Help with vintage snakeskin ID please!

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LucyE

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My aunt has a snakeskin that belonged to my great-grandfather. It's probably from Brazil or Honduras. I think it may have been the skin of a snake that lived in my g-gd's shed that was preserved when it died. She wants to send it over to Australia for my son, who's a keen herper. If anyone has any idea what sort of snake it was, we'd love to know. I'm guessing it's some sort of python.

Thanks!

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My aunt has a snakeskin that belonged to my great-grandfather. It's probably from Brazil or Honduras. I think it may have been the skin of a snake that lived in my g-gd's shed that was preserved when it died. She wants to send it over to Australia for my son, who's a keen herper. If anyone has any idea what sort of snake it was, we'd love to know. I'm guessing it's some sort of python.

Thanks!

View attachment 331237I
I have a feeling it may be a Rainbow Boa skin but id take it with a grain of salt do you have a closer photo of the markings? as I cant see them clearly in that one
cheers
 
I have a feeling it may be a Rainbow Boa skin but id take it with a grain of salt do you have a closer photo of the markings? as I cant see them clearly in that one
cheers
That was also my original guess but I can't say for sure cause I'm not 100% on it.
 
Interesting! I thought boa markings were more splotchy (technical term :) ), rather than geometric. Here are some close-ups - apparently the skin is a bit shiny, so I'm not sure it's any better! Apparently this is only the tail section. The other section was made into a handbag for my great-grandmother!

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Bear in mind that this was the 1920s! Let's assume that the snake was already dead from natural causes & my relatives thought it would be awesome to preserve it for posterity...
That snake skins over 120 years old! Your gonna make your granny feel ancient! Lol, at least the snakes legacy is being continued...
 
rainbow boa. rainbow boas often have the pattern and the pattern being less portrayed may be a result of aging

iu
 
For anyone who said boa constrictor, could you please let me know why? Is it because of the South/Central American context, or because of the pattern? Always good to learn more! To my untrained eye, this looks so much more like a reticulated python pattern, rather than the saddles of a boa, and we don't know for sure whether it was bought/preserved in the Americas - my Great Grandparents travelled a lot.
 
For anyone who said boa constrictor, could you please let me know why? Is it because of the South/Central American context, or because of the pattern? Always good to learn more! To my untrained eye, this looks so much more like a reticulated python pattern, rather than the saddles of a boa, and we don't know for sure whether it was bought/preserved in the Americas - my Great Grandparents travelled a lot.

The high scale count and pattern, and probable locality. If you look at a Retic, the pattern has large pale areas along the dorsal line. This pattern looks like a boa, though not the most common type.

The colour being distorted and the glare in the picture make it difficult for me to make the pattern out very well, but it doesn't look like a Retic to me. It doesn't look like a Boa constrictor (constrictor constrictor or constrictor imperator) to me, it looks like one of the South American boa species with a more busy pattern, but I really can't make it out very clearly. Looking at the tail would make it very easy to see if it's a Boa constrictor (either subspecies), but it doesn't appear to be anyway. I'm pretty sure if I was able to hold the skin I could work it out.
 
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The high scale count and pattern, and probable locality. If you look at a Retic, the pattern has large pale areas along the dorsal line. This pattern looks like a boa, though not the most common type.

The colour being distorted and the glare in the picture make it difficult for me to make the pattern out very well, but it doesn't look like a Retic to me. It doesn't look like a Boa constrictor (constrictor constrictor or constrictor imperator) to me, it looks like one of the South American boa species with a more busy pattern, but I really can't make it out very clearly. Looking at the tail would make it very easy to see if it's a Boa constrictor (either subspecies), but it doesn't appear to be anyway. I'm pretty sure if I was able to hold the skin I could work it out.
Thanks for this detailed response! Very interesting. I'll see if I can get some photos without the glare.
Apparently you have to complete a CITES declaration and it can't be on a list of banned species (which seem to be native Australian species). It might be that it can't be imported, but it's worth finding out.
 
For anyone who said boa constrictor, could you please let me know why? Is it because of the South/Central American context, or because of the pattern? Always good to learn more! To my untrained eye, this looks so much more like a reticulated python pattern, rather than the saddles of a boa, and we don't know for sure whether it was bought/preserved in the Americas - my Great Grandparents travelled a lot.
The size and pattern of the skin gives it away as a Boa Constrictor. None of the other South American Boa species have that girth nor length, except Emaralds. This, combined with the saddles on top and diamond shaped blotches on the sides makes it a typical Boa constrictor. I've kept both species and it is definitely not a Retic (nor a Rainbow Boa)
 
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The size and pattern of the skin gives it away as a Boa Constrictor. None of the other South American Boa species have that girth nor length, except Emaralds. This, combined with the saddles on top and diamond shaped blotches on the sides makes it a typical Boa constrictor. I've kept both species and it is definitely not a Retic (nor a Rainbow Boa)
If it is a Boa constrictor, the tail pattern will be very obvious.
 
Hi All

Some more photos. I have no idea why my mum can't get clear photos! (well, other than the fact she insists on using a 20 year old camera ;) ). Fabulous markings.

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Thanks all! What is it about the tail pattern that makes it obviously a boa?
 

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