Anyone keeping Eastern Diamondbacks?

Roadtrash · 10-14-12, 11:27 AM

I see a lot of people on various forums that keep the Western Diamondbacks but rarely see anything about the Eastern Diamondbacks. Do any of you folks keep the EDB's? Are they more difficult to keep or is there some other reason that people don't seem to keep them? They are my favorite hot although I don't keep hots.

reptar · 10-14-12, 10:30 PM

Easterns get bigger than westerns. I know that's a huge reason they are not kept as much. Also, not as many morphs of EDB's as opposed to their western counterpart. Morphs bring in buyers, buyers bring in breeders.

StudentoReptile · 10-15-12, 12:57 AM

I would love to keep an eastern DB...but my wife won't let me.

Roadtrash · 10-16-12, 07:33 AM

Yeah they do get bigger no doubt. With a little selective breeding you may get more morphs but I don't know much about that. If I were going to keep hots the EDB would be my first choice. I guess this has a lot to do with my growing up around them in the South.

You don't see many of the really big ones anymore because of loss of habitat, etc. Slowly but surely they are being killed off in so many areas and it is sad.

StudentoReptile · 10-16-12, 07:55 AM

There's actually a pretty good amount of morphs with EDBs. Was trying to find Paul Moody's site...

etc · 10-16-12, 04:45 PM

Unfortunately Paul Moody's site has been closed for a while now.. that man sure likes his EDBs, I hear that even his own kids make fun of him for it.

Roadtrash · 10-17-12, 12:21 AM

Anyone got any pictures of some of the morphs?

etc · 10-17-12, 08:11 PM

It appears that I have lied to you.

EasternDiamondbacks.Com

It's back up and running it seems.

Roadtrash · 10-18-12, 09:17 AM

thanks for the link it was very interesting.

StudentoReptile · 10-18-12, 09:30 AM

Ah Ha! Thanks!

Roadtrash · 10-18-12, 09:34 AM

What is the largest EDB on record? Or for that matter is there an actual record kept of these animals? I remember many years ago the large ones were easy to find but today they are few and far between.

StudentoReptile · 10-18-12, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roadtrash

What is the largest EDB on record? Or for that matter is there an actual record kept of these animals? I remember many years ago the large ones were easy to find but today they are few and far between.

Largest in captivity or in the wild, or both?

Various sources state this species can get up to 8 feet, but finding a wild specimen that large is like finding a wild python over 20 ft. Between habitat destruction, roundups and "persecution-killings," you are correct; the bigger ones are very rare. Any rattler over 4-5 ft makes the local news, and usually spreads like wildfire across the internet.

Now...in captivity, I dunno. As far as anyone keeping a record or database, I don't think so. If I recall correctly, Paul Moody claimed in a radio interview that he had a female that was getting close to the 8 ft mark. This was 2 years ago.

Also, EDBs were on the list of species to be evaluated for possible inclusion to the Endangered Species Act. I don't think there si any further developments on this currently, but hopefully studies will commence, if the EDB is added, this will end all roundups in the southeast, and help conserve the species.

Roadtrash · 10-19-12, 12:00 AM

I hope they can make the list because this is my favorite. Not sure just why but maybe the color, maybe the look on the face, I really don't know there is just something about this snake that fascinates me.

ada-man-teus · 01-11-13, 02:10 PM

there are a few eastern morphs floating around. Pauls collection unfortunately took a hit a few years back thanks to the paramyxovirus. He lost the striped, granites, and the only axanthic ever produced. The breed does well in captivity. WC adult speciamans can be tricky and generally dont take well to a captive enviroment. Neonates and captive specimans however eat from the get go and only slow down when you slow the feeding rates.. Im not a big morph guy myself. Crotalus adamanteus however has some awesome natural variations that to me are what its all about. In the panhandle area where I live the variations range from super light phased individuals to very dark almost melanistic looking specimans. I herp a small area within a rock throw of the Gulf of Mexico and the ones I find here have super contrast and unreal colors that really POP...I work with several different north american crotalids but the King is by far my favorite.

For some reason I can't post a pic Ill try to figure out why.

ada-man-teus · 01-11-13, 06:34 PM

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just a test at posting pics

This is one of the high contrast specimans I talked about earlier. This is a 2011 male that I hope to breed in the next year or so. He is a great example of the specimans I currently work with.

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The above pic is a Female 2012 neonate from nearby