Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ron Tremper and I were the successful bidders for this pair of Mexican Spilotes at the Auction for Gharial Conservation at the Daytona Expo. We'd been planning and speculating on how much would be required to take this pair home. Considering that this form is not currently available in private herpetoculture, and its striking coloration of oranges, yellows, white and black, we knew the winning bid would be high. We each agreed on a maximum amount we would be willing to chip in, and though the bidding was hot and heavy, it stopped VERY close to (but under) our limit! Not only were we overjoyed at the opportunity to introduce this gorgeous subspecies to herpetoculture, but also that the funds raised were going to conserve one of our favorite crocodiliians....Unfortunately, my camera didn't capture the intense oranges in the pattern-but you get the idea.....

They are a two-year-old pair, produced in captivity by the Gladys porter Zoo here in Texas. Now to get them breeding! Any and all advice is welcome!

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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

Beautiful animals, guys!

I donated a pair of pythons for the auction, but was unable to attend because of a prior commitment. I'm kicking myself now, because if I had been there for the auction I would have made sure that pair of beauties ended up in Virginia!

Good score, and worth every penny.

Brian

I wanted those too!!! But I just liked their looks and did not even realize it is a new subspecies. Congrats and good luck.
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Lloyd Heilbrunn

Palm Beach Gardens, Fl.

Congratulations on your acquisition and best of luck with producing lots of offspring.

i knew these would eventually show up but not quite this quickly! nice grab brad! i have heard reports of some mexicaus being up to 70% orange, can you imagine!? here's a cb03 male now well over 8'. they are a bit messy but otherwise a magnificent display species. best of luck w/ yours!

Thanks, Dan-these are about 50% orange, but my camera does not pick it up well. Apparently they start out similar to regular spilotes, but gain orange as they mature. Have you had success breeding your central american spilotes?

Brad
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

not yet brad. his mate is an unrelated 04 [shown] from primareptilia but he has shown no interest so far. i 'believe' these are late winter breeders & that heavy misting at that time promotes sexual activity. [all i ever see them do is drink when i spray]. you can get better info from the G.P. zoo i'm sure.

First off, congrats - that is gorgeous. The color is just just phenomenal.

I am curious as to if a genetically diverse population can be maintained in private herpetology if this is the only pair out there, and how you plan to accomplish that, if you do have such plans? I really have no ill-intent with this question, it's just something I was wondering about - I know the way things are perceived online are often ambiguous, at best.

We are determined to keep this line 100% pure over time, with no influx of genes from the nominate subspecies (S. p. pullatus). Many snakes now prevalent in herpetoculture began with tiny founder populations (snakes are, on the whole and in general, remarkably resistant to inbreeding depression), but without going into detail at this time, we have realistic hopes of eventually obtaining legal unrelated specimens as time goes on.....
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

Thanks for the response. I was just curious.

I think it's great that you're dedicated to keeping the line pure.

I have to wish you a congrats on this. I was not in Daytona but I had some friends that were there and told me about this sale AFTER the fact. I have been pretty salty about it for a while lol. Another friend of mine is as well.

While I see the other posters point about the genetics, I do know there are a few Mexican Spilotes scattered around the U.S. (just not in pairs) that I am sure will be helping with this as soon as you make it possible for their other half to be obtained.

What you have is amazing (their looks, lineage/background, etc).

Colette hardly ever lets those goes... your one lucky guy. Are these the same ones Barlett got from her? Last I heard the breeding adults where getting old, and not enough new lineage from Tamaulipus was available. Good score.

Those snakes take the cake!#1 on my list of dream snakes.

Hi Brad,
Congrats on getting a lovely pair of snakes, and donating to a critical cause at the same time.
As far as breeding goes, I would go right to Colette for that info. They are GPZ's signature snake species, and no one could tell you better than Colette could.
Have great luck,
Steve B.

Definitely she is the first source I went to-just curious as to other's approaches to this species.....
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....