Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

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Hongkongsnakeid
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Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by Hongkongsnakeid »

The herping gets a bit slow over the winter in Hong Kong, luckily there are a number of mountain species that are active in the cold. The problem is they are darn hard to find but fortunately our persistence has paid off over the last month. Attaching photos here of the very rare and very cool Ovophis tonkinensis, the even more rare and very pretty Hebius boulengeri and the fantastic Oreocryptophis porphyracea nigrofasciata. You can find more pictures and information on our site www.hongkongsnakeid.com and in the meantime happy viewing!
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DanW
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Re: Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by DanW »

WOW, amazing snakes and pictures. I need to make it to HK soon!

I was hoping to make it this fall, but looks like most my time will be in Fujian Province again.
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Hongkongsnakeid
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Re: Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by Hongkongsnakeid »

DanW wrote: February 26th, 2019, 11:56 am WOW, amazing snakes and pictures. I need to make it to HK soon!

I was hoping to make it this fall, but looks like most my time will be in Fujian Province again.
Thanks Dan! We work hard to try and present our herps in a good light so folks can ID them better. HK is a lot of fun for herping for sure but you can't go wrong in China. Easy to get really big numbers and lots of species in single nights depending where you end up. Good luck either way and thanks again for the kind words!
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Jeroen Speybroeck
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Re: Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by Jeroen Speybroeck »

Very nice!
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Hongkongsnakeid
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Re: Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by Hongkongsnakeid »

Jeroen Speybroeck wrote: February 28th, 2019, 9:55 am Very nice!
Thanks!
Lloyd Heilbrunn
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Re: Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by Lloyd Heilbrunn »

Is the Red Mountain racer alive? It looks kind of funny...
stlouisdude
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Re: Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by stlouisdude »

What are the temps up there in the coldest and hottest times of year?
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Hongkongsnakeid
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Re: Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by Hongkongsnakeid »

Lloyd Heilbrunn wrote: March 1st, 2019, 9:01 pm Is the Red Mountain racer alive? It looks kind of funny...
Yup, alive and well thankfully. Pretty chilled out temperament for the most part but once he decided to start moving there was no keeping him still for shots. Actually the most pristine Red I've ever come across, not a mark on him and bright enough colors to make me think he was not too long after a shed.

What caught your eye that made you think he looked funny out of curiosity?
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Hongkongsnakeid
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Re: Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by Hongkongsnakeid »

stlouisdude wrote: March 23rd, 2019, 7:18 pm What are the temps up there in the coldest and hottest times of year?
These guys tend to go for higher elevation, anywhere between 200 to 900m, at least in HK. Within that elevation I'd say you can average 10-15c at night in winter and +/- 25-28 at night in summer. Can go more extreme of course but those are prob safe ranges. in the day time add +/-5c.
Lloyd Heilbrunn
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Re: Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by Lloyd Heilbrunn »

Hongkongsnakeid wrote: April 4th, 2019, 1:04 am
Lloyd Heilbrunn wrote: March 1st, 2019, 9:01 pm Is the Red Mountain racer alive? It looks kind of funny...
Yup, alive and well thankfully. Pretty chilled out temperament for the most part but once he decided to start moving there was no keeping him still for shots. Actually the most pristine Red I've ever come across, not a mark on him and bright enough colors to make me think he was not too long after a shed.

What caught your eye that made you think he looked funny out of curiosity?
Left eye looked off for some reason...
DRDAN
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Re: Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by DRDAN »

your nigrofasciata appears to be a little on the deceased side or he’s playing opossum. :lol:
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Hongkongsnakeid
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Re: Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by Hongkongsnakeid »

Strange several folks have said this now. Happy to say he wasent dead and he never played dead either, actually haven’t seen them do that before. You can check out more shots of him in the day time at www.hongkongsnakeid.com, wonder if you think he looks more alive in those shots. Either way I’ll be sure to indicate if we are ever posting a DOR but so far only live ones featured in photos here :). Thanks for taking the time to write, and this gives me an idea to make sure I grab some video of these guys in future so folks can see them moving around, will be a fun supplement to the stills I think!
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orionmystery
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Re: Rare Mountain Snakes in Hong Kong

Post by orionmystery »

Great shots. That red bamboo is such a stunner! <3
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