Abstract: The sharp-snouted pit viper (Deinagkistrodon acutus) is at a high risk of extinction because of high demand for medicinal and food purposes. Therefore, there is an urgent need to evaluate the utility of captive rearing protocols to supplement natural production. We evaluated the effect of conditions during captive rearing on the juvenile growth. We raised two captive populations of snakelets, one at the local in Yongzhou, Hunan Province, a tropical city, and the other, allopatric population in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,a tropical city. We compared growth (change in body weight) between the two populations by using a paired sample t-test. The growth rate was significantly higher in the allopatric population than in the local population. After one year of artificially feeding, the maximum body weight was 350 g in Nanning. Contrary to earlier reports, D. acutus snakelets readily consumed the juveniles of many frog species, and were not limited to feeding on Fejervarya limnocharis. In addition, survival rates differed between the two populations (88% in Yongzhou and 78% in Nanning). We did not observe any incidences of aggression, despite the relatively high rearing density.The snakelets’ rapid growth rate was likely due to the ready availability of high-energy food sources. Our results suggest that captive rearing allopatrically in tropical areas can be used to increase growth rates in D. acutus snakelets. Additional research is needed to evaluate the feasibility of this approach.

Key words: Deinagkistrodon acutus, snakelets, allopatric captive feeding, growth of body weight