Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got back from Jacksonville, FL, where among other things we visited the zoo there. Nice little zoo, in fact. Small reptile exhibit and some of that was closed for renovation, but for me the highlight was this stunning pair of green mambas. Wow. Through glass with a flash, photos were difficult, but the scales were just beautiful. These snakes were about 7 feet long.

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0.1 Lampropeltis Getula Floridana
1.0 Elaphe Guttata Slowinskii

Wow, I never noticed their scales looked that nice. Maybe these are different than the ones I normally see pictures of.

Yeah,..The Eastern Green Mamba(Dendroaspis angusticeps) has much smaller scales that aren't usually outlined in darker pigment,..... whereas these pics are of the Western Green Mamba(Dendroaspis viridis), and generally tend to be darker outlined and much larger. Another ssp(D.jamesoni) also has larger scales that are commonly outlined in darker pigment, but is somewhat duller in coloration.

Not trying to be the "Mr.know-it-all", ....just thought you would like to know the differences in scales as you mentioned.

best regards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Doug, I appreciate the extra info on this beautiful snake, thanks! I had never seen anything like it.

They also had a very, very wicked looking puff adder (?). But I couldn't get a decent photo of it.
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0.1 Lampropeltis Getula Floridana
1.0 Elaphe Guttata Slowinskii

n/p
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

DAMN- too bad they don't play nice, huh????

Why is it that some of the most AMAZINGLY beautiful snakes are the ones that could lay you out in a big way?

Somebody should see if they could cross-breed that snake with say, a corn...

//Todd

The reptile exhibit there seems small because the reptiles are all spread out. There's no one central reptile place. The African reptiles are near the other African animals, South American near the other South American stuff,etc. They actually have a pretty good assortment, it's just in different places around the zoo. The zoo in general has built a lot of new stuff and improved greatly over the last 10-12 years.

Todd

Thanks Todd. My father in law said they were planning on putting a lot of money into it soon, but I already think it's a very nice zoo.

The black Jaguar was one of the most beautiful animals I have ever laid eyes on. Wow. And all the animals looked healthy and the habitats were thoughtfully designed and constructed. The National Zoo in Washington DC is awful, they should take a page out of Jacksonville's book.
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0.1 Lampropeltis Getula Floridana
1.0 Elaphe Guttata Slowinskii