al-da-in-thailand's Identifications

This lovely, proud "Mother" was discovered trapped in the rainwater-filled bucket of a large front-end loader on a construction site adjacent to a NJDEP-sanctioned Northern Pinesnake monitoring project. The construction workers thoughtfully called my attention to the situation (rather than harming the distressed reptile), so I went to the location to "save" her from her predicament. Upon first seeing her, I immediately noticed she was extremely gravid - with an abnormally large mass just above the vent, and somewhat weakened from her ordeal. I brought her to our site lab/trailer for closer examination, and determined that she was "egg-bound" - a condition that occasionally plagues oviparous snakes in which an egg is simply too large to pass normally, with the end generally resulting in the death of both the female and her "un-born/hatched" young. I aspirated the oversized, infertile "problem" egg w/a large gauge hypodermic needle, which allowed her to pass the collapsed remnant somewhat normally, and set her up in a quiet corner of the lab in a small aquarium with a moss-filled hide box in which she could rest. 3 days later I was thrilled to see my little "patient" proudly coiled around 4 perfect, fertile eggs! The now-healthy "mom" was released in a nearby habitat where others of her species had been regularly observed, and after 72 days of incubation I was happy to release her four healthy kids at the same new location (photo #2). Truly a story with a happy ending!