STRIKER NO STRIKING!

STRIKER! An introduction to the Cascabel Dormillion (Corallus ruschenbergerii)!

Striker, a RCCTT ambassador, got his name because of his feisty nature. Common names for the Cascabel include: Ruschenberger's Treeboa and Cook's Tree Boa.

The Cascabel's main diet consist of rodents, insects, lizards and birds. Snakes play a vital role in maintaining balance in an ecosystem.

The photo above shows a Ruschenberger's Treeboa coiled on a branch. This photo was taken by Kishan Ramcharran.

Ecological value of the Ruschenberger's Treeboa (Corallus ruschenbergerii)

Green rainforests, mangroves, and swamps are all common habitats for these boas. They are most commonly found in the mangrove trees of Trinidad's Caroni Swamp but are widespread throughout wetlands and mangroves in Trinidad and Tobago. These snakes can also be found in countries such as Colombia and Venezuela. Tree boas are often seen in gardens and shrubbery; some have even complained that these boas will attempt to hunt caged pet birds. Unfortunately, in Trinidad and Tobago there is more and more land cleared for development leaving these creatures with no habitat hence they are forced to adapt, and they are often seen in citizens gardens and shrubbery as mentioned. The main ecological value of the tree boa is to keep the population under control in the ecosystem that it lives, without them certain species will grow too large causing in some cases permanent damages to ecosystems.

How to identify a Ruschenberger's Treeboa (Corallus ruschenbergerii)

The adult cascabel dormillion is usually a dull green or brown color with a yellow chin, neck and underbelly. In addition, they have black checkered or scattered designs on their tails. Younger individuals have pink, brown, or light green skin with faint deeper diamond-shaped blotches on its sides. The head is also a very distinctive aspect in the identification of the tree boa as it is quite large, with the occiput appearing to be swollen. The head is blunt, too, with deeply pitted lip scales, the neck is also very thin compared to the head. They can reach lengths of more than 2 meters, and some can even reach 7 feet, with females being larger and thicker than males, but males having larger anal spurs. It is recognized as the largest species in the Corallus family, but its scales are smaller than its familiar cousin, the Emerald Tree Boa and the Amazon Tree Boa.

Photo was taken at the Reptile Conservation Center of Trinidad and Tobago.

Hunting Behavior

These boas are nocturnal beings, they sleep in a tight spherical mass on a tree branch during the day. They forage for sleeping birds, lizards, and active rodents on trees and the ground at night. The young eat small amphibians and reptiles, but as they grow older, they begin to eat larger, more warm-blooded mammals. The tree boa, like all snakes, prefers to sit in one spot and rest while digesting its meal. Cascabels are ambush hunters who bite and constrict their prey as soon as they spot it. They wrap the first third of their bodies around the captured prey and aggressively wrap themselves in tight coils, all in one swift move. They can hunt while on trees by clinging to the branch with its prehensile tail. Fresh prey is captured and constricted while the killed prey is held in a coil at the mid-body area. When prey is dead, they will proceed to swallow their meal whole and may take a few days or weeks to be fully digested.

WHEN DISTURBED, THIS SNAKE READILY DEFENDS ITSELF WITH A MOUTHFUL OF VERY LONG TEETH!