Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I believe the Dummeril's Boa is endangered in Madagascar due to habitat loss. Does anyone know how many there are left in Madagascar and how many are here in the US? Given the price, Dum's seem to be pretty common, but I am curious.

Any ideas?

I dont know about in the wild, but I have one! I would love to have more they are kitten snakes. I have to remind myself sometimes that she is a reptile. go to my homepage to see pics.
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My Snake page

Hello,

Not long ago I contacted a zoo for a study that they had done on the genetic makeup comparing wild and captive bred dumerils. A woman replied and said she no longer had the study because wild populations were stable. They were not considered a high priority species in terms of extinction. The woman didn't give me exact numbers on the population, she just stated it was stable. The major threat to the species is habitat destruction, as you correctly stated. Sorry I dont have more/better information or exact details, but I deleted the emails she sent me.

The dumerils boa in captivity is becoming increasingly common. However, one possible problem with their numbers in the United States is a lack of genetic diversity. There is some debate on the effects of inbreeding on the species. Some site problems such as small head sizes in adults, small sizes of adutls in general, sterile adults, increased respiratory problems, and even unexplained death around three years of age. By contrast some breeders feel that inbreeding dummerils as little impact on the offspring.

I feel its important to keep the breed as genetically diverse as possible. Some breeders have taken very positive steps to ensure their lines are from unrelated pairs. They have introduced animals from Europe and Sweden and animals that come with complete records of their parent stock showing unrelated breeding to ensure their lines are unrelated. This is done to avoid further inbreeding of the boa. Dumerils are a very interesting and rewarding breed to keep, but if you are thinking of purchasing one you might want to research the supplier and learn about the history of the parent stock.

Erin, thank you for a very thoughtful response!