Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Pierson in particular - of the two greens I'm rearing, one has an injury on the back and both have "notch" injuries at the last inch of their tails which we've discussed before. The back injury (may) be clearing since I applied some dry powder Baytril to the wound which was again exposed from it's last shed. This snakes' tail is sharply notched and I expect it to be lost in one of the next few sheds. The second snake which shed yesterday did not slough the last inch of tail skin (they can't because of the constriction there due to the "notch" so I assisted today, first by bathing the little guy in tepid water then by gently rubbing with a dampened cloth. At this point I noted that the tail was attached only by a thread and there was a drop of blood on the cloth. As I proceeded, the snake winced and the tail tip (1 inch) came off. I applied some dry powder, over-the-counter anti-bacterial/anti-fungus meds to the stub end and replaced the snake to it's tank. I reached down to pick up the lost tail segment and as I grasped it, it twisted out of my fingers. Each time I attempted to pick it up it responded the same way, exactly like the "dropped" tails of some lizards I've seen. This action continued for about 15 minutes. I was able to get my video cam and capture the last few minutes, for my records.
I recall that you suggested that you suspected that (some) nerodia may have the potential for this as a survival tool.
It's the first time I've seen it. And I personally have never, ever seen any other snakes lose any portion of their tails or anything else for that matter, other than nerodia!
Last, I (we?) still have no idea what occured to these snakes to cause the original injuries, at such precisely similar locations.
Michael

That is very interesting. I did not know that the tails retain any sort of nervous function after autotomy. It does suggest that Nerodia employs tail dropping commonly as a means of predator aversion.

Many genera of neotropical snakes use tail autotomy on a regular basis. In fact the Pliocercus euryzonus I caught in Costa Rica this summer was a prime example. I grabbed the last 4" or so of its tail as it dove into a thicket of branches and it proceeded to leave that 4" in my hand as it slithered out the other side of the thicket. The leaf in the photo is covering the gap in the tail.

I lost my male Green last week. The two blisters he had were enormous and I think they were interfering with the function of his internal organs. I still have a nice fat female though. Hopefully I can scrounge up another male before too long.

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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture

Sorry to here about the little green. I'm praying that the blister on my baby male heals enough that it won't slough off as it did on the last shed! Everything looked pretty good until he shed where the "healing" tissue came off and exposed a wound that was as wide as his back and deep! Their growth rate appears to be contributing to the problem in as much as they seem to stretch the skin and shed before adequate healing takes place.
Speaking of growth, did you gut load your mangroves with steroids? These things are the most awesome, aggressive and insatiable feeders I've got! If it smells like fish and moves, it gets eaten! Trout, minnows, guppies, scented moose, goldfish.
I vowed yesterday that even though I hang over them while they're fed, from now on they'll be placed in separate rooms to eat. A bit of wrestling I can tolerate as with the Marshes but, when I turned my head for a second (literally one second) and saw a two tailed snake!! after separating them to opposite sides of the tank, each with a fish in their mouths, I just about puked! And so did my wife when she washed my pants that evening!
These guys make up the better part of my best dreams.
Michael