Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here's the big male Pseustes sulphureus. He just shed for the first time in my care yesterday. He has a rostral abrasion from transport but looks pretty good otherwise. Hopefully that will heal up with future sheds. He's at least eight, but pushing nine feet. I hope you enjoy.

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Roy Blodgett
Green Man Herpetoculture
royreptile@yahoo.com

1.1 Drymarchon corais
1.1 Pseustes sulphureus
1.1 Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus
0.0.1 Coluber mormon
1.1 Lampropeltis getula californiae (desert phase)
1.0 Boiga dendrophila dendrophila
1.1 Corytophanes cristatus
1.2 Varanus acanthurus brachyurus (Mt.Isa)
2.3 Pogona vitticeps (snow and red/gold)
1.0 Iguana iguana

“All men lie enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but it is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle, ever-present perils of life.”- Herman Melville

Here's another shot.

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Roy Blodgett
Green Man Herpetoculture
royreptile@yahoo.com

1.1 Drymarchon corais
1.1 Pseustes sulphureus
1.1 Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus
0.0.1 Coluber mormon
1.1 Lampropeltis getula californiae (desert phase)
1.0 Boiga dendrophila dendrophila
1.1 Corytophanes cristatus
1.2 Varanus acanthurus brachyurus (Mt.Isa)
2.3 Pogona vitticeps (snow and red/gold)
1.0 Iguana iguana

“All men lie enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but it is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle, ever-present perils of life.”- Herman Melville

Very, very cool snake! I'm assuming the pair are imports? How well do they acclimate? I just got done treating my newest male Spilotes..amazing, 2 hours after being treated he chowed on an adult mouse. Bulletproof snakes if there ever was one! Maybe I don't peruse the classifieds enough but I can't recall ever seeing Psuestes for sale..where dis you get those gems?

Bill
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The Menagerie:
3.8 Emerald Tree Boas
2.4 Spilotes Pullatus
1.3 Chondros
2.4 Red Tailed Green Rats - Maylasian Origin
2.2 Scrub Pythons (Kofiau, Moluccan)
1.1 "Sunburst" Indian Sand Boas (Adults retain juvie coloration)
Veileds, Jacksons, and Panther Chams

They are really cool snakes. Mine are imports, as are almost all available in the U.S. I purchased them from Dan Scolaro of DTS Herps. He occasionally has them in and is a great person to work with; I usually go to him for rare neotropical colubrids.
They seem to be acclimating fine so far. In many ways they are similar to Spilotes but they are generally very aggressive. Today I put five rat pups in the enclosure and hopefully they will eat. I'll keep everyone posted on their progress.
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Roy Blodgett
Green Man Herpetoculture
royreptile@yahoo.com

1.1 Drymarchon corais
1.1 Pseustes sulphureus
1.1 Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus
0.0.1 Coluber mormon
1.1 Lampropeltis getula californiae (desert phase)
1.0 Boiga dendrophila dendrophila
1.1 Corytophanes cristatus
1.2 Varanus acanthurus brachyurus (Mt.Isa)
2.3 Pogona vitticeps (snow and red/gold)
1.0 Iguana iguana

“All men lie enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but it is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle, ever-present perils of life.”- Herman Melville

Very nice looking snake you have there. If you can work with that snake and never get bit, you are ready to take on the world : )

Dan is a good guy, I just wish he would sell me his Leptodrymus. And if Dan is reading this...how is that snake doing?

That racer snake is fine so far and lives in the branches 99 percent of the time, night and day. The books term it a racer type but its a tree type if you ask me. And Roy, that pseustes turned out much more golden then I thought so go ahead and send it back. lol

Dan

LMAO!!! Not a chance; maybe we'll talk about the offspring. lol Hehe. I put 5 rat pups (eyes open) in the cage this morning and I rubbed a bit of chicken broth on them as you suggested. They are all gone from what I can see, but I don't want to tear apart the cage and disturb the snakes if they did eat the pups. I love them though, and I'm really attached to the female because she's so handleable.

Thanks again. And I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on their progress. I hope they breed!
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Roy Blodgett
Green Man Herpetoculture
royreptile@yahoo.com

1.1 Drymarchon corais
1.1 Pseustes sulphureus
1.1 Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus
0.0.1 Coluber mormon
1.1 Lampropeltis getula californiae (desert phase)
1.0 Boiga dendrophila dendrophila
1.1 Corytophanes cristatus
1.2 Varanus acanthurus brachyurus (Mt.Isa)
2.3 Pogona vitticeps (snow and red/gold)
1.0 Iguana iguana

“All men lie enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but it is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle, ever-present perils of life.”- Herman Melville

Pseustes apparently are bird nest raiders so perhaps kin to snatching birds from nests quickly and going elsewhere as soon as possible before momma bird pecks at them. If you put in a small container with half a dozen rat pups, they will chow them down quickly without killing them first and fill their necks with each one quickly before swalling them all down at once. And you will need a second job to keep them fed as they eat like horses.

If you can arrange a tall cage and put in some sturdy branches and a heat lamp, they will bask all day usually after a while, but roam often in search of more food. The chicken soup thing is not needed after a week or two of feeding as they get the idea quickly.

I keep the other smaller species which is black/gray and yellow and that suites me fine as I don't have room for those giant pseustes at the moment. Bill works with them as does Don so they are great information resources on their care. I think Bill has a 10 footer. I moved a ten footer about a year ago. I cracked the crate and unbagged the monster and it took off on the floor. When I tailed it to stop it from going, it turned and striked at me and I turned my fat body around just in time for it to latch onto my behind. It was funny at the time actually. I will find a photo of that giant specimen but forgot where I put it in my old computer.

Dan

The cage they are in is three feet high, and the male spends a lot of time basking on the cork hollows I have in the cage. The female tends to remain hidden in a cork round.
I would love to see some pictures of that ten foot monster. I've taken them out a few times to show people and the male is really a handful. I usually tail him while using a hook in my other hand. He hasn't tagged me yet, but he's been close a couple of times.
Also what species of Pseustes do you keep? Is it poecilonotus or schropshirei? I don't think I've ever even seen schropshirei before, but supposedly it is very similar to poecilonotus. Do you have pictures?
Also, thank you very much for all of your advice and input, as it has been of great use to me so far.
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Roy Blodgett
Green Man Herpetoculture
royreptile@yahoo.com

1.1 Drymarchon corais
1.1 Pseustes sulphureus
1.1 Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus
0.0.1 Coluber mormon
1.1 Lampropeltis getula californiae (desert phase)
1.0 Boiga dendrophila dendrophila
1.1 Corytophanes cristatus
1.2 Varanus acanthurus brachyurus (Mt.Isa)
2.3 Pogona vitticeps (snow and red/gold)
1.0 Iguana iguana

“All men lie enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but it is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle, ever-present perils of life.”- Herman Melville