S'N'A Advanced Series : Episode 10 Mangrove Snake (Boiga dendrophila)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 14 лис 2020
- SNAKES N ADDERS ADVANCED SERIES:
EPISODE: 10
THE MANGROVE SNAKE or ULARBURONG:
SCIENTIFICALLY KNOWN AS BOIGA DENDROPHILA
For many keepers this is a dream species. One that potentially is absolutely riddled with pitfalls. It’s easy to understand why this species is so coveted, I mean; JUST LOOK AT IT!. Even given time it is hard to think of a more visually striking animal, the combination of high gloss blue/black and the contrasting yolk yellows coupled with eventual adult size make this one of the ultimate display species.
Most keepers know this as the snake you see before you but perhaps with thicker bands of yellow. The species most imported (and usually consigned to death) is Boiga dendrophila dendrophila from Java. This is actually quite a large and complex group of subspecies.
This species was first decribed by Boie in 1827 as Dipsas dendrophila (oddly enough a new world genus of slug and snail eating snakes?)
Further work was undertaken by Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril in 1854 when they named Boiga dendrophil gemmicincta as a subspecies.
Boulenger can be credited for recognising the diversity within the dendrophila species with his paper published in 1896 that identified:
Boiga dendrophila annectans
Boiga dendrophila latifasciata
Boiga dendrophila melanota
Boiga dendrophila multicincta
Further subspecies have since been added including:
Boiga dendrophila levitoni (2005)
Boiga dendrophila occidentalis (1934)
Boiga dendrophila divergens (1922)
Finding information about this species is hard going. I did however manage to find a distribution map for subspecies considered at the time by G.Peels in 1981.
DISCUSS DISTRIBUTION AS IDENTIFIED BY PEELS ON MAP.
The most commonly encountered subspecies is still Boiga dendrophila dendrophila from Java which is exported as wild caught specimens from Indonesia. Also seen with increasing frequency are Boiga dendrophila melanota (this snake right here) and Boiga dendrophila gemmicincta from Sulawesi.
One of the most coveted of the subspecies is Boiga dendrophila divergens from the Phillipenes. This along with the three other Filipino subspecies (latifasciata, multicincta and levitoni) are incredibly high value. The reason for this the Phillipenes do not export their natural fauna meaning the ones circulating in captivity are almost certainly from smuggled stock. I suppose the only saving grace is they are forced to be captive bred.
In fact with the proliferation of captive breeding projects with this group and the animal being removed from the Dangerous Wild Animal License schedule in the United Kingdom prices have steadily been on the increase. This is not a straight forward species however and demand easily outstrips the captive bred supply which keeps prices inflated. People will therefore be tempted to chance their luck with imported specimens but this is haphazard at best even for experienced ‘geared up’ keepers.
The species name ‘dendrophila’ translates as Tree Lover. This species is semi arboreal however and will also spend decent amounts of time on the floor of the enclosure. It stands to reason the species can modulate its arboreal tendancy depending upon location. If residing in coastal tidal forest (mangrove) they are almost exclusively arboreal. Truth be told however the mangrove only makes up a portion of the animals natural range and occurs in primary and secondary forest as well.
This is a large species, whilst the Dog Tooth Cat Snake (Boiga cynodon) and Brown Cat Snake (Boiga irregularis) may have greater documented lengths they carry nowhere near the mass of a fully mature Mangrove. This is a chunky snake that is both intimidating and impressive.
This species is easily stressed, will fast if disturbed too regularly and can be prone to violent defensive outbursts without much notice. Mangrove snakes will raise a number of coils, inflate their throat and gape. With a snake the size of the one we have looked at you can imagine that would be enough to put most keepers off. Of course if pestered this snake will lash out and will chew actively as it bites. This is a rear fanged species or opistoglyphic snake. It has a specialised enlarged gland called the duvornoy’s gland which produces a highly modified saliva that is venomous. Enlarged grooved teeth towards the rear (actually more the middle) of the mouth deliver this venom.
In the UK we have a Dangerous Wild Animal license and for a long time Mangrove snakes were on the schedule meaning only those with insurance and professionally checked enclosures could keep them. The paucity of captive breeding projects meant only the very cheap and usually very weak wild caught Mangroves were available. For the most part people didn’t bother.
Once removed from the schedule interest spiked as you can well imagine. Animals coveted for their looks were now available to the general keeper. - Домашні улюбленці та дикі тварини
"You're not watching an American youtube channel now" aha spot on
"you're not watching an American UA-cam channel now" Caught me off guard there Chazz 😂
This is an excellent resource. Highly commended information!
Got myself a male captive bred mangrove a few weeks ago. Born Nov 2021. Incredible little guy. Very easy to handle during the day though I do leave him alone mainly just to keep him settled and eating. Can’t wait to see him grow.
Best review of mangroves I've had, thank you. A lot of good, new info. You're smashing, as always. AND WHAT A SNAKE!
Totally different to Brian barczyc talk, prefer sna! 👍 Love one of those species but sod that for a nutter of a snake,stunning though
Thanks for another great video. Re suitable vivs: I have gone through two wooden vivs for my brazilian rainbow boa, and recently aquired a polypropelene enclosure which is absolutely ace, manufactured by Vipervivs. These are vertainly not cheap, but should easily last a lifetime. Vipervivs supply a range of standard sizes, and will also make custom enclosures to just about any desired dimensions. Mangroves can indeed be magnificent, but what a hassle!
Excellent chazz!
As a bit of a Boiga veteran myself I can confirm this is great information. 👍
Very well researched, really enjoyed this
Awesome, always loved these.
Loving this series of informative videos man!
I have never seen this species before, but when you showed her to the camera my heart melted. What a gorgeous animal! Unfortunately in my country (Hungary 🇭🇺) they are considered dangerous animals - one would need a permit to keep them, which is of course impossible to get... But still I highly enjoyed the video, learned a lot. Appreciate the comment on tubs. :)
Gorgeous creature! been one of my favourites for a long time but never had one
Ur are very detailed my friend..🔥🔥
What happened to the snake ? Wanna see it.....
Awesome video! One of my dream species to keep, probably in the next year or two. Just a quick question - I thought melanota had been elevated to species level recently? So just Boiga melanota rather than Boiga dendrophila melanota
It could well have been. I didnt see any papers attesting to this but it wouldnt surprise me.
@@SnakesNAdders
This is the paper I based my comment on, it was shared in a few of the facebook reptile groups I’m in
@@SnakesNAdders “Phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic range evolution in cat-eyed snakes, Boiga (Serpentes: Colubridae)” Weinell, J. L. et al 2020
Superb thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much for sharing!
Been looking forward to this since I saw the Facebook post that you had her and it’s even better & more in-depth than I expected, absolutely stunning animal but I’d hate to see the less patient examples
Just two quick questions, do you think you’ll ever do a video on Drymarchon? I know Cribos aren’t exactly common in Europe but if you came across one? Also why didn’t you do a video on the Angolans considering their rarity in captivity?
Angolans is next or at the least very soon.
Can not wait until my content grows and I can afford a nice captive bred species and a mangrove style paladarium
Quick question not really on this subject do you have any tricks o getting Madagascar speckled hoggies to start feeding. Ive had a pair of cb babies for about a month now and tried f/t mouse pinks, live pinks scented with gecko and frog and salmon pinks the little buggers are stubborn as heck and they are still looking good but im getting a little worried
Tuna and mackerel have worked for us.
@@SnakesNAdders thanks appreciate it ill give it a go.
Try breast milk🤗
@@lesmiletics8952 Did it work
@@zennozangetsu1164 Unfortunately not both passed away.
First comment 🎉 what bedding can you use for corns by the way?
@wakenbaker-uk yes, but let's be honest Google isn't very reliable
Try satin sheets there lovely round ya nuts😊
how toxic is the Mangrove Snake venom ?
It's would have to chew on you but if it did you are having a really bad day 😂
@@ashthomp9664 i'm guessing that not fatal tho Mangrove Snakes are stunning animals but as high strung as they seem to be i can't imagine them being good pets to have
Depends on your reaction, they have caused necrotic like symptoms in people. They don't necessarily have to chew wither, especially an adult sized animal, a good wide mouthed bite will see those fangs going in without having to chew much.
@@sthomas8714 thanks for your reply Mangrove Snake are beautiful but i don't see the point of having them as people i love to interact with my animals and as moody as Mangroves are seems more risk then reward
@@shawnn188 yeah they are not a snake to be taking out of it's enclosure constantly. They are a look but don't touch genus in general. Handling them does nothing but stress them
Are you based in Manchester buddy?
In Sheffield mate, other side of the Pennines
@@SnakesNAdders I really liked Sheffield ! Lived here for a time. Beautiful snakes