Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,

I was watching a show that I ordered from amazon.com called "Venom: Killer Snakes" last night. It was showing some beautiful snakes and one of the ones that stood out the most to me was the ferdelance. They are absolutely beautiful snakes. I was wondering how many keepers of ferdelance's there are in here and what are your experiences with them? I am aware that these snakes are certainly not for beginners, but they are certainly beautiful snakes that I would like some more information on. Anyone have any adult photos? I would also appreciate any captive care info you can shoot me.

Thanks,

Chris
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U.A.P.P.E.A.L.
Uniting A Proactive Primate and Exotic Animal League
www.uappeal.org

Chris:

Fer-de-lance is sort of a generic name for Lanceheads in South & Central America. They each have a few different common names which confuse things quite a bit but the two biggest players are Bothrops asper & Bothrops atrox. I don't have time to go into the details but here are some self help references:

Professor WÜSTER is "The man" when it comes to this genus.

http://biology.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/
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http://www.venomousreptiles.org/articles/133 Captive care notes on Aspers.
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My website with pictures of both: www.deadlybeautiful.com
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Matt Harris is my local go to guy for details on Lanceheads:

http://www.matabuey.com/

Check this all out and then we can answer some specifics if you have any.

Cheers!

Al

Bothrops EMBL listing

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Confidence is what you feel before you comprehend the situation.

The name "Fer-de-Lance" is the name originally applied to the Martinique lancehead. (Bothrops lanceolatus)
The name has been carried over (incorrectly I might add)to the main land to describe other species of terrestrial pit vipers of the genus Bothrops.

Dr. Wuster IS an expert on these snakes. So is Bill Lamar and Jon Campbell. You need Campbell and Lamar's book, "The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere" to get the complete picture!
This book will explain it all!

Randal