Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here is the first picture

Here is the second picture. (The one above here was a neonate), this one is an adult.

Ed

Hi there:

I was wondering where you obtained such a beautiful specimen. Where these taken at a zoo, or do you keep these in a private collection. Recently my juvinille Typhlonectes natans died, and now I just have a pair of Dermophis. I am looking for something new besides Typhlonectes, preferrably Ichthyophis, and am willing to pay $20-$35 for one, I have not yet seen one of these for sale. Any information would greatly be appreciated.

DAVE

Hi Dave,
The pictures are from work. Glades herp gets these in now and then but they usually get $400-$500 each for them.

I am unaware of any Icthyophis being imported into the country in the last year to year and a half. A large number came into the country but the importer has since vanished.

I just had a baby T. natans born at home.

Ed

Hey Ed,

How long is that Schistometopum, and what is their average adult length? Also, are they hardy or do you feel that they do poorly in captivity? (not that I'd ever get enough money to get one of those, just curious)

-Dan

Hi Dan,
I think they are pretty hardy and do well. They are territorial and males cannot be kept together. (When adult they can be sexed based on a ratio of head width to length).

The adult in the picture is about 26 inches in length.

Ed

Hi there:

Ed, I think you really may have started something here. Your photos seem to have gotten people interested in these limbless wonders. It isn't every day that you see something from the caecilian forum on the hot topics list. It's also great that you're on this forum, because if people get intrigued by your pictures and decide to purchase a caecilian of their own, you're here to educate them about caring for such an exotic animal.
Who knows? As long as people took care of such creatures in the right way, it would be astounding if the number of obsevers went up. In my dreams, captive-bred caecilians are seen in stores alongside horned frogs, corn snakes and leopard geckos.
Yet it may be good to keep these animals rather secret. If something like that fell into the wrong hands of someone like a celebrity with a lot of money, keeping it as a novelty, I shudder to think what may happen. Congragulations on drawing more people into the caecilian forum to learn about these living jewels.

DAVE

Thanks for the compliments Dave.
I was very surprised when I checked in and saw that it had become a popular thread.

I think the more interest in these animals the better as they are currently poorly studied and even less is known about their conservation needs in the wild.

Ed

Amazing!

ed, can i change my hero from john zorn to you?

-rob

I think in the long-run John Zorn is a better role model..

Ed

I dunno, did you "find religion " at 40!

How was IAD? I know its long over but i din't make it (again) this year.

Hmm, I don't think I have found "religion" yet but then I have a couple of years before I hit 40.

IAD was pretty cool except I was drugged up due to a painful shoulder injury (and my talk sucked because I couldn't keep my train of thought going). I had to go lie down a couple of times because my shoulder hurt so much so I missed a couple of the talks. DIck Bartlett gave two really great talks and there was a really interesting one on the morphology of throat sacks in anurans.
(No big caecilian talk like two years ago...)
Next year we have a really good line up for the speakers (I'll be speaking on amphibian nutrition).
There will also be a talk on hellbender conservation.

Ed

Well i'm going to do everything in the world I can to be there.
Course its 2500 miles away now. (funny i have seen more salamanders in bait stores here than I ever saw in the wild in the Northeast)

Course I can't even get to daytona this year.

Heard the Baltimore zoo closed its reptile house, very sad.
Any details?
Wonder how many bog turtles got taken by those raccoons before that problem was solved.

I was picking on Zorn, I don't think he "got religion". But he made a long foray into music of the culture of his religious ancestry and, well, all I can say is I hope it made him happy lol!

Stay well.

I don't know about the bog turtles but the Baltimore Zoo did close its reptile house and laid off all of the supervisory staff. The keepers in the building were transferred into the mammal department. They are only going to keep the native Maryland species, and the Atelopus project (but I don't know who is going to work it as all of the people who worked with the Atelopus left).
Looking forward to seeing you at IAD.

Ed

>>I don't know about the bog turtles but the Baltimore Zoo did close its reptile house and laid off all of the supervisory staff. The keepers in the building were transferred into the mammal department. They are only going to keep the native Maryland species, and the Atelopus project (but I don't know who is going to work it as all of the people who worked with the Atelopus left).
>>Looking forward to seeing you at IAD.
>>
>>Ed
Link

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Michele