Tulsa Zoo Announces Rare Snake Breeding Success

The Tulsa Zoo says after a four-year effort to breed one of the rarest vertebrates in North America, the Zoo welcomed four healthy Louisiana pine snake hatchlings this month. 

"Upgrades to the temperature control units on the building have allowed us to accurately and safely drop temperatures to simulate a natural period of dormancy called brumation, something the snakes need to reproduce successfully," says, Barry Downer, Zoological Curator, Herpetology & Aquatics.

Downer says of the seven eggs laid on May 10, two were infertile, one died early on, and the remaining four were artificially incubated. The first hatchling pipped, or cut through its shell, on July 8, after a 60-day incubation period. The remaining three were out of their eggs by July 13.

In a release, the Tulsa Zoo says its breeding efforts are part of the Species Survival Plan, a collaborative program of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums to manage threatened and endangered species.

The breeding pair consists of a 12-year-old male received from the Sedgwick County Zoo in 2008 and an 11-year-old female received in 2009 from the Roger Williams Park Zoo.

The Tulsa Zoo says originally calling nine Louisiana parishes and 14 Texas counties home, this snake now is found in only four parishes and is believed by some to have vanished from Texas as of early 2013.

The Louisiana Pine Snake is state classified as "threatened" in Texas, protected from direct harm and unauthorized collection, and as "imperiled-to-vulnerable" in Louisiana, says Downer.