Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This was an incredible trip to a mans house who has incredible animals. Howie Sherman of Strikers Herps has some of the most amazing snakes I've ever seen!! Steve Craig went with me and purchased an awesome pair of Va Beach Kings.

Here is a true locale reverse okee (Okeetee Hunt Club lineage), you do not see these too often if ever!! I tried but he wouldn't sell it....can't blame him.

Here I am holding one of Howies Black Head Pythons....these are one of the most awesome animals I've ever held. The pics do not do them justice at all!!

I left Howies house with these two Outer Banks king snakes. I think they are screamers as far as OBK's go. They already are showing a lot of speckling adn havn't eaten on their own yet:
female abherent pattern

male

That Black Headed is amazing and so is the corn.

Does Howies whole house look like that...full of snakes? Some pretty snakes! What are those in the cage behind the black headed pic?
-----
"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

Rainer, those snakes behind Ralph holding the Blk. head python are albino yellow rats. Drop dead gorgeous animals. I was like a kid in a candy shop, LOL

Steve

-----
SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

Do I also see a woma in the lower cage below the big one?

By the way, Hi HOWIE!!!

Geez, I feel like I'm intruding on a private party here LOL
-----
Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

Tom, whats happening? the private party is big enough to admit one more. in fact, the more the merrier. that is actually a blackhead you see if i got the layout of my snakeroom visualized correctly. when are you up for a visit?

Visit? Ummm, right now! I'm leaving work and I'm gonna drive around aimlessly until my Snakey Sense goes haywire, then I'll pull over and start going through peoples trash looking for big bags full of old cage bedding.

See ya in a while!!

Seriously though, I do need to stop by sometime and stand in line for the BHP picture opp. I'll get with you soon, I've got your phone number...

-----
Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

anytime buddy. loved the red bellied picture. Alot of the hobbyist never see these little gems as many have never had the pleasure of being out in the field. red bellies, green snakes, ring-necks, dekay's, love those little beauts.

Yeah! Eastern Kings LOVE 'em!!! LOL!!!
-Phil

The pics turned out great Ralph. And I thought Howie's Northern pine was heavy. I could kick myself for not holding the BHP.
The OBX Kings are awesome.

Steve
-----
SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

Yes, awesome guy with awesome snakes. I just have one complaint. You say its a true real deal albino reverse okeetee but thats not possibleunless he has collected a albino on or around the hunt club.
Once you have bred outside of pure okeetee lines then how is it a pure okeetee. I know its pure corn and all but you can't have it both ways.
Reverse okeetee has nothing to do with the hunt club.Its a "look"

Its a great looking snake but we should try and make it something that it isn't.

Shannon

Both parents are direct from the Hunt Club lineage with no outside influence as I understand it. He told me that he has bred the same two for 5 years and that they have never produced one before. I probably didn't specify this earlier and when I tried to offer to buy it it was the only time he had a serious look on his face and then he said, "No"...LOL

Hey Ralph, It was great to meet you and hobnob with Steve again as well. Thanks for the kind words. Always a pleasure to show off my collection, especially to fellow kingsnake enthusiasts. Hey there Shannon, just a few words to address your critique of what Ralph said. This was a mutation from two breeders that are 3rd generation pure Okeetees. How do I know? I caught the parent stock myself in the late80s-early90s and could give you locale ,if you are of a mind,within a few feet. I have bred them(the parents in question) for 5 years and in that time produced 166 baby Okeetees(double clutch 3 years ago). In that time, only the one "reverse" Okeetee(or more accurately, but less popularly ,"Amel.Okeetee"popped up in last years clutch of 28. And Shannon, seeing that little gem on top of the clutch of 28 required a triple take on my part. Just wanted to clear things up. I am curious as to whether anyone ever produced a genuine Reverse Okeetee as I was lucky enough to do.

Howie,
That is awesome my friend.I had no idea. Major congrats and I hope yopu produce some more.

Thanks for clearing it up my friend.

Shannon

I need to double check but I believe Peter Jolles had some pure Okee stock that produced one as well. He was (and is) into pure locale animals. I'll double check with him and try to find out where it ended up. I believe he sold it.

Cool!Yeah, let me know, and my regards to Peter as well. Missed him down in Daytona this year. By the way, who am I contacting about the Black Kings? My senile brain is evidently as godd at remembering what you guys told me as it is in finding restaurants to eat at that actually are open.

His name is Phil Peak and there is also Will Bird. Here is the website you can contact him from.
http://home.insightbb.com/~p.peak/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html

I want to say he has been on this forum before but it's been a while.

Thanks so much for the information----again. senile Howie "I'm just happy to be here"-Thurman Munson , Yankee Clubhouse, 1978

>>Thanks so much for the information----again. senile Howie "I'm just happy to be here"-Thurman Munson , Yankee Clubhouse, 1978

Thurman Munson was the only Yankee I ever liked when I cared about baseball, now its a non issue.

Howie, now I can say I have seen inside your collection! What an honor, you must give up whatever you are doing and spend more time on the forum...
peace,
daveb

Hey there Dave, hey, i'm not doing anything so maybe i will spend more time on here. it's just i hear that at times it can be a very argumentative arena, and i am not one for confrontation. as the old saying goes, " I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than have a frontal lobotomy". i have no idea how that pertains to anything, but how can that lead to an argument? ya better stop the h.sapiens boyli breeding operation for at least a week next year and come on down to daytona once again. Missed ya down there.

Good to see you here.

Is that reverse from the monster cornsnake?

It can get a little "bitey" around here (I am as guilty as anyone).

It just seems that there are some folks who don't realize that people were doing this long before there was such a thing as ks.com.

It has it's own little "culture" it seems.

If someone pokes at you, just try not to take it personally (which is IMPOSSIBLE for me sometimes).

Chris

If someone pokes at you, just try not to take it personally (which is IMPOSSIBLE for me sometimes).

Where the heck is FR when you need him. LOL!
-----
"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

hey Chris, whats happening? i dont take anything personally. I'm just happy to be here. Good to chat with you. and yes, the amel corn that popped out spontaneously had the monster male(76.5" in her ancestry.

The picture doesn't do that snake justice either Howie. Glad you didn't sell it now?

Hey Grandpa. hey , everyone on the forum-LISTEN UP-- Tony Dongarra just became a Grandpa!!!!!!!!! Congrats!!! Just as with that amel okeetee I would strongly advise you to not sell that grandchild. Yes, I am quite happy I took yours,Dennis',and Gophers' advice and held onto that snake. Wings Monday?? 340 days to daytona.

I'm game for the wings. I might be a Grandpa but I still have my teeth!

Alrighty then. Angrytornado(Tony's fitting anagram name) comes up with a good one. so you still have teeth-which jar do you keep them in? later, buddy

Hey Howie,
We've never met, but I've heard a few good herping tales from Seth Cheshire, that had your name mentioned in them. I live in Va. Bch. as well, at least until Jan.. If I can I'll stop by your table at the Richmond show in Nov.. Put me on the list for a pair of next years smokin' OBKs you've been producing. I'm patient, I'll stand in line. LOL! Hope to meet you someday soon.
-Phil

hi there Phil, say hi to Seth. it would be great to meet you too. perhaps we can meet locally before the richmond show. mondays are wing buffet lunch time at the wild wing cafe off battlefield blvd. consider showing up as theres anywhere from 2 to 8 reptile cronies there.

A couple of the guys I work with keep mentioning that place, I've never been. I just might have to stop buy one of these days.
Nothing like a cold beer and some hot wings to help you get over another lousy Monday!
-Phil

Enough cold beers and you won't even remember what was so lousy in the first place.

Hey Howie, Rainer watchmytable here. Next year I want to hang with you at next years Expo and get one of those reverse hunt club Okatee corns from you.OKAY?

But first we need to check into this hotel down the street:

Cheek out this link>
http://www.hawaiianinn.com/thingstodo.htm

we can add some Gentleman Jack into those MaiTai's at the Lua next year and do the Hula.

Then we can go over to the bar and hang out with the gang:

and then go for water park fun at this place right next to the expo center. Well be rejuvenated before the work begins.:

afterwards we can go inside to attend the fesitivties:

So we can sit around and make fun of Tom as he tries to hide his beer belly with a pizza box or other large food item and look cool at the same time:

-----
"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

hey Rainer, a reverse has your name on it-weird looking snake though i gotta say. great link. enjoyed. hey, am i slowly being drawn into the kingsnake forum fraternity? not a bad crowd to be associated with----so far. happy 911

A day to remember. Howie has been inducted into the KS forums!

personally I don't see any fool argueing with you on here Howie. I wish we all could be more like you!
-----
"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

thanks Rainer. looking forward to a old beer in 340 days in daytona. oh yeah, also the reptile show.

Man there are some shady looking characters in those photos especially that guy in the black t-shirt. RW

lol. they were in a shady establishment.

You guys are killing me!!

You know I had my fist raised in self defense since you attacked me for the coupon on my pizza box.
That was mean of you to rip it out of the toothless homeless guys hands when I gave it to him outside!
That's not a beer belly........it's part of my inventory........never know when a sale may come your way and you know how they are about snakes in the Hilton......have to hide those suckers somewhere
Tom Stevens
-----
TomsSnakes.com

I'll refrain from making a lewd comment about where I keep my snakes hidden on my person

LOL!
-----
Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

Just make sure if you show up to the wild wing that you have your drinking shoes on. There's lots of free flowing goodness and Howie won't let you leave!

-----
Dennis McNamara
Crazy Fools Reptiles
Desnakemon@cox.net

It's not that i won't let anyone leave, it's just that you always leave the choice up to me, and what kind of a choice is that? --leave or have another drink. I have a feeling my route of death is going to be bottle fatigue. I love those lineaticolis beauts!

o.k. that would explain it then.I was not aware of any true locale okeetee amels?
Very cool,
Shannon

As an aside, I was about to sell her but Tony Dongarra, Gopher Cullen and Dennis Macnamara all convinced me that this was not the smartest course to take(i would have been a freaking idiot basically). How in the world are we talking corns on the kingsnake forum is my big question of the day?

Howie, your corns are being talked about because they are awesome!

Here is what I go thru each year, at least for the past 3 years, as I walk into the Daytona show for the first time Saturday morning:

Every year, I stop by your table, say hi, and stare at some of your Okeetees. I then walk away, thinking about one particular one. I come back 10 minutes later, and that one is sold. My wife then carries me up to a room upstairs at the break area, where I sob for hours.

They are THE best Okeetee corns I have ever seen, hands down! To me, just as nice as the non locale Abbotts. Thing is,...your are truly locale specific!!! THE NAME ACTUALLY FITS!!!!!

I am still kicking myself for not getting that male baby northern in 2004.

It was great chatting with ya about pines this year!!!

Billy

-----
Genesis 1:1

Billy. always great to chat with you as well. thanks for the kudos. this summer i didnt keep any holdbacks for the first time in a long while, so next summer will only have babies. a shame as one baby okeetee looks like the next. You'll have to come visit one of these days. later, Howie

That would be great to visit you my friend!!!

Keep up the great work of breeding your locality Okeetees. You are one out of only 3 I know that have locality ones.

Take care!
Billy
-----
Genesis 1:1

I find it fascinating that an amel popped up in your locality line. I suspect others do too.

I'm curious as to if it is allelic w/ current amel, or even if it is simple mendalin.

If I read your post right, only one amel hatched out from a sizeable clutch. That almost sounds like something other than simple recessive is going on. At least it is really weird odds if it is simple recessive.
-----
11.14 L. getula californiae (Cal. King)
2.3 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 L. getula floridana (Brooksi)
1.1 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
0.1 Heterodon nasicus nasicus (W Hognose)
4.2.14 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

In 2 years I will breed her to an unrelated amel. male, and we will see. and unusual is right! as I said, I had to do a triple take to make sure I was seeing things correctly when I saw the amel atop her 27 clutchmates.

when he lost the flat tail and stopped gnawing on trees. actually a very funny story to relate next time we hook up.