Re: Interesting

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Posted by paalexan on March 07, 2003 at 19:10:33:

In Reply to: Re: Interesting posted by Conrad on March 06, 2003 at 22:36:09:

:Well an update: The D. dorsalis at the shop has started eating rodents! Whole mice with no scenting at all! I'm gonna snag him for sure. Thanks for the info, I'll do my best not to get a tag from him as I'm not wanting to experience the "worst scenario".

That certainly bodes well.

:Yeah, I've got a pair of L. ahaetulla. I've had them a little over a year. My female was really thin when I got her, but she's eaten well since I've got her and has gotten her weight back. My male on the other hand, just started eating a little over a month ago, and now eats like a horse on anoles. I've even had some luck with getting them to take scented rat pups.

Nifty. JOOC, what's your source of anoles? Buying them seems like it'd get expensive pretty quickly, but I've wondered for a while if it might be feasible to run a breeding colony of anoles (or Mediterranean geckos, or something similar) as a food source...

:Well, I will definately staying here for my "odd-ball" questions, as this is the only place where I can get answers. You've been a lot of help and a good source of info for me. If you find anything else could you e-mail it to me?

Well, for what it's worth, Dryadophis is probably closely related to Drymobius, but not so closely to Leptophis... in:
`Mitochondrial DNA sequence variation and genetic differentiation among colubrine snakes (Reptilia: Colubridae: Colubrinae).
Lopez-T-J; Maxson-L-R {a}
Biochemical-Systematics-and-Ecology. 1995; 23 (5) 487-505.'
the authors find that Mastigodryas (a genus in which all of the Dryadophis species have been included at one time or another) is most closely related to Salvadora, but do not find it to be related to Leptophis any more closely than to anything else in Colubrinae. Drymobius wasn't included in their analysis, but, given that several species of Dryadophis and Mastigodryas have been included in Drymobius (btw, a fun reference for this sort of thing, if you're not familiar with it, is www.reptile-database.org), it seems likely that they are fairly closely related...

:The search for off-the-wall species continues...next step, Rufous beaked snake! I'll keep you updated. Thanks.

Try Glades Herp. They've had Rhamphiophis available for a few months now...

Patrick Alexander

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Re: Interesting Conrad 03/07/03 (0)