Boiga Pulverulenta??

[Rob@RK Reptiles]

Hi Everyone. I am trying to get some information on this species of Boiga( Boiga Pulverulenta). I have some ordered from Uganda but can't find alot of information on them. If anyone has any good pics of them I would appreciate it. Any information is greatly appreciated.

[Katt]

At the risk of sounding naggy, but should you not have looked up info on these guys BEFORE ordering?? How will people who purchase from you be able to care for these animals, if you yourself don't know?

I'm not against importing per se for those who want to work with uncommon animals, but I've seen your ads and know you resell.

[Dr. Bryan Fry]

Boiga pulverulenta are basically Boiga blandingii-lite. Not terribly different (and the two are often confused, I've seen Boiga pulverulenta labled as B. blandingii and the reverse). They have a bit more of a pink-flower like markings on the side. Full-grown, they are much smaller than B. blandingii (1.2 meters vs 3!). They should be no problem to get to feed on mice. As with any Boiga, an arboreal setup is key to successful captive maintence.

Enjoy ;-)
B

[Rob@RK Reptiles]

Bryan,

Thanks for your reply. That is pretty much what I have found. So far everything that I have found has shown them to be almost identical to Blandingii but lighter and a little more colorful. I was hoping to find more pictures of them as the only pictures I have found were either dark or just one not real good picture of a light pinkish animal.

Katt,

I have done research on them and found them to be almost identical to Blandingii in the care and other requirements. Also I found they are smaller in size as Bryan also pointed out. But there is not alot of published information on them so I came here to see if some of the members here had experience with them and would share the information. My animals will not be arriving for a little while so that is why I am doing more research now on them. I can understand where you are coming from but as with all my animals I don't just get them in without knowing about them.

[Katt]

Rob, that's great to hear. All too often importers bring in animals to an area where they can not be cared for properly.

[Rob@RK Reptiles]

Katt,

Well I agree that there are alot of importers that bring in animals and don't care for them properly. We on the other hands do not bring in large shipments just for that reason. We ensure that everything we bring in to our place whether it is from another country or from another breeder gets treated and cared for properly. I can't stand when an animal is not given the best opportunity to thrive in captivity.

[Dr. Bryan Fry]

Hi Rob,

I'm sure you'll be fine setting them up and I wouldn't be suprised if you held a couple back for yourself, they're neat snakes (big blandingii are too much fun though ;-)

In case you're curious about the Boiga venoms, have a read of this paper. We analysed quite a few Boigas. In a nutshell, the venom is essentially the same soup you find in a cobra/death adder, some of them put out huge quantities (up to 25 milligrams), some are deep into elapid level toxicity (a couple species are on par with a death adder) and none of the existing antivenoms touch em (we tested this). However, venom delivery isn't that crash hot but something like a very big Boiga could certainly get in enough venom in a relatively short period of time to cause symptoms. I had a nicely systemic neurotoxic envenomation from a 2.2 meter B. dendrophila that was on my thumb for about twenty seconds. That said, Boigas are still fine pets for teenagers upwards as long as they know the risks and potential danger (relatively low).

http://www.venomdoc.com/downloads/BGF_Colubroidea_RCMS.pdf

Cheers
B

[Rob@RK Reptiles]

Bryan,

Thanks, I will sit down tomorrow and read it in it's entirety when I have a little more time. I love the Boiga species as they are a very interested snake. We kept Boiga Dendrophila and really enjoyed them and more than likely will end of keeping a pair or so of these as well.

[cobraman]

Dr. Fry
I got in a few B. blandingii a month ago, and so far have had no luck in feeding them. Have you got any suggestions? (advise from anyone would be appreciated)
Blessings
Ray

[Dr. Bryan Fry]

Hey Ray,

Not sure mate, I'm sure you've tried a variety of food items (including week old chicks?). One thing that I found is that B. dendrophila (perhaps others) abolutely loooooooooooooovve hamsters. Can't seem to get enough of em! Even the most recalcitrent feeder hammers them. Found this out when I had about a dozen left over in the lab, threw them in alive to a tank with a 8 big dendrophila. Bye bye hamsters in record time ;-) I felt like a Roman emperor throwing Christians to the lions........ and of course went to get more hamsters! ;-p

Cheers
B

[cobraman]

I'll try the chicks. I have great luck getting my B. dendrophilas to eat mice. Thanks for your help again.
Ray