Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am dying to know how these snakes differ? THey seem so much alike! THey are very closly related correct?

In the wild where mussies live near cribos which one feeds on the other ?

Also do mussies get just as big and thick as drys with equally strong jaws ?

They differ a few ways. I would call dry's more "intelligent", but that might really just mean that they are more visually oriented. Dry's are bigger for sure, easily twice the weight. However, Pound for pound mussies are way stronger. A mussie of equal weight as a dry would easily overpower the dry. I would guess that my biggest dry I've had could overpower and consume the biggest mussie I've had. However I have seen a giant adult female mussie that would have been equal to any dry I've ever seen (I haven't seen any of the monster YTC's though).

Husbandry is about the same. Both are very trustworthy and not inclined to bite. Due to the rear-fang nature of the mussies, I tend to be a bit more cautious on who I will let handle the snakes.

Mussies are more oriented to eating other snakes where dry's are more opportunistic.

Right now I'm working with a young pair of Texas Indigos and some young adult piebald mussuranas. They're both awesome.

Doug T

>>I am dying to know how these snakes differ? THey seem so much alike! THey are very closly related correct?
>>
>>In the wild where mussies live near cribos which one feeds on the other ?
>>
>>Also do mussies get just as big and thick as drys with equally strong jaws ?

do either species ever prey on snakes more heavy/larger then they are?

This is like comparing Batman to Spiderman, both are incredibly awesome and both have tho potential to win the battle.

I think I would bet on the Dry if they were the same length but the Mussie if they were the same weight. Whether or not the Mussie could get it's mouth around an equal weight Dry I would not know.

Nate

In regard to eating thicker snakes: somewhere on the internet you may find a much published photo of a wild Mussurana consuming a large Bothrops, indeed thicker than the Mussurana. I only saw the photo, don't know the details. They are well adapted to eating snakes, and like Lampropeltis, commonly consume snakes longer than they are, and in some cases, thicker. Doug T. works with both Drys and Mussies, a wealth of information on them. Vic

Keeping both Cribos and Mussuranas...my bet actually goes to the mussurana. The drive they have to kill another snake is SCARY, and they don't let up. If you try and interupt them while they are feeding, they will slap you with their tail while they continue to eat.

Pound for pound, I think absolutely no snake would win against a mussurana. We had this talk at work once on what we thought would win when we had a mussurana and a king cobra of equal size...everyone voted on the mussurana.

My friend caught an 8ft and girthy Clelia clelia in Ecuador and I would probably stack my chips on that taking out a huge yellow-tail.

Oh ya, they can eat decent sized meals larger than their head. I have given mine mice way way bigger around than they are. It just takes them a little longer.

I'm going to have to go with the King Cobra. I don't think that even at an equal size that a Mu could take the venom of a King, but I'd like to see it.