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..heard a hell of a racket in the herp room tonight, and walked in to find a male Lachesis muta(reddish orange ground color), trying to combat a male Lachesis acrochorda(lighter ground color color). The muta has been trying to breed a female which is also in the cage for the past few nights, and anything that moves near the cage, and persued..even me, if I go near the door!

Click the link below to the pic page on my website. Unfortunately, the clarity of plexiglass doors isn't great for pics, but it was completely dark and I had to use a flash , but I'm glad they weren't tempered glass as they (or the snakes) may have shattered, given how violently the snakes were hitting it.

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Bushmaster Combat

Matt: Did they raise the forward parts of their bodies off the ground like crotalids will do? Also..I hope they weren't biting each other. Sounds like you are getting into a successful breeding season.

~~Greg~~

No, not wrestling like rattlesnakes--at least not that I witnessed. In fact, this was really a one-sided battle. The muta was the agressor, the acrochorda, really wanted nothing to do with it, since it *apparently* wasn't stimulated by the female muta.

I've witnessed courtship over the past few nights between the mutas, but the male has yet to successfully copulate.

Matt,

I really enjoyed the pics and your account. It is amazing to be able to see a bushmaster, and even better to see them involved in something like this! Thanks again, oh and it sounds like your male is just a little camera shy. I think some cialis might do the trick for him, 36 hours should cover whatever he has in mind!

Jason

Yeah, Jason, then he can say "See, Alice..it still works!"

~~Greg~~