Rosy Boa

Field Herping | A Night in the Anza Borrego

This entry was posted in Field Herping Lizards Reptiles Snakes Venom and tagged Anza Borrego Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Biology Crotalus cerastes laterorepens desert Desert Kangaroo Rat gecko genus Glossy snake habitat Las Vegas Nevada lizard Lizards Nocturnal pet reptile reptilia Rosy Boa Savannah monitor snake species Squamata subspecies on by

Within our first hour we saw approximately 4 DOR species in various numbers. We were quickly becoming convinced all that we would see would be the inevitable DOR snake or lizard. We paused shortly after entering the area known as Scissors crossing at some rock outcroppings hoping to find the desert rosy boa Lichanura trivirgata gracia while we didn’t find those, we did come across one of their prey items; the desert kangaroo rat Dipodomys deserti we couldn’t photograph the little rodent peering up at me through a crack in the decomposing granite boulder where it was hiding because our photographer left the camera in the car! I assure you it was an oh isn’t that cute moment, all I could see were two large somewhat bulging black eyes peering up at me begging me not to eat the body they were attached to.

Rosy Boa | A Classic Snake

This entry was posted in Boa Reptiles and tagged boa boaidae Boidae charina charina trivirgatta Edward Drinker Cope lichanura Rosy Boa Scissors Crossing on by

Edward Drinker Cope originally described this species in 1861. According to the references, there are either four species or one with a few different subspecies. The accepted scientific name currently held by most is Charina trivirgata. To my knowledge, this is a genus still in flux with one taxonomist questioning the findings of another and so on; for the sake of argument, I will go with what I can see with my eyes.
There might be two species when looking at wild coloration. As for the six locality species, which some people are selling, I am not buying into it. I have been in the field for many years and have never seen one that would lead me to believe that there are that many species, with any discernable differences or traits that they would pass on to their offspring. I have viewed many websites, but one in particular caught my attention. It listed six different species of rosy boa (Charina spp.), some of which I hadn’t heard of before. Looking at the photos posted there, I saw the same species name listed numerous times, but the snakes themselves had a little change in pattern or color. It was claimed in the text that these were various locality species. To my knowledge, this has never been questioned, nor has it been a proven trait in the wild.

Reptiles USA 2011

This entry was posted in Apartments and Reptiles News Reptiles Snakes and tagged apartment living and reptiles basking spot Captive Ceramic Heating Element Certified Reptile Specialist charina trivirgatta decor enclosure habitat herpetoculture John F Taylor John F Taylor Author John F Taylor Reptile Author keepers light lighting owning a reptile pet phylum reptile blog reptile species Reptiles reptilia Rosy Boa species subspecies Substrate U.T.H. Under Tank Heater Water on by

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