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rearfang Nov 01, 2003 07:39 PM

Did a rescue from a wholesaler 0.1 black tail. Nose badly rubbed (rostral and frontals gone) just over 4' w/c. The color is much more dark greenish than the Hondurans I remember and the tail is chocolate. Any ideas on locality?
Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Replies (8)

gila7150 Nov 02, 2003 10:17 PM

Congrats on the new aquisition. I can't help with the locality but if the tail is chocolate colored it's probably a unicolor X BT intergrade. I'd love to see a pic if you're able to post one.

I got a WC unicolor last year from an importer for a really good price because it had a terrible nose rub. It has healed great and you really wouldn't know she ever had a problem now. They seem to really bounce back quickly once they're housed properly. She's turned into a great snake....a great eater and one of my calmer cribos.
Is this your first Dry?
Chris

rearfang Nov 03, 2003 07:48 AM

Will have to try and get a photo when she calms down. She just shed today and her color is medium brown (almost medium coffee)to greenish on the sides. The black markings are in keeping with melanuris. The posterior is definitly darker (milk chocolate).
This is not my first by quite a bit. At Lion Country I worked with several Easterns (including a NINE FOOTER that was addicted to leopard frogs. A real comedy to watch the pursuit in his 12' x 12' cage "astroturf bottom". At home I have had several Black tails (most commonly from Honduras in the old days) and have kept Texas. have never bred these.
have not kept any for the last six years due to the problem of keeping space. I moved recently.
Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

dan felice Nov 03, 2003 07:09 PM

chris is correct. at that size it is most likely an intergrade......

rearfang Nov 03, 2003 08:08 PM

Spent a few hours looking in my library and on line to find out what I could. Man there is one big lack of info on these guys...Write a book anyone???
Anyhow, It pulled a fast one on me. The tail had not shed. After finishing the job...The snake is now a uniform olive to greenish brown with the exception of the black markings. There are a few (very faint)suggestions of narrow banding. Looks a great deal like some of the darker unicolor photos on the Indigo site.
Will have to sex this thing...Too much snake to do it solo. Threw a hopper in to see what kind of feed response...CHOMP....yeah, it's an Indigo.
Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Fred Albury Nov 04, 2003 12:34 PM

Frank,

Yes there are authors out there. I had an article published in Reptile& Amphibian Magazine on the captive husbandry and reproduction of Eastern Indigos (Drymarchon corais couperi) and Dean Allessandri had an article published in Reptiles Magazine on Eastern indigo snakes(D.c.couperi) which went into detail on natural habitat and radio tracking techniques. There have ben scant few GOOD articles written on Cribos, esp blacktails. I beleive that Juergen was going to come out with a book on ALL Draymarchon, but havent heard anything about it in a while. Doesnt mean it still isnt comeing. your best source of info on cribos are the folks on this forum. they are a wealth of information indeed. Email them and probe their brains for details. I'm sure they will help.

Take care,

Fredrick Albury
Aztec Reptiles

rearfang Nov 04, 2003 12:47 PM

Allways happy to probe and be probed....Uh..let me rephrase that...(lol)
Seems to me the time is right for a good Drymarchon book..maybe like Markel's Kingsnake book. Personally I'm embarressed that I don't have a single photo in my library of unicolor (had to go on line to indigo.com).
Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

gila7150 Nov 04, 2003 05:30 AM

It's a small world. I worked there for a short time in the early 90's (93/94). I'm terrible with names but I think the vet I worked with was Diana and I worked with Dave in the herps dept.
We didn't have indigos there when I was there. I really enjoyed working with the Aldabra tortoises there....is Redman still alive and kicking? Did they ever start keeping venomous snakes again? I used to enjoy driving out on the preserve and picking through all the produce that Winn Dixie would donate while looking over your shoulder for those nasty rheas.
Unfortunately, I had to quit to go back to school but I loved that job. I missed it so much that I started volunteering at Drehr Park Zoo for a while. Drehr bred couperi there at the time and had a decent collection of native venomous snakes so I was in heaven.
Chris

rearfang Nov 04, 2003 07:39 AM

Actually I worked with Lion Country back in the late 70's. It was a different world back then. Ron Dupont was an advisor there and sold carnivorus plants in the Gift shop.
I ran the reptile park.
Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

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