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The wait is over, name that Dry!!!

epidemic

epidemic

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In an attempt to do a good deed, a good deed was bestowed upon me. I will brief everyone on the history and acquisition of the Dry presented here, but first, I'd like for everyone to take a shot at what it might be!
There are a few of you who know the answer, but I would like for you to bite your tongues and give everyone else a shot.
I apologize for the horriffic photo, but those of you who know me understand my lack of skill within the art of photography, or any other form of expressive art for that matter...

Good luck!!
 

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No wait a minute,...

That's not it.

Now I think maybe rubidus, mottled. Whatever it is, I love it, and I want offspring! Now call me dammit!

By the way, the pic is better than you give yourself credit for.
T.
 
What a terrible thing to do,...;post a pic like that, and then disappear for a long weekend. SHEESH! When you get back, call me at the nut house, cause that's where I'll be!
 
Better photos!

Thanks to my wife, here are some better photos, though I believe he still looks much better in person!
Tony, I have tried calling you several times today, get off the computer or phone my friend, as your number has been busy... ;0)
 

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Now how bout some orizabensis

Man that's one purdy snake! I don't mind telling you that I am severely jealous! Jeff, I believe you could fall into a sewer, and come out smelling like a rose! Must be good karma. Oh, FYI,...my cell#573-578-2325,...next time the line is busy. And I still want offspring from that guy!

I just remembered something else I wanted to talk to you about,...orizabensis. Can we discuss the possibility of you getting a Mexican collection permit, and bringing back some of those? Or do you have your sights set on another sub?
T.
 
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Name the Snake?

That is easy ............ "Bubba". And I already have a cage ready for him ;)
 
I hope you're not going to assume that everyone reading this thread knows what it is and at some point you're going to let us know.

Nice looking snake btw.

Kevin
 
Tony got it!

That my friends is a Drymarchon melanurus rubidus AKA; Mexican west coast indigo or Mexican red-tail indigo.
For years I have been keeping an eye on zoological data bases in an attempt to keep up with what members of genus Drymarchon are being maintained within zoological institutions around the world. I was shocked to find that only a single D. m rubidus was listed, though happy to hear it was being held at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX. Upon this discovery, I immediately contacted Colette Adams, herp curator of the Gladys Porter Zoo, with an offer to donate a female D. m rubidus, as I felt it a shame the only specimen being held within a zoological institution worldwide should not have a suitable mate and besides, I donate at least half of the offspring my Drymarchon collection produces each year to a variety of institutions, though this was a first with the D. m rubidus.
Colette promptly contacted me and after a bit of correspondence and photo sharing, it was decided that the male would be better suited within my collection, as I already have multiple breeding projects in place, involving D. m rubidus, and the zoo has plenty of other herp related projects on their plate, including Cyclura. n lewisi, Crocodylus rhombifer (perhaps the most threatened of the new world crocodilians) and Crocodylus mindorensis (another crocodilian on the brink of extinction).
I have been trying to obtain permits to collect D. m rubidus in Mexico for several years now, only recently making any headway, as the species is the rarest in captivity, though fairly common along the Western coast of Mexico. The captive gene pool is EXTREMELY shallow, even more critical than D. couperi, so it is our hope this guy will help bolster the gene pool of captive D. m rubidus.
I must thank Colette and the Sr. herp keeper of the Gladys Porter Zoo, Dave Martin, as they have been incredibly helpful and most generous with their time and resources…
There you have it and I hope that if any of find yourselves in South Texas, you will take the time to visit the Gladys Porter Zoo, as the work being done there, in regards to herpetofauna, is nothing less than incredible…

Best regards,

Jeff
 
B.W., I already have a "Bubba"

That's the name of a massive D. m erebennus I received from Dr. G a year or two ago. Both he and the new D. m rubidus are massive snakes, weighing close to 15 pounds...

Best regards,

Jeff
 
Now what about orizabensis

Still wondering if {SOMEONE} will get a Mexican collection permit, and bring back some orizabensis,....hint, hint. That's the species which really has my fascination at this time, and is so unknown that I think it would be a worth while endeavour. Especially since it resembles couperi so much. Whatya say Jeff? Is a trip to Veracruz in order? If you need an assistant, I'm available.
T.
 
Wow, Nice to hear the Zoo has it's priority's straight. You sound like the right man for the job. I hope you can get a few more specimens. I find this hard to grasp , this species is found in a country, bordering yours and it's common, where it's found. Yet your zoo's and private collections, in the US have tons of rare spices from all over the word.
Most of them, are no where as nice as or as grand as that snake. How does a lovely snake like that get over looked?
Good luck with the project.
 
Hola!

Acquiring Mexican collection permits has proven quite tricky, as such must be signed off by multiple branches of the government and getting a document through all of them, without it getting lost or simply dismissed somewhere along the way, can be quite difficult.
The problem with collecting flora and fauna for export out of Mexico stems from Mexico's lack of participation as a CITES charter member. When CITES was first organized, Mexico decided it would be too expensive and time consuming to develop a new branch of government to oversee the regulations surrounding the permitting process and export quotas required to become a charter member of CITES, so they decided to ban such exports all together. However, individual permits have been issued on occasion and I have been trying to acquire such for the past four years and have recently made a bit of headway. I am hopeful the construction of the new Mexican Consulate’s office, only blocks from my own office, will prove beneficial in my quest as well.
While I believe the acquisition of D. m rubidus will be quite possible, once permits have been acquired, I am very skeptical of D. m orizabensis, as the range of D. m orizabensis is quite limited and little is known regarding its numbers in the wild, though such is definitely on the list. However, I am aware of a single European collector with D. m orizabensis, though I believe the specimens are geriatric and their legality is questionable.
As for D. caudomaculatus, there are accounts of specimens being held within Venezuelan collections, even prior to Dr. Wuster’s discovery, though it appears the locals saw nothing “unique” or “new” regarding the species and did not bother describing it. Unfortunately, Venezuela is closed to exporting live herpetofauna, for the most part, though they have opened a bit, as they are now allowing the exportation of a limited number of large game animals, such as jaguars, which have been taken by large game hunters. There is hope that someday, D. caudomaculatus will eventually trickle out of Venezuela and into US collections…

Best regards,

Jeff
 
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