ID Again Please

ID Again Please

Postby Jarppi » Sun Nov 11, 2012 10:06 pm

Found this little guy in the house, first thought it was a worm. spent quite some time watching it, and could identify it's head (though not by eyes or the presence of a mouth/tongue). Got quite agitated when I poked at it :-)

Still very much alive fortunately, and I think it's some kind of worm snake, can anyone confirm? The yellow lighter is there for the purpose of scale, it's a small BIC not the big one, so this guy is quite small.

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Re: ID Again Please

Postby iiviii » Sun Nov 11, 2012 10:58 pm

I'm going to take a wild guess and say its a blind snake? But would definitly like someone to confirm that? (That's if I am not horribly mistaken and have just created a whole new species of snake that does not exist)
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Re: ID Again Please

Postby Primogen » Sun Nov 11, 2012 11:21 pm

It is a blind or worm snake not 100% sure but my guess is Bibron's blind snake or a long-tailed worm snake.
Its difficult to identify these snakes without a close inspection of the head and scale counts.
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Re: ID Again Please

Postby Westley Price » Mon Nov 12, 2012 7:16 am

I think it's a Thread Snake, Leptotyphlops. I would guess it's L. distanti, but as Primogen said, you need to do detailed scale counts to distinguish between them.
"I am dying by inches from not having anybody to talk to about insects." - Charles Darwin
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Re: ID Again Please

Postby Jarppi » Mon Nov 12, 2012 7:23 am

How do I count scales? or is it as simple as it sounds?
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Re: ID Again Please

Postby Westley Price » Mon Nov 12, 2012 7:28 am

It's very simple for bigger snakes, but it'll be VERY difficult with your snake.

The scientists do it when the snake is dead, under a low power microscope or magnifying glass.

Here's a nice link showing how to do scale count:

www.seanthomas.net/oldsite/scount.html
"I am dying by inches from not having anybody to talk to about insects." - Charles Darwin
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Re: ID Again Please

Postby Bushviper » Mon Nov 12, 2012 10:34 am

Thats a thread snake and completely harmless. Drop it outside by a compost heap and hopefully he will stay around for a while.
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