Steppe snake
| Steppe snake | ||||||||||||
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Steppe snake ( Elaphe dione ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Elaphe dione | ||||||||||||
| ( Pallas , 1773) |
The steppe snake or dion snake ( Elaphe dione ) is one of the real snakes and occurs in Eurasia from the east coast of the Black Sea to Russia , China and Korea . The name steppe snake is imprecise in the zoological sense, as it restricts this subspecies to a geological-climatic habitat. Due to the huge distribution area, there is a great variety in drawing and color.
In Russian animals, gray and black tones predominate, while in Chinese animals yellow and red dominate in color. There are also red cultivated forms which, if at all, are traded at high prices. There are two different drawing variants in nature: a striped and a spotted variant. Some local forms of the steppe snake are very similar to the two-pointed snake ( Elaphe bimaculata ) and can easily be confused with it.
The animals usually reach a length of about 1 m, although specimens 1.5 m in length have also been found. In the wild, steppe snakes feed on small mammals , lizards and birds .
Terrarium keeping
In the terrarium steppe snakes are not very common, although their attitude is comparatively simple and also not excessively large due to their small size terrarium need. According to the minimum requirements for keeping reptiles , a floor space of 0.5 m² is sufficient for keeping an adult couple. In the terrarium, the animals are usually fed with small rodents such as various types of mice .
literature
- Schulz KD: A monograph of the snake genus Elaphe FITZINGER. (Berg / Switzerland: Bushmaster Publications, 1996.)
Web links
- http://home.versanet.de/~j-voelkel/ Biology, behavior, terrarium keeping, pictures
- http://www.elaphedione.de.tt
- http://www.elaphedione.nl
- Elaphe dione in The Reptile Database