Acanthophis woolfi (Dajarra Desert Death Adder) Pictures and Video

[Najakeeper]

After some trading in the Hamm show, I have managed to save enough money to get a pair of these beauties. Being mainland Australian death adders, they are very rare in captive collections outside of Australia. These come from Dajarra and are adapted to desert life pretty well. Hoser classified them as Acanthophis woolfi but there is still a debate about the actual classification. They are breath taking animals whatever their scientific name ends up being. Here are a couple pictures and a small video:

Male

Female

[YOUTUBE]1jb5Dr0Yppw[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Najakeeper]

I have fed everyone today with no problems. Here are a few more pictures:

 

[Ivymike1973]

Beautiful little beasties. Congratulations.

 

[oldmanofthesea]

Nice looking snakes. Thanks for the post. Ron

 

[pnshmntMMA]

You've got to be kidding me. I don't want to think about how much they cost!!!!!! Sweeeeeeeeet snakes

 

[Najakeeper]

You've got to be kidding me. I don't want to think about how much they cost!!!!!! Sweeeeeeeeet snakes

Being in Europe has its advantages when it comes to rare snakes. Aside from US natives like high end rattlesnakes and gila monsters etc., everything is much less expensive here. These snakes still cost a lot but they are half the price one would pay in the States.

 

[Nikki1984]

Wow, they are screamers! Congratulations!

 

[Najakeeper]

Hey Guys,

Here is some updated info on these.

Unfortunately, the female regurgitated all she ever ate and died. I did a necropsy and found tumors in her intestines. The breeder is soon replacing her with a sub-adult specimen so at least no economic loss there.

The male is doing wonderful, currently eating frozen/thawed mouse fuzzies and doing great.

Here is a recent video of him caudal luring for more food:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXtN9PER5UE

 

[Najakeeper]

Acanthophis woolfi

Faces of life and death:

Scales of the desert:

 

[cantthinkofone]

Sucks about your female though. Very nice snake.

 

[Najakeeper]

Sucks about your female though. Very nice snake.

Yeah it does but in September, I am getting a sub-adult female as a replacement so it will be fine.

The male just shed and he looks amazing!

Here is a post shed picture:

And a feeding video:

[youtube]cl8xKgClxZ8[/youtube]

 

[Najakeeper]

I finally got my replacement female for the one that passed away and she is gorgeous!

Here is her eating a rat pink:

 

[Najakeeper]

Acanthophis sp."Dajarra" female in shed:

Eye macro:

 

[RzezniksRunAway]

They are gorgeous. Do they ever outgrow (for lack of a better term) the caudal luring in captivity?

 

[Najakeeper]

They are gorgeous. Do they ever outgrow (for lack of a better term) the caudal luring in captivity?

As far as I have seen, it increases with age actually. My A.hawkei didn't use caudal luring when they were small but now they do it quite often. Of course, this changes from individual to individual a lot. My A.antarcticus male lures any time I walk around his cage while the female doesn't at all. But to keep in mind, male eats anything that comes close to him while female is a very picky eater. So a decent generalization would be that adders that are good eaters usually use caudal luring a lot as they are constantly trying to get food.

 

[RzezniksRunAway]

Ah, that's interesting. I was thinking that the abundance of food being delivered right to their door without actively using the luring each time would make them slowly stop using it, but I guess if they just lure whenever they sense movement that stays reinforced. They are such interesting snakes.

 

[Najakeeper]

Here is the female feeding on a small mouse:

[YOUTUBE]E0sZsuSxTfM[/YOUTUBE]

I may try breeding her this season, still considering...