The Importance of Obscurity – The Odd Species We Need

By Justin Smith

Herpetoculture has evolved drastically over the last 30 years while simultaneously staying the same in a sense. We’ve seen ball pythons firmly cement their place in the hobby and explode into the incredible (and growing) array of morphs we have presently. Corn snakes have come a long way in the last 20 years. Bearded dragons and leopard geckos have been an industry staple. Hell, even axolotls exploded in popularity just within the last few years. Looking at the ease of care and spectrum of colors and patterns within these species, it is really no wonder why or how they have come to be kept in such high numbers. 

Now there is nothing wrong with these and other popular species but over the same span of time we have also seen species virtually disappear from the hobby entirely. Off the top of my head Savu Pythons, Madagascar Tree Boas, a majority of Bush Viper species, Mali Uromastyx, and many more are all species that at one time were fairly prevalent in the hobby but due to lack of interest and/or borders closing, eventually dwindled and disappeared from many collections. 

And who better to ask of their opinion about the matter than Harlin Wall and Rob Stone? These are two guys who have seen so many species come and go in the industry. Harlin in particular says that Monkey Tailed Skinks are the first species to come to mind. “Looking back on reptile species that have nearly fallen by the wayside in captivity, I sometimes think about Corucia zebrata, the Monkey Tailed Skink or Prehensile Tail Skink. In the late 90’s you could purchase them for as little at $35 each from various wholesalers/importers.”  He also added “ I remember gravid females being offered for only slightly higher prices. These are the largest species of skink in the world! Only occurring on the Solomon Islands, they live an arboreal lifestyle in small groups (sometimes referred to as troops). Females only give birth to one or two “pups” at a time and are often reported to display defensive behavior when protecting their young.  These omnivorous reptiles move slowly, mature slowly and reproduce at a slower rate than many other species of reptiles. Back when they were being exported in heavy numbers and low prices, we did not stop to consider how quickly this might come to a screeching halt.  At the time, I was a younger man, trying to make a living selling to pet stores.  And will openly admit that I sold a fair number of these interesting skinks.” 

As time went on, the combination of habitat loss and over collection for the pet trade left C. zebrata in a tough position. “ The mass collection of these animals for the pet trade was simply not sustainable.  Especially if you consider the even greater pressures they were under, due to the loss of suitable habitat. Once laws were in place to provide protection against over collecting and exportation of these lizards, the prices went up overnight and they went up considerably!” Harlin recalls. The history of these lizards in the hobby made another value of these “endangered” species of the hobby clear; the value of having them in collections period. “If we are not careful, species that seem overly plentiful or perhaps not so “financially valuable”….The animals that are perhaps not basking in the sunshine of “mass popularity”…we tend to overlook these species and if not properly managed, we could easily and completely lose the blessing of having them available! They could fall by the wayside. If this happens, we will only have memories and photographs or videos to show to the next generations of keepers.” 

The importance of the oddball hobbyists that focus on the lesser seen species can’t be stated enough. We definitely know that there are trends in the hobby that rise and fall. Mexican Black Kings are a prime example. Not so long ago you could pick up an MBK or even a pair for a humble price but then at some point social media exploded with these “poor man’s indigos” as they came to be called. As a result the demand overwhelmed the supply and prices skyrocketed. Are MBKs a species that will disappear from the hobby? Probably not. But it just goes to show how something as simple as a completely black snake being flashed online can cause a trend almost overnight. 

Rob Stone and I were talking back and forth via Facebook messenger about this very topic as well. In my opinion there’s almost a formula of sorts where all the parts have to be in the right place for a species to really take off in the hobby like we’ve seen with ball pythons. In talking to Rob I mentioned “As far as the “endangered species” of the hobby it really boggles my mind that with so many people in the hobby we can lose so many species. But I also think about the divide between casual hobbyists and serious ones which would leave a pretty large gap for that stuff to get lost.” This gap, I believe, is one of the larger parts of why some species get sidelined. Not everyone wants an expensive, hard to find/reproduce species and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! 

Rob also sent me a link to a recent episode of The Chameleon Academy Podcast with Philippe de Vosjoli. About half of this episode talks about this topic of needing the people that breed the uncommon species. “I really took Philippe’s thing as two parallel, equally important but distinct ideas – the first that we need to consciously chose what we work with, and the second that people can work with stuff that’s rare but has the same requirements as common stuff folks are shuffled to” To that point, Vosjoli brings up the Red-Eared Slider and how Americans have spent millions upon millions of dollars, year after year on all of the hardware and necessities for this incredibly common species but felt that keeping a RES vs a less common species of turtle aren’t THAT far off from one another so why are red-eareds kept in such high numbers? 

I believe that there’s levels a certain species has to pass to become a mainstay in the industry. It starts from the country of origin and the export laws at a given time then breaks down to price, appearance, care requirements, demand, supply, percentage of the hobby/industry that is invested which is then broken down by the number of people who can afford and stick with the species. But a lot of It boils down to monoculture. 

“In the US we have fostered a mindset of Monoculture in Herpetoculture. It has rewarded us in many ways. The US likely has one of the most diverse reserves of reptile morph genetics in the world. Just think about the numbers of different Ball Python, Corn Snake, Blood Python, Boa Constrictor, Carpet Python, Amazon Tree Boa, Bearded Dragon, and Leopard Gecko morphs.  Now consider the flip side of this perspective, with the reward of having the myriad of color and pattern forms, also comes the cost of potentially overlooking species that could be just as rewarding….species that could be lost if we are not diligent about showing them some appreciation.” as Harlin explained. 

Sometimes it isn’t this monoculture per se, sometimes there simply aren’t enough of a species to get into the right hands. Crocodilurus amazonia or the Crocodile Tegu is a species where there was a 2010 re-evaluation of CITES status done on them which gave actual insight into the numbers of them moved between 1975 and 2010. Unbelievably, 17 total (including live, dead, and body parts) came in in that 35 year period. As a result Stone says the $7,000 price tag coupled with the low import numbers “simultaneously justify the price point but also guarantee it won’t work out long term” Fortunately this isn’t the case for a large majority of these unattended species in our industry. 

The other side to this coin is the success stories of species that were once in very short supply now becoming more common in collections across the country. Rough Scaled Pythons were once one of the rarest snakes in U.S. collections but there are now more people breeding them annually than we’ve ever seen! It is these breeders that are the kind of folks helping make the obscure not so abnormal anymore. To this point Harlin said “I hold a soft place in my heart for anyone who is giving attention to…or those who are focusing their efforts on species that may not be so mainstream. Perhaps showcasing species outside of the limelight from time to time in a publication like this…or on a youtube channel…giving credit to those who are putting the time in with species that might not rank near the top of the list with the masses.” 

Then there are species that just don’t get enough attention. If you have listened to me on pretty much any podcast, I’m always talking about how underrated Baird’s Rat Snakes are. Pantherophis species are incredibly popular here in the states but for whatever reason Baird’s rats flew far under the radar and have never really had their “time” in the herpetocultural timeline. Another species I would probably put into this category are Inland Carpets. Everyone I’ve talked to that keeps Inlands says they are some of the coolest carpets they have ever kept! Despite this they too have never taken off to the level the other carpets have. 

As Harlin says, “We are the stewards of the animals that are available to us here NOW. It is our responsibility to appreciate ALL that is available to us now, before it is lost. It is our responsibility to share these lessons to those newer upcoming keepers…so that when we pass the torch, they too will make sure that they do not become distracted by what is popular…and end up trading the value of available variety for the monetary values that sometimes cloud our vision of the bigger picture.” I can honestly say that within the last few years I’ve noticed people are starting to branch out, seeing all the awesome species this industry has to offer off the beaten path. I’ll end this with Harlins’ parting words. “Exposure creates appreciation and paves the road to a desire for an education about that which is new to you.  Perhaps think about species that might not be getting the attention they deserve and make an effort form a side project that strengthens the diversity of availability within our reptile community.   They say you never know how much you might miss it, until it is already gone.  We have been giving a lucky second chance with the species I mentioned in the beginning…Corucia zebrata…the Monkey Tailed Skink.  I hope we are able to transfer the lessons learned from the history of this species and apply it to countless others that deserve our attention and appreciation.” Don’t let them slip away, because we truly don’t know what we have until it’s gone.

“We are the stewards of the animals that are available to us here NOW.  It is our responsibility to appreciate ALL that is available to us now, before it is lost. It is our responsibility to share these lessons to those newer upcoming keepers…so that when we pass the torch, they too will make sure that they do not become distracted by what is popular…and end up trading the value of available variety for the monetary values that sometimes cloud our vision of the bigger picture.”