Gloyd’s Cantil — Fact Sheet

Agkistrodon howardgloydi · Gloyd’s Cantil

Full care guide

Provisional active-season targets; read the guide for evidence, seasonal restrictions and breeding uncertainties.

📋 Quick reference

🌿 Enclosure and decoration

Provide at least 120 × 60 × 60 cm for one adult and allow the snake to stretch fully. Check door gaps, vents and cable holes against the smallest animal housed. Fix rocks directly to the enclosure base so excavation cannot undermine them; retain clear sightlines to shift doors. Avoid sharp gravel, aromatic wood and unstable piles. Remove waste after securing the snake.

🌡️ Heating and temperature

• Basking spot: 30-32 °C
• Warm zone: 25-28 °C
• Cool zone: 23-25 °C
• Night: 21-24 °C

🐁 Feeding

A primary Costa Rican study found juveniles taking mainly frogs and lizards while adults took rodents. Therefore require evidence that the actual animal feeds independently on a sustainable captive diet. Established adults can take thawed whole mice matched to body width; juveniles may need smaller meals about every 7-10 days under specialist supervision. Do not collect wild amphibians or force-feed at home.

An initial adult feeding interval is 14-21 days; adjust portions and timing to weight trend and condition. Deliver food through the collection’s protected feeding system. Avoid live rodents and substrate-coated food; dehydration, low temperatures and oversized meals increase regurgitation and impaction concerns. Whole prey normally needs no routine calcium or vitamin dusting. Do not improvise supplementation or force-feeding.

⚖️ Legal status

No CITES or specific EU wildlife-trade annex listing was found. Verify lawful source-country collection, captive breeding and export documentation in Honduras, Nicaragua or Costa Rica. A seller’s former bilineatus label is not proof of legal parent stock or current import permission.

The Bern Convention is not a relevant native-range protection framework for this American species; this does not remove national wildlife or dangerous-animal restrictions.

Legal review: 17 September 2026. National capture, possession, registration, breeding, sale and transport rules may be stricter. Verify permits before transfer and keep invoices, breeder identity, parentage and import records. Trade status does not itself authorize keeping a venomous snake.

☠️ Venom

Experimental work demonstrates haemorrhagic, muscle-damaging and other dangerous venom activities. A study found neutralization by the tested Instituto Clodomiro Picado polyvalent antivenom, but that result does not prove every product or batch will suit every bite. Human clinical data are limited; the receiving hospital must plan regional antivenom access and treatment. Severity varies; a small wound does not rule out serious or delayed envenoming.

Treat every bite as an emergency, including an apparently dry bite. Move away, call emergency services, keep the person still, remove rings and support the limb without compression. Do not cut, suck, ice or tourniquet the wound, and do not catch the snake. Follow poison-centre instructions. Agree a receiving hospital and antivenom access before acquisition; treatment belongs in hospital.

🩺 Common problems

• Overheating: repeated escape attempts or unusual exposed resting require immediate measurement of the cool retreat.
• Dysecdysis and dehydration: review drinking access and the moist refuge; repeated problems need veterinary assessment.
• Respiratory infection or stomatitis: wheezing, bubbles or oral discharge require prompt professional care.
• Dermatitis, impaction, obesity and parasites: dirty wet bedding, substrate ingestion, excessive feeding or persistent weight loss need correction and diagnosis. Do not use automatic deworming or home restraint.