Simply Subocs

New Published Mini-article: Suboc.com animals and Dusty featured in "Practical Reptile Keeping" magazine, May 2010 issue

2010-05-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

Practical Reptile Keeping is the UK's premier and best-selling reptile magazine. There's a one-page layout and description with photos of some of our most exciting and newest color and pattern morphs on page 19 of the May 2010 issue, in the publication's "What's Hot in the Reptile World?" section.

Speaking at the upcoming 33rd International Herpetological Symposium, Tucson, Arizona USA

2010-05-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

July 21 - 24, 2010.

I will be speaking on Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes and Baja Ratsnakes during one of those dates at the upcoming
33rd International Herpetological Symposium
July 21 - 24, 2010
Tucson, Arizona USA

Should be a lot of fun. There will be field trips to two outstanding desert museums with extremely important herp collections, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and the Chiricahua Desert Museum. Lots of great speakers, including Harry Greene, and I'm sure some great conversations and herping in Gila Monster and Crotalus country!

I will post an update on my exact presentation date, along with the title and abstract, very soon. Click here for the IHS symposium details.

Interview on the UK's premier reptile forums

2010-05-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

I was recently interviewed for the Reptile Forums UK web site. You can read the transcript here!

The End of an Era...(sort of...)

2010-05-24T11:23:00.001-07:00

In the past few weeks, we have widdled down our entire snake collection to nothing...well, kind of nothing.

We will still be able to offer people the best Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes and Baja Ratsnakes out there every hatching season. These will be the best of the best and the rarest of the rarest mutations and morphs. We will still be working with 100% locality River Road Albino Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes, Patternless and Patternless Silver Trans-Pecos, our exclusive Strawberry Blonde project, as well as Snows, Snow Blondes, Albino Blondes, Trumbower Normally Patterned and Silver Blondes, Mustard Blondes, some neat Baja Ratsnakes, and a few other goodies. BUT, they won't be at our house. They have been spread out on breeding loan to a few of my trusted partners and friends.

Am I sad? Not really. I'll still be able to enjoy my snakes from afar. And I'll be taking my interest and passion for reptiles and biology to another level...studying tropical reptiles and amphibians at Ole Miss. Am I excited? Heck yes!

I certainly want to thank all of the people who have enabled me to enjoy Subocs for so many years, and I hope to continue to enjoy West Texas and its marvelous wonders for many years to come.

Selling entire Trans-Pecos Ratsnake collection

2010-03-24T09:46:00.000-07:00

I usually don't use this blog for selling snakes, but I'm officially going to grad school this fall and will be selling EVERYTHING in my collection. Group prices available; contact me for more information. Here's what I have available:

'09 animals:

*Snow male (outcrossed European x Loma Alta) -- also 66% poss. Het Blonde, gorgeous, the first and only one we've hatched! $2900 OBO

*Albino Blonde male. He's also 66% poss. Het Silver (Snow). European line. -- $1200 OBO

*0.2 Silver Blonde 100% HET SNOW -- these are the only European ones that exist...anyone would produce MANY Snows every season when paired with the Snow male above. $1000 each.

*Normally Patterned Silver female -- huge baby. $275.

*0.3 Silver Blonde females $190 each. OBO

*4.0 Het "Strawberry Blonde" males $390 each OBO -- a new designer project; these will produce the first ever "Orange Blondes" when bred to Blonde phase females. Orange is not recessive.

*0.0.4 Peach phase babies; outcrossed poss. 50% poss. Het Snow Blonde (hatched from Triple Het male x a Langtry locality female) $115 each.

*2.1 66% poss. Het Snow Blonde (from a Triple Het x Triple het pairing -- these are siblings of the '09 Snow male) $100 each.

*0.1 100% Double Het (for Silver and Blonde), and 66% poss. Het Snow. $175 OBO.

'08 animals:

1.1 66% poss. het Snow Blonde $225/pair

Single Adults and Designer Breeding Groups:

*Strawberry Blonde group. These are my best of the best holdbacks selected to produce the prettiest, orangest Strawberry Blondes ever. Included are an '08 Het Strawberry Blonde male, an '07 Het Strawberry Blonde female, an '09 Het Strawberry Blonde female, and an '09 Mustard Blonde female. All were the best standouts from their clutches. I don't want this group split up. This will undoubtedly be the best source of the most beautiful Strawberry Blondes for years to come. $1900 OBO.

*Designer Loma Alta Orange Albino Breeding Group: 1.1 Adult Albinos ('07 male and '05 female), and 0.3 '07 Het Albinos outcrossed to Orange Panther Canyon to improve color. $3250

*1.1 Triple Hets; proven adults. '03 female and '06 male. unrelated. the pair that produced our Snow and many other morphs. $2200 OBO.

*1.0 '03 Triple Het male...great as a backup to the above pair. $1000.00

*2.1 '06 and '07 Silver Blonde adults. $350 each.

*0.1 '06 Trumbower Silver Blonde female. Inredible. Almost white. $500.

*2.0 '07 Trumbower Normally Patterned Silver, Het Blonde, and 66% poss. het Snow males. Gorgeous! $500 each OBO.

*0.2 '06 proven Mustard Blonde females. $750 each OBO.

*2.2 '07 Adult Het River Road Albinos. Rare. This is the 100% locality, bright-orange Albino line that always has the frontal scale. $1000/pair or $1600/group.

*0.1 '07 River Road Albino female. $2000 FIRM. No Triple Hets, Snows, Snow Blondes, or Albino Blondes exist from this line yet. Pair with Het male for $2250 or adult Silver Blonde male for $2100.

*'06 Snow sibling male. Sibling of the first Snow ever hatched. Yellow phase and VERY docile. $175.

*'04 Double Het (for Silver and Blonde) female. Proven. $250.

*'07 Double Het (for Silver and Blonde), and 66% poss. Het Snow male. $200.

*One-of-a-kind Patternless Trans-Pecos Ratsnake. '03 male. Hatched in the UK. $3500.

We use UPS Next Day Air shipping. All are eating frozen/thawed mice. Exporting available.

Buy from the person who literally wrote the book on Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes!

Serious inquiries only, please. Thanks for looking.

*p.s. I also have 1.1 '07 Bredl's Pythons for $800/pair.

The entire collection is valued at $32,000 at the above prices. If you are interested in the entire collection, I will sell them all for $7000.00 below that. These are all holdback snakes that I've spent 10 years cherrypicking for best quality and rarest genetics; they sell fast, so you'd stand to make a great profit, whether you flip them, but especially if you breed some of them.

Thanks,

Dusty

Long-overdue update.

2010-03-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

So, the obvious question is why haven't I posted anything in more than 14 months.

Well, a lot has happened in that time, not the least of which was the birth of my son, finishing my degree at BYU, applying to graduate schools, taking the GRE, etc. -- basically life curve after life curve.

I've also fallen in love with science -- particularly, evolution -- in the past 8 - 10 months or so. One of my favorite quotes about this field is "Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution". This was an essay by Theodosius Dobzhansky showing how all of the various branches of biology come together as a unified, consilient body when you examine them from an evolutionary context. Like most professional and academic vertebrate biologists, I've always had an interest in reptiles and amphibians (and most living organisms) since a very early age, and keeping them and breeding them was my way of "studying" them. Suddenly, however, breeding snakes has taken a back seat to studying the reigning theory that explains all this biodiversity around us and all of their behaviors and interactions. Conservation biology, another topic I've always held dear to my heart, has completely opened up wider in light of studying evolution, as well. And though I've always placed just as much, if not more, importance to learning and studying their natural history, doing so even more lately has also pushed captive breeding even further away from mind.

This is not to say that I've given up breeding snakes, but it has certainly ebbed in the past year or so. I will still have several new Trans-Pecos Ratsnake color and pattern morphs that I want to develop and present to the world, not the least of which are Patternless Silvers, Strawberry Patternless, Strawberry Blondes, and a few other goodies. That being said, I will probably not post on here as often as I used to in years past. I will update my web site, Suboc.com, from time to time, especially when baby captive-bred snakes are available. And I may write an article or two and give presentations at herpetological society meetings.

So, in view of these changes in my life, I thought I would post a very thought-provoking article I have read over and over. There is so much going on right now in the world of science. Global warming has been confirmed by the majority of scientists who study climate change, and at least 80% of those people accept the evidence that it is human-caused. Certain fundamentalist sects of the religious community have taken evolution taught in public schools to court and not only lost, but had their Intelligent Design/Creationism views outlawed in public school science classes (e.g the Dover vs Kitzmiller case) and declared by a supreme court judge as "not science" -- a decision I personally applaud and agree with. There is a constant stream of pending pet reptile legislation proposing to ban and/or regulate non-native species of herps, and based on the 400+ alien species established in Southern Florida, many of which take their origins back to the pet trade, I can't say that I'm not for some regulation. It's just too bad that the pet industry didn't regulate themselves before all this started so that they could avoid the disasters of not only being government-banned, but the even greater disaster of destroying parts of the environment with invasive species. All of that aside, I think it's important that all people ask themselves, "Well, what do I think about this issue?" "What are my beliefs?" Too often, it's easy to say, "Well, I believe [this or that], because I'm a conservative/liberal and ALL conservatives/liberals believe [this or that]." This article, written by a professor of linguistics at BYU, addresses this topic. Enjoy.

Diagnosing and Treating

THE

OPHELIA

SYNDROME

By Thomas G. Plummer

BYU TODAY September 1989

In Hamlet, Act I, Scene 3, Laertes warns his sister, Ophelia, to avoid falling in love with Hamlet, whose advances, he claims, are prompted by fleeting, youthful lust. He cautions her against Hamlet's "unmastered importunity" and counsels her that "best safety lies in fear." Then her father, Polonius, begins to meddle. He knows, he tells Ophelia, that she has responded to Hamlet's attention and then informs her that she "does not understand [herself] so clearly." He asks if she believes Hamlet's affections are genuine, to which Ophelia responds, "I do not know, my lord, what I should think." Polonius answers, "I'll teach you. Think yourself a baby. . . ."

In this scene Shakespeare has given us the essence of what I call the "Ophelia Syndrome. " It requires two players, a Polonius and an Ophelia. It is condensed into these two lines: "I do not know, my lord, what I should think," and, "I'll teach you. Think yourself a baby." Ophelia does not know what she should think, and Polonius, reducing her to the stature of a baby, presumes to tell her. Polonius pontificates. He purports to know answers when he has none. He claims to have truth when he himself obscures it. He feigns expertise by virtue of his authority. But his real interest is power: he clamors to be a parent to other adults and exhorts them to become children to his word. Ophelia is worse than naive. She is chronically ignorant, chronically dependent, and chronically submissive. She is an adult who chooses to be a baby, one who does not know her own opinions and who would not express them to an authority if she did.

S.I. Hayakawa describes symptoms of the Ophelia Syndrome in his essay, "What Does It Mean to Be Creative?":

Most people don't know the answer to the question, "How are you? How do you feel?" The reason why they don't know is that they are so busy feeling what they are supposed feel, thinking what they are supposed to think, that they never get down to examining their own deepest feelings. "How did you like the play?" "0h, it was a fine play. It was well reviewed in The New Yorker." With authority figures like drama critics and book reviewers and teachers and professors telling us what to think and how to feel, many of us are busy playing roles, fulfilling other people's expectations. As Republicans, we think what other Republicans think. As Catholics, we think what other Catholics think. And so on. Not many of us ask ourselves, "How do I feel? What do I think?" - and wait for an answer. (S.I. Hayakawa, "What Does It Mean to Be Creative?," Through the Communication Barrier. ed. Arthur Chandler [New York: Harper & Row, 1979], 104-105)

Charles Schulz characterized the Ophelia Syndrome more succinctly in this "Peanuts" cartoon: (Charlie Brown's little sister says: "We've been reading poems in school, but I never understand any of them.. How am I supposed to know which poems to like?" Charlie Brown answers: "Somebody tells you.")

Psychologist Carl Jung describes this dependence on others for one's thoughts in the context of his discussion of "individuation." Individuation is the process of learning to differentiate oneself from others. It is a psychological "growing up." It means to discover those aspects of the self that distinguish one person from another. Failure to achieve individuation leaves people dependent on other, stronger personalities for their identity. They fail to understand their uniqueness. (Carl G. Jung, Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious [New York: Pantheon Books, 1959])

I have a friend who is fond of saying, "If we both think the same way, one of us is unnecessary." The clone, the chameleon personality is the Ophelia Syndrome in another form. One reading of Ophelia's suicide later in Hamlet suggests that because she has no thoughts of her own, because she has listened only to the contradictory voices of the men around her - Laertes, Polonius, and Hamlet - she reaches a breaking point. They have all used her: "She is only valued for the roles that further other people's plots. Treated as a helpless child, she finally becomes one..." (David Leverenz, "The Women In Hamlet: An Interpersonal View," Signs: Journal of Woman in Culture and Society 4 [1978]: 302-303) Her childishness is just a step along the regression to suicide, a natural - if not logical - solution to her dependence on conflicting authorities.

The Ophelia Syndrome manifests itself in universities. The Ophelia (substitute a male name, if you choose) writes copious notes in every class and memorizes them for examinations. (Erich Fromm, "Learning," To Have or To Be [New York: Harper & Row], 17-19) The Polonius writes examination questions that address just what was covered in the textbook or lectures. The Ophelia wants to know exactly what the topic for a paper should be. The Polonius prescribes it. The Ophelia wants to be a parrot, because it feels safe. The Polonius enjoys making parrot cages. In the end, the Ophelia becomes the clone of the Polonius, and one of them is unnecessary. I worry often that universities may be rendering their most serious students, those who have been "good" all their lives, vulnerable to the Ophelia Syndrome rather than motivating them to individuation.

And so what? Is it such a bad thing to emulate teachers? What if you are a student of biochemistry or German grammar? Then you have to memorize information and take notes from instructors who know more, because the basic material is factual. There is no other way. And this is a temporary condition of many areas of study. But eventually every discipline enters into the unknown, the uncertain, the theoretical, the hypothetical, where teachers can no longer tell students with certainty what they should think. It is only an illusion, a wish of the Ophelias and the Poloniuses that literary texts have just one interpretation or that the exact sciences be exact. At its best, even science is a creative art. Hayakawa quotes his good friend Alfred Korzybski as saying,

Creative scientists know very well from observation of themselves that all creative work starts as a feeling, inclination, suspicion, intuition, hunch, or some other nonverbal affective state, which only at a later date, after a sort of nursing, takes the shape of verbal expression worked out later in a rationalized, coherent ... theory. (Hayakawa, 105)

Most of us have metaphors - either subconsciously or consciously - of our student experience. I asked several of my students about theirs. One said he thinks of himself as a computer with insufficient memory. He is able to enter information but cannot recall it. One said he is a sieve. A lot of stuff goes right on through, but important pieces stay lodged. One said she feels like a pedestrian in front of a steamroller, and the driver will not give her any hints about how to get out of the way. Another described his metaphor as a tennis match in which he must anticipate his instructor's response to each shot. Another thought of herself as a dog jumping through a hoop. Another described himself as a mouse in a maze with no directional signs and no exits. Another as a child in a candy store where you can choose only one or two pieces to take home. These metaphors describe people at various stages along the way from Ophelia to individuation.

Talk is cheap. It's fine to say, "Learn to think for yourself," and it's quite another to do it. A recent Fortune magazine article described the plight of middle managers in American corporations. Driven by chief executive officers at the top for greater profits and productivity, many are working 70 or 80 hours a week and sometimes more. The article reports that the corporate byword for urging these people on is "think smarter." But since no one really knows what that means or how to think smarter, they just work longer. And people are burning out. ("Is Your Company Asking Too Much?," Fortune, March 12, 1990: 39-46)

Learning to think while still in college has its advantages. It may mean shorter working hours later on. It may mean not having a mid-life crisis because you chose to study what you wanted rather than something that someone else wanted you to study. It may mean becoming your own person. It may, purely and simply, mean a much happier life. I want to suggest six things you can do - six things I wish I had done - to treat the Ophelia Syndrome.

TREATMENT 1.

SEEK OUT AND

LEARN FROM GREAT

TEACHERS, REGARDLESS

OF WHAT THEY TEACH.

How do you find them? First of all, they have a reputation among students. They are known to set people on fire, to inspire them. They are known to be challenging, fair, and tough. They refuse to be a Polonius, they refuse to make you a baby, and they refuse to do your thinking for you. They join you as a partner in a learning and research enterprise. I recently heard a nationally televised interview with violinist Itzhak Perlman and his teacher, Dorothy Delay, at Julliard School of Music. Perlman, now 45, was sent to Julliard as a gifted child prodigy. He was angry to have been sent to New York, far from his friends and family in Israel, and he was furious to live in the Julliard student hotel, an environment that he considered unseemly.

The interviewer asked him how he had liked his teacher.

"I hated her," he replied.

Ms. Delay, a gentle woman with an air of complete calm, smiled into the camera.

"I hated her," he repeated.

"Why?" the interviewer asked.

"She would never tell me what to do," said Perlman. "She would stop me in the middle of a scale and say, 'Now Itzhak, what is your concept of a C-sharp?' It made me furious. She refused to tell me what to do. But," he went on, "I began to think as I played. My playing became an engaging intellectual exercise in which I understood every note and why I played it the way I did, because I had thought about it myself."

In that same spirit, Wayne Booth in his book, The Vocation of a Teacher, asserts that regardless of whether a teacher lectures or runs discussions, the "teacher has failed if students leave the classroom assuming that the task of thinking through to the next step lies entirely with the teacher." (Wayne C. Booth, "What Little I Think I Know About Teaching," The Vocation of a Teacher [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988], 214) To this point, Booth adds three more principles that will help teachers and students avoid the Polonius role. Addressing instructors he writes,

1. You gotta get them talking to each other, not just to you or to the air.

2. You gotta get them talking about the subject, not just having a bull session in which nobody really listens to anybody else. This means insisting on at least the following rule in every discussion: Whether I call on you or you speak up spontaneously, please address the previous speaker, or give a reason for changing the subject.

3. You gotta find ways to prevent yourself from relapsing into a badly prepared lecturette, disguised as a discussion. Informal lectures are usually worse than prepared ones. (Booth, 215)

TREATMENT 2.

DARE TO KNOW

AND TRUST YOURSELF

Perhaps it goes without saying that you cannot know what to think if you do not know who you are. People go about self-discovery in various ways, and I can only share my own experience. I did not begin a truly honest search for my "self" until I was 40 years old. Then it became an obsession. I took personality tests. I re-read old letters I had written and received. I began keeping a journal. I wish I had done it all 20 years before.

I now keep track of myself and my thinking through writing. I write letters and keep copies of what I write. I have had two sons on missions, and I make sure that I say things to them not only that I want to say but also that I want to remember. Second, I keep a journal - sporadically but frequently. I never take more than five or ten minutes to write in it, and when I write, I write intensively. I write to find my own voice, my own thoughts. I do not worry about who may read it later. It is for me. I write about my subconscious as well as my conscious self, because I believe that dreams do much of my thinking for me. Here is a dream from November 15,1987:

Louise and I were driving through a sparsely populated, desolate area, The car engine faltered and quit. Luckily just across the road was a Chevron station. I knew the repair work was minor and pushed the car into the station. It was ready later in the day.

The service station attendant pushed a credit card bill toward me and said, "Sign here. "

I signed. "How much was the repair?" I asked.

"$963," he replied.

"$963? What cost $963?" 1 was incredulous.

"Well, the repair work, and we put in a new dashboard."

"A new dashboard? How come a new dashboard?"

"The old one was scratched up," he replied.

"Why didn't you ask me before you did that?" I was now screaming. "I won't pay."

"You've signed the bill," he said. "You have to pay." His voice was gravely, firm.

He was right. I'd signed the bill. I had to pay.

"Just let me see the bill again," I asked. "I won't destroy it. I'm not a cheater."

Reluctantly he let me take it. I could tell he didn't trust me. Other mechanics surrounded me and stared, sober faced, menacing. Heavy, burly faces. I looked at the bill. $963. It will take months and months to pay off.

As I look back through this journal, I rediscover myself. There are notes about my son's crisis with his mission president, a painful chapter, and my efforts to play diplomat. There is a love note from my wife, notes on a line from Blake's poem,"London," reflections on a painting in our dining room, a list of highlights from 25 years of marriage, a greedy wish list for ourselves, plans for a trip to Tokyo. a red horse chestnut blossom from a BYU tree. and a poem in reference to William Carlos Williams:

The chocolate hazelnut torte

At the Market Street Broiler

After a bowl of clam chowder

Makes more of a difference

Than that red wheelbarrow.

There is a tribute to shrimp scampi, eaten at dinner at Sundance on May 5, 1989, with Elizabeth and Daryl Pedersen:

Hail shrimp scampi, a flourish of trumpets!Shrimp beats the hell out of tea and crumpets!Shrimp and pasta and garlic butter,Divine crustaceans, you set me aflutter.

The point is this: as I write my life, I learn my thoughts, whether good or ill, conscious or subconscious. They are my thoughts, and as I come to recognize them I become less and less vulnerable to the Ophelia Syndrome through which others once dictated my life to me.

You can also increase your confidence in your own judgment if you take courses that teach you how to ask good questions, how to define the terms of your position, how to employ strategies of rhetoric and logical argumentation, and how to employ critical theory. Such courses may be elementary philosophy classes, advanced literature classes, or math classes. One of my colleagues once quipped, "If a course isn't about method, it isn't about much of anything." I believe that.

As you come to know yourself and gain confidence in critical skills, you must also learn to play your hunches, to follow your intuition through. You truly are the only one who knows what you think and feel, and you, consequently, are the only one who knows what feelings and ideas you must follow through on.

TREATMENT 3.

LEARN TO LIVE

WITH UNCERTAINTY

To put it differently, surrender the need for absolute truth. The English poet John Keats wrote a landmark letter to his brothers, George and Thomas Keats, on December 22, 1817. It has become known as the letter on "Negative Capability." In part it reads,

...it struck me what quality went to form a Man [or Woman] of Achievement, especially in Literature, and which Shakespeare possessed so enormously - I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.

I do not want to do Keats an injustice by oversimplifying a magnificent statement, but I believe he is saying essentially this: The world is a complex place, and absolute truth is elusive, indeed; the greatness in Shakespeare may be attributed to the fact that he didn't feel inclined to explain what he could not, but only to portray the human condition as he saw it.

This concept drives a stake into the heart of the notion that Polonius has the answers. Overcoming the Ophelia Syndrome, becoming an independent thinker, includes giving up romantic notions of the world as a place where everything can be explained. It includes giving up the need to be fooled into thinking that Polonius does indeed have the answers when he does not. I wish he did. I wish I did. I wish any or all of my colleagues did. We do not. We can only join with students and others in the pursuit of answers, and even then we must remain ultimately in some degree of uncertainty.

The corollary to this is that to treat the Ophelia Syndrome, one must develop a healthy distrust of authorities and experts. Experts disagree more often than they agree. Those who pose as authorities are as likely to be a Polonius trying to turn Ophelia into a baby as they are to have a real handle on what they are talking about. Is there a solution? I can think of two: First, for every important opinion you hear, get a second opinion. Second, in the words of the Lord in the 9th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, study it out in your own heart.

When I was in graduate school, I took a seminar on Heinrich von Kleist from Bernhard Blume, one of the grand old men of German scholarship. One day we were to discuss a paper by a classmate, Ken Tigar, on Kleist's play, Der zerbrochene Krug. The paper seemed sound enough to the rest of us. Tigar's argument was based on a description written by Professor Walter Muschg, the great Kleist scholar at the University of Basel, of a plate with figures engraved on it. Professor Blume came to class with a large volume under his arm. He opened it to a picture of the plate that Muschg had described and passed it around.

"Well," he asked, "what do you see?"

No one saw anything.

"Does the woman look pregnant to you?" he asked.

Ken's face blanched.

Professor Blume continued, "No. But Muschg says she is pregnant, and Mr. Tigar's paper rests on that premise."

Ken stammered, "I just thought Muschg would be right."

Professor Blume shut the book and said, "Let that be a lesson to you. Never trust anyone. You must examine the source yourself."

TREATMENT 4.

PRACTICE DIALECTICAL

THINKING

By dialectical thinking, I mean thinking in alternatives and, if possible, in opposites. (William G. Perry, Jr., "Cognitive and Ethical Growth: The Making of Meaning," The Modern American College, eds. Arthur W. Chickering et al [San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1981], 76-116.) If you hear one solution to a problem, look for an alternative solution. If you write a draft from one point of view, write a revision from another point of view. If you formulate an argument on a point, try to formulate a counter argument. I have one student who writes his journal entries in dialogues. The speakers argue with each other. He is thinking dialectically. If you see things from a male point of view, think about them from a female point of view for a change. Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg defines morality as the ability to see an issue from points of view other than just your own. He cites E.M Foster's observation that most of the trouble in the world is due to our "inability to imagine the innerness of others lives." (Lawrence Kohlberg, "A Cognitive Developmental Approach to Moral Education," Humanist 32.6 [1972]:15)

And this is where your peers come in. They represent alternative points of view. Their ideas are as important - if not more important - than your instructor's. The most memorable hours of my graduate education were not spent in the classroom. Some were spent with classmates in the café across the street after class. That is where Vicki Rippere, my classmate from Barnard, introduced me to critical theory. Some were spent in the graduate students' room on the third floor of Boylston Hall. That is where Bodo Reichenbach and Mark Lowry debated hotly for two hours about whether Faust was a moral man.

You may have to please Polonius by writing acceptable papers for him, but your peers will teach you how to escape his power as you wrestle with them.

TREATMENT 5.

FOSTER IDLE

THINKING

I asked a friend of mine, a neurologist, how he thinks. He said, "If I have to tell a patient something hard, and I don't know how to do it, I sit in my office and daydream or fantasize about something that has nothing to do with the problem. When I'm through, I know what I have to say." This is a strategy for thinking by disengaging with the subject.

My wife, a fiction writer, gets her best ideas by taking long, hot baths. She doesn't try to think in the tub. She just soaks. Ideas float in of their own volition. Other people may take hikes, play basketball, or ride bikes. Still others may read novels or magazines. Idle thinking frees the mind for creative ideas. Hayakawa suggests that the creative person "is able to entertain and play with ideas that the average person may regard as silly, mistaken, or downright dangerous."

One of my students asked me if I thought television was bad for your mind. He said his father was always arguing that students in his day did more thinking than students today. I may have answered unequivocally "yes" to that question 10 years ago. Now I am not so sure. If television is a means of retreating totally from thinking, then of course it is bad. But it may be as entertaining and pleasant as a hike or a long bath. The answer is no longer so clear-cut for me.

TREATMENT 6.

PLAN TO STEP OUT

OF BOUNDS

By "out of bounds," I mean out of the limits that Polonius may have prescribed for you. Independent thinking means to question the presumed bounds of thinking, reading, writing, or learning in general. A colleague at BYU once told me that years ago as a student, in a moment of boredom and desperation, he wrote a final examination in the form of a rhymed poem. He got an "A."

My own best experience with this was two years ago. It was Saturday night, the last night of final examinations, 7 to 10 p.m. I dutifully carried prepared tests to my class on "Reader-Response Theory," a course for advanced undergraduate and graduate humanities students. As I walked through the door, Holly Lavenstein, a gutsy student now enrolled in a graduate program in film making in Chicago, met me. She looked me straight in the eye and said, "We don't want to write an examination."

Now Holly didn't threaten me at all, but the better part of honesty told me that the written exam I had under my arm was an exercise in futility. The students had already written three papers, a weekly journal, and complete reading notes. What more did I need to grade them?

"Well, we have to have a final," I said. My voice lacked conviction.

"Yes, but not that one," she replied, pointing to the stack I was cradling. "If you'll step out in the hall for five minutes, we'll give you an alternative proposal."

Obediently I stepped back into the hall of the Maeser Building and sat on the steps. There was a lot of talking going on behind the door, and I could tell the tone was earnest, the atmosphere heated. In about five minutes, Holly poked her head out and motioned me in.

"We want a group oral examination," she said.

"And how's that supposed to work?" I asked.

"You just sit and watch," she said, "and we'll talk about what we learned in the course. "I will lead the discussion. You don't have to do anything."

"OK," I said, "On two conditions: First, everyone has to talk; and, second, everyone gets the same grade as the lowest performer on the exam."

Those were two of the finest hours of my entire career. The conversation was lively and challenging. The class became united. People who hadn't said five words all semester were talking like crazy. Of course the group would have killed them if they hadn't. They talked reasonably, they argued, they screamed and hollered at each other.

When three hours had passed, Holly turned to me and said, "Well, how did we do?"

"'A'," I said. "The best 'A' I ever gave."

The point here, however, is not that grade. The point is that this class, as a group, realized that their learning experience was more important than the grade, and they were willing to put all of their grades on the line to prove it. Sometimes escaping the Ophelia Syndrome means taking that kind of risk.

Treating the Ophelia Syndrome has its price. Only you can decide whether taking control of your education, whether using college as a time to achieve individuation, is worth it:

1) It may take time. A student in my class said, "I don't have time to learn to think in college." He said it sincerely. I inferred from what he said that getting out of college on a fast track was important to him. He wanted to be shown the hoops and jump through them. One of the costs of thinking is time. It means enrolling in courses not relevant to your major or minor because you want to take some great teacher outside your field. Or it may mean investing more time in discussions with classmates than you want to spare. Thinking takes time.

2) It means tolerating confusion about insoluble problems rather than finding "safety" in the arms of a Polonius who offers you a security blanket.

3) It means possibly getting lower grades than you'd like while you take a challenging teacher or try something out of the ordinary on an assignment.

4) It may mean going against the advice of people you love. One student noted in my class that it was hard to grow up as a good child and then study something that worries or frightens your parents. At the end of Act I, Scene 3, Ophelia submits to Polonius: "I shall obey, my lord."

To all of this I can only ask, which is the greater price to pay: "To think or not to think?"

Dr. Thomas G. Plummer is a professor of Germanic and Slavic Languages at BYU. He delivered this faculty lecture to Delta Phi Alpha, the German Honor Society, April 5, 1990.

***New Suboc Genetics Findings

2009-01-12T21:52:00.000-08:00

Hi folks. Sorry for the long hiatus. (School has been CRAZY!)

There are a couple of new findings in the realm of suboc color morph genetics that I believe many of you would find interesting.

#1) First off, it has now been proven beyond all doubt that the European and Loma Alta/Hwy. 277 lineages of Albino Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes are the SAME genetically.

Here's the story: Gregg Feaster bred a het for European Albino male to a Het for Loma Alta, Texas Albino female and got Albinos recently. Some of you may remember that I got a single Albino baby from a similar cross in '06.

Why this is a big deal? Because this is one of the few times in the history of ANY high-end color morph of ANY species where you can OUTCROSS to strengthen bloodlines using homozygous to homozygous breedings -- in other words, Loma Alta Albinos bred to European Albinos -- and STILL get ALL ALBINO babies.

#2) Big year for Gregg Feaster...he also proved that the Dave Hewitt River Road Axanthics are genetically the same as the Mark Bell (and Trumbower) Axanthics, which are the ones usually seen for sale by breeders.

More soon!

"Bug-eyes" in Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes, an evolutionary adaptation

2008-10-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

This doesn't happen often, but sometimes I talk to people who are laboring under the myth that "bug-eyes" in Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes is a result of captive inbreeding. This is well-documented for leucistic Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri, but for Bogertophis, nothing could be further from the truth.

Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes are fossorial during the day and 100% nocturnal otherwise. In other words, they're constantly in complete darkness -- in fact, in the wild, they absolutely shun light. "Bug-eyes" is an evolutionary adaptation to this lifestyle. And bug-eyes is not only seen in TPRSs -- it, as a physical trait, has convergently evolved in many unrelated taxa of animals with similar nocturnal habits. Owls, Leaf-tailed Geckos of the genus Uroplatus (among many other gekkonids), tarsiers, Red-eyed Tree Frogs, and the list goes on and on. Another example of "bug-eyes" in completely nocturnal snakes is Gray-banded Kingsnakes. Their lifestyle is much more fossorial and nocturnal than most Lampropeltis, and so they have those bulging eyes, which is a disharmonic trait for a kingsnake species.

And there is no deleterious allele in subocs that causes extra or excessive "bug-eyedness" when subocs are inbred. In fact, of the 115 subocs in my facility, some of the most bug-eyed are from parents that were caught hundreds of miles apart -- the furthest thing from inbreeding.

So, in conclusion, though "no bug eyes" might be a selling point for leucistic Texas Rats, it's not desirable, healthy, or normal to have a TPRS without them! I mean, can you imagine someone selling a tarsier on the "selling point" that it has "NO bug eyes!"?

Have a great weekend, all.

54 Trans-Pecos Ratsnake eggs and counting...

2008-08-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mike Murphy for sending this photo of The Complete Suboc being sold at a booth in Daytona, Flordia. I was told it was at quite a few tables.

We're now at 54 Trans-Pecos Ratsnake eggs this season, so far. Nine clutches in all. Three of the clutches could have Snow and/or Snow Blonde, as well as Albino Blonde.

Soon, I will have some informational articles on Suboc.com (I know I've been saying that for awhile now, but bear with me) and an updated expected offspring for '08 list.

Here's a short list of what we have incubating so far:

Pandale Gray phase
Orange x Oro del Rio phase (Panther Canyon) -- should be some nice orange animals
Triple Het x Triple Het -- morphs galore!
Triple Het x 66% poss. Het Albino clutch #1 -- fingers crossed for Albinos
Triple Het x 66% poss. Het Albino clutch #2 -- fingers crossed for Albinos
Mustard Blonde x Oro del Rio (Orange) **aka Het "Strawberry Blonde"
Mustard Blonde, Het Axanthic (Silver), 50% poss. Het Snow x Bleached Blonde -- should be all Blonde-patterned babies with SEVERAL possible colors
Langtry x Black Gap -- just beautiful "Normal" Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes from beautiful parents
Triple Het x Axanthic (Silver) Blonde, Het Snow -- morphs galore again!

Still might be a few more clutches to go.

Cheers!

Sharing a Closet with Incubating Reptile Eggs

2008-08-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

I often hear, at least once a year, that someone I know lost ALL of their incubating eggs due to a malfunctioned incubator that overheated and killed them. Ugggghhh!!! That would be such a kick in the stomach!!...all of that year's long hard work gone to waste in a matter of seconds.

Something different I'm doing this year should mitigate or throw out entirely that possibility of an overheated incubator. My egg boxes, each with a clutch, are stacked on the highest shelf in a closed closet. By itself, the closet stays about 78 - 80 F. If you add a couple of heat pads and use them as "panels" against the wall, you can bump that up to about 86 degrees. That's with the heat pads on full power. If you connect them to a rheostat, which further mitigates any risk of overheating, you can lower the heat pad temps enough to bring the ambient temperature down to marginally above that of the closet's natural temperature of 78 - 80 F. Of course, you don't have to use any heat. (Suboc eggs have been proven to hatch at temperatures as low as 40 degrees!) But it takes longer that way, if you don't mind the wait.

So far, this season we have more than 45 eggs incubating, 42 of which appear good. Only a couple more females to go, maybe three, but they're good ones.

Here's a Blonde that's Het Axanthic and Poss. Het for Snow that laid six, five of which look great. She's the "cover girl" for The Complete Suboc, and this is her first clutch. She bred with the Bleached Blonde, so we should see some neat stuff out of them...perhaps a Snow Blonde.

I've gotta tell ya...I'm lovin' this new camera.

This pair was also observed showing some courting and reproductive behavior. A beautiful Normally Patterned Axanthic female with a show-stopping Trumbower Axanthic Blonde male. I really love the Normal-patterned Silvers -- they're something I will find hard to sell when I produce more of them.

More soon!

DR

How to be Good Stewards of the Earth and Conservation-minded While Still Enjoying Herpetoculture

2008-08-21T16:58:00.001-07:00

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by some friendly people in West Texas. They explained to me that they had found some adult Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes on their property and were wondering if I'd be interested in buying some. Right away, I told them that I wasn't interested and that I rarely take adult reptiles out of the wild (i.e. maybe if it were an Albino or something unique like that I would, but other than that, it's just not something I would normally do -- and for the record -- I rarely even take young ones. I mostly just like to see them in the wild.).

I gathered from our conversation that these were people who were probably not "mainstream" in the modern pet reptile industry. It just seemed that they would probably catch as many of whatever they could find on their property and sell them to anyone who would buy them...which is the way that most reptiles were bought and sold back in the early 1980's and previous to that. Now, I realize that there is still a market for wild-caught reptiles, but that market has changed drastically over the past 15 years. Nowadays, most people -- both buyers and sellers -- deal in captive-bred only.

I explained to these people that they would probably have more long-lasting success if they only sold young snakes that they had legally caught. There are many, many reasons for this:

First, young snakes aren't as picky eaters and will eat feeder lab mice -- the adults often only eat K-Rats and Deer Mice and will die a long, slow, stressful, and cruel death in captivity if they never switch to lab rodents (many won't).
Second, young snakes are much more adaptable to captive situations and stresses -- they're naive and haven't had to duke it out over territory or evade predation as long as adults have.
Third, young wild snakes are usually scar- and blemish-free...older snakes often have the battle-wounds that go along with being a wild animal. And only adult subocs carry blood-sucking ticks on their bodies.
Fourth, female snakes can and do store sperm from previous breedings and will often use those stores instead of the male they currently are breeding with. The surest way to know the genetics of your captive-bred suboc babies is to raise up young animals.
Fifth, only a small percentage of young snakes survive to adulthood to reproduce. Large snakes have proven their fitness; they have won territories; they've evaded enough peccaries, owls, foxes, and other predators to stay alive for several years, AND they've proven that they can stay alive long enough to make MORE suboc babies...
And this leads me to my sixth and final point -- and this is the biggy -- if you only take young snakes from the wild, the older established adults will still be around to provide you with MORE young snakes as long as they are alive.

I cringe somewhat when I see people selling literally bucketloads of every species of herp they can find near their home. To me this behavior smacks of prodigal wastefulness and disregard for conservation of wildlife. I believe that animals, plants, mountains, minerals, valleys, rivers, oceans, and all components that make up what we call nature were put on this earth to bring us joy and gladden our hearts -- not for our unfettered usage. I truly believe that to my very center. It would be a sad situation indeed if we continue to lose the many species that exist among us due to our own irresponsible wastefulness and greed.

Just as there are bag limits and other restrictions on the take of White-tailed Deer, there are bag limits and restrictions on the take of reptiles in most states. Please respect those laws and regulations. Just as you shouldn't shoot a deer that walks into your yard, you shouldn't take every herp that does the same. Does that mean you can't take some? Of course, not...but please respect laws, regulations, bag limits etc. and always ask yourself if you are being a good steward of the earth and its inhabitants. If you can answer that question honestly and in the affirmative, then your efforts are commendable.

Let us see how our presence on the earth can benefit other species, instead of the other way around. So many people live in a "scarcity mindset"...i.e. there isn't enough money; there aren't enough jobs, there isn't enough land, etc. for everyone to live abundantly and happily. I believe there is enough, and though there will always be poor people, there will also always be a way for us to help and teach others to be more self-reliant. A more educated people are able to do more, whether it be earning their own bread or having the ways and means to be better stewards. We see time and again in undeveloped nations (where there are many illiterate, uneducated, and impoverished people) that they often use up their natural resources and sell them in the "bushmeat" or black markets. There is much we can do to reverse that trend. It will take entrepreneurs, biologists, students, farmers, missionaries, doctors, teachers, and many others to make this a reality, so there is room enough for everyone to help.

*****************************************************************

Below is an article in PDF format demonstrating an OUTSTANDING example of how educating people in rural third-world countries is helping them financially and simultaneously saving rain forests and wild reptiles (among other animals) from extinction:

Fitting Iguanas and Forests into Central American Farms

New SLR camera and NINE good Triple Het x Triple Het Suboc (Trans-Pecos) Eggs...

2008-07-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

All in one day too!

I really wasn't expecting that many from her. I thought six, maybe seven...but Nine I can definitely handle.

Anyway, this camera takes HUGE pics, like 12.2 megapixels...and I wanted you to see the macro somewhat so here it goes.

Practically every simple recessive suboc morph you can think of could come out of this clutch, even a Snow Blonde, which has not occured yet. A Snow Blonde, if it were to occur, would be the very first triple recessive homozygous morph of subocularis.

Gray phase eggs

2008-07-08T10:07:00.001-07:00

So, my Pandale Paved female laid a healthy clutch of four. She's an F1 who bred with her sibling/clutchmate. It'll be neat to see the F2s. She's seen her third winter, and I usually don't breed females until they've seen their fourth winter, but she was an exceptional size and girth for her age, which is the most important determining factor for breeding females.

She laid them quicly and without complication.

In other news, Triple Het eggs should be laid any day now...mommy's scouting for a place to deposit her clutch.

Recent Happenings: Ratsnake Foundation Interview, Recent Pairings, New and Old Literature, Gravid Females, etc.

2008-07-01T11:19:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Busy, busy, busy. So much has been happening around here recently.

One cool thing to report is that I was was just interviewed by the Ratsnake Foundation (www.ratsnakefoundation.org) for their quarterly online publication, the Ratsnake Digest. The July 2008 issue was just published to the web yesterday, and there are many great articles from a wide variety of respected experts. There's even a wonderful, lengthy, hard-to-find article on Charles Bogert (who many species of herps, including subocs, were named after) and another great rare one on Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes.

I would suggest becoming a member, if you haven't already. It's a great organization based in the U.K. and dedicated to the dissemination of everything related to ratsnakes, and the content caters to the academic and hobbyist alike. Go check it out! You won't regret it.

It appears we have several gravid females. The Triple Het female (hoping for Snows or something cool, of course), a couple of Axanthic Blondes, a Pink phase, a Gray phase, and some possible Het Albinos all are not interested in food, which is weird for non-gravid females this time of year (except the Pink one, she's always been a ravenous eater). The Orange phase animals have bred this past weekend, which was a pleasant surprise.

At least two of the aforementioned snakes were with the Patternless male, our one-of-a-kind celebrity here at Suboc.com. More news on that soon.

Recently, I picked up a boatload of old issues of The Vivarium magazine along with several other older publications. I subscribed to that magazine as a young teeneager, and have always wanted to complete my collection. Anyway, I was pleased to find what are very likely the first pictures in print of a wild-caught Albino and an Axanthic (aka Silver) Blonde. Both of the photos were featured in two of the "Cutting Edge of Herpetoculture" special issues of The Vivarium in 1997 and 1998. The photos were taken by the originators of those two morphs -- respectively, Dave Barker of VPI, Inc. and Mark Bell of Reptile Industries.

Philippe de Vosjoli, once again, praises the suboc in these issues for being one of the most beautiful snakes in the world and for being an excellent candidate for desert vivaria displays.

If you ever get a chance to buy old issues of The Vivarium, do it. Though some of the info is now somewhat antiquated, content-wise, it went WAY above and beyond what any other herpetocultural publication has ever done, in my opinion.

More soon!

The Patternless male...

2008-06-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

has got his dancin' shoes on! He's been biting and courting with the ladies for the past two days, though no confirmed copulations yet. Timing is a bit off this year, since I received him mid-winter.

Things are getting pretty crazy; tops are coming off (off of humidity/nesting boxes) and aspen bedding is pushed around and ending up in water bowls. Every time I walk in the snake room, I'm butting in on a loving couple in the throws of passion! :-)

This project is SO exciting! It's the first pattern morph of Trans-Pecos Ratsnake to breed in captivity since the first Blondes bred for Earl Turner over 35 years ago!

We're putting him with this beautiful Silver girl, an Albino, and a Peach/Pink phase this season.

Thank you, Richard Trant, for sending this handsome bloke our way!

*By the way, the Gray phase Pandale Paved subocs have been pairing up too!

Recent Happenings and Pairings at Suboc.com

2008-06-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

Suboc.com's snake room is quickly becoming quite the amorous setting.

The Triple Hets have been breeding lately. Fingers crossed for a Snow, Snow Blonde, or Albino Blonde, from that pairing. There are only two Snows from the Hwy. 277 line - none exist from any other Albino line so far - and they're both youngsters, owned by the same person. There's only one Albino Blonde from that line too.

Also, the one-of-a-kind *Patternless* male started courting two suboc females yesterday. He was pursuing and passionately biting an Albino (Loma Alta/Hwy. 277) and a huge Axanthic Blonde, though they've both been coy and resisting his advances. Can you just imagine what a Patternless Axanthic Trans-Pecos Ratsnake would look like?! That animal should be ELECTRIC! To say nothing of the Patternless Orange, Patternless Albino, or Patternless Snow...

More soon!

Forthcoming articles for Suboc.com

2008-05-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of brainstorming some ideas for writing articles (and other documents) to be added to Suboc.com in the near future. I've thought of a couple, but would like some requests from any readers of the blog/web site.

For example, some people have requested to see a paper on the genetics of suboc color morphs complete with Punnett Squares and all that jazz -- the classic "what-will-I-get-if-I-breed-this-het-to-that-het" paper.

Another could be a map of the Trans-Pecos with some of the key localities pinpointed.

Any other ideas and suggestions are welcome.

Pure Euphoria

2008-05-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

When those books arrived here a couple of weeks ago, as you can imagine, it was the biggest sense of accomplishment and relief all rolled up into one moment.

For my own part, it's difficult to feel like a published writer until you actually can see and feel the book in print. And when I finally did, I was beside myself with joy. LOL I couldn't and wouldn't move from the doorway when the FedEx truck pulled up...I kept telling Amy to run and get a knife while smiling and laughing out-of-control like a kid on Christmas morning. She took advantage of the moment to shoot some pictures. My feet were fixed in front of the door -- there was NO way I was moving from that spot until the deliverer deposited the two boxes into my hands -- and she knew it was driving me crazy and making me laugh even more that she kept just taking pictures instead of running to grab a knife. LOL

Ohhh, one day when she's an author...paybacks. ;-)

Mexican Baird's are twitter-painted

2008-05-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

My adult Mexican Baird's are actually captive-bred F1's of wild-caught parents from Nuevo Leon, in the Monterrey area. Texas zookeepers/curators Steve Hammack and Alan Kardon collected and acquired the parents legally back in the 1980's.

In this photo, the male is biting the female just behind the head, something that this race of bairdi often does during courtship. From my own observations, Baird's Ratsnakes bite females more gently than male subocs, and male subocs often bite the females all over the body...and not just to restrain her either -- it is perceived that the biting on the body is a stimulus for females to submit to the males' sexual advances.

Hopefully, we'll see eggs again this year from the Nuevo Leon Baird's female.

DR

p.s. If you don't know what "twitter-painted" means, then watch Bambi. LOL

The Complete Suboc early orders have FINALLY arrived and shipped, AND it's on Amazon.com

2008-04-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well, the FedEx truck brought us a little something from Hong Kong this week on Monday...the first few copies of The Complete Suboc, and all of them were shipped out on Tuesday morning to the people who wanted to have their books earlier than the ones that will arrive here on the 13th of May on the "slow boat from China".

The book is awesome. I'm very pleased with it. My wife took a few pictures of me flipping out when the two boxes of books arrived, so I'll have to post those up soon.

The rest of the people who pre-ordered will get their books as soon as they come in. Once they're here, we should have a steady flow of signed copies to sell here. Also, it looks like a couple of distributors had a few advanced copies of the book sent to them, so I was pleased to see that my book is now being sold on Amazon.com at this link. Woo hoo!

Urgent Update for Those Who Have Pre-Ordered "The Complete Suboc"

2008-03-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

Hello to all who have pre-ordered The Complete Suboc,

I have some important news/updates for the book's printing progress...first, ECO Publishing called me today and told me that the printers in China have finally started to print the book. Hooray for that! When the entire print run is ready to ship (in about 30 days from now), they will then send all of the books over to the U.S. from China on a large pallet by ship cargo. This means that it will be at least 35-40 days, depending on where you live in the world, before you receive your copy/copies.

The good news is that since they are beginning the printing process now, ECO can have the printers FedEx Overnight me a few of the first copies of the book THIS WEEK. This would be a much more expensive way of shipping them to the U.S. (about $6 more per book than the per book cost of shipping by boat), but it means that I could mail the book out to you by the end of this week or start of next week -- which also means most of you should start receiving your books sometime next week.

So, if you're chomping at the bit and you'd like to receive your book almost a month earlier than you would otherwise, you can PayPal me $6 to have the book FedEx'ed overnight from China to my house this weekend. If you choose to do this, I need the money in my Paypal account no later than this Wednesday March 12th at 8:00AM Mountain Standard Time (MST). If you're in the U.K., that's 2pm in London.

If you paid with a check, cash, or M.O., and/or you don't want to use PayPal, you can snail mail me the $6, but I need to know by Wednesday morning that you already sent it.

On Wednesday morning, I'll tally up the number of $6 payments and tell ECO Publishing to FedEx me that exact amount of books. Please remember to add $6 per book(s) that you've ordered. And if you have any herper friends who have not yet ordered, please tell them that they can also get theirs early if they PayPal me (to my e-mail account) before Wednseday morning at 8am. That would be $64.95 shipped for U.S. orders and add another $6 to that for International Orders.

Of course, if you wish, you can wait until the bulk of the books arrive in mid-April, and yours will be shipped to you then. Remember, $6 by Wednesday if you want to receive the book a month earlier than those other procrastinators. Haha -- just kidding.

For you snail-mailers, e-mail me for my mailing addy...

Thanks again to everyone for ordering the book!

Happy reading,

Dusty Rhoads

"The Complete Suboc": Pre-Orders for the book

2008-03-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

Just as a heads up to anyone who has pre-ordered signed copies of The Complete Suboc book, we received word from ECO Publishing that the book should be ready sometime around the middle of the month. So, we're really close.

I'll let you know if anything changes. Once those first copies of the book arrive, I'll probably do two things right away: (1) an Irish jig or a Highland fling on my living room floor and (2) e-mail everyone who has pre-ordered the book to let them know that their copy is being sent out first thing.

We've already sold more than half of our first order of the book. I might have to order some more boxes from the publisher before the first ones even get here. That is wonderful! Thank you to all who have pre-ordered, and if you haven't done so yet, you better! :)

Here's a photo from the recent NARBC in Texas. More on that later! Cheers, DR

Reptiles Magazine

2008-02-12T22:45:00.000-08:00

Ya' know, when you've been busting your petootie for about three years to produce a good book, you gotta celebrate those little occasions that tell you that you've finally accomplished something.

I was delighted to see a press release for The Complete Suboc on page 74 of this month's (April '08) issue of Reptiles Magazine. Woo hoo! Happy day!

And what better way to celebrate the occasion and top it off than a nice article on breeding Gray-banded Kings?! (okay, an article about Trans-Pecos Rats would have been even better, but I'll take gray-bands any day.)

For relatives and friends who'd like to see the press release, you can get this magazine at any Barnes and Noble, Borders, or just about any pet store in the U.S.

The Year of the Colubrid

2008-01-24T07:53:00.000-08:00

It's really exciting to see what is going on in the world of herpetocultural literature, in recent years. First, in 2003, Greg Maxwell's book hit the scene, arguably the most detailed husbandry book on one species of snake up until that point.

Then to follow up, we get two more "Complete series" on two popular boid species from Kevin McCurley and Vin Russo.

And the Barkers hit the herp literature scene in 2006 like a ton of bricks with their new Pythons of the World, Volume II: Ball Pythons. This book, hands down, set a new standard for the industry...a perfect marriage of cited peer-reviewed literature, personal anecdote, a plethora of photos, captive history, natural history, and every other angle on anything you could ever want to know about snake in captivity, in general.

Now, it's 2008, and the we see that the colubrids are in the limelight...The Complete Suboc is coming out in a few short weeks and has been selling regularly as a pre-order; Soderberg's Complete Corn Snake is slotted to premier in 2008, as well; and KJ Lodrigue's Complete Pituophis might even be finished before the year's out. The Year of the Colubrid? It certainly looks that way...and we're not complaining. :-)

Going Live on Kingsnake.com

2008-01-24T07:41:00.000-08:00

After a long while of hiding our light under a bushel, we decided to set it on a hilltop - Kingsnake.com.
So, we finally took Suboc.com and put it as a Storefront Page on Kingsnake.com's list of Breeders and Book Sellers. Man, it's amazing the hits that site generates.
We've already gotten about 1500 hits in just mere days from KS's storefront alone! Woo hoo!!

The Complete Suboc book is now being printed -- Pre-Order Your Signed Copy at Suboc.com Now!

2007-12-31T20:47:00.000-08:00

Yes, we're finally taking Pre-Orders for The Complete Suboc (ECO Publishing, 2008). And yes, you have read the cover right...award-winning authors, David and Tracy Barker, of Vida Preciosa International, Inc. have included a Bonus Chapter sharing with the reader their own breeding techniques for Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes. Read more about the book by clicking on the picture!

We've also completely redone Suboc.com with new photos. To boot, there is a BRAND NEW morph on the site...so get going, knuckleheads! Check it out!

'Tis the season

2007-11-15T10:59:00.001-08:00

...for baby subocs! This is usually the time of year when you start seeing hatchling subocs for sale, during the holidays. We just had our last clutch of the season hatch out. "Darla", an Axanthic Blonde that is het for Albino, laid a clutch of 13, 12 of which just hatched. There were four morphs in the clutch, including normally-patterned Silvers, Silvers with the Blonde pattern, Blonde, and "normals" that are double het for Axanthic (Silver) and Blonde. In fact, all of the snakes are at least 100% het for Axanthic and Blonde and 66% het for Snow, since Darla's mate is a Triple Het for Snow Blonde.

One of the Axanthic Blondes from Darla's clutch of 12.

Here's the whole group, a loving family of 12.

Here's the first baby of the clutch. You can see the egg tooth if you click on the photo.

Silver Bells...Silver Bells...

2007-11-04T00:57:00.000-07:00

Today I heard Christmas music on the radio for the first time this year. So, I thought the above title would fit, since I hatched out some silver "belles" tonight. Out of three good eggs from a double het x axanthic blonde pairing, I got three snakes with a normal H pattern, but it looks like two are axanthic (silver-colored). Normally-patterned silvers are very uncommon, even more so than silver blondes, and are one of the most desirable colubrid morphs. They have all of the classic looks of a normal suboc with a beautiful soft silvery color. Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes have a very elegant appearance, and the axanthic animals are just amazing. Pictured is one of the normally-patterned silvers along with a double-heterozygous sibling. The normal sibling is very pretty in its own right, it has a nice rosy tan color and looks silky smooth.

Chantilly, VA NARBC show

2007-10-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

Was anyone here able to attend? See any cool critters?

I received a few e-mails last week from folks expecting me to speak on TPRSs on Saturday morning in VA. I apologize to anyone here who expected me to be there and was disappointed. The speaker schedule wasn't updated completely, and it still had me listed as a speaker for the 11:00 slot.

I will, however, be able to speak at the Arlington, TX show in February, and the new suboc book will be premiered there as well. Really looking forward to that one, and hoping to see a lot of you good people there.

By the way, still waiting on about 17 eggs to hatch...should be some really good ones in there...
Out of the het for "strawberry blondes" that recently hatched, there were 1.5...my share was 0.3. Two of them have some really nice orange color...hopefully see some screaming orange blondes in a few years. :-)

Take care and have a Happy Halloween people,

DR

Albino Trans-Pecos Babies Hatched Today!

2007-09-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

Here's one of the nice husky little albino subocs that hatched today. From a possible Het female too!!!

Nothing beats breeding some possible hets and seeing pink noses pipping out of eggs 10 weeks later!

The clutch was kept at 84 - 86 degrees F and hatched over a span of 68 - 70 days incubation period.

The baby in this photo is only minutes old...I went to the Post Office at 2:00 and this snake was still resting inside the egg in the typical hatchling position. I got back around 2:30 and it was crawling around the incubator.

Cheers! (And hope to see some of you at Anaheim!)

DR

"The Complete Suboc" Coming Soon! (from ECO Publishing)

2007-08-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

As a preview of coming attractions, I thought I would let you in on the progress of the world's first book about Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes. It's practically finished. We're just working out the final touches on it.

Since I've been so inactive on this forum and on the site, I'm sure a few of you thought that was a reflection of nothing going on in the world with TPRSs. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth! There has been more going on in all the "goings on" of TPRSs in the last year or two than there ever has in all the history of histories. (Grammatically, that may not make any sense. But the idea is right!).

First, let me say that this book is going to knock your socks off. Period. I'm not saying that because it is my book, but as I was writing it, I can't tell you how many times I got a smile of excitement, looked over at my wife, and said, "Honey, this is going to be a GOOD, SOLID book on Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes." The fact is, I enjoy writing, and I enjoy subocs. So for me, this book is a perfect marriage of my passions and abilities.

Most of the chapters are over 25 pages in length. You will find detailed information on natural history, captive history, ALL current and past morphs (including many photos from MANY individuals), more than 25 localities, diseases and disorders of captive TPRSs, and even a couple of very special topics that you haven't seen covered before in any herpetocultural literature. There's even a chapter about the "Other" Western Ratsnakes of North America, including Arizona Greens, Bajas, and Baird's. Believe me when I say that you WON'T be disappointed.

I can't tell you everything yet, of course. This is just a preview, not an official blurb for the book.

The front dust jacket cover (shown above) is just a mock-up of what the end-result might look like. In fact, from what I hear, the latest version of it is quite different and looks much better! The subtitle is also not the one shown on the cover, but close to that.

I CANNOT wait to reveal more to you.

More soon...

D.R.

A Book Review: Tennant's 2006 "Texas Snakes", 3rd ed., Lone Star Field Guide

2007-07-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd put in a plug for this recent addition to my library.
First off, let me say this; if you've put off buying this book because you already have the 1984 Snakes of Texas (now a collector's item) and assume that this field guide series is just a smaller/abridged version of the former - you've assumed wrong - this book is complementary and is an appendage to Tennant's work from '84.
The only "downside" to this book is that many of the photos are the same as the ones in the Werler and Dixon books. If there is ever a 4th edition, I'm sure that many of the herpers of Texas would be glad and willing to offer newer natural-setting photos of all the snakes of Texas and their respective morphs - so that could be easily remedied. Now that I've got that out of the way, let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

I purchased this book last month inside Big Bend National Park at the park entrance headquarters, just north of Panther Junction. It's a splendid souvenir of a memorable herping trip to the Trans-Pecos. When I was thumbing through the book, the first thing I noticed is that the content is completely revised in the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake section. All of the stories, anecdotes, science tidbits, and records are updated and different from the 1984 Snakes of Texas. I was essentially forced to buy it, so that my own TPRS book's Natural History and Color Morphs chapters would be more complete and accurate.

Essentially, if you want some recently updated science on the 109 species of Texas snakes, then get this book.

One cool coincidence, the painter who provided the cover artwork of the gray-banded kingsnake, Ed Acuña, was out herping the River Road the day I bought this book, and I bumped into him that same night. Kinda odd, eh?

Back from West Texas

2007-06-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

Lucky me. I got to spend 8 days with the best personal herping guide (Mike Price) in the Trans-Pecos/Big Bend of West Texas. Being there was like becoming a boy again. You don't age in the Big Bend...you grow younger. I'm serious...it was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. When you do what you were born to do, whatever the cost may be, you experience a joy like none other...a joy of finding yourself.
I saw plenty of snakes and made many new friends. People who I am proud to know. I was also able to meet my publisher, Bob Ashley, and my book's layout designer, Russ Gurley, and I was able to have an enjoyable evening with them herping/road cruising for snakes while discussing our ideas, hopes and dreams for the upcoming book about subocs.
I thought I would share a small sampling of some of the things we saw while we were there. I know I haven't posted in a good while, and I apologize. I have been concentrating on subocs intensely lately, but just about everything I have been doing is pointed towards finishing the book. So, I haven't had as much time to write on the blog. Anywho, here are some photos for you to enjoy.
The children are Mike and Julie Price's kids. I had a lot of fun getting to know them.
I found that Ambystoma salamander crossing the road on a rainy night.
The two pictures of me are with a suboc on the River Road (reaching down to grab it) and a feisty emoryi ratsnake.
The Texas "horny toad" (Phrynosoma cornutum) and the Mohave Rattler (Crotalus scutulatus) were found on roads during daylight hours, and the Blacktail (Crotalus mollosus) was found south of Marathon at night.
Michale Price is moving a Prairie Rattler (Crotalus viridis) off of a ranch dirt road.
The little Coleonyx gecko, a beauty, was found in the Big Bend region under a rock.
I saw plenty of other critters on this trip...more later.

By the way, check out the site (Suboc.com). We should have some more pairings this year that have not been previously mentioned on the Expected Offspring page.
More updates on the book soon too!
Thanks!

The First Book about Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes?!!!

2007-04-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

That's right! For the past two years, I have been putting a book together about subocs, and it should be out no later than Fall 2007. The book will be about 200 pages (give or take 20, or so) in length with plenty of photos and information pertaining to the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake of West Texas. I'm very excited about this project.
More details will follow in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

DR

A Public Meeting and Presentation about Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes in June

2007-04-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

I will be giving a talk and PowerPoint about Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes on their home turf in West Texas at the Sanderson Community Center on June 9th at 2pm. With your prayers in my behalf, it should be a good presentation. ;-)

See you there!

Dusty

Baby Suboc Setup

2007-03-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

I've recently had a request to show how I set up my young Trans-Pecos Rats. It's really quite simple. I set them up in Vision hatchling racks with Vision shoeboxes (Any secure plastic shoe box will work). The shoebox itself is then drilled liberally with a Dremel® rotary tool for adequate ventilation, which is imperative for Desert Ratsnakes!
I use paper towels either cut or folded to fit the bottom as a substrate. This makes cage cleaning quick and easy. Though, I have recently switched my babies to shredded aspen. If you use aspen, be sure that your pinkies and fuzzies are dry when offered so that wood particles do not stick to them.
The water dish is either a disposable plastic cup (i.e. delicatessen cup) or a 4" ceramic crock dish.
The hidebox is a Creature Cubbyhole (ESU) or sometimes a plastic food container with a hole cut in the lid. I often add damp paper towels to the latter. The temps should be about 72 - 79 degrees F on the cool end and 82 - 87 degrees F on the warm end.

And there you have it! A perfectly suitable cage for baby subocs.

A Double Generation Gap of Blonde Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes

2007-02-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a comparison of grandfather (top) and grandsnakelings (bottom two). The grandsire is a famous "lemon phase" blonde found by Michael Price in 1992 near Pepper's Hill in Brewster County, TX.
Mike Murphy hatched these animals, both male, in 2006.

Two Cage Accessories Worthy of Your Trans-Pecos Ratsnake

2007-01-27T14:33:00.000-08:00

I have been keeping snakes and other reptiles for over 20 years, and I have used a lot of different hideboxes and water bowls; with everything from empty cereal and shoe boxes to naturalistic rock-formation hides made from real rock (or some type of cement) to dog bowls, food containers and reptile dishes etc. for water bowls.
Well, there are two products that I have decided are the absolute best after years of trying many things.

One is the Creature Cubbyhole manufactured by ESU, and the other is the 4" stoneware crock dish made by Ethical Products, Inc.
As you can see, the Creature Cubbyhole comes in many different sizes (fitting hatchling to adult colubrids and anything in between), is stackable, durable yet light (made of ABS plastic), and is easily washed. They're also dark, which benefits your snakes' sense of security, especially if they're nocturnal. They're also inexpensive. I bought about 50 of these when I got my Vision Racks, and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

The other item in the picture is the stoneware crock dish. They are big and heavy enough so that they don't ever topple over. Yet they are small enough to save on floor space in a small cage. They are just deep enough so that water doesn't evaporate overnight. They are easily washed by hand and are dishwasher safe. And as you can see in the photo, they are also stackable for storage, etc. Perhaps most importantly, they work for any size of Trans-Pecos Ratsnake; from hatchling to 5-foot adult, the 4" crock dish is a perfect fit. They are both obtainable from many pet stores and online order stores. Our favorite supplier is ThatPetPlace.com.

Disposable Sexing Probes for Snakes

2007-01-26T17:56:00.000-08:00

Just to report on a really cool piece of advice from a herp veterinarian, Dale DeNardo, who wrote the chapter Reproductive Biology in Doug Mader's book, Reptile Medicine and Surgery...the author strongly endorses the use of straightened plastic-tipped bobby pins as "the best probes because they are inexpensive and disposable after a single use". "This", he continues, "eliminates the possibility of transferring microorganisms between individuals."

I gotta tell 'ya...I'm hooked on using these for good. There is no need for me to go out and buy another set of stainless steel probes (mine have been missing since we moved from Texas to Utah).
For you veterinary professionals, keep a jar of these handy next to your cotton balls, Q-Tips®, and tongue depressors. No more washing them everyday. No more sticking them in the autoclave to be sterilized. Can you imagine the time and money you'll save?! "Single use and disposable" supplies are worth their weight in gold to a vet clinic.
The same to you folks who own large numbers of snakes or varanids; I'd urge you to keep a supply of these on your work counter.

A Recommended Book Worth Your Investment

2007-01-25T19:49:00.000-08:00

"Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere."

-- Ronald Reagan

The aforementioned quote really captures the manner in which the idea for this recommended book from the Rhoads' bookshelf was conceived and executed.
To tie in to the above quote by one of our nations's great leaders from the past, the preface of the book I am endorsing states:

"Having more than 70 authors contribute to a text is a wonderful thing. No one person can have the knowledge to write a comprehensive book such as this. The reader...will be able to look up information in this book and often find not one, but two or three viewpoints. As mentioned in the first edition, I don't necessarily agree with all the viewpoints--but that is what makes this text so great...there is always someone out there who has more experience or knowledge than you do--all the more reason to have more than one opinion."

The book is Reptile Medicine and Surgery - Second Edition (2006). The editor of the book is Douglas Mader. Just about every significant effort and accomplishment in herp medicine during the past 20 years can trace its roots to Doug Mader. This book is no exception.
You can see that I uploaded a photo of my bookshelf featuring the book, photographed right next to the first edition. (Please forgive the sloppiness of the shelf - it gets used quite frequently!) That first 1996 edition was a going-away gift from a vet who I worked for over four years ago. It had 512 pages with many black and white photos. It was a landmark for the herp medicine industry, no doubt.
Ten years later, we now have the Second Edition. It is in full color with just under 1000 images, with 39 more chapters than its predecessor, and a whopping 1,242 pages -- 730 more than the first edition!
Though this book is intended as a comprehensive textbook for students of veterinary medicine and an indispensable resource for qualified vets, it offers unparalleled, expert insight into reptile biology, disease and husbandry for the reptile keeper and caretaker.
Some of the new chapters that should be of interest to herpetoculturists are ones such as Disinfectants for the Vivarium, Medical Care of Amphibians, Laws and Regulations--American and European, Stress in Captive Reptiles, Behavior, Ultrasound, and Working with Venomous Species -- Emergency Protocols.
If you could only choose three books about reptile care, this would be one of those I'd recommend.

Subocs at the Houston Zoo

2007-01-04T22:47:00.000-08:00

So last week I went to visit the Reptile House at the Houston Zoo, (which is where I am originally from, by the way) to look at (what else?) reptiles and to talk "Bogeys" with any zoo herp keepers that I could bother while I was there.
Andrew Godambe and Dan were both very nice and answered all of my questions. And lo and behold, there was a new first rate suboc vivarium in a showy, corner cage! This is the cage that I'm going to build to keep some of my subocs in one day...(sigh)...one day...

The suboc that was resting out on its rocky ledge was a large, handsome golden-yellowish orange animal, and somewhere else hidden in the cage was a silver blonde. He emerged from his subterranean retreat in the late afternoon. It was a really nice, rainy, cold, ugly day...the perfect kind of day to be at the zoo and have the entire reptile house to yourself so you can just take your time indulgently observing unmolested animals and their activities until you get your fill.
The habitat was absolutely perfect for these animals. You could just tell that the snake was quite content. Anyway, hope you get a kick out of the picture. It was a truly nice set up.

By the way, Happy New Year to All, and may you have success with your resolutions and goals for 2007 (and may you have lots of subocs too...)!
;)

Suboc-worthy rack units

2006-12-27T18:04:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, I ordered several racks from Vision Herpetological. These cages have a genius design...period. They were designed with ardent creativity to maximize the efficiency and minimize cost of the set up...and Vision executed their "vision" without cutting any corners on quality whatsoever. Heating is simple. Ventilation is simple. The entire rack is light and easy to maneuver. A new rack can be assembled within minutes straight out of the box. My wife even assembled one in about 25 mins. :)

On the larger adult racks like the CB70s, there is about a 3/4 cm space (rough estimate) between the top of the tub and the ceiling panel. This leaves plenty of space for ventilation around the entire rim of the tub, and each ceiling panel is perforated. Judging by the rapidity by which the water bowls evaporate in these set ups, Vision racks seem adequately ventilated for Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes. If desired, Scott at Vision can actually custom-tailor the racks (for ventilation-needy species such as subocs) to leave an even wider gap between the tubs' rims and each ceiling panel.

Now heating a Vision rack takes the cake. Each ceiling/floor panel has grooves manufactured into the topside of each panel, where you can fit a desired length of Zoo Med Heat Cable. You can use as much or as little heat cable per level as desired. And here's the kicker...you only need one Zoo Med Heat Cable to heat an entire rack. No more heat tape. No more costly heat panels per level.

Now if Zoo Med came up with a Heat Cable that had a built-in rheostat like some of their heat pads, then I would consider these cables perfect.

All racks come with casters for wheel maneuvering, and they also come with a heat cable. Side guides snap into place easy and enable the tubs to glide in and out easily without any turning. And each rack can fit through a doorway.

The bottom line is that these racks are simply a joy to assemble and to use. We keep our hatchling subocs in Vision Table Top Hatchling racks, our 2 year olds in 32 quart Vision racks, and our adults over 3 years of age in CB70 racks. If you keep and/or breed subocs, we advise you to do the same.

Basic Care Sheet added to Suboc.com

2006-12-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

Go here to check it out. A few of our 2006 customers requested one of these. So, Suboc.com's Basic Care Sheet for Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes is now available.

A HUGE day for the Bogey Industry: The first double-recessive suboc to be offered for sale since Axanthic Blondes

2006-11-19T23:50:00.000-08:00

On Sunday Nov. 19th 2006, the first Albino Blonde to ever be offered on the market was advertised on Kingsnake.com.
Advertised at $3000, a female from the Euro line of albinos made herself a page in Bogey morph history.
This represents, IMHO, an easy investment oppurtunity for any morph pioneers out there. This also exemplifies the success people are having with these animals as captives and breeders. Any double-recessive animal made in captivity is an earmark for a highly keepable and breedable species.
Unlike the axanthic blondes, which came about by loads of luck, the double-recessive Albino Blonde is the result of selective breeding and loads of patience.
Many congratulations to Todd and Glenn of Y-Knot Reptiles, who produced three Euro amel blondes this season!

**Update 11/20/2006**
It turns out that the albino blonde along with the entire group of European hets sold on the same day that they were posted for sale. This is a really healthy sign for the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake market!

New Arrivals!

2006-11-03T13:29:00.000-08:00

We added another albino and another axanthic blonde to our collection this week. Both are females, and are from the Dave Katz camp. They just got here on Wednesday morning.

Beautiful little animals; the axanthic blonde has nice light-centered blotches and the albino female is pretty too. We plan on using her to produce new variations of albinos like orange albinos and orange albino blondes.

Second Clutch of Triple Hets Hatched

2006-11-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

Seven of the nine TH eggs have hatched and are now in their Vision tubs. #6 and #7 hatched this morning. All of the babies are fat and beautiful.
We have sexed the first clutch of three now that they have shed, and it appears that they are all males.

Hands down...the best snake husbandry book ever written

2006-10-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

I had recently requested that my school (Brigham Young University) library order a couple of top-notch snake books for the herpetoculture section, namely both volumes of Pythons of the World.

Well, they just got both of the books in, and all I can say is,"Wow!" about 1000 times.

The vol. 2, Ball Pythons book is so dead on and has such an edge of professionalism, but at the same time has an "everyman's" tonality. The thing that makes this book such a cut above any other snake book is the fact that every entry in the text was written from the perspective of two people who have seen herpetoculture from just about every perspective of experience you can imagine. Even the well-covered topics that you have read in about a hundred other snake books has many different, fresh insights and observations that you've never heard or seen before.

David and Tracy Barker have been there keeping 1000s of snakes since the 1960s. Fifteen years ago as a teenager, when I started getting The Vivarium mailed to my house, there was usually a fantastic article by the Barkers in each issue.

Just as a bit of history on the Barkers and their experience/perspectives, Tracy bought one of her first snakes from Trooper Walsh in a pet store long ago, just like many of us got our first snake at a pet store. David had to wait until he was 17 before his mother let him keep a snake.

The authors both wrote in a perspective that includes practically everyone and their individual situation; from the youth who has one normal ball python in his room to the serious breeder with many types of high-end morphs...this book was written for everyone. To continue, they also have the perspective of large-scale snake breeders, and not just pythons (many, MANY types of herps). They have the perspective of biologists who have extensively studies herps in school. They have the perspective of zookeepers. They have the perspective of courageous entrepreneurs, having a hugely successful snake ranch business (Vida Preciosa International). They have the perspective of snake shippers, buyers, sellers and on and on and on.

Bottom line, this is the most extensively covered book written on a single species of snake, and the snake husbandry info alone is applicable to almost any type of snake kept in captivity. Keep in mind that the Barkers were the first people in the western hemisphere to hatch out an albino suboc, so they have that perspective too.

The book can be purchased from their web site, vpi.com. If there was any one book that I had to pick among the myriad others to recommend to the modern snake keeper, it would be Pythons of the World, Volume II Ball Pythons: The History, Natural History, Care and Breeding by David G. Barker and Tracy M. Barker. I wouldn't think twice about any other.

This is the one to put on your Christmas list.

First Triple Het clutch has finally hatched/pipped

2006-10-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, October 21st, we were delighted to find a pair of "bug-eyes" peeking up at us from an eggshell through the window of an incubator. The little snakeling hatched out early that afternoon, and is a beautiful specimen. As I am typing this entry, the hatchling's other two clutchmates are toying with the idea of fully embracing their new world.

With their heads fully "pipped" and resting just outside of the eggshells, they are the perfect image of what every keeper looks forward to and dreams about all year long.

We may be the only breeders to have produced these this season, as both the axanthic blonde and albino adults are still relatively new. We still have a clutch of nine triple hets left to hatch. We know that Y-Knot Reptiles was planning on breeding their European bloodline of albino blonde male this year, but whether they bred for triple hets or not is uncertain.

Our albino is from a different genetic strain of albino than the European lineage, namely the Loma Alta/Hwy. 277 bloodline.

Suboc.com web site picture updates

2006-10-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

We updated new photos for the axanthic (silver), axanthic blonde, and blonde pages.

Over the next few weeks through the end of November, we will be updating more of our web site's photos and other important information.

Biting my nails...

2006-09-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

is becoming a new (old) bad habit again. I'm sneaking peeks through the incubator window every day now,...at least twice.

When the party is over for other colubrid breeders, the "freaks" (suboc breeders) come out to claim their spoils.

Trans-Pecos hatchings usually coincide with the time of the harvest in North America, when leaves are falling and when people are making jack-o-lanterns and pumpkin pies, all of which bode of a winter soon-to-come; allowing snake enthusiasts one last "fling" to enjoy their very own brand of harvest just before the long days of hibernation are here.

A typical morning in the Suboc Room...

2006-09-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

usually starts with this guy out basking atop his rocky ledge under a daylight bulb for about half an hour with the window open. He's a nearly two year old golden-orange or Oro del Rio (River Gold) phase from Panther Canyon/Closed Canyon parents.
Although most of my snakes are in rack units, I keep a few of them in aquaria so that I can enjoy little day-in-the-life-of-a-reptilian moments like these when I'm just walking by and want to glance in the snakeroom.

May our Heavenly Father Forever Bless His Memory

2006-09-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Today the world has suffered such a loss. God bless dear Steve and his wife and children. This is a such a great loss to the world. When I lived in Chile for a couple of years doing missionary work, Steve was just as famous there as he his here in the U.S.A., and he had a burning passion for life that no other will probably ever exude to such a great extent. My heart goes out to all who loved him, because I feel their deep sense of loss and pain. May our prayers and thoughts be turned towards Terri, Bindi and Bob.

Five good eggs from the Triple Het x Triple Het pairing

2006-08-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Maybe snow is on the way folks...just maybe. We have a 31.25% chance of throwing a snow between the five eggs.

This would be the first snow bogey in history, of course. I know that Craig Trumbower and Y-Knot Reptiles are also working towards this goal, so we should see snow among one of us soon. Craig actually owns the clutchmates/siblings of my 2.1 triple hets.

Any snow has a 25% chance of being blonde patterned.

We also have about a 25% chance of throwing one of these albino blondes. Todd Smith and Glenn Fankhauser of Y-Knot Reptiles own this one-of-a-kind serpent.

So, which do you think would be prettier...snow or snow blonde?

The Big One: Triple het female to lay next week

2006-08-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

Big Silver (axanthic blonde) female with "triple het" eggs

2006-08-03T21:49:00.000-07:00

I got nine good eggs out of her today. The entire clutch was good. Her prenatal shed was on Sunday (July 23rd '06), and she started nosing around her nest box last night. So it took her right at 10 days to begin to lay her eggs and 11 days to finish. One of the eggs wasn't attached to the mass, but it appears fine ( firm, dry and chalky white). That egg is larger than the other eight. It'll be interesting to see these hatch.

These should hatch out as triple hets. I put her with the albino male around 5 or 6 times (about 12-17 days with him in total). Somewhere in the middle of those pairings with the albino male, I stuck her in with the blonde (66% het silver & possible het for Paradox) male one time (about 2-3 days with him in total). If they come out normally patterned, they are triple hets. If they come out blonde patterned, then they will either be silvers or they will be blondes that are 100% het for silvers. Only time will tell.

Simply Subocs' Herp Husbandry Product of the Decade

2006-07-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

ABS Plastic Hide Boxes are back!

I thought I'd let you people in on a little well-kept secret. I thought these little pieces of heaven were gone a LONG time ago when Bush Herpetological Supply (Neodesha Plastics) went out of business.

Much to my delight, apparently ESU now makes them under the alias of the "Creature Cubbyhole".

These things are lightweight, stackable, storable, supereasy to clean, so indestructible that they'll still be around after the apocalypse, and they are hands-down the best hidebox for anyone with enough animals to make you sweat during cage cleaning time.

Oh yeah, and they come in 3 or 4 different sizes and are extremely affordable.

That Pet Place carries them under Reptiles: Ornaments: Hideaways.

Go get 'em! You can't afford to not pick these up.

Three Buns in the Oven

2006-07-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

Got three good eggs from Celebwen (Elvish for Silver Maiden) today. Four out of the seven eggs were bad. She passed two bad eggs within 24 hours of laying the clutch beforehand; these were in random places in the cage.

Anyone else had this happen with their snakes?

Some PR for the Snow Suboc Project

2006-07-14T23:27:00.000-07:00

Our post on Kingsnake.com about this year's possible snow suboc outcome got some extra publicity as a "Hot Topic" and is featured on the front page of KS under "On the Boards" as "Let it snow, let it snow".
Thanks to Kingsnake.com for recognizing a truly cool bit of news!

Step Two on How to Make Snow

2006-07-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

So today I pulled out my triple het. female from one of the triple het. males' cage after being with him for about 5 days, and there were bite marks on her body!

That's a good sign with Trans-Pecos Rats. It almost always means that they bred.

So...if we get eggs out of her, then we'll have a good shot of making an unprecedented morph!
Three that haven't happened yet with the Loma Alta bloodline are the albino blonde, snow and snow blonde morphs. And the latter two haven't occured yet at all.

Keep your fingers crossed that it snows early this year!!!

Prenatal shed today and Triple Het eggs on the way

2006-07-11T13:58:00.000-07:00

An Audio Message for TP Ratsnake fans!

2006-07-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

Big Snakeroom News: Step 1 on How to Make Snow

2006-06-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

These two were caught in the act of procreating tonight! That's right! The Loma Alta albino male and the younger of our two adult axanthic blonde (silver blonde) females were seen copulating around 9 pm!
A clutch of triple heterozygous (albino x silver x blonde) offspring would be the result of this pairing.
Of coarse, snow and snow blonde subocs are the result of breeding triple hets together. Albino blondes, albinos, silvers, silver blondes and blondes are other possible outcomes.
We can't tell you how excited we are about this summer's pairings. This is going to be a lot of fun!

Recent photos

2006-06-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

Including one pic of my only non-Bogertophis ophidian, an outstandingly beautiful male Lee Abbott Okeetee corn.
The little normally patterned silver female TPRS is growing quite nicely. I lifted her humid retreat to snap this photo. All of my subocs that are offered a humid retreat with damp sphagnum moss use it regularly.

KS ad for a "leucy TPRS" was actually a "lindy"

2006-05-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

Rick (the seller) received a snake at a show that was mislabeled a Trans-Pecos, but was actually a TX Rat.
He received e-mails galore this morning when he listed it for $150 on KS. LOL
He sent me these pics, because he wasn't sure what he received (he's not a rat snake guy). Clearly, it's only a TX rat.

No native rat snakes but...

2006-05-10T14:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a month folks. Things have been busy with finishing another semester, etc. But I've got one silver about to do her second post-hibernation shed, so I am hoping for some fireworks in the snake room soon...I'll keep y'all posted with that!

Last week I went with my herpetology professor, other herpetologists and about 15 of my herpetology classmates to the Mojave desert about 45 mins. from St. George, Utah very near the Nevada border. There are no native Elaphe, Senticolis or Bogertophis there but plenty of other neat stuff. We were there for 4 days, and it was a blast!

For me the coolest find was a neonate sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes). The baby rattler was whitish pink in coloration and had only 3 segments including the button. It really matched the dried up river wash in color ( the dirt there is red and it mixed with the white river washbed to create a light pink color) that it was found on. We photographed it the next morning on a dirt road.

We also found these other critters including a large, quite docile 5 and a half ft beautiful orange and yellow gopher snake, four Phrynosoma platyrhinos (very cool!), Crotaphytus colaris, Gembelia wislizenii, a nice greenish/yellow Crotalus scutulatus, a very placid Crotalus viridis lutosus, many Sceloporus spiny lizards (including the graciosus, undulatus, virgatus, magister and occidentalis species), Thamnophis elegans, and even a Gopherus agassizii!!

We saw a few other critters, but these were the most noteworthy. Happy herpin' guys and gals!

Dusty

Gray, Brilliant Orange, Davis Mtn. (Red phase) pages and Homepage Updated on Suboc.com

2006-04-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

We have updated these four pages at Suboc.com with pictures and some more info. Hope you enjoy. I tell ya', it's A LOT easier to photograph baby snakes that have full bellies. They just sit there.

**The following was added on 4/7/06**

We changed out the pictures on the Panther Canyon Brilliant Orange page. My wife pointed it out to me that it looked a little tea colored. It seems that those digital camera pics become somewhat altered if you click the flash button at different speeds. Anyway, I am no photographer, but I think these newer pics I took today came out better than the last ones.

King Mtn. (Peach/Pink locality phase) updated on Suboc.com

2006-04-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

We have added a photo of a nice peachy/pink baby from King Mountain in Upton County, TX to the web site. I know that any of you who have drooled over the pink suboc that the late Raymond Ditmars wrote about in his book, The Reptile Book (1907), would like to see one of these. As with oranges, reds and yellows, they start out dingy pink/peach and increase in color intensity with age.
The site will be updated/finished on a sporadic basis as we aquire photos of our breeders and future breeders. Hope you enjoy and happy herpin'!

The Spring Hitch

2006-03-28T17:05:00.000-08:00

"Bubbles", my blonde '02 male, has finally emerged from his humid retreat (and winter retreat, which is dry during brumation). Even though he and my other snakes have eaten since I warmed them up on Feb. 19th., many of them are only just now starting to move around their cages from time to time.
Sure is nice to see these old faces again.

Happiness...

2006-03-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

is when your snakes' bellies are full. I either read that or heard that somewhere, and I couldn't agree more.
I took this picture today while I gave her a random snack. I try to let my females have more frequent meals at this time of year, ranging in size from fuzzies to weanlings with an occasional adult.
Another really big silver female of mine didn't touch either of her two adult mice last night, so this morning I took one of the adults with a pair of 16" tongs and wiggled it around sporadically in front of her hide-spot, and she glanced at it with an interested expression, then struck and pulled it in.
I couldn't help but think, "Well, why on earth did you not eat them last night?".
And it reminded me that these are animals that have evolved over millions of years to be hunters, and that cannot be ignored no matter how adaptive or opportunistic they may be in captivity.
TP rat snakes have been tracked moving long distances at night, probably hunting.
It's just another important fact that I have learned while keeping these guys, and also an important thing to keep in mind if you are lucky enough to own one or more.
These are not mindless robots that conform to "our standards", but are living things with individual likes and dislikes and innate needs. Subocs remind me of that moreso than other species that I have kept. And it is really just another reason to love them.

And I feel the weight of responsibility to care for them the best I can, and to make them feel comfortable enough to forget that they are captive, if that is even possible. I admit that I haven't progressed my husbandry practices to that exalted standard yet, but I am working at it.
In other words, I envision the day when my captive charges are all sitting pretty in room sized vivariums filled with real Chihuahuan desert flora, rocks, and sunlight.

It is my firm belief that animals are here on this earth for us to use and enjoy, but not to abuse and destroy. They should be treated with the most respect that we can find in ourselves to give, and we should be actively engaged in the cause of their preservation and conservation.
Probably the main reason that I keep these beautiful creatures is because I feel connected with Mother Nature when I am around them, and it is peaceful and fulfilling to have that connection. Perhaps I would not keep any at all if my time and circumstances permitted me to enjoy them out in their own natural turf. It is much more exciting and exhilirating to see a plain old normal brown suboc slithering around on a West Texas cut than to see a silver one slithering on aspen bedding. Still, it is a pleasure to have them here in my own home where I can observe them at leisure. I'm a pretty lucky guy.

Suboc.com is here

2006-03-18T22:33:00.000-08:00

Finally Suboc.com is up and running, people. The Paint Jobs pages and the Expected Offspring for '06 page are finished, although I lack a few photos. The other pages have yet to be uploaded, but they will be alot easier than "PJ" pages...so they will be up soon.

Suboc Article, "Bug-Eyed Beauties", in Reptiles Magazine - May Issue

2006-03-15T15:56:00.000-08:00

What a pleasant surprise to come home from a hard day of lectures and work and open up a brand new issue of Reptiles Mag to find a BIG, FAT, 9-PAGE article written by our friend Mike Price, that's dedicated 100% to TPRS's!
Mike told me about this article a little over a year ago. And man, I can't tell you how glad I am that he has done some PR for a snake that is WAY overdue for some. And TP rats are very deserving of this. This is a snake that has been beloved and highly revered since it was discovered, and it is a snake that I know that many of us drooled over when reading Carl Kauffeld's words as he described his hunt for one in "Snakes: the Keeper and the Kept". He dedicated an entire chapter to this species.
"H-snakes" have enjoyed popularity in the hobby, but they have not been able to compete with the craze of morphs that have caught fire recently, like with the cornsnake and ball python markets.
But their day is coming.
Considering that they don't lay large clutches (~ 3-11 eggs), that they don't double-clutch; and that females usually need to be at around 3-4 years old for good breeding fitness; and that many new morphs like albino blonde, high orange, snow, snow blonde and possibly even TRUE patternless blondes (just to name a few) are on the horizon...the future is looking good for these snakes.
Also, this isn't a species that saturates the market, so anyone investing in "high-end" subocs won't find themselves getting out of them right after the first breeding. Although albinos may not be flying out of the breeders' doors with such demanding prices, they're value has remained fairly high and stable, especially when compared to other rat snakes and colubrids.
I recommend that every suboc lover buy this issue of Reptiles Magazine, if they haven't received it already. Probably NO ONE knows as much about locality subocs and suboc breeding more than Michael Price does. And probably no one in the country breeds and hatches more subocs annually than Mike does either.
To my knowledge, this is the first full-length suboc article ever published in the 13 years of Reptile Magazine's existence. Like I said, go get it. The excellent photos comparing different localities together is well worth the price alone, and is definitely a first in the history of this species.

**The following was added on April 5th 2006**
Here is the blurb for the article from the magazine's web site:

Bug-Eyed Beauties
The Trans-Pecos rat snake, a Southwestern beauty,
is easy to keep and breed. Plus, this snake displays a
wide variety of morphs, with new ones still being discovered.
By Michael S. Price

Finally!!!...a Suboc.com update!

2006-02-22T19:33:00.000-08:00

Notice that the web site will be called Suboc.com, not subocs.com. I had a problem with the company who I bought the domain and hosting from, and decided to go with a different company (and therefore a different previously unregistered name) altogether. blah blah blah blah blah
So finally...we are very close to getting this thing up...this time it's the real deal. My goal is to have the homepage and what I call the "Paint Jobs" pages up by this weekend. Hopefully that goal is realistic enough??
We will have a few announcements concerning all of the researched pages like "Captive History", "Myths/Facts", "Captive Care", "Morph History" etc...but we'll have to wait before we divulge those...but really soon.
So...keep your fingers crossed, and we should all be finally seeing a subocs-only web site by the end of the week!

Primavera!

2006-02-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

On Sunday (Feb. 19th) in the snake room , I removed the curtains (actually a dark blanket), closed the windowpane, opened the heater vents, and yesterday and today I have started to turn on the supplemental subenclosure heat for the females.
A few of the blokes are still asleep, but that is expected. However, this little girl was one of the first to start moving around, and she is looking even more beautiful than when she conked out on Dec. 22nd.

We're hoping for a good year, and it is exciting to start seeing some "old faces" after a couple months of winter slumber!

Suboc look-alike?

2006-02-15T08:13:00.000-08:00

Meet Pituophis lineaticolis...the TP rat's twin.
Dowling and Price, the two people who, in 1988, proposed that subocularis and rosaliae be given their own genus of Bogertophis instead of Elaphe, proposed also that the Bogertophis animals were more closely related to "Pits" than to other "rat snakes". After seeing these animals, I am a believer.
Another amazing photo by Michael Price.

Striped Suboc?

2006-02-07T22:27:00.000-08:00

A pic of a striped H-less juvi suboc from Billy Griswold's article.

I have never seen one like this before and thought I would solicit some posts if you have any pics.

One more Out-Of-Print/Collector's Item Suboc article from The Vivarium

2006-02-07T22:15:00.001-08:00

A scanned article by Thurgess Cranston that appeared in the Vol. 4/No. 5 (March/April) 1993 issue of The Vivarium, pgs. 18-21.

Another Out-Of-Print (OOP) Suboc article and collector's item available for viewing (from Reptile and Amph. Magazine)

2006-02-07T21:47:00.001-08:00

This is a scanned copy of an article written by Billy Griswold for the May/June 1994 issue of Reptile and Amphibian Magazine, pgs. 64-69.

Stocklist request letter I wrote at age 14

2006-01-27T18:29:00.000-08:00

This monster (me) was created a long time ago. I don't know how we found this at my parents' house, but it's a stocklist request that I wrote to Glades Herp when I was 14 years old in junior high (8th grade).

It turned up as I was going through old documents before Amy and I moved up to Utah last August, and I thought I had to keep this. It's too typical of how I was as a child to throw away, so I thought it best to "immortalize" it on this blog.

More beautiful animals from the Mike Price camp...

2006-01-24T16:54:00.000-08:00

The normally patterned youngster is an '05 captive-bred from the "Big Hill", a locality not too far from the Panther Canyon in Presidio County. Apparently happy and content with a belly full of mouse.
The blonde animal was a '92 legally wild-collected TPRS from Pepper's Hill; Mike's original male for that bloodline. A lot of nice yellow in that snake. That photo appears in Dick Bartlett's book, "Designer Reptiles and Amphibians - 2002" published by Barron's books on page 49.
Thanks again to Mike for the great photos. If you want a beautiful, locality-specific H-snake, then you can't go wrong with Mike Price.

A few of Mike's '05 hatchout

2006-01-20T13:28:00.000-08:00

A lot of different looks there. I think the topmost animal is the lemon line of blonde? Each blonde there is a different locality, I believe. The normals are also very pretty and are exact locale animals too. Mike sure does produce some nice stuff, doesn't he?

Lemon and Mustard Yellow Blondes

2006-01-19T20:47:00.000-08:00

The top one was sold on KS a while back to someone unknown to me. The scanned picture is from Bartlett's rat snake book. High yellow blondes are really nice snakes.

Dave and Tracy Barker's albino suboc chat link

2006-01-14T11:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.kingsnake.com/chat/barkers.html
This is a link to a chat the Barker's did on KS a few years back where the topic was on their two albino suboc projects (the Loma Alta and Dave Long bloodlines).

known established albino lines

2006-01-14T11:12:00.000-08:00

Gregg,

Although still expensive, $900 is actually a really, really good price for a baby albino female suboc. Considering that there are only about 3 to 5 guys in the world that own an albino adult suboc from the Loma Alta line, a high price is pretty justified. About three years ago, they went for around $2,500 each, and some still go for around $1,200 to $1,500. Adults go for around $2,500 to $3,000.
About the explanation of the different localities of albinos, I could give you a brief synopsis. I already have a page for subocs.com that is more thoroughly written on this topic. There are three established and proven bloodlines, and none of them are compatible when bred to each other. They are as follows:
1. Loma Alta (Hwy. 277) line<---This is the line that Don Soderberg and VPI started together, however Don no longer works with them. The only people I know of that own adults of this line are Dave Katz, Craig Trumbower and myself. I heard that many of Tracy Barker's at VPI have died off. I don't know if they still have a breeding colony.
2. the European line<---This line is the oldest and most established of the three. These don't have a known locality. They hatched serendipitously in a lucky breeder's incubator. The only blondes that are het for albino (so far) have come from this line. The other two lines haven't been around long enough yet. If I was a betting man, I'd run to Las Vegas and bet my last dollar that your blonde male is het for the Euro line.
3. the Dave Long - Brewster County line<---This is a very yellow/orange/golden animal that Dave Long found. Tracy Barker also established this line. She is (or was) the only person to have breedably-sized adults. I don't believe anyone else has adults of these yet.

Todd Smith in California breeds the Euro line, and he has had several hatch this year that are possible hets for albino. He hatched out blondes, silvers of both patterns, and normals that are possible hets for albino. He had atleast one albino hatch. If you were to get a blonde or silver blonde from him, you'd have a fair chance of producing albinos, blondes and even albino blondes. Todd has just about the best prices I have ever seen for subocs. He sells albinos for about $750.
I'm sure you could get a possible het for a really great price.

Long lost OOP blonde suboc article and collector's item available for viewing

2006-01-11T16:17:00.000-08:00

Authors Bill Lamoreaux and Doug Wuerch provided me with both scanned and Xeroxed copies of this historic article that they wrote while working together at the Dallas Zoo in the late 70's and early 80's. This paper appeared in the Dallas Herpetological Society Occasional Papers 1: 9-13 in 1981, and was the first official and full-length description of the blonde phase. Click on the individual pages to read the fully sized document.
Bill actually went to the trouble for me of going and finding this 25 year old article that has long since been tucked away in files in his basement.

Many thanks to Bill and Doug for their generosity of providing this info.

Snake luvins.

2006-01-03T23:17:00.000-08:00

This is a card I recently rediscovered that my wife bought me after we were engaged to be married. The inscription inside says, "Ours is a strange and wonderful relationship."
Cute picture...especially the tail-wagging.

Hey Bill! Here is your pic!

2005-12-30T23:21:00.000-08:00

What locality is this little beaute?

Patternless blondes DO exist!!...well one does anyway

2005-12-28T12:11:00.000-08:00

Longtime herp breeder, Richard Trant of England, produced this amazing patternless blonde male in '02. The rest of its siblings were normally patterned blondes (is that an oxymoron?). He plans on breeding it back to its mother this coming season. Thanks to Richard for supplying the pictures.

an interesting post from KS by Aaron Mattson about the gray vs. silvers

2005-12-26T12:35:00.000-08:00

Hey Dusty, glad you posted those pics.
A little history, that "silver" suboc was collected by Shawn Deveroe in 1999 in the Christmas Mtns. when we were both there and I got it from him. There has been skepticism by people that have only seen pics of that snake and I can't say it's unwarrented. I have never gotten a good pic of that snake. I will say that every hunter who saw it in person said anerythristic. At the time I thought so too but now I would say more correctly it is hypoxanthic. There is not a trace of yellow on the snake anywhere however the head and the longitudinal dorsal stripes that connect the H-Bars are a faded brown. The ground color is gray and the H-Bars themselves are black. Last year I bred it to a wild caught normal female suboc also from the Christmas Mtns. I got six babies and all were normal dark beige. I no longer have either of the adults or the babies. In 2002 Ric Blair and I collected another "silver" at Black Gap. The colors are exactly the same as the Christmas "silver" except the gray is much lighter. Last year I bred her to a wild caught normal male from Black Gap and produced 4.3 and I kept 2.1, Ric got 1.1 and Shannon Brown got 1.1. All of those babies were very pale cream, but not white and not silver. The 2.1 I kept are developing more color and they look like they are going to be just normal light colored subocs. This year I bred the same pair and got 3.3 and all are just like the ones from the previous breeding, pale cream. I will refrain from commenting on Sighthunters snakes because I have not seen them in person and I know how inaccurate pictures can be.

Now a little info on the so called gray phase that is mentioned sometimes in field guides. I have read there is a gray phase that occurs naturally in the Franklin Mtns. I do not think it could be very common there because I have a friend who hunted the Franklins alot for many years for lepidus and he has seen many subocs there but never a gray phase. Maybe there is a population in the Franklins where they are common but everything I have heard and what you just reviewed indicates that it is a rare morph that occurs sporadically throughout their range. I think the natural gray phase and the "silvers" I have and have had are possibly the same thing and I think that is that they are naturally occuring but rare hypoxanthic subocs. I think the variation from very light to regular gray is is possibly the same gene acting on different base colors. My opinion is based on ten years of hunting west TX and I have seen hundreds of wild subocs of all phases, cream, yellow, orange, biege and even light army green.

My sincere opinion is that the "silver" Black Gaps will prove to be simple recessive. "Silvers" did not show up for me in the first generation from 2 clutches and I have never seen a snake that is (in person at least) so obviously a color morph of some sort eventually prove out either simple recessive or co-dominant. I would not be suprised if all those you mentioned, including the axanthic blonds were compatible. The reason I think even the axanthic blonds may be compatible is because they already lack the longitudinal dorsal stripes so there are no stripes there to be brown. This could also acount for the lack of any brown on the heads of the axanthic blondes. Anyways that is just my personal opinion and I am not claiming it is 100% correct. I should be able to bred the unproven het males to their mother in 2007 and maybe I will find out for sure about at least my snake then.

New Logo Created

2005-12-12T22:07:00.000-08:00

Here is the logo that Amy and I put together for the web site. Tell me what you think.

Loma Alta bloodline '03 albino het subadult male

2005-12-09T11:57:00.000-08:00

Here he is, Mike...if you wanted to see him. I also have three of his brothers...two triple hets (albino x silver blonde), one albino and one sister, a triple het female. Of coarse, they are all half-siblings.
Adam Sweetman owned the albino male that sired all of these animals. I believe Dave Katz now owns that male.

New links added

2005-12-02T00:07:00.000-08:00

Check out the new convenient links to some "Bogey Breeders" and other herp-related websites below. We will add more soon!

Dear Visitors...

2005-11-30T20:50:00.000-08:00

If you click on the # sign next to where it says, "Posted by Dusty Rhoads.", then it will take you to an individual page for each journal entry and you can see all of the comments that have been posted and also a link to post a comment yourself, if you so desire.
Maybe you already figured that out, but Dusty here was a little slow on the uptake. LOL
Much love to all and happy herpin'!

Dusty R.

here ya go, Mike...

2005-11-30T15:31:00.000-08:00

Here is that Hwy. 118 blonde pic you asked for. It's a scanned photo from The Vivarium on page 20 of Vol. 4 No.5.
This was actually the very first blonde "bogey" I ever saw when this issue came out back in March/April 1993, when I was about 12 years old. I was smitten. LOL!
The color, pattern and head-shape on this animal is perfect. Very husky looking.
I talked to Gerold Merker about this animal recently, and he said it was a male that lived a LONG, LONG time and finally died about 4 years ago.
(you can click on the pic to enlarge it.)

The skinny on www.suboc.com

2005-11-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give you guys a heads-up on some of the COOL stuff that will be featured on my new website VERY VERY soon, which will be up and running probably no later than the end of December.
First of all, it will be the most comprehensive information source on TPRS's out there. I have researched exhaustively using every type of literature, scholarly journal, "interviews" with alot of people and every other type of information source you can imagine to make this website the most accurate and helpful of suboc information resources available.

Some of the featured pages will be as follows:
A History of Subocs in Captivity (including a thorough explanation of the origins and genetics of all known morphs)
Facts and Myths
Captive Care
And many, many more!
The website will also be alot of fun. It will feature about 12 different color/pattern morphs with an individual page dedicated to each one! We will be selling offspring of each of these 12 "cultivars" over the next few years, with more new morphs continually being added to the website as they begin to pop up in herpetoculture (and hopefully in ours and your snake-room!).
So get ready to have alot of fun and learn even more about these wonderful bug-eyed beauties!
Peace out!
Dusty

New Arrival this Weekend!

2005-11-30T02:57:00.000-08:00

This little girl will be joining our family later this week. She'll be taking an airplane ride from Florida to our house in Utah.
She is a normally-patterned silver (axanthic), and has some very pretty and unusual "dashed" lines on her neck, almost like road markings.

Orange subocs!

2005-11-30T01:01:00.000-08:00

This is the golden-orange color phase that I am working with, pictured here with a normally-colored animal of the same age.
This pic will also be on my website very soon when it is up and running. It's sort of artistic in a symmetrical way.

Hello and Welcome, Everyone!

2005-11-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

This is our first day and I am so stoked about all the fun this blog is going to be! Stay tuned, everyone. We are going to have new stuff on here all of the time, so check back often.
And for more on Trans-Pecos rat snakes, check out my website at www.suboc.com. And I hope you enjoy this blog!