Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What is the normal range of coloration for D. c. melanurus? I just bought a sub-adult and it is nearly all black. I guess I expected that it would be golden and gradually turn black near the tail.

While the coloration among D. melanurus can be somewhat variable, I have only seen a few specimens for which the black coloration covers more then 50% of the body.
Dorsal and ventral photographs, of the entire specimen, would certainly better enable us to distinguish what exactly it is that you have..

Best regards,

Jeff

>Dorsal and ventral photographs, of the entire specimen, would certainly
>better enable us to distinguish what exactly it is that you have..

Ok, got it! Look for the comming up later today or tonight. Thanks.

rubidus or errebenus. Consider yourself lucky if you did. Scale counts and pics should help a lot... and tell us who's your supplier.

Doug T

>> >Dorsal and ventral photographs, of the entire specimen, would certainly
>>>better enable us to distinguish what exactly it is that you have..
>>
>>Ok, got it! Look for the comming up later today or tonight. Thanks.

Did the supplier give you any idea where they came from?

As for color changes, the only thing I would expect is for the snake to darken with age.

That doesn't look like any black tail I've seen. However we'll have to see what the scale counters come up with.

Doug T

S.B. got the Cribo from me...some of you might remember me posting pictures of him in the past.

I bought the snake from a local breeder whose name escapes me...it is a CBB animal and its parents wereAlessandrini stock from what I was told. I bought the animal as a Black-Tailed Cribo, thats pretty much all I know.
-----
-David Beard

www.herpview.com

I have only bred eastern, TX, and yellow tails
Just by looking, (and it's just a guess) that looks like a TX indigo X blacktail, but like DT said, someone needs to do scale counts.

BT's can be very variable. I know Dan Felice had a uni that was very dark and I've seen pics of some dark melanurus.

If the "breeder" said the parents came from my stock, however...it's anyones guess because someone is lying...OR telling the truth and they bred one of my Texans or easterns with a melanurus or uni!

Well, all I know is what I was told when I bought it. I am not knowledgable enough about Drymarchon to know if it was indeed a cross of some osrt or if it was pure. Its a nice snake nontheless, at least in my opinion.
-----
-David Beard

www.herpview.com

I have a black-tailed cribo as well. Is yours lighter when it isn't in shed, or have you seen its normal colors yet? Mine does darken up quite a bit before he sheds (usually a golden brown, goes to a dark dark brown while in shed). I have seen a couple of WC black tails at Pet'acular Exotics here in CA that had a black wash over them similar to yours...I suppose it could be a locale thing. Do you know what country the parents came from?

I have seen a few specimens like the one you have posted.
The mottled anterior combined with the black posterior certainly suggests an integrate between melanurus and erebennus or couperi, but the facial coloration has me inclined to lean more towards erebennus influence.
Unfortunately, even a scale count wouldn't be able to confirm an exact ID in such a case.
In any regard, it's a very nice looking snake and should make a great pet, though I would certainly avoid breeding such...

Best regards,

Jeff

.

The rostral and upper labial counts match my Black Tails.

The postoculars and temporals did not match Black Tail or Eastern Indigo correctly.

The picture of this snake appears to put the postoculars and temporals closer to TX Indigo. But also not a perfect match.

The ventrals look TX indigo without even comparing.

I vote Tex X Black Tail or Uni or ?. It will make a nice pet.

This is exactly why scale counts will not offer an exact ID regarding intergradient specimens, as any possible combination of phenotypic traits, regarding the spp. crossed, can be present. This has created a few problems with some D. melanurus ssp., as well as some P. sayi ssp. where their respective ranges overlap in the wild. Such would not be the case regarding the specimen you have pictured, as it is an intergradient of captive origins.
It's still a great looking snake and should make for a great pet, yet I would avoid breeding it for any reason..

Jeff

It would be interesting to follow this young cribo’s life.

What dominant traits will it show?

I’m not a fan deliberately crossing drymarchon but what an interesting snake.

I agree Jeff, he should never get laid.

Is this an intergrade of erebennus X melanurus created in captivity? Is it some naturally occuring intergrade, or is it some kind of hybrid of Drymarchon X some other non-Drymarchon? Why do I always end up with bastardized snakes? This kind of thing has happened to me before!

It may be an intergrade, either man made or naturally occurring or it may be a dark specimen of BT. I don't know but, one thing is sure, it's ALL Dry!

Eric
-----
If Jesus is your co-pilot, you'd better change seats!

looks good to me.i'll buy it from you if your unhappy with her. Steve

I think its just adark BT.Plus its like a sin to cross any dry.

I think it should be a sin to cross any un-natural animals together and this is only ONE example why. There are all these beautiful pure animals out there and some people want to turn it into a similar world as the dog and cat market with at least some people's ratationale being it will increase the value of the pure-bloods.
Brian

"I have seen the enemy... and it is me"