Pseustes poecilonotus

Captive care and husbandry.

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Jason_Hood
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:43 am
Location: Chicago

Pseustes poecilonotus

Post by Jason_Hood »

So I shared my P. sulphureus earlier and mentioned it was one of the longest colubrids according to some sources, this is one of the most variable colubrids according to me!! :lol: We had a killer post on the main forum of various field encounters with Pseustes before the crash a couple years ago. Sadly I didn't steal a single pic from that thread and now they are all lost. In the mix was everything from drab South American P. poecilonotus in colors of browns and army green to electric Central American versions with yellows, oranges, reds, purples, and stark contrasting black and vibrant yellow.

I have been enamored with this genus for a few years and they really are everything I expected in captivity and few problems like a couple of them not feeding without being held... yeah I have to actually pick them up and tease feed them at 2-3 years old. :( Of course there is the flip side of that with the ones that are great feeders that I have to watch my fingers around when I am feeding. The two bigger animals I have that are aggressive feeders are just funny to watch eat. They eat like someone is trying to steal their food, they swallow as fast as possible and one the occasions I have fed live they have shown little concern if the food was kicking. All of them, by the way, will take live with gusto but they are not very efficient killers so the food has to be stunned of harmless.

Anyway most people don't read now a days so let me post some pretty pictures.

Despite being one of the more variable snakes on the planet they all seem to hatch out looking pretty much the same

Despite it being a crappy pic this shows the camouflage well

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Many people say they look like baby eyelash vipers, they think they are too

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This one is my most recent addition to the group, he is supposedly unrelated to others I have

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So they go from that stage to a more dull phase which is when silly "Yuris" sell them

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After a couple months she looked like this

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That snake now looks like this

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This snake was looking pretty neat when I picked it up from the Black Pearl

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After a few months it looked like this

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and now looks like this!!!

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Another one I have went from this little pisser

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To this big pisser, this is the only one that actually bites regularly. The back of the head and neck on this one is this amazing gun metal silver/gray/blue right now. It has only been that color for the last 6 months or so and I have no idea what color it will be in a year.

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This girl has been a pain to feed, she is the real problem feeder. At this point she will take 3-5 tease fed food items or 1-2 left in over night.

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Once they get defensive they don't want to eat and will fling food items across the room

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For all their bluff and puff they are all sweet animals in hand and will often just sit and freeze in place for 10-20 minutes before going into unstoppable exploring mode. The freezing is also a defensive tool for them that I have seen a number of times in captivity with the best being this one

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It is a crappy pic but the snake was crawling up in the air as I walked in the room and froze like that. I took pics, uploaded them, took more pics and spent a total of 20 minutes or so in view of the snake and it never moved.

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I hope to breed these for the first time next year. Hope to get lots of little eyelash viper mimics!!

Jason
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Nir
Posts: 220
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:50 pm
Location: Gatineau, QC, Canada

Re: Pseustes poecilonotus

Post by Nir »

Definately an awesome colubrid!! They are beautiful and you seem to be doing a great job with them. Good luck with the breeding and keep us posted!
Bullfrog
Posts: 54
Joined: January 31st, 2012, 4:19 am

Re: Pseustes poecilonotus

Post by Bullfrog »

What an awesome project you have there! I wasn't aware of this species until I read your post. Seems like a fun challenge to take on a genus that few if any have worked with and develop a breeding colony. How difficult have the CB babies been to get feeding? Did they require scenting or just tease feeding? Lastly...how pricey are these guys?
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Jason_Hood
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:43 am
Location: Chicago

Re: Pseustes poecilonotus

Post by Jason_Hood »

Here is a fun little feeding video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocmW8eybY2E&feature=plcp

Jason
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Kelly Mc
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Joined: October 18th, 2011, 1:03 pm

Re: Pseustes poecilonotus

Post by Kelly Mc »

Those are so baddass. In every way, body shape , colors , carriage, spunky spirit.
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regalringneck
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:20 am

Re: Pseustes poecilonotus

Post by regalringneck »

if we're gonna have a puffer thread, this u-tube has to be part of it;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... pdiai7or_o
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Jason_Hood
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:43 am
Location: Chicago

Re: Pseustes poecilonotus

Post by Jason_Hood »

regalringneck wrote:if we're gonna have a puffer thread, this u-tube has to be part of it;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... pdiai7or_o

Yeah I love that video but the info has evolved over the years. It was actually shot in Peru and was originally IDed as a Chironis. It does show them doing what they love most, raiding nest!

Jason
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