by MartinHabecker » Fri Aug 23, 2013 3:32 am
Thanks I appreciate it. The only issue with these snakes is that here in the US they are pretty much unknown, as with most African colubrids, and they are difficult to get imported and established because no-one is interested in establishing new species. If there is not a big enough market for them, they are seen as not worth the effort in the US industry. I have dealt with alot of importers and the only reptiles they seem interested in out of Africa are the venomous ones and a few lizard/gecko species. It has taken me over 6 years just to get the animals I currently have and most I do not have pairs of and probably will not ever get mates for. The Psammophis in particular are my personal favorites, but I only have 1 lone female P. mossambicus which I have had for about 6 years, and the lone male P. elegans both of which may take another 6 years, if at all, to find mates for. The only pairs I have are the M. poiensis, P. subtaeniatus, C. hotamboeia out of all of the African colubrids I have. Being into herpetology and keeping snakes since I was a child, these are by far some of the most interesting snakes I have ever kept. Even if I cannot breed them, it has been an absolute joy to keep these animals and observe their behavior. I would love to see more African colubrids in the US hobby, but I would much rather see them in Africa one day.