I hope everyone is as envious as I am

[The Snark]

Excerpt of a letter from a friend in Guam:
"Had rather a surprise 'wakeup' early in the morning. I rolled over in bed and felt something strange next to me. Turned out to be a six foot long rat snake!!"

 

[Galapoheros]

I'd prefer something like Jennifer Aniston instead but that's interesting too, any pics of the snake?

 

[The Snark]

I'd prefer something like Jennifer Aniston instead but that's interesting too, any pics of the snake?

(FACEPALM) I'll write and ask. With him being a semi pro photographer I'll never let him live it down if he didn't get some.

 

[PlaidJaguar]

Man that's better than coffee for waking up in the morning! No hitting the snooze button when there's an uninvited reptile in your bed!

 

[The Snark]

He got pictures. On film. And he won't get the film developed until he goes to California to a certain studio where he can supervise their work. ::

 

[pitbulllady]

I'd be interested in seeing the pics, because as far as I know, there are no "rat snakes" on Guam. Guam has no native snakes, period, which is why they have had such a bad experience with the Brown Tree Snake(Boiga irregularis). The island's bird population had evolved in the absence of land-based predators of any king, and when the Tree Snakes, which are native to Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands, and feed mostly on birds, were accidentally introduced by "hitching" rides on cargo planes from bases the Australian mainland and Papua, NG, during WWII, the result was devastating to the bird population. The Tree Snake is a large, rather slender, and, as the name implies, mostly brown snake, so I can see how it can be mistaken for a Ptyas sp. by someone not really familiar with it, even though it has a very different head shape, with the elliptical, cat-like pupils that are very unlike a Rat Snakes' round pupils. He's pretty lucky not to have been bitten; while not "medically significant", Boiga irregularis venom can be rather unpleasant to adults, and can be more serious for a small child, and these snakes have notoriously short "fuses" and are generally quick to bite. That is, in fact, how most envenomations occur on Guam-snakes crawling into bed with a sleeping person to take advantage of the person's warmth, and then becoming defensive when the person wakes up and reacts to their presence or rolls over on them in their sleep.

pitbulllady

 

[The Snark]

I need easily identifiable markings, shapes and etc for the brown snake as well as any other possible candidate. The reason being, my friend is not too animal oriented and he only goes to the mainland once every 2 years or so to develop the films. Him never progressing into the digital age is AGGRAVATING!

 

[pitbulllady]

I need easily identifiable markings, shapes and etc for the brown snake as well as any other possible candidate. The reason being, my friend is not too animal oriented and he only goes to the mainland once every 2 years or so to develop the films. Him never progressing into the digital age is AGGRAVATING!

Here ya go: http://www.brucecowellphotographer.com.au/image library reptiles/Boiga-irregularis-2--Brown-.jpg . Superficially, it DOES resemble a Ptyas, just a bit more slender, but the head is the key identifier. Check out the eyes and the still-visible banding on this one, in "default" Boiga mode, lol: http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c...ion Beach/BoigairregularisBrownTreeSnake1.jpg .

pitbulllady

 

[The Snark]

Here ya go: http://www.brucecowellphotographer.com.au/image library reptiles/Boiga-irregularis-2--Brown-.jpg . Superficially, it DOES resemble a Ptyas, just a bit more slender, but the head is the key identifier. Check out the eyes and the still-visible banding on this one, in "default" Boiga mode, lol: http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c...ion Beach/BoigairregularisBrownTreeSnake1.jpg .

pitbulllady

Thanks! If it wasn't for the head that resembles the common ratters we have around here.

 

[Najakeeper]

Yeah, if he has seen a snake and he is in Guam, it is a brown tree snake. The only snake I don't mind getting caught and deported from a place.