Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm watching a show on Animal Planet about the Montpelier snake in Provence France, and they've actually got me LIKING this particular snake! A female snake got a mouse in his territory, and he nuzzled her, so she gave it to him-so he caught another one a little later, and GAVE it to her!Plus these aren't deadly snakes to humans, which is always a plus And the photography in this documentary is just fantastic-this is weird for me, because I'm afraid of snakes and never had much use for them-I still don't want to run out and own one,and I'm still very wary of the venomous ones,but I actually LIKE a snake! LOL!

...it ate a cute baby bird

~now I feel sorry for it again

Now the documentary about the occellated lizard in France("Eddie" ) is on-he went up a tree to find a den, and a snake climbed up-I took a sip of Coke and prepared for the worst-when EDDIE struck at the SNAKE, I was so startled I spit my Coke out! (The snake got away)

Arnt montpelier snakes rearfanged? I seem to remember that they are from when I read an article on them a few years back...Andy
-----
Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

Goodness, you're asking the wrong person,LOL, I know nada about snakes(and I didn't hear it mentioned in the documentary)-but when they showed it biting, I never saw any fangs, if that means anything, and they have some REALLY good close close shots in this show.

You would not see the fangs as they are colubrids, though I guess technically some have fangs that are not as far towards the back of the mouth. All venomous colubrids have fangs located near the rear of the mouth and the venom is pretty much injected in chewing bites. I believe they belong to the genus Malpolon and are infact rearfanged, but I can not remember (everything at some point throughout the day just seems to get jumbled!). Andy
-----
Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

Not only are Montpellier snakes rearfanged, there's an interesting thread in the rearfanged forum about how the family they're in (Psammophinii) is more closely related to the cobras than to the rest of the colubrids.
I wish I hadn't slept through the show now...
How are baby birds CUTE? They're all wrinkly... AND they grow up to spread West Nile virus.
This also brings to mind one animal planet show I watched. It was about a little desert skink called a sandfish, and the show was basically about it fighting with other animals, like a bird, a horned adder, and a larger lizard. Even though horned adders are my favorite snake I was like YEAH! GO SANDFISH!. I think the skink won 2 out of 3.
Nothing better than a good documentary...

LOL, this baby bird had feathers, and he got separated from the rest of the group, and his plaintive chirping sounded like "maaaamaaa, maaamaaa"-but it was OK, when the man began throwing rocks at the poor snake, and he flinched as he slithered away, I felt sorry for him and liked him again. And the shots of him raising his head so high, and looking so majestic as he surveyed his kingdom from the heights, with a chateau in the valley as his background, and his turning his head inquisitively(rather like a bird!!) were just too cute-you don't know how much that means coming from me, a confirmed snake phobic!! He didn't have that cold "evil eye" look so many snakes have,as if his one mission in life was to bite something!

Actually, the shows on AP last night about the Viper, the Ocellated Lizard and the Montpellier Snake were outstanding (although the guy pelting the snakes with rocks was a little overdone). I highly recommend every watch them when they come back around.

This also brings to mind one animal planet show I watched. It was about a little desert skink called a sandfish, and the show was basically about it fighting with other animals, like a bird, a horned adder, and a larger lizard. Even though horned adders are my favorite snake I was like YEAH! GO SANDFISH!. I think the skink won 2 out of 3.
>>Nothing better than a good documentary...

I have to say that that series of shows about herps in N. Africa is one of the worst series I have ever seen when I comes to abuse of animals. Most of the animals you see are half-starved and forced to "perform" for the camera in the heat of a North African sun. I wonder how animals they killed making that show? They show a Desert Monitor (V. griseus) that is so emaciated it can hardly move. And the staged fights between all the animals are bordering on obscene.

I love a good nature sure more than most people, but I hate to see that kind of animal abuse. And I am not some bunny huggin' PETA freak.
-----
Chris Harrison

I don't remember seeing a griseus, (and I would). Must have been a different show in the series, I wasn't aware there were more than one. An emaciated griseus would definately make me mad!!!! I guess I was so happy to see Cerastes cerastes get some airtime that I didn't really think about the rest.
I'll sit there and watch an hour long crappy show to see a 30 second shot of one in the wild.

And for Violet, here's a picture of what I consider the world's cutest snake. If it weren't venomous, it would be the cuddliest too. (it's from the world of atheris page in kingsnake's FAQ)

I believe it was the same one. The sandifsh tangled with a snake, maybe another lizard, and finally rolled into the water with a kite (or some sort of raptor). Then much later in the series the "snake man" collected the desert monitor I believe, unless it wasnt a desert. Whatever kind of monitor it was, it ate a cobra shortly before...Andy
-----
Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

Hmmm... I must have fallen asleep after the sandfish got eaten.

P.S. I sleep a lot

Heh heh~ very cuddly indeed, to his mother,LOL

There may be two shows using parts of the same footage. There is more footage of a Desert Cat abusing and killing a Cerastes on one of these shows as well.

I think it is the same show that has all the stage fights (I remember the raptor nestling/sandfish battle as one of the low points of the show).

I am pretty sure the griseus footage was in the same show. I think it may be the only griseus footage I have ever seen (unless there was some in that show about the Moroccan snake collector who catches the Vipera mauritanica).

At my age, it all runs together.
-----
Chris Harrison

They're showing the MontPelier snake episode again right after the European viper show is over-it's three part series(love the narrator-he sounds Scandinavian)-first occellated lizard, then viper, then MontPelier snake(they call it "Jester, Killer, King"