Nursing snakes in Hanoi's bosom

Vu Thanh Tung, 30, owns 15 nonpoisonous snake species that come from arid regions in America, like Florida state, or Canada. He keeps them in a 20 square metres room in Dong Da District, one of the most thickly populated areas in Hanoi. Tung started acquiring snakes as pets in 2008. He says: “When I was young, my uncle had a python which I loved. When I became familiar with this hobby, I started importing foreign snakes and raising them. What is unique about snakes is that they are of countless colors and have thousands of characteristics. It’s easy to raise and take care of them.”

The first few years were not easy for Tung. The newly arrived snakes were stressed and refused to eat. Inexperienced, Tung tried to hand-feed them, making them more distressed and to eventually die. He found out later that snakes can survive for months without food. In 2010 he was devastated when nearly 30 snakes died of sickness. But he did not give up on his passion and brought more home..

One time a 3-month-old milk snake had fungal infection because Tung did not clean its cage properly. It was constantly moving for more than 10 days and the owner did not understand why. A vet advised him to use antiseptics and luckily the snake recovered after a week’s treatment. This incident prompted Tung to learn about snake’s medical issues, such as diarrhea, intestinal worms and fungal infections and how to treat them. Now he is confident he can cure most health problems his snakes face.

Tung has an increasing number of snakes every day and so seeks assistance from his brother, Vu Xuan Kien, 21. Inspired by his big brother, Kien is also enthusiastic and curious about the reptiles and has got in close touch with herpetologists in Florida, the U.S.

The corn snake was the first kind Tung ever interacted with, and successfully bred one with another in 2015. The species is quite meek and peaceful.

An albino garter snake from southern Florida is quite rare though its value is low. Tung had to spend months searching for it. Not many snake owners are aware of the existence of the garter snake. Tung looks forward to breeding it.

The red tail boa is the most aggressive of his snakes, growing to a maximum length of around 1.2 meters. At first it often bit Tung, albeit painlessly, but he figured out what caused the aggression later on. "Snakes will never bite or squeeze your hand when you hold them. However, the snake will be triggered and go into attack mode if you open the cage and touch it on the head first."

Petting snakes as a hobby does not take up much space. Dozens of Tung's snakes are housed in small perforated plastic boxes and placed neatly in his house corners.

Kien said snakes are not high-maintenance. You can change the paper in the cage bottom every three to four days. They are neither dirty nor smelly. They only need to be fed once a week because they digest food quite slowly. They eat mice, which cost about VND5,000 ($0.22) each. The pets also need to be bathed once a week for 5 minutes in lukewarm water.