Elaphe climacophora (feedin' pics)

[alexandsnakes]

They actually sat still (gotta kill those pre-killed mice, ya know) so I thought I'd snap photos for certain people (you know who you are)

The blue is starting to come in, you can see the green is well established
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Female

<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1362svafnir.jpg"></img>

Male

<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1362ofnir_eating.jpg"></img>
</center>

[Joe]

very nice buddy! I love them!

[alexandsnakes]

They are honestly the best snakes I have ever owned. Not only are they fantasically coloured, they have the most interesting personalities of any snake I've owned. My male for example, crawls around backwards most of the time. Why? I don't know. They also seem to learn (slightly) - they get fed in a dish, so unlike some of my other snakes who hunt constantly when they're hungry, these two curl up in their dishes and wait to be fed.

They also combine several neat features, like constriction, vertebral spikes for crushing huge egg shells, and mild venom.

They'll spend hours in the water, and they love both climbing and digging. They've got a massive mythological background too, the albino form is actually protected in Japan as a result.

Their only complex requirement is you have to remember to dip down the temps in the winter as they practically bruminate themselves, other than that I think they're really easy pets.

[Simon R. Sansom]

Very nice, alex. That's something we don't get to see every day!

Cheers!

Simon

[JD@reptiles]

hmm, mild venom in an elaphe. pretty cool!

[Invictus]

What is the COMMON name of that snake? (Geez, enough of this elitist latin crap, people....)

[reverendsterlin]

it is a japanese ratsnake, latin is not elitist simply the easiest way to correctly identify animals, many of which may have several different common names that not everyone may be familiar with.

[reverendsterlin]

colubrid venom, I think there are about 12 species of colubrids with 'venom'. Rhabdophis, Thamnophis, Diadophis, Hypsiglena, Hydrodynastes, Dispholidus, Philodryas, Coluber, Oxyrhopus, Phalotris, Apostolepis, and Elapomorphus. Some are claimed to be dangerous to humans and some only to their prey items.

[JD@reptiles]

Thelotornis are probably one of the most dangerous to humans.

[reverendsterlin]

yep, folks tend to forget that most rear fanged snakes are colubrids.

[Simon R. Sansom]

Alex, would you be able to post some close-ups of the heads? They seem very similar to E.taeniura in structure.

Thanks,

Simon

[Jungle Jen]

WOW, absolutely stunning!

[TheRedDragon]

Wow, that's a VERY nice looking snake! :)

[alexandsnakes]

I had a headshot a few posts ago, but I'll try to get some more. Like taeniura they have the dark post-orbital stripe, and with age these guyses faces are lengthening. If I get them feeding again, I'll try to get some teeth in.

It's hard to see because they're still quite small, but their last pair of teeth are slightly enlarged. Their venom is nowhere near that of even my Spilotes or a good wandering garter, but they really attack and chew, and can make you slightly itchy or bleed just a bit more than you think they should.

[Vanan]

Nice shots Alex! Are those adult mice or younger rats? Been a while since we've seen them.

[alexandsnakes]

They're actually hoppers. They're not a stretch for them to eat, but their tummies look so fat after a couple that I don't want to move them up yet

[Lisa]

Those are so cool.