I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien

Nightflight99 · 01-07-16, 09:55 PM

That song always start playing in my head anytime I see an Aplopeltura boa. Their common name is blunt-headed slug snake, and I took these pictures at the facility of an importer in April 2007. This is a pareatid snake, and occurs from Myanmar South to Malaysia. They're snail eaters, and have a really neat morphology.

**Minkness** · 01-07-16, 09:58 PM

Woah! Awesome!

**EL Ziggy** · 01-07-16, 10:08 PM

That is awesome. I've never seen nor heard of this animal until today. Very interesting critter. Goes to show that everything really is beautiful in its own way. Englishman in New York is a great song too

. I hadn't heard it in forever and just watched the video. Thanks for sharing!

daisymaisy · 01-07-16, 10:24 PM

Cool snake! I always liked that song too....now it's running through my head!

bigsnakegirl785 · 01-07-16, 11:36 PM

They're so goofy-looking, they always crack me up, too. haha

I didn't think anyone would have been attempting to keep them in captivity, though.

Nightflight99 · 01-08-16, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

I didn't think anyone would have been attempting to keep them in captivity, though.

They're specialized snakes, but they're not impossible to keep. One of my former co-workers did a lot of work with dipsadine snakes, and as long as you had access to snails, they were actually quite manageable. Very interesting animals!

bigsnakegirl785 · 01-08-16, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightflight99

They're specialized snakes, but they're not impossible to keep. One of my former co-workers did a lot of work with dipsadine snakes, and as long as you had access to snails, they were actually quite manageable. Very interesting animals!

Huh, that's really interesting, some of the most specialized snakes tend to be the more difficult ones to keep, even if their natural diet is replicated.

Handyhens · 01-08-16, 05:20 AM

Wow! I've seen pictures of these but never thought they were real!

Handyhens · 01-08-16, 05:21 AM

Cool! I've seen pictures of these but never thought they were real!

dave himself · 01-08-16, 05:48 AM

Never heard of these before, every days a school day

. Thanks for sharing and teaching

Jim Smith · 01-08-16, 08:32 AM

You have worked with some of the most beautiful and interesting snakes! I love the fact that you're introducing us to "new" and unique animals that most of us have never heard of before. Thanks for sharing.

**Tsubaki** · 01-09-16, 05:49 AM

Incredible! They do look like aliens, and they eat aliens! This species really fascinates me, sadly only had the pleasure of seeing a single specimen once in captivity (in a local reptile zoo i volunteer at) it sadly died within a matter of weeks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightflight99

They're specialized snakes, but they're not impossible to keep. One of my former co-workers did a lot of work with dipsadine snakes, and as long as you had access to snails, they were actually quite manageable. Very interesting animals!

May i ask what type of snail you are feeding? Could this species be fully fed (juvenile) Achatina fulica snails? I have read that even well eating specimens die after a couple of months when fed on 'wrong' species of snails. Is this even true? If so are the feeder snails missing some nutrient perhaps, fixable by giving the snails a different diet? If ever given an opportunity to keep one of these (Or any Dipsas) i will take it, but not if i can not find an appropriate food source for it.

Nightflight99 · 01-09-16, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsubaki

May i ask what type of snail you are feeding? Could this species be fully fed (juvenile) Achatina fulica snails? I have read that even well eating specimens die after a couple of months when fed on 'wrong' species of snails. Is this even true? If so are the feeder snails missing some nutrient perhaps, fixable by giving the snails a different diet?

I don't know what species my colleague was feeding the dipsadine snakes that he was working with, but I do know that they were a local species (i.e., from Texas). His specimens were all long-term captives that seemed to thrive on that diet.

**Tsubaki** · 01-09-16, 11:42 AM

Apologies i meant what they* were feeding, that's what you get for typing first and thinking later. Thanks for the reply!

**Pareeeee** · 01-09-16, 12:12 PM

Wow, never seen one before. Thanks for sharing! Great photos and awesome looking little aliens