Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm not really much of a pit guy anymore, but I thought this photo was worth sharing.

I was driving down this road in Mexico last August in the early afternoon -

- when out of the corner of my eye as I drove by, I spotted what appeared to be a snake head poking out of a crack in the roadcut. It was odd, because it was bright orange. My first thought was suboc, but at 1:30 pm?

Here is the cut with the crack, the snake's head was sticking out where the X is -

When we ran back, we were delighted to find the head belonged to this jani -

It seemed like such a nice snake, until it suddenly turned and reminded me what deppei are really like -

A very pretty snake. We found 5 other babies road hunting further south that evening as well.

It has always amused me that deppei are called "pinesnakes" in the hobby. I've seen quite a few deppei in central and northeastern Mexico over the years, and I've never seen one within a mile of a pine tree!

If you go by their typical scrubby desert habitat, they are "gophersnakes". Sure, they occur where there are dry pines, but so do affinis. I guess "pinesnake" increases their allure and pricetag.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

i believe once a pit guy, always a pit guy...

thank you for sharing the photos.
daveb

gorgeous,both the find and habitat.....yeah and to second daveb's notion-how the heck do you have a falling out with pits?ok aside from the hissing,pooping like a racehorse,and tendencies to outgrow their enclosures....can't speak on the westerners but the eastern variations are pretty impressive creatures to find in the field
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"with head raised regally,and gazing at me with lidless eyes,he seemed to question with flicks of his long forked tongue my right to trespass on his territory" Carl Kauffeld

As a jani breeder, I envy your encounters in the wild with these snakes. You are right in they are a bit different than North American pines. The head is totally different, and they don't hiss like melanoleucus. In your wild encounters, have any of the deppei that you have chanced upon flattened their necks vertically like an Indigo snake? If I saw one in the wild lying outside a hole, I would immediately jump on it. Mine always know where their hidebox is. They can fly into their hide like water pouring down a drain if the mood suits them. That said, my captives have never been biters.