Whitelipped tree vipers

[Beno]

They will repeat it sometime so ill check it out thanx

[Serpy]

Probably in the blue? Mine go a very light blue/grey when they're about to shed

[Alan Hyde]

I was watching "Austin Stevens: Most Dangerous" this morning and he pulled a little white lip out of a tree that was blue. Not as vividly coloured as the one in the pic but blue nevertheless.

Well, we all now how hard it is to correctly i'd some of these green arboreals, do we think Austin Stevens got his identification spot on?
Where abouts was he ?

Cheers,
Al

[steve]

Al I don’t think he did get that one rite mate or serpy is correct.
White-lips do not come in a blue morph; there is no literature that I have read that speaks of this or any authentic photographs to show this for that matter. I have seen a pic of an albino white-lip, but that’s about as far as it goes, however there other arboreal vipers within the same range as C. albolabris that do have a blue colour to them. Possibly he just got them mixed up?? i have seen him mix up an eastern an western gaboon before in the one show a while back...

[Serpy]

But if I remember correctly he didn't call it a white lip tree viper, just a green tree viper I think...

[Amphibian]

I remember that episode well and he didnt specifically call it a white lip, but i can clearly remember the snake he wrangled was T. Gramineus or Cryptelytrops now as i believe this species has also been reassigned.
I have also seen the pic of the albino whitelip and it looks very nice, I wonder where that animal is now???

[Serpy]

I don't think it was Cryptelytrops gramineus, they've got quite a distinct pattern on their backs, where as the snake in the programme didn't. That I can recall

[Amphibian]

I must be thinking of the wrong episode then becuase that is the thing i remember about the animal is that it had sort of chevrons running down its back......hmmmm curious.....just check me here old stevo was running through a serious river with huge boulders on ether side and he runs up one of these boulders and pulls it out a tree....I am i close???

[Serpy]

Are you thinking of steve Irwin? This was austin Stevens... But they're not chevron markings more like blotches more or less

[10gbooj]

He did refer to it as a green tree viper, but it looked very much like a white lip; the white lips and redish tail were present. The episode where this happens is called "in search of the komodo dragon" or something like that. . . There is also a yellow phase of the white lip which i haven't seen mentioned here, quite a nice looking snake.

[10gbooj]

I just realised that he was on Komodo Island when he found the "blue phase" white lip, same place as this one was allegedly found. Interesting, maybe a colour phase from that area?

[Serpy]

The yellow phase white lip is actaully its own species crypelytrops insularis

[10gbooj]

@Serpy: sorry, i was completely unaware of that, it seems that my knowledge on vipers is rather limited. Thanks for clearing that up.

[Amphibian]

Dont beat your self up to much mate up until 2001 Insularis was still considered a sub species of albolabris such is their similarity.....

[Serpy]

Thats right no need to beat yourself up about it But it was still a sub species amphibian not a colour phase