Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Don't get the wrong impression here....pales come in many versions and I've seen several NE animals with the exact same color scheme. This is a rusty color that happens to be from MT.
She's no longer in my collection.......
Jeff

Jeff,

nice animals, all those made it's way over the pond, right? Well, I had few of them in my rooms but had to send them back because of health problems, I don't think that they are still alive. Probably they are....sad story.

Gerrit
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http://www.lampropelten.de.vu

Nice Jeff, good to see more Powder River MT animals out there, and hope they haven't passed on.
I've found these Powder River multistrata to be nothing but hardy solid animals.

They tend to run on the "rusty" side of the color scale. They do seem to go through a number of color changes as they mature.
Start out white w/ dark red saddles, change to dirty white w/ the red saddles showing more orange. Then as adults the saddles are a light orange terra cotta color w/ the background color being yellow/white. The news printing can be heavy to med. heavy. I've never seen a Powder river animal w/ light newsprinting.
Great animals to work w/, and I'm glad Cole and I have put a good sized group of these together. We should have some to offer in the next few years.

Powder river, female

Powder river, male

Beast of a male. Powder river.

Jeff,

That snake's a looker! I agree with Dell's comments on the Powder River Co., MT pales. While some snakes from that locality seem to maintain a "cleaner" background color of cream-white to soft yellow, most develope a heavy melanin wash over their bodies. On some specimens, it even invades the red bands/saddles. Every animal I've seen from that area has had the rust colored red saddles as an adult. The soil in that region of the state often has a rusty hue to it due to heavy iron content. I'd imagine that has a role in the natural selection for their coloration. Another interesting facet of locality milks!...

Here's a photo of a yearling animal from that locality.

Here's a photo I snapped of Dell (Left) and our good friend Rich Marquess on a herping trip we took to Powder River Co. a few years back.

-Cole

What kind of berries are those in that first picture? I barely even saw the snake I was focused on those awesome berries
Ryan

Ryan,

I like to call those "Becki Berries" because I stole those off of some decorative thing she had hanging in the bathroom! LOL Come to think of it, I've seen some at Dell's house, too...

-Cole

Clearly the berries make for a stronger composition.
With out berries you just have a photo of a milksnake. With berries brilliancy!

One of Coles South Dakota Pales. NO BERRIES! Big mistake.

South Dakota w/ berries. If you notice the berries draw your eyes away from the table in the background.
You need an art degree to notice this, or someone like me, w/ an art degree, to point it out to everybody.

Cherry co. w/ berry.

Cherry co. w/o berry.

Now a leaf will work in a pinch, but berries give a more balanced feel to your photo. Obviously. Bighorn county.

Aaaa. Much better w/ berries. Cherry county.

Ryan you have a trained eye. Nice job in not letting the berries slip by unnoticed.

-Dell

Nice compositions, Dell. It's always amazing how a berry or two can alter the image so much. I've noticed that the type of berry is almost as important as the inclusion of the berry, itself. The bluish-black berries tend to set off the contrasting black bands of a well marked snake, while a red or orange berry can bring the colored bands of a milk to life. They provide a focal point and bring the colors of the subject into the environment, thus enhancing the overall appeal of the shot. Good illustration of berry-use, Dell. May your future photos never be berry-free... LOL

-Cole

Cherry Co. juv. photos # 3 & 4. That's what I'm looking for.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

John,
You have picked a neonate that is rare to have hatch out in a cltuch. Very clean Pale, showing no newsprint tipping, saddles staircase down in size from the neck saddle to the vent, thin black boarders around the red saddles, not your usual saddle markings. And the head cap is also out of the ordinary.

This neonate would be more of a standard Cherry co. Pale.

-Dell

Yes. That's a fine snake. I'm not a big fan of aberrant patterns. Normal,typical, and clean.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

Jeff Hardwick has some stunning Chery Co. pales for sale on the classifieds right now. They're absolutely beautiful.

-Cole

That has to be one of the best smart ass posts to a simple smart ass remark I have ever seen. I love this site! Well done Dell. Here's a question though- why do Cole's berries look larger than your's do?
Ryan

It was colder when I took my photos. Shrinkage

-Dell