Tag Archives: Corallus cookii

Corallus cookii; documenting its life cycle in captivity

Captive breeding, Conservation, Corallus, , , ,

A small litter of Corallus cookii, born September 26 at approximately 10:00 p.m., consisted of six live neonates, three small unfertilized ovum and no stillborn.  The neonates weighed 5.51 g to 14.09 g with an average weight of 11.86 g.  The female moved away from the heat source immediately after shedding on 16 September.  She also dropped a large quantity of pre-birth material in the bowel movement.

Litter of six C. cookii born September 26, 2021.

There is a variety of pattern and color between the neonates, though this polymorphism is not as pronounced as it is with C. hortunalus or C. grenadensis.

The iconic rhomboids found on C. cookii.

The female  boa, once finished with parturition,  consumed all three unfertilized ovum-possibly the first time this behavior has been documented in the species.

A total of three litters was produced in 2021:

  • US:  6 live and 3 unfertilized ovum on 26 September.  Smallest neonate weighed 5.51 g and the largest weighed 14 g with an average weight of 11.86 g.
  • US:  5 live, 1 stillborn and 6 unfertilized ovum on 8 October.  Smallest neonate weighed 7.96 g and the largest weighed 9.89 g with an average weight of 8.65 g.
  • US:  5 live, 1 stillborn and 2 unfertilized ovum on 8 October.  Smallest neonate weighed 7.4 g and the largest weighed 12.0 g with an average of 10.18 g.

For more photos and a complete overview of the species, view the C. cookii chapter.

 

Recommended Reading

Corallus, Natural History, Recommended reading, , , , , , ,

 

Robert W. Henderson dedicated large parts of his professional life to the study of West Indian reptiles with particular focus on the Genus Corallus and herein the species Corallus grenadensis. This fascination, research and accumulated knowledge is the foundation of this synopsis reflecting the status of the current knowledge. The book is more than 400 pages strong and contains more than 300 high quality color photos, most of which never been published before.

Unsurprisingly, Henderson’s love for the species residing on the Windward Islands is shown by the fact that much more information and scientific analysis is provided on these species than on some others. But don’t get me wrong, it’s not a fault of the author, but simply a lack of data and detailed analyses that we suffer from for many of the other taxa. It’s about time to change that. 

This book is a must read for any person interested in the genus Corallus.  Get it directly from the publisher  here  or, if you are in the USA,  here.