Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This are both Guanacaste Costa Rica, stuarts milksnakes and thought the snout pattern was odd on one animal.
First stuarts is very typical, the odd one is #2.
Jeff

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I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way. - Robert Frost, 1935

Nice youngsters Jeff!. Yeah, the broken snout band happens from time to time.

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

Nice stuff, Jeff! It's not too often we get to see solid examples of some of the more obscure Central American milks... not to mention ones with good locality data! Wow! Are those guys easy to work with? How big does that line grow - 3,4,5 feet? What can you tell us about the habitat where these guys originated (Guanacaste)? Is it lowland rain forest, tropical dry forest, grassland...?

It's quite interesting to note the snout pattern on that second animal. It seems that a broken snout band can occur in most (all?) of the Central American subspecies, although it's obviously more common in some (polyzona) than others. Way cool.

So... are any going to be available to the masses this year, or is the project still waiting to take off? Tell us more, Jeff!

-Cole

so many questions!
I'm assuming they'll hit 4 feet plus based on the growth of my 2year olds, the size of the breeders in Costa Rica and the animals I've seen in the field. Unfortunately, Guanacaste is prime (dry and flat) cattle land and I've seen very little wildlife outside of the reserves. Sound familiar? Stuarti will range through tropical forests and grasslands of north and northeast Costa Rica but not into the cooler elevations that I've seen anyway. No doubt the range extends into Panama and Nicaragua also.

I've handled dozens of real stuarti but that one pictured is the first fo sho stuarts I've seen with a snout band broken so obviously - very much like polyzona as you said - in fact without locality info, some might assume it's a polyzona with an oddly low band count.
There's almost no appeal for the snakes here - most of these have been going to Canada but I'll have some F2s in the future.

Glad to see you're having success with the polyzona, your recently imported fem is one of the few known animals that survived and is a classic polyz with a fresh injection of new genes to prop up the few 'lines' still extant today.
Lucky for her that you two crossed paths!
Here's a couple more polyz - and thanx for the compliments Cole!
Jeff

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I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way. - Robert Frost, 1935

Fantastic info, Jeff! I did a little research on the province since I posted all the questions this morning, and your first-hand account backs up what I've read. The province seems to have a variety of eco-zones which are found on the Pacific coastal plain of the country. Cool stuff. I've got a huge interest in the ecological factors that delimit the ranges of populations.

It's hard to imagine that there's not much interest in those animals here in the US! I remember hearing numerous folks lament over the fact that more solid, Central American milks with good locality data weren't available. Apparently nobody's picking up on what a unique opportunity those animals are. Hell, I'd expect there to be a waiting list! Put me down!

Thanks for the compliments on the polyzona. I wish they had locality data, but they key out and throw spot-on offspring. They're fun animals with lots of attitude, and I really dig the black and red of the adults. Yours sure are lookers. I'd like to see the few others with them post photos, too... Shannon? Scott? Anyone?

-Cole

Hey Cole,
Unfortionately I think that the recent economic woes
have had a lot to do with what is, and what isn't selling
right now. Plus the fact that there is even a smaller
market for locale ssp. specific animals such as Jeff's
Polyz, Stuarti, and Smithi. Most people would rather spend their money on a fancy neon colored "Honduran Mutt" than a little known locale ssp., like a true Stuarti. In my mind I know
that Jeff's animals are worth every penny, but it's pretty tough
to pick up another breeding project, when we're spending $4.00
a gallon for gas, and that's not to mention everything else
going up. I might be wrong about this, or maybe I didn't
notice them until recently, but I don't remember these
sub-species becoming readily available until recently. On
an ironic note, last year Shannon Brown had some Arcifera
availble that he was asking a reduced price for, yet this year
they were all spoken for before they even hatched?
Either way, I'm glad that these animals are in capable hands,
so that they will still be available in the future.
-Phil
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Work is the curse
of the drinking class!

I think you're right about that, Phil. Beef up the economy and we'll have more cash to play with.

-Cole

Well, like the bumper sticker says
"Even this shall pass" LOL!!!!!
-Phil
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Work is the curse
of the drinking class!

please show me some smithi.I would pay sick money for some real smithi.

Lets see them.Even if they were butt a$$ ugly I would pay sick $$$$ for them.

L8r

Hey Shannon,
I hope I didn't get you too excited. LOL!!!!
I might be wrong, but I thought a saw some available
last season, on the classifieds. Knowing how my memory
works though, they were probably Stuarti. The only
photo that I have seen of Smithi had a lot of white
on the snout, very similar to Pyromelana. Are there any
in captivity outside of Mexico? While were on the
subject of rare captive triangulum, are there any
Dixoni, Micropholis, or Abnorma in U.S. or European
collections or zoos?
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Work is the curse
of the drinking class!

Let me know what you think?
I'm pretty sure this is a Smithi.
One of the best photo's I've ever seen
of one as well.
-Phil
http://www.herpfotos.com/main.php?g2_itemId=355
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Work is the curse
of the drinking class!

I saw that photo the other day and was wondering what ssp. it was.
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Joe

I can see nelsoni in that animal, too. Nelsoni and arcifera (and L. ruthveni) all live in Jalisco, MX. Those three herpers have an awesome set-up for sharing the herpetofauna of Mexico with us!

-Cole

Hey Jeff,
Thanks for the info. I think that someday down the line
I'm going to have to get a pair of those Stuarti. Nice
looking Triangulum for sure! My pair of Polyzona are
doing great! The female is already starting to darken up.
I'll have to take some more pics as soon as she sheds.
Take care,
-Phil
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Work is the curse
of the drinking class!

Very nice Jeff. Can you show some pics of the parents?

Love your quotes by the way. Where do you keep coming up with these?
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Joe

Joe,

How's that male amelanistic eastern doing?

-Cole

He's doing great, but growing slow. The feeding patterns of these guys are frustrating compared to the other milks (C.A.) I keep, but I guess thats to be expected. He just started eating again a few weeks ago after about a 3-4 month period.
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Joe

Cole, Very nice spotted too btw. I don't know how you guys get these thinkgs to stay still long enough for the great photos!
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Joe

They're tough and frustrating, that's for sure! LOL I always focus on the cold beer I'll get when I'm finished. It keeps me patient. LOL