Something new - another European species

[Roman]

I got a pair of Western Montpellier snakes (Malpolon monspessulanus) German CB from June 2017 last week. They are tiny little snakes but can already hiss with the best of them…

They are unrelated and their ancestors came from Southern France.

They are curious and active, but also still shy. Both ate a baby mouse after two days, so they seem to do OK so far. The male is already in his temporary enclosure where he will stay for the foreseeable future, the female is still in a fauna box, her new enclosure will be ready for her during the weekend.

I already keep a male Eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus fuscus) from the Balkans, I was searching for a matching female when I found the ad for my new snakes.

Some Pictures of the male Malpolon monspessulanus





Roman

[Scubadiver59]

Ahhh...you didn't mention it was venomous! I had to look the species up!

The toxicity sounds a little like either the Hognose or the False Water Cobra I have...I may have to see if I can get my hands on a specimen or two!!

Though that might prove difficult since they are European...

[Roman]

Originally Posted by Scubadiver59

Ahhh...you didn't mention it was venomous! I had to look the species up!

The toxicity sounds a little like either the Hognose or the False Water Cobra I have...I may have to see if I can get my hands on a specimen or two!!

Though that might prove difficult since they are European...

Sorry, I forgot to mention that they are rear-fanged colubrids. Their venom is not considered dangerous for humans, even if they might manage to bite you with their enlarged fangs.

It might be difficult to find them in the states, all European snakes are protected by European law, you are only allowed to trade CB animals and you have to register each new snake (and each snake you sell or which dies) by your local administration. If you are interested in Malpolon your best bet might be the Eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus insignitus) from Egypt.



All Malpolon show an interesting social behavior, especially during breeding season. The males actually defend their territory, keep several females as their harem and mark them with a special fluid from a gland below their nose, defend them against other males and keep even smaller males as a kind of serfs.

BTW, the English Wikipedia entry uses still the old taxonomy, recent research showed that the Western and the Eastern Montpellier snakes are separate species, the Western species Malpolon monspessulanus has no subspecies, the Eastern Montpellier snake has two subspecies Malpolon insignitus insignitus from Northern Africa and Malpolon insignitus fuscus from the Balkans.


Roman

[TRD]

Great species nice one.

Hey, you have some awesome snakes in the US too which are basically impossible to get here... racers, coachwhips, .. I'd be dead before I get a blue racer in my collection, probably.

[Scubadiver59]

Well, they were introducing the Indigos back into the wild recently in Florida...but now with those hurricanes on Florida's doorstep, that reintroduction might take a hit for a while.

Maybe one day they'll be off the threatened/endangered species lists and you can get one.

Originally Posted by TRD

Great species nice one.

Hey, you have some awesome snakes in the US too which are basically impossible to get here... racers, coachwhips, .. I'd be dead before I get a blue racer in my collection, probably.

[TRD]

Indigo I CAN get but they are freaking expensive snakes over here (there's a breeder in France and one in Italy that carry various Indigo snakes).

Blue racer on the other hand is very hard to get here, and only WC imports which I have issues with as they are endangered in many parts of the US.. They are even hard to get in the US... try find a Coluber constrictor foxii for sale in the US..