What snakes do you keep?

xphare

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Hi everyone,

I know we all keep tortoises but what species of snakes do you keep? I find it interesting that what ever group you are in, whether that be snakes, lizards, or chelonians, don't mix very often.

I will include a few pictures of my wonderful snakes!IMG_0825.jpegIMG_0775.jpeg IMG_0701.jpegIMG_0806.jpeg
 

Tom

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I recognize the retic and the burm, but what are the first two? All gorgeous snakes.

I keep cribos. I have a young male and female unicolor and intend to pick up a Mexican (rubidus ssp.) in spring.
Ava W: Star copy.JPG
 

xphare

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I recognize the retic and the burm, but what are the first two? All gorgeous snakes.

I keep cribos. I have a young male and female unicolor and intend to pick up a Mexican (rubidus ssp.) in spring.
View attachment 284263

No burms in my care. I have 2 retics, an olive python(Liasis olivaseus) and a bredls python (Morelia bredli). Both retics are males. Aurelien is a the one in his favorite cork bark round and he is a tiger mochino and around 6 feet. Attilio is the much younger male and is a mochino.

You said Cribo so you have my full attention haha
 

Tom

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No burms in my care. I have 2 retics, an olive python(Liasis olivaseus) and a bredls python (Morelia bredli). Both retics are males. Aurelien is a the one in his favorite cork bark round and he is a tiger mochino and around 6 feet. Attilio is the much younger male and is a mochino.

You said Cribo so you have my full attention haha
I see the second retic now that you said it... I have a tough time recognizing them anymore with all the color morphs on the market now. Funny. I called your retic a burm, but was afraid to ID the first one as an olive because I was afraid it would be some patternless morph of something else that I didn't recognize. I never kept and olive, but I always liked them. I did keep a couple of scrubs from New Guinea years ago. Loved those snakes. Neither of them ever offered to bite, but yet they still had that certain "intensity" about them that was/is so appealing to me.

At the college I went to, we had a "Texas Indigo" named Tex. This was back in the mid 90s. I was in love with that snake and have been half-assed looking for one ever since. Every time I'd find a "Texas Indigo", I'd see the snake or a pic, and have to tell them "No. That's not it..." Turns out Tex was NOT a Texas Indigo (Drymarchon melanurus errebennus). Tex was in fact a misidentified unicolor cribo (Drymarchon melanurus unicolor). They are different subs of the same species, and for all I know, back then no one even knew all the subspecies names... Anyhow, after all those years, I finally figured out what was what with the help of my friend John who breeds all the different Drymarchon. We were on a job together and he schooled me for hours and hours while I scanned the internet. I got a one day crash course on the whole genus from the best in the business!

Indigos have always been a favorite, but in years past, I couldn't afford one. Now I can afford one, but I don't have a suitable place to keep one. Wifey isn't into having any snakes in the house, so I keep them in the reptile room at the ranch. Well the reptile room gets just a little too hot in the summer time (low 90s) and that would kill an Eastern Indigo. The unicolors can handle it with no problem though. John wasn't sure, but he thought it would work, so it was a bit of an experiment. Two summers later, I can say with 100% certainty that unicolor cribos can handle temps up to 93 with no problems and no signs of any heat stress. We suspect the Mexican cribos (I like the red bellies best) can also handle the heat, and I will find out next summer.

I really want to try the yellow tails too, but, I only have so much time and I'm already at capacity. Want to take some sulcatas off my hands?
 

xphare

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I see the second retic now that you said it... I have a tough time recognizing them anymore with all the color morphs on the market now. Funny. I called your retic a burm, but was afraid to ID the first one as an olive because I was afraid it would be some patternless morph of something else that I didn't recognize. I never kept and olive, but I always liked them. I did keep a couple of scrubs from New Guinea years ago. Loved those snakes. Neither of them ever offered to bite, but yet they still had that certain "intensity" about them that was/is so appealing to me.

At the college I went to, we had a "Texas Indigo" named Tex. This was back in the mid 90s. I was in love with that snake and have been half-assed looking for one ever since. Every time I'd find a "Texas Indigo", I'd see the snake or a pic, and have to tell them "No. That's not it..." Turns out Tex was NOT a Texas Indigo (Drymarchon melanurus errebennus). Tex was in fact a misidentified unicolor cribo (Drymarchon melanurus unicolor). They are different subs of the same species, and for all I know, back then no one even knew all the subspecies names... Anyhow, after all those years, I finally figured out what was what with the help of my friend John who breeds all the different Drymarchon. We were on a job together and he schooled me for hours and hours while I scanned the internet. I got a one day crash course on the whole genus from the best in the business!

Indigos have always been a favorite, but in years past, I couldn't afford one. Now I can afford one, but I don't have a suitable place to keep one. Wifey isn't into having any snakes in the house, so I keep them in the reptile room at the ranch. Well the reptile room gets just a little too hot in the summer time (low 90s) and that would kill an Eastern Indigo. The unicolors can handle it with no problem though. John wasn't sure, but he thought it would work, so it was a bit of an experiment. Two summers later, I can say with 100% certainty that unicolor cribos can handle temps up to 93 with no problems and no signs of any heat stress. We suspect the Mexican cribos (I like the red bellies best) can also handle the heat, and I will find out next summer.

I really want to try the yellow tails too, but, I only have so much time and I'm already at capacity. Want to take some sulcatas off my hands?

Yeah, I look at scalation and head shape in order to determine most snake species because like you said, the morphs now are getting out of hand. I picked those two morphs because the original retics who were showing that phenotype were wild caught back in the day so its not as foreign. Mochino is a form of albinism and the tiger gene is just a pattern change but I'm sure you're familiar with both of those genes. Scrub pythons are another one I would love to have but they can be intense for sure and I am very hands on with all my animals so the stress of handling could very well end up killing them. I wish we had Kinghorni in the states still but the ones that were here died off and since Australia has such strict export laws we will probably never get them back.

Indigos are absolutely amazing. I think Drymarchon are some of the coolest looking snakes out there and they are hard to come by which makes them even more exciting in my opinion.

Does your friend John produce a lot of babies?

I think it's good to know that the unicolors can handle such high temps. I wonder if people have success keeping them that hot year round.
 

xphare

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[QUOTE="Tom, post: 1787838, member: 3441"Want to take some sulcatas off my hands?[/QUOTE]

Are your sulcatas Sudanese?
 

Tom

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[QUOTE="Tom, post: 1787838, member: 3441"Want to take some sulcatas off my hands?

Are your sulcatas Sudanese?[/QUOTE]
I have a male and female Sudanese. Trying to sell them now. My other ones are all "regular" sulcatas.
 

xphare

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Yes. Tons of them. https://www.blackpearlreptiles.com

He and his partner Chris, and their families are terrific human beings. Its a privilege to know them all.

I had a feeling you would say blackpearlreptiles. I have heard nothing but amazing things about him and his snakes. Thats awesome you know him. I don't think anyone else is working with Drymarchon at the level he is.

Do your Sudanese live up to the name? Are they a pain and dig everywhere?
 

Tom

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I had a feeling you would say blackpearlreptiles. I have heard nothing but amazing things about him and his snakes. Thats awesome you know him. I don't think anyone else is working with Drymarchon at the level he is.

Do your Sudanese live up to the name? Are they a pain and dig everywhere?
The male seldom digs. The female digs a lot.
 

xphare

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The male seldom digs. The female digs a lot.

Would you rather have a Sudanese or and Aldabra? Are your Sudanese personable or are they shy?

Are you thinking of breeding your unicolors??
 

Tom

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Also, how do you feel about SA Leopards?
I love them. I've raised dozens of them. They are totally different than the regular leopards. I have five adults now and I'm doing experiments to figure out the best way to incubate the eggs.
 

xphare

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I love them. I've raised dozens of them. They are totally different than the regular leopards. I have five adults now and I'm doing experiments to figure out the best way to incubate the eggs.
Do you like them more than Sudanese Sulcatas? I am thinking of starting a thread regarding tortoises who are most personable.
 

xphare

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Box turtles!!!!!
Hi Yvonne! I unfortunately am not a fan of box turtles. I prefer tortoises but would love your opinion. I have a P. babcocki now and she is shy which is to be expected but I want to get another more personable species and with some size preferably.
 

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Sulcata. But the more you interact with any species the more personable they become. I have several SA leopards and they're just one rung up the personality ladder from the babcocks. Manouria are pretty people friendly. I wouldn't trade mine for the world. But give me a box turtle any day!
 

Tom

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Do you like them more than Sudanese Sulcatas? I am thinking of starting a thread regarding tortoises who are most personable.
There is no species more personable than a sulcata in my experience. We can all debate this all day long, but nothing compares to a sulcata when it comes to personality. Their size and destructiveness just makes them unsuitable for the majority of people. SA leopards get big, but still manageable, and they are much more outgoing and unafraid than regular leopards, plus they don't dig and destroy stuff like a sulcata. Just like a sulcata, grass and grass hay should be a large pat of the diet for SA leopards, which makes them easy to care for.
 

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