I found myself describing my
Psudelaphe flavirufa from the classifieds to a potential buyer and it occured to me that this may be something that the community as a whole would be interested in. Here's what I wrote:
The pattern is similar to corns and based on old hemipenal morphology they were thought to be closely related. Genetic evidence though shows that they aren't closely related to other rat snakes so in 2002 Utiger resurrected the genus Psuedelaphe, of which they're the only species.
As far as temperament goes they are rather different than corns. These ones are not exactly flighty and certainly not aggressive but they are restless when handled. They're an arboreal animal which is obvious when handling. They don't slither through your hands aimlessly like a corn; rather they are always trying to climb from your hands to your head or some near by piece of furniture. I've heard that wild ones can be quite snappy but I've never had that problem with these two.
As far as I can tell they are a hardy species. I don't use any external heating with them and the ambient air temp fluctuates from 75-85. Humidity is generally 40% to 70%.
They are supposed to be prone to regurgitation so frequent small feedings are preferred to a more normal feeding routine. My female feeds better than any corn I've ever had but the male is a nuisance some times. He regurgitated his first meal after brumation and I was worried that this might become a problem but he was fine at the next feeding.
I'm not sure how to breed them. All of the info that I've found has been vague and often contradicting. They are supposed to breed well in captivity and captive babies are becoming more and more common but I had no luck last year. This year I plan to give them a large setup and cycle the day night temps without brumating. Last year I tried the same method that I use for corns.
They’re a fun species for sure.
Cam
Female
Psuedelaphe flavirufa
Male
Psuedelaphe flavirufa
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