Sunbeam Snake

The sunbeam snakes are two species of snake in the genus Xenopeltis, the only genus in the family Xenopeltidae. They are native to southern China and southeast Asia. The Sunbeam snake is named after the iridescence of its scales, which are a dark brown, almost black. When the light hits the scales it has a prism effect making a beautiful display of colors. Not very commonly kept as a pet because of its high death rate. During shipping and the first 6 captive months are very stressful and often kill the snake. Also it has very little tolerance to handling and often when handled too much stresses to death. If it is kept as a pet should be kept on an easy-to-burrow-in substrate as it needs to burrow, kept warm but not hot, have a temperature gradient, and should be left alone.