The common name "Mussurana" is a derivation of Guarani name for this snake. They call it Mbusu ran, Mbusu=Eel and ran=will be. This species is found in Northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Southern Brazil. This species is a rear-fanged, primarily ophiophagus snake that is usually considered beneficial by those that live near it because it eats and has immunity to the venom of Bothrops. They reach typical lengths of about 6 feet but are reported to reach 7. They are a slender bodied species and very powerful constrictor.
In 2002, I picked up a pair of Mussuranas. At the time, they were considered Clelia occiputolutea but that is no longer their recognized name. Now it's Boiruna maculata. These were captive bred specimens bred by a breeder in Argentina and imported by Glades Herp.
A young mussurana and an adult male
Mussuranas are ravenous snake eaters in the wild. Captives are more than happy to munch on frozen/thawed rodents. They cannot swallow bulky prey items, but they can eat a lot. They can as much as 50% of their body weight in one week and be ready for more. When you're feeding 10 gram mice to a 250 gram snake, and it wants 100 grams of food, it can get kind of expensive. As they mature, it seems they are content to not eat meals that are so proportionally large.
These are extremely powerful constrictors and have been described to me as "Steel Bands" or "Kingsnakes on Crank". They can be pretty jumpy, but mine are pretty calm. They don't seem to bite out of defense, but they will try to eat you if they are really hungry. Avoiding bites is important as they are rear fanged.
In November the heat to both of the cages is shut off so that night time temps reach the lower 60's and daytime highs reached about 70. In winter they placed together for breeding. They normally will begin mating right away. I separate them as soon as they are finished as I have some concern about cannibalism between them.
In February/March the female should drop about 10 eggs which can be incubated at approximately 75-78 degrees. Double and triple clutches may occur if the female is fed heavily after dropping clutches.
They spend all day hiding in their hide boxes and come out at dusk to hunt. Their feeding patterns seem very attuned to light cycles as any attempts to feed during the day usually mean a wasted pile of mice. I usually feed them by placing a dish that has the prey items into their cage just before dusk, then just leave them alone until they're done eating.
When they are young keep them in appropriately sized sweaterbox containers to help keep the humidity. These guys like humidity and may retain their eyecaps if not kept adequately damp prior to shedding. I get their cages to 80 degrees during the day and 70 degrees at night. There have been some hot summer days when the cage temperatures reached 90 degrees. I withhold food during this time to avoid and problems with regurgitation. Their substrate is aspen that is deep enough for them to burrow.
Babies are hatched out black and red and slowly become all black except for the chin and throat, which turns purple/white. Adults retain the shine that hatchlings have. These guys always look like they just had a fresh coat of wax applied to their skin.
Personally, I think these are great captives for a keeper with moderate or advanced skills. The potential problems from them being rear-fanged and the potential difficulty converting the to feeding on rodents when young make them inappropriate for inexperienced keepers.
My good Friend David Fabius of Uruguay has kept mussuranas for years. Here's a link to his page
