Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys, let me see what are yours prefered opisthoglyphous species to keep or just the coolest ones...TOP TEN
My prefered ones are:

1°Philodryas olfersii
2°Philodryas mattogrossensis
3°Thelotornis kirtandlii
4°Dispholidus typus
5°Oxybelis fulgidus
6°Langaha madagascariensis
7°Ahaetulla prasina
8°Psammophis elegans
9°Chrysolea ornata
10°Philothamnus semivariegatus

I used to have a pair of philothamnus, but not the species you listed as your no. 10. Are you sure these are rear fanged? I understood they were not.

I thought that its a opisthoglyphous species. Are you sure they arent?

Honestly no, I'm not sure.

Here's my philothamnus natalensis, btw:

You can pretty much assume that any 'colubrid' has glands (and yes Philothamnus has them). While not all can cause notable symptoms (indeed the vast majority couldn't), this does not mean that there aren't some real nasties lurking in there (ie. Malpolon, Psammophis).

Cheers
BGF

Glands I'm OK with, I just thought they were not rear fanged.

Thamnophis have the glands but not enlarged rear teeth, correct? I thought philothamnus were like that.

>>Glands I'm OK with, I just thought they were not rear fanged.

Accordign to Broadley, the maxillary teeth of Philothamnus are either all of approx. equal size, or the posterior teeth slightly larger than the anterior.

>>Thamnophis have the glands but not enlarged rear teeth, correct? I thought philothamnus were like that.

There is every possible continuum between no differentiated teeth at all to greatly enlarged and deeply grooved rear fangs, a la Dispholidus. Shoehorning colubrids into "rear-fangs" and "non-rear-fangs" is a pointless exercise. Moreover, some species with teeth that are only marginally differentiated have been known to inflict symptomatic bites - that includes Thamnophis, by the way, there have been several cases of swollen hands after bites.

Be that as it may, I have never heard of symptomatic Philothamnus bites, so I wouldn't worry about them unduly. As with all colubrids, it would be wise to avoid long, chewing bites, just in case.

Cheers,

Wolfgang
-----
WW

WW Home

Yes, I can see where classifying dentition as "rear-fanged"/opisthoglyphous could be a problem in snakes where the posterior teeth are not significantly larger.

I used to catch thamnophis as a kid all the time, and got bit frequently. The bites would usually itch a little as I recall.

Be that as it may, I like to avoid prolonged chewing bites from all animals, not just snakes.

1.Philodryas Aestivus
2.Trimorphodon Biscutat

Are my favorite what a coincidence!

And about the other 8?
Only Philodryas olfersii is the snake that I keep...the others 9 are only dream...

hmmm

3. Philodryas Olfersii
4. Dispholidus Typus
5. Twig snake
6. Thrasops Jacksonii
7. Beaked snake
8. Twin Barred flying
9. Clelia Clelia
10. Boiga Dendrophilia