Re: A melanistic boomslang????

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Posted by Chance on February 05, 2003 at 13:40:06:

In Reply to: A melanistic boomslang???? posted by Jeremy G on February 04, 2003 at 08:08:31:

:Last time I checked, the so called melanistic boomers are really the harmless Thrasops jacksoni or Jackson's Tree Snake. Please post a picture of the animal in question for identification.

This snake is definitely D. typus. As you probably know, adult booms can range in color from green to black and anywhere in between. They are dimorphic, so the more drastically colored animals are the males. A black male would most likely also have some bright green speckling. This one, however, being a female is pretty drab blackish. I'll have to wait until I get home (at school right now) to post a picture of her. I've counted her scalation though, because I too was skeptical when she first arrived, and she's definitely a boomslang.

:Also, if your looking to find out weather the female is gravid or not, being an egg layer you should be able to feel the eggs inside. Take off your cape and gloves, stick her in a tube and gently feel the last third of her body. You should feel the eggs right through the skin. They will be defined lumps. However, there may be lumps in there even if they are not fertilized yet. Since its basicly imposible to tell weather she is ovulating or actually gravid, untill you see a drastic change in attitude id suggest leaveing them together untill she starts acting funny(I.E passive, reluctant to feed, basking alot)Just make aure to provide all of the esentials for a gravid female while you are waiting(nest box, basking light).

Right now it'd be too early to be able to feel any significant lumps. If she is indeed gravid, it's only been a week or two now. They are going through courtship behavior, so I'm just going to keep my hopes up. In time it will become obvious if she is gravid or not, as she will swell significantly. I don't like to handle her very frequently because she is very high strung and stresses easily. I will probably weigh her every two weeks or so just to keep an eye on that aspect. But yeah, for now, they are provided with a basking lamp. That reminds me, this female is generally very reclusive, never coming out of her hide box, but here recently I've been noticing her out basking either in the branches or on top of the hide. Not going to get my hopes up though, just incase.

If indeed this snake does turn out to be gravid and produces, I'll probably try to write an article for it, since they are rarely if ever bred. Should be some interesting information. I've already learned a lot from these guys, and will continue to learn more I'm sure. Anyway, I'll post a picture or two of her once I get home.

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