Captive Husbandry and Reproduction of the Desert Nightsnake (Hypsiglena chlorophaea) at the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation/Phoenix Zoo

摘要

The Desert Nightsnake (Hypsiglena chlorophaea;Fig. 1), a species previously nestled within H. torquata (Mulcahy 2008), is a small (up to 60 cm) and secretive species that is under-studied and poorly understood (Stebbins 2003). Despite being common in the United States from the desert Southwest north into central Oregon and Washington (Mulcahy 2008), its natural history, small body size, and nocturnal habits make it a challenging species to study in the field. Consequently, relatively little is known about the reproductive biology of H. chlorophaea.