Some Mussuranas

I recently got a pair of Mussuranas (Boiruna maculata) from John Michels at Black Pearl Reptiles. They are from a Uruguayan, David Fabius, stock. They are unbelievably hard to photograph because of how deep their blacks are and the iridescent, oil-slick sheen to them. Anyways, the male is normal and the female is a piebald (which works as a co-dominant trait with the super an almost all-white pied). Here they are - I went a little snapshot crazy ;D:

Male:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7235/7...654960bd4b.jpg

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/7...6154e8fc03.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7063/7...4f6c799571.jpg


Female (you can still see some of the red band on her neck):
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7205/7...b0f4f9962f.jpg

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Not the best, but some belly shots showing the pied effect:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7044/6...f44929e939.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6...20ef52c684.jpg

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Just thought this was a neat shot, showing tongue movement
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7237/7...6352475d95.jpg

:O AWESOME Shots!!!

Read an article on these guys in Herpes Nation.. after reading and doing a bit more research they quickly became my favorite colubrid for sure. You have a very beautiful pair there! I'm stoked for you.

Thanks Slim!

Thanks cdavidson9! That's also where I first read about them. I wrote a Sibon article for them last year and have another one or two coming out this year I hope. I got the mussuranas from the author, John Michels - Black Pearl Reptiles (excellent to deal with btw).

The most beautiful colubrids I have ever seen!

Very nice! These guys have been on my wish list for quite a while.

They are insanely beautiful !!

Mussuranas are pretty cool for a colubrid, I almost got a trio last year with two high white pieds but got more boas instead lol. Great looking pickups and photos btw :gj:

wow totally stunning :gj:

I am both impressed with the mussuranas and your camera skills. Well done!:gj:

Sweet looking snakes!

WOW!! They do not look real!

Thanks all!!! :D

These two are quickly growing on me. The female is already handleable and wraps around my wrist and through my fingers... the male is still - spastic I'd say?! Both are coming along nicely and eating well already.

They really are fantastic little snakes though. Great coloration and way more iridescent than the Epicrates I've owned/still own. The best part is they're only going to become more solid black and iridescent!

I'd say if you're considering getting a pair - definitely do so!

Those are amazing Chris!! I have toyed with contacting John about a black tail cribo or indigo but now that I see some better pics of these guys, I might go this route. Fantastic looking snakes - best of luck with them!! :bow::bow::bow:

BTW, you should enter that tongue shot in the HOTM contest, lol.......

Wow those are some really cool looking snakes!

Man you have a gift for taking some awesome pictures :bow:

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

Those are amazing Chris!! I have toyed with contacting John about a black tail cribo or indigo but now that I see some better pics of these guys, I might go this route. Fantastic looking snakes - best of luck with them!! :bow::bow::bow:

BTW, you should enter that tongue shot in the HOTM contest, lol.......

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Thanks Kali! You should definitely get some. I love them so far and haven't even had them very long. They make amazing display animals and so far have handled well!

Thanks Aaron and SkExotics! Appreciate the comments - I take pride in my collection and my photography.:)

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Originally Posted by bioteacher

Thanks Kali! You should definitely get some. I love them so far and haven't even had them very long. They make amazing display animals and so far have handled well!

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Chris, how are they eating?? John's website states that he feeds a variety - quail, rodents, f/t snakes, etc. Are you planning on doing the same?

Currently they are on f/t hopper mice. From there, as they grow, I may offer chicks and quails as special meals when they're bigger. I keep quail and chicks around as some snakes I have enjoy them. Chicks are really inexpensive as well - $0.13 each last I ordered.

I thought these were glass artwork at first look. This is the first time i have ever seen one of these colubrids. Thanks for sharing very cool snakes.

Bioteacher I saw a classified ad a few months ago in faunaclassifieds that said you need a Permit for them! i didn't think their venom was that toxic! Can you help clear this up for me?

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Originally Posted by DananaPants

Bioteacher I saw a classified ad a few months ago in faunaclassifieds that said you need a Permit for them! i didn't think their venom was that toxic! Can you help clear this up for me?

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Some localities have restrictions on various rear-fanged snake species. While I have never seen one for a clelia or boiruna, that doesn't mean one doesn't exist somewhere.

I've been hit in feeding strikes and wrapped and chewed on for some time by my boiruna and have had no issues. While their venom may have some toxicity, they have relatively small rear fangs and just don't produce or effectively deliver enough venom in a bite to pose a threat to a human.

Absolutely breathtaking. I'd love a pair of them.

Thanks All! They really are amazing! I'll get more photos of them up when the male sheds out (blue right now).

Skiploder nailed it. State regulations will determine what you can and cannot keep. For instance, these are fine here, but I can't get any Boiga species. both rarely pose any threat due to venom - unless you have an allergic reaction of course.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bioteacher

Thanks All! They really are amazing! I'll get more photos of them up when the male sheds out (blue right now).

Skiploder nailed it. State regulations will determine what you can and cannot keep. For instance, these are fine here, but I can't get any Boiga species. both rarely pose any threat due to venom - unless you have an allergic reaction of course.

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Allergic reactions to colubrid venoms are just about non-existant. There are several reasons for this - the main one is that they don't produce enough for people to get significantly exposed to it and allergic reactions to venom are by-products of exposure.

I've taken hits from boiga (blandingii and dendrophilia) and they were not good experiences. While I didn't have any neuro effects the bitten areas ballooned up and oozed for several days.

I know an employee at a well known exotic reptile store in our area that got tagged by one and actually had neuro effects. That account came from one of the owners of that store.

Some colubrid venoms are drop for drop just as toxic as those from elapids - the delivery system and the amounts produced are just not good enough to give us medically significant doses.

Some boiga, telescopus, trimorphodon, rhamphiophis etc. all pack venom on par with that of a death adder. The analogy that is often used is that both are packing .45 caliber ammunition, the difference lies in that the elapids shoot that ammo from a gun while most colubrids throw it at you - underhand.

Rhamphiophis are often kept in this hobby and are docile snakes that are very disinclined to bite. However there have been papers published on their venom and it's comparative toxicity to several elapid species.

Mussaranas are awesome snakes. They are very much like a cribo on valium. The only downside to them is their often insane feeding responses and the fact that if you handle something else in your collection, you better get that snakey scent off of you before you try to handle your mussie!

Dear god, these are amazing. I'm really not into colubrids, but these are ridiculous! I may just have to get me one (or two). What's the care like (or can you link me to a good care sheet?)

Thanks for the explanation skiploder - very thorough!

Alexandra - thank you, they are quite amazing and I'm not big into colubrids either.
The best care info would be in HerpNation's Nov 7th Issue: http://www.herpnation.com/category/issues/

Here is the author's (John Michels) site: http://web.mac.com/michelsj/Black_Pe...iles/Home.html

Here is a quick blurb on them on my site:
http://nyexotics.blogspot.com/2012/0...rana-love.html

I do plan to write up a quick care sheet for them, similar to other I have here:
http://nyexotics.blogspot.com/p/tear-care.html