Little is known of the biology of the Whitaker's Boa,Eryx whitakeri named after legendary herpetologist and our founder, Rom Whitaker. Previously thought to be a hybrid between the red and common sand boa, a group of a male and two females came to us in 2014. Fed on a diet of lab rats, and in an enclosure which allowed for climbing. (Unlike true sand boas these guys can be found 30 feet up in coconut trees!) A sand box which they do use to hide in, a large water bowl to keep humidity levels high, and regular basking in mottled shade,they steadily grew.
Whilst copulation/mating/pairing was observed on many occasions, no babies resulted.
On the 24th of July, however, a regular enclosure cleaning led to the finding of SIX BRILLIANTLY MARKED BABIES !!! Here are some shots of them ! Hurray!
A larger and more varied collection of crocodilians than i first thought.