By Tie Eipper
The Inland Taipan is a species of snake that must only be kept by experienced elapid keepers. The toxicity of the venom combined with the fact that they can be unpredictable make the Inland Taipan a species suited for the more experienced keeper. We at Nature 4 You do not endorse the keeping of venomous snakes without suitable experience and only when you have the appropriate permits and facilities to care for the animal properly.
The Inland Taipan is also commonly referred to as: Western Taipan, Fierce Snake and Small-scaled snake. The Inland Taipan is native to Australia, found in far western Queensland, north-eastern South Australia and adjacent areas of the Northern Territory. A small population has been found near Coober Pedy in South Australia. Historically, they are recorded at the confluence of the Murray and Darling Rivers near the Victorian, New South Wales and South Australian borders. Inland Taipans live on gibber plains, clay pans and similar areas of the arid channel country. They shelter underground in the deep cracks in the soil and in mammal burrows. They are diurnal and most of their activity is in the earlier part of the morning, however, in the cooler months they are also active in the afternoon.
Their natural food source is mammals. One of the main prey items in the wild is the Long-haired rat (Rattus villosissimus). The abundance of these rats fluctuates from year to year – a voluptuous wild Inland Taipan generally signifies the rats are in plague proportions that year. They tend to lean off and are forced to find other mammals when the rats are not in high numbers. Inland Taipans are one of a few species of snakes which change their colouration depending on the season. In summer they are light gold to pale brown above with dark brown or black markings giving a herringbone appearance. The head is usually a glossy black to dark brown which lightens with age. In winter the colouration darkens considerably to dark brown to almost black above and the head will almost match the body. The underneath is bright yellow, usually with orange spotting or greyish mottling.
They are a large, moderately robust elapid reaching approximately 220cms in length and over 3kgs in weight. A fast, shy snake – they prefer to flee rather than interact with humans, that combined with their remote location is why there isn’t a lot documented on wild Inlands. If provoked they will defend themselves, but it is a very last line of defence. The Inland Taipan is almost at the top of its food chain. There isn’t much that will take on an Inland Taipan in the wild. Mulga snakes (Pseudechis australis) have been known to eat young Inland Taipans (being immune to most of the venomous snakes) and a Perentie (Varanus giganteus) might take one on as it gains size and confidence. Their venom is strongly neurotoxic, with prothrombin activity. Inland Taipans are reasonably easy to keep and can be quite calm. However, they can also be unpredictable. While many keepers refer to them as placid, some Inland Taipans can be every bit as nervous and defensive as the Coastal Taipan, Oxyuranus scutellatus scutellatus. Inland Taipans have been recorded living over 25yrs in captivity.
HOUSING:
The housing of juveniles is best done by housing them in plastic style enclosures with ventilation holes either drilled or melted with a soldering iron. This plastic tub can be placed inside the larger enclosure. Plastic tubs are often utilised for small snakes as they are cheap, easy to clean and seal very well. This is important as a small snake can escape through very small gaps, which are often present in timber enclosures. Juveniles should be kept by themselves. Not only can cage-mates turn on each other, but the unpredictability of their nature combined with the toxicity of their venom makes one snake per cage a lot easier and safer to deal with. We house our juveniles singularly in plastic tubs. These tubs have clips on the side to lock the lids in place, are readily available and easy to modify. We start our hatchling Taipans in 7L tubs measuring 32cms L x 21cms W x 12cms H and move them up to appropriately sized caging as they grow. We use paper towels on the bottom of these tubs as it is easy to clean – simply remove the soiled paper towel and replace with new. Apart from a plastic hide and water bowl, the tub is free from furnishings.
A single adult Inland Taipan needs a terrestrial enclosure about 600mm wide X 1200mm Long X 450mm High. If you have the room, bigger is better as they will utilize the whole floor space. The adult cage can have a variety of substrates ranging from bark to paper. We personally use either a kitty litter made of recycled paper – it helps absorb some of the smell and clumping “deposits” or newspaper or butcher’s paper as it’s easily cleaned. Other effective substrates include synthetic grass mats, bark chips and paper towels. If using the bark chips for a more natural look, make sure no fertilizers or chemicals have been added by reading the bags . Avoid as much dust in the enclosure as possible. If using synthetic grass, you should have 2 pieces cut to size so when one gets soiled the other can be put in while the other gets washed. Pet shops sell a variety of suitable substrates as well as the synthetic grass and bark chips that are available from hardware shops.
Inland taipans need cover in which they can hide, it helps them to feel more secure in their enclosure. This can be provided by a hollow log, empty pot or a rock near the back wall, leaf litter etc. Pet shops have an ample range of naturalist looking hides readily available also. At least one hide should be in the warm end and one in the cool end of the cage. The use of trap boxes as hides is an excellent idea with this species. A trap box is a secure hide used predominantly for nervous or venomous species which contains the animal during servicing. This minimizes the risk to the handler and stress to the captive.
The cage needs to be well ventilated. A series of cupboard vents cut into both the front and back of an adult enclosure work well allowing the air to flow through. In housing for younger animals, the holes should be placed in both the lid and around the sides of the plastic containers.
The water bowl should be large enough for the snake to soak in. This is invaluable in the hottest parts of summer and also for sloughing. This should be situated in the cool end of the cage. The water bowl should be washed when clean water is added, not just topped up. Not washing the bowl and continually topping up the water can lead to illness in the animal and a green water bowl.
The cage should be cleaned out at least once a week to prevent the build-up of germs etc. Cleaning out weekly will also allow you to check the animal over whilst removing them from the cage. This is when you will pick up things you may miss from just looking at the animal in the enclosure. However, traces of faeces and urine should be cleaned as soon as it’s noticed. Taipans, like almost all elapids, don’t feel comfortable if nothing “smells like home”. They will defecate very quickly after returning to their enclosure if everything is clean and new to them. To get a bit longer out of a clean, any furnishing that does not need cleaning shouldn’t be cleaned or replaced. This is also beneficial in animal temperament, – it is “theirs” – not a new environment.
HEATING:
All heating should be placed at one end of the cage and controlled by a thermostat. This creates a thermal gradient. This is vital for the survival of the occupants. If the cage is either too hot or to cool the snake has a place to retreat to. Excessive heat will kill your snake very quickly – ideal temperatures for the Inland Taipan are approximately 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 F) at the warm end of the cage and 27 (80.6F) degrees Celsius at the cool end of the cage.
Ways of heating include a light bulb(s) placed at one end of the cage connected to a thermostat. A light makes viewing easier as well as heating. A heat mat or heat cord at one end, or both the light bulb and the heat mat/cord. Any light globes inside the enclosure should be placed in such a way that the snake is unable to come in contact with them. A mesh type globe cover is ideal as it prevents the snake coming in direct contact with the globe but allows the heat generated from the light to escape. Uncovered light bulbs usually result in nasty burns to the snake. Heat cord under the enclosure is another way to heat the cage effectively. Heat rocks are commercially available; however we do not recommend using heat rocks with any animal as they are not reliable and may cause fire. We use heat cord in a rack system for our younger animals and for our older Inland taipans in cages we run heat cord under tiles on the bottom of the enclosure.
LIGHTING:
If heating the cage with a globe set up, the cage should have dark coloured globes
such as green or blue. This will then not interrupt its photoperiod. The Inland Taipan is mainly diurnal (active during the day). Thus the photoperiod of 14 hours light to 8 dark in summer and 12 hours light and 12 dark in winter is acceptable. While there is no documentation on Inland Taipans and UVB, many animals that don’t “need” UV lighting as part of their husbandry requirements certainly benefit from it.
COOLING:
Cooling allows for the males sperm to be produced and the female’s ova to be made. The temperature of cooling should drop to about room temperature. However, this drop should not be sudden, by turning on the heat for 4 hours in the morning for 4 weeks either side of the cooling period (1-month) this will allow the snake to gently go into torpor. (In Australia most reptiles don’t truly go into hibernation.) Inland Taipans should be cooled from early April.
FEEDING:
Your snake should be feeding on mice or small rats. The size of the prey item and the amount of them is dependent on the snake in question. As juveniles, they should be fed weekly, but once at adult size this can be reduced to once every fortnight. A suitable feed for the snake is a meal that will cause a slight bulge in the snake’s mid body. Inland taipans will also readily take day old chicks, quail, and young rabbits. Food should generally not be offered while the snake is coming into or having a slough. Some Inland Taipans will readily eat while opaque, but the loss of sight can make them a little bit more nervous than normal, making it a lot riskier if you don’t know the animal well.
REPRODUCTION:
Introductions should be from May – October, but Inland Taipans will continue to mate until January. We always introduce the male to the female, not the other way round. A female will want to examine every inch of the enclosure, making her less receptive, while the male is more interested in the job at hand and isn’t bothered by his new surroundings as there is a female there! The males can be removed in and out of the female’s enclosures, allowing them time to rest. We do 2 weeks together, 2 weeks resting. Once the female appears gravid, place a lay box filled with moist sphagnum moss so the snake becomes used to the new item. By removing other hides from the enclosure the snake will usually lay in the laybox. Inland taipans are oviparous and capable of double-clutching. The clutch can vary from 8 – 23 eggs with an average clutch of about 14 eggs. These take about 64 days to hatch when incubated at 30 degrees Celsius (86 F). We use the over-water method for all of our eggs. This method involves a container which has water in the bottom, a grill placed over the water and the eggs are placed on top of the grill. We mark all eggs with a line so we can see movement and the lid is removed periodically to allow air flow and then replaced. Newly hatched Inland Taipans have a TBL of approximately 45cms. Inland Taipans are common in captivity in Australia and are bred frequently.
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