Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello i got to see a mussie pair first time in my life in person recently i could not get over how small they were compared to indigo snake and the water cobra that were in tanks near it.

Mussurana i saw was the size of a rat snake or a thin king snake about 4 or 5 feet are they usually this small and thin or could it just be a small sub species or poor quality snakes?

ALso do mussurana constrict other snakes the way kings do? They knot around the other snakes lungs and face making it imposible for the other snake to get them off ends in a quick death for the other snake since the snake cant breath? Ive seen kings do this many times was not sure if mussies use the same predation method on other snakes i understand they also use venom which has serious effects on most snake species.

The vast majority of mussurana in the US are Boiruna maculata, which are an average sized mussurana species. Seven foot lengths are known, but most full grown adults max out at 5-6 feet.

Clelia clelia and Clelia plumbea are the largest mussurana, and 8.5' lengths are possible with large females. Clelia quimi and Clelia bicolor are the smallest of the mussurana ssp. rarely exceeding lengths over 3'.

Overall, mussurana are not quite as robust as drymarchon, but they are certainly just as powerful on a pound-for-pound basis.

Mussurana generally deliver venom and constrict their prey.
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i dunno... i've seen adult mussuranas that are as impressive in terms of stature as an indigo. they are extremely lean and muscular snakes. gram for gram they can take down any drymarchon of equal length (in my opinion). also baby mussuranas are even more iridescent than eastern indigos. the flaming red bellies in babies are gorgeous (too bad they lose this). hopefully soon we'll be able to work with the rusty mussuranas (sp rusitica) that david fabius is breeding in uruguay. i think the rear fang label made them lose popularity but they are definitely one of my favorite snakes to work with.