Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I love these guys, but can't often find them available. I know there are two variants out there - one with a charcoal black tail and white stripe, and one with a lighter coloration and yellow/greenish stripe. I'm specifically looking for the first type (dark tail/white stripe). Does anyone breed these, or at least know the name for this variant? Is it from a specific locality?

Thanks a bunch!

A friend of mine Rusty Stringer should be having eggs soon.
we are out of Louisiana.

Awesome! Which form are you guys breeding? I know there's the form with the yellowish stripe, and the one with the snow-white stripe... anyone know what the forms are called?

Just to clarify, here's pics that show what I mean.

White stripe variant, this pic shows my "ideal" ridleyi color form... I love the lighter clean colors and deep charcoal tail.

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/index.php?photo=11633

Green/yellow stripe variant... this is what I see more often in the trade...

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/index.php?photo=269874

e-mail me at tnelsontc@yahoo.com

What part of La. are from. I am in the Lake Charles area. I'm alway's looking for other herp enthusiasts. My name is Matt Kauffman. Email mattwend@yahoo.com. Thanks.

I think young snakes are darker and more patterned with the yellow dorsal stripe, then they change color into the cream color with the light dorsal stripe as adults. I could be wrong, its hard to find any info on these guys, but that's what I've been able to gather based on pix of young snakes and their adult parents. Maybe someone will come along who knows for sure.

Have you seen a cream colored, patternless adult snake with a yellow dorsal stripe?

You're right about the ontogentic change in color. Almost all of the adult ridleyis I've seen in the market have the light, cream dorsal stripe. But adults from the Cameron Highlands region of Malaysia retain the bright yellow dorsal stripe of juveniles and have a greenish-yellow background rather than a whitish, cream, or copper background. This is consistent with Schulz's description of ridleyi in his book on elaphe. It's a little known fact that the Cameron Highlands ridleyis do not live in caves, since there are none in that region.

I've done a lot of online and literature research on ridleyi, and there's very little written on them. The following website probably has the largest collection of pictures of ridleyi in their natural environment: http://www.cavesofmalaysia.com/photopage12.htm

The picture below is my 34 month old C.H. male who's almost 7.5 ft.

Thanks for the info confirming my assumptions. Excellent pix, they make my jealous every time I come across them!

I'd read about the C.H. animals not living in caves and found that very interesting. I've got 2 pairs of the "common" Ridleyi that I'm growing up, I'd love to add a pair of the C.H. locality snakes to my collection if you can point me in a direction.

Thanks. I bought my CH ridleyi from the classifieds here. I know that blackbelt reptiles (http://www.blackbeltreptiles.com) used to have CH listed on their website, but not anymore. Unfortunately, I know of no one else that breeds them.

Schulz's book on Elaphe actually has a habitat picture for CH ridleyi, something I would have never expected to encounter. The caption for the photo says, "In and around this vegetable field near a stream, with surrounding rainforest and limestone hills Elaphe taeniura ridleyi...have been found." The elevation of the field is 1600m.