The Sunbeam Snake is a beautiful creature. It gets its name from the glowing look (incandescence) of their scales. They reflect the light in such a way that it look like they are a glowing prism. These snakes primarily come from Indonesia. They are mainly black in colour, with their belly being the opposite, a creamy-white. The Sunbeam Snake spends most of its time burrowed in the ground, where they are most happy. They have evolved to make this lifestyle easy, with their heads sharply pointed to dig through the earth easier. These snakes will eat anything they can; rodents, insects, other snakes and any other small animal. They are very quick eaters, so keep your fingers away from them when you are feeding them. Make sure to stun or kill the rodents before you feed them to your snake, as rodents are very dangerous. And never leave them alone when eating a rodent.
Sunbeam Snakes are not very common in North America. You rarely ever see them at pet stores, or reptile shows for that matter. They are imported from Indonesia. Wild caught Sunbeam Snakes do not normally live for very long, as they get stressed easily like their lizard cousins. Every once in a while you will see them at a show. If properly taken care of, the Sunbeam Snake can live for a very long time, and be a great Snake pet.
Keeping captive Sunbeam Snakes is very easy, if done properly. Like most snakes, and many lizards, they need to be left alone. They will stress easily if handled too much. They need a high humidity as well. They come from the wetland parts of Indonesia, so emulating this habitat will increase their durability. A good level of humidity for Sunbeam Snakes is between 85 to 100%. Sunbeam Snakes will also require a good depth of burrowing substrate. Damp soil, peat moss or other forest floor substrate works very well. You must keep it moist. You must also keep a heat gradient from 75 degrees F to around 89 degrees F. One more point; Sunbeams have a natural defense. They emit a very potent, and very bad, musty odour. Be careful not to get sprayed, as it lingers on you like a skunks spray.