Weird, weird, weird.....

[crimsonking]

not colubrids, these Brahminy blind snakes are primitive little serpents. The species is all female and can either lay eggs or bear live young! Sorry for the lousy pic, but I'm not sure how to pose these little critters. There's 3 here in the bottom of a deli cup. Did I say weird??

[Tim and Julie B]

say what? Eggs or live! I thought it was one or the other not both! I love this site I learn something new everyday. What do they eat? How big do they get?

[Trace]

They look like dried up earthworms!!!

Thanks for the pic! Those are interesting snakes, are they a burrowing species? I'm going to have to look for some info on those guys.

Cheers!

Trace

[crimsonking]

They feed on eggs, larvae or adult termites and the like. These are adults! Maybe 4.5"!! Head and tail are hard to tell apart. They kinda wedge into the ground with the tail sometimes. Introduced from S.E. Asia in ornamental plants etc. now are all over the world in suitable climes. Found these guys while digging around. Rhamphotyphlops braminus.

[Tim and Julie B]

Ok that is truly the wierdest thing I have seen today! You can find them in Florida? I think everything can live in Florida. I have a book that list Tokays as a native species to Florida. They eat bugs? weird!

[Leo-Land]

Wow! Awesome snakes crimsonking! Look what I found tonight

http://www.leo-land.net/rings.jpg

Still looking for an indigo pal! I will find one! I WILL!

[crimsonking]

Jeff, are you keeping any of the ringnecks? I keep a few each year just to watch 'em lay and to hatch the eggs. You gotta see a hatchling ringneck! Smaller than these blind snakes! They are fun though (ringnecks) and if thesouthern ringneck got 3' I'd give up all of my others and just have them! (well maybe) got 3'
:Mark

[gonesnakee]

Heh Crimsonking, I think you posted a picture of your fishing bait by mistake! LOL Mark I.

[Bryce Masuk]

ringnecks are cool I love the bright colored bellys

[Vanan]

Ack! I love Typhlopidae! I'm hoping to get an ant colony going but first gotta find the right species of ants. Lucky you Mark!! I've always wanted to see some!

[ReptiZone]

You were right about one thing they are a singel sex snake but they can not choose how they reproduce the are ovoviviparous (they lay eggs) all the baby are females and once the snake is sexualy mature the start to lay firtile eggs with out the need of a male ( every womans dream heheheh). Any way I thaught you were wrong so I looked it up for thows that have the book by Chris Mattison called snake (it has a big blood python on the cover) it is at page 31

[eyespy]

Aren't some of the folks here bound by a no snake over 2 feet bylaw? These funky little dudes would be perfect for them!

[crimsonking]

Jeez, Chondro python, the book I have here "Field Guide to Snakes Of Florida" Tenant '97, states that :they are" egg laying AND live bearing. Also parthenogenic, for R.braminus is unisexual-an all female species in which the ova begin cell division without spermatozoa, producingup to 8 genetically-identical offspring that may be either born alive or deposited as eggs between April and June." Not to pick, but since I haven't any first-hand knowledge, I quoted directly from that book. Could you give date of publication of Mattison's book for me? I have some others (older) and one by Mattison that I have used as a guide for many years. We'll have to find someone with first hand knowledge! And since I have them, well, we'll see. Maybe I'll have some li'l ones later in the year.LOL!

[Hamster of Borg]

Blind snakes are weird little things, you'd overlook them as an earth worm when flipping tin if you didn't know exactly what to look for.

Here's a couple shots of a Texas blind snake I 'caught' last weekend. They're actually supposedly pretty common in TX, but this is the first one I've come across - and saw it for what it was that is. :)
http://24.243.195.49/photos/z-colubrids/texasblind.jpg http://24.243.195.49/photos/z-colubrids/texasblind9.jpg

Ham

[crimsonking]

Ham, thanks for the MUCH better pics! My cheapo digital has "close up" but no macro or anything. Plus, the flash washed out most pics. Texas blinds are a little larger huh?Can you enlighten us any on the birth /egg laying of the Brahminy blind snake? (not the Tx.) Thanks. Killer shots!
:Mark

[crimsonking]

Oh and Vanan, is that an "add to list" item?? Ha ha!

[Hamster of Borg]

Aside from the parthenogenesis, I don't know much about their reproductive behavior. From what I've read though, they are oviparous. Seems that being the only species of snake, that I can think of, that reproduces asexually that they would be studied a bit more closely. I guess keeping them in captivity isn't exactly easy. :)

Ham

[Vanan]

I guess you can say that Mark! lol!

[Leo-Land]

Like these snakes, Indo Pacific Geckos, extremely common in FL, are all female. The females will even court each other like a male would. This seems to stimulate egg devlopment.

Just felt I would post this :D

[Emily-Fisher]

Yo! Which end is the head?! how do they fertalize the eggs if the whole species is male?!

[ReptiZone]

It was published by firefly books Ltd in 1999 it is my Bible i know it inside and out

[ReptiZone]

Emily-Fisher the whole species are females

[Mike177]

man those things are weired! dont know much at all about blind snakes but maby i should

[silke]

thanks to everyone who posted pix and info
those girls are very interesting
I agree - i love coming to this site to learn new info like this....amazing

[eldadevoz]

I have night crawlers that big and people mistaken them for snakes all the time! lol

[NewLineReptile]

i think they are cool looking i would not mind one my self :)