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Reptiles of UNC

Started just recently helping take care of animals at the university I'm studying at. I'm not at the stage where I can help handle the venomous ones, but I'm still in the room, so got some pics of some interesting animals:
Spotted Night snake-Hypsiglena torquata by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Spotted Night snake-Hypsiglena torquata by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Heterodon nasicus nasicus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Mojave x Prairie Rattlesnake-Crotalus scutulatus x v. viridis by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
These guys are glossy black, and look a lot like indigo snakes. Just more dangerous....
Mussurana-Clelia ssp. by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
This guy was grumping about my presence the whole time we were there
Prairie Rattlesnake-Crotalus viridis viridis by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Sonoran Lyre snake-Trimorphodon bisctatus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Mojave rattlesnake-Crotalus scutulatus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Southwestern speckled rattlesnake-Crotalus mitchellii pyrrhus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Big Bend/Trans pecos copperhead-Agkistrodon contortrix pictigaster by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Tiger rattelsnake-Crotalus tigris by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Asian vine snake-Ahaetulla ssp. by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Banded Rock rattlesnake-Crotalus lepidus klauberi by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
The Cal king was at least 5 feet long, weighed a couple pounds. Luckily, also a rather calm animal
California kingsnake-Lampropeltis getula californiae by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
By contrast, this Florida king had an attitude, and is apparently well known for it
Florida kingsnake-Lampropeltis getula floridana by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
The Sonoran was another calm one
Sonoran Desert kingsnake-Lampropeltis getula splendida by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
False Water Cobra-Hydrodynastes gigas by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
The boomslang was quite curious, watching us through the front of his cage. This thing is jet black
Boomslang-Dispholidus typus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Southwestern speckled rattlesnake-Crotalus mitchellii pyrrhus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
The jumping viper did not demonstrate how they get their name, luckily, so I got an okay pic. This snake has extremely keeled scales, so much so they notably stick out from the skin
Jumping Viper-Atropoides nummifer by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Had to take this one through the plastic viewing window, as this was one snake we did not deal with. The Neotropicals probably exceeded 5 feet, and were thicker than my arm
Yucatan Neotropical rattlesnake-Crotalus simus tzabcan by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Argentine racer-Philodryas baroni by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Desert massasauga-Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
The Gila was a lazy one. Flicked her tongue a couple times but otherwise was content to lay in this awkward position...
Gila monster-Heloderma suspectum by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Amazonian palm viper-Bothriopsis bilineata by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
 
Sounds fun! Iv'e kept a Mojave, southern pacific rattler, & a copperhead. They were actually pretty mild mannered but the most vicious snake Ive ever dealt with was a yellow belly water snake. These guys are huge & mean!
I once had it in a 40gal tank in my office at the school I worked for.....bad idea..... It tore through the LOCKED sliding screen top one night & I had an extremely stressful week trying to locate it in every classroom on that floor. I put towels under every doorway & warned teachers. Lol they hated me that week. I finally found it behind some pots & under my office plant light & then just told all the teachers it was a joke :-D
 
Attitude depends on the animal really. Some of the prairie rattlers barely made any issue of being moved around. Then there was the one mentioned above....
For the most part the venomous animals are pretty calm. Snakes like the red-tailed ratsnake or the brown tree snakes, which are less toxic, are the ones with the bad attitudes.
 
Attitude depends on the animal really. Some of the prairie rattlers barely made any issue of being moved around. Then there was the one mentioned above....
For the most part the venomous animals are pretty calm. Snakes like the red-tailed ratsnake or the brown tree snakes, which are less toxic, are the ones with the bad attitudes.

Age matters as well, from what I understand. Babies or very young snakes are generally more likely to bite than an adult. Does make sense if true.

The Gila was a lazy one.

Quite typical, I hear.
 
Well, depends on both. Young snakes are more flighty, smaller species can be the same, but can be conditioned out of it.
 
Never seen a pure black D.typus before. It's Nose looks very blunt for a Boomslang. Is it a subspecies ?
 
Handling venomous snakes safely is a matter of developing a condition of trust between you and the animals. You need to trust that they'll sink their fangs in any chance you give them.
 
Never seen a pure black D.typus before. It's Nose looks very blunt for a Boomslang. Is it a subspecies ?

That is a very strange looking Boomslang. They can be pretty schizy, maybe the nose was damaged?
 
That is a very strange looking Boomslang. They can be pretty schizy, maybe the nose was damaged?

Agreed. The head does not look right to me, eyes look too small and that snout is super blunt.
 
  • #10
The head is nowhere near as blunt as the picture suggests, this is kind of from an angle, and the eyes are plenty large. And the professor in charge of these snakes has been working on venom research and the like for I don't know how long, so I'd trust he knows his snakes.
 
  • #11
Just glancing at pics on the web, I'd say in all but the odd color it matches perfectly. The large scales are a giveaway, and the head shape/eye size (angle of the pic, again) are spot on.
 
  • #12
^Agreed

Well fed is all :burp:
 
  • #13
Well, was back in there today, and I can definitely confirm that there are two solid black boomslangs in the collection. And very, very alert and curious animals they are....

Didn't take my camera today, so I only have 2 crappy cell phone pics, but here you go:
These guys I think are new rescues, coming from a facility that cares not at all about their animals. One of them has a nose infection that, while it looks terrible, is just about ready to heal if it gets cleaned. The others, like this guy, are just a little skinny from their ordeal.
Dog-toothed cat snake, Boiga cynodon by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
This one is an active, and smart, animal. He attempted to escape the temporary holding container by getting up under the lid and trying to twist it off, and when the lid was removed he nearly fell out in the process. I hear they have some very odd venom properties too...
Yellow-bellied Puffing snake, Pseustes sulphureus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

Also, a bit of excitement, we had a 4+ foot Crotalus atrox (or Western Diamondback) get loose for a couple minutes, between me and the door naturally. He's safely put away now however.
 
  • #14
Thx for sharing. Lol its a good thing you saw the diamondback before it went out of sight. Might have made for a pretty big surprise for whoever would run into it later.
 
  • #15
With 5 people in the room it wasn't just going to be left anywhere. And he got out while being moved back into his cage after cleaning, not like an unexpected breakout. The snake was out of sight most of the time, under the table in the middle of the room :p
 
  • #17
Finally took a pic of the monitor that still lives. He has quite the attitude, hissing at everyone today...
Mangrove monitor, Varanus indicus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
This guy was curious, investigating me at the front of the cage
Arizona Black rattlesnake, Crotalus cerberus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Arizona Black rattlesnake, Crotalus cerberus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
One of the many atrox. This guy is relatively lightly colored, others are very dark and some (like the guy that escaped last week) are pinkish
Western Diamondback, Crotalus atrox by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
This guy is very chill on the other hand. No rattling, no biting, nothing. Just investigating at the front of the cage
Midget Faded rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus concolor by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Coachwhips on the other hand always have bad attitudes.
Coachwhip, Masticophis flagellum by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
As do these guys
Guam Brown Tree snake, Boiga irregularis by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

This might be all the photos for a while, unless I see something really cool.
 
  • #18
Too bad the mangrove monitor is so bad-tempered. A really beautiful species. On the other hand the little carpet python is a beauty and seems docile.
 
  • #19
I love carpet pythons! Coachwhips are very cool snakes with really nice color variations. I've been lucky enough to find a few wild ones, while fishing, that were pretty calm. It looks as if the mangrove is striking a pose for ya :cool: Great shots as usual, thanks for sharing!
 
  • #20
Bluemax: yeah, he's a beautiful animal, but that attitude really is typical of most monitors. With the exception of water monitors they tend to not be friendly animals overall. And the carpet python is definitely docile. Had her out again today, even though she's heading into shed.

Knuckles: you actually found Coachwhips without attitude?? Sure they weren't just cold?
 
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