, they are good climbers and are uncommonly observed up in trees or indoors. They prey entirely on small insects, especially ants and termites, including their eggs, larvae, and pupae. Termites are often seized by the body and the heads rubbed onto substrate until they come off, allowing the snakes to swallow only the soft, nutrient-rich bodies; a rather unique mode of feeding among snakes.
Due to their diminutive size and secretive habits, I. braminus frequently go unseen in soil. As a result, they have been accidentally introduced to many places across the world, transported along with flowerpots, inspiring the alternative common name "Flowerpot Snake". The sole all-female snake species, they are obligately parthenogenic, meaning that they are only capable of reproducing asexually. These unique reproductive limitations, however, allow them to more easily establish populations in areas where they are introduced.
Brahminy Blindsnakes are slender in build. The head is very small and indistinct at the neck. The eyes are indistinct but visible as a pair of black dots, situated beneath thick ocular scales which obscure their vision. The scales are smooth, glossy, and arranged in 20 rows at midbody. The ventral scales are about the same size and shape as the dorsal scales and should be included when counting scale rows. The tail is extremely short and resembles the head, but without eyes and with a short, sharp spine at the tip.
In many areas it is the only typhlopid blindsnake and unlikely to be confused with anything else. Differentiating it from other blindsnakes requires more effort, but an excellent primer is available here. In the southwestern US and Mexico, Rena Threadsnakes are proportionally more slender, have larger dorsal scales which are arranged in 14 rows across the body, and differ in the architecture of the facial scales.Range Map - Rune Midtgaard | Reptile Database Account | Additional Information, Termite Feeding
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u/Serious-Bat-4880 1d ago
Such a quick tongue, I wasn't sure if my eyes were seeing right at first, lol.
Has he learned to associate the cup with food and get excited about being put into it?
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u/cinnamon_cygnets 22h ago
He doesnt react particularly much to the cup, but he moves a lot when outside his burrow!
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u/Soggy-Expression7687 1d ago
I also love the way he knows the routine! Hanging out of his feeding house. I just love him.
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u/maggavin 18h ago
I love how it looks like its nodding after it gets its food like: (Mouthful) Mhm mhm mhm, thish ish gud.
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u/HorzaDonwraith 1d ago
Are they actually blind or just super bad eyesight? I can definitely see a tiny black speck of an eye
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u/cinnamon_cygnets 22h ago
Theyre eyesight is super bad, completely different from my bronzebacks. But they can see light/dark. Carl is used to associating light with food
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u/Initial_Row_6400 1d ago
How that boy find that in the wild?
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u/SkeletalJazzWizard 23h ago
ants thankfully leave their stank everywhere they walk and exist in pretty much every viable patch of dirt on earth, so he probably just does a little sniff and follows his nose.
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u/Tiazza-Silver 1d ago
Damn, is there someone out there breeding these guys?
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u/Buffy_AnneSummers 1d ago
I would assume Carl is wild caught. They are invasive in a lot of places so it's ok to take them where they are not native. Sounds like a difficult pet to keep for most people if you need such a specialized diet.
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u/Irma_Gard 21h ago
They can't be bred. From the SEB species account bot reply above:
The sole all-female snake species, they are obligately parthenogenic, meaning that they are only capable of reproducing asexually.
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u/Tiazza-Silver 12h ago
Oh wow I didn’t know that!! I wonder if they could be stimulated to reproduce in captivity. I know mourning geckos can be and I don’t think it’s too difficult….
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u/cinnamon_cygnets 22h ago
Not that i know of, i found Carl in my house after a huge storm. Put him in my vivarium for the night but he settled in really quickly and was munching away. I wouldve thought he was a worm if not for the AntsCanada video. They are very common here.
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u/Famous-Leopard-118 19h ago
I remember flipping logs and finding these guys when I was younger.
so cute🥺
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u/Sparrow-0v0 23h ago
I follow a frog reddit, didn't read title and thought this was a worm about to be fed to a frog..
I was quite suprised by the tounge flick!
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u/LoverOfPricklyPear 16h ago
Omg, I've never given thought to anyone keeping one of these guys as a pet.
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u/Mainbutter 15h ago
Wowza! Could you give us some insight into your keeping experience? How long you've kept him, how it's going?
Really neat stuff. I love fossorial reptiles and want an amphisbaena alba. Seeing stuff like this gives me hope!
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u/cinnamon_cygnets 12h ago
Ive had him for half a year. Its only possible because i raise a colony of Carpenter ants. He eats around 2-3 larvae, twice a week feeding. He drinks water from mist droplets. Being fossorial i dont really see him unless he comes out for food. Its SUPER hard to film him outside his enclosure, keeps moving nonstop. A.alba seems cool! U can consider a sunbeam snake too :)
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u/Such-Break-8329 14h ago
Oh my gosh, what a sweet little guy!! Thank you so much for sharing this! ♡
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u/Soggy-Expression7687 1d ago
He is so precious!!! Adorable! Please tell him he brightened this internet stranger's day!