Off I went to the semi-annual herp show in Manchester to pick up supplies – frozen mice, calcium powder, tomato worms (treats for the chameleon), etc. As always, a great venue for people watching and great prices on the weird items that local pet stores charge an arm and a leg for – when they have them at all.

I’m not wild about designer reptiles – not a big deal – just a pretty minor matter of taste. That being said, this Gonysoma oxycephala x G. janseni is a stunning creature. In some ways it reminds me of pictures I’ve seen of Green Mambas. It may be just that both snakes are green (duh – though the mamba is greener) and the scalation is striking; I don’t know.

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There was a vendor there with phasmids! Hello, Ms. Stick Insect. This one is a female Eurycantha calcarata. Big and interesting – the size makes her something more that just another bug. You can see joints and jaws and antennae without a hand lens. Very cool.

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Not my arm – not that I would have minded – just didn’t want to take credit. On the subject of stick insects – a bleg – I’d like to get my hands on this – anyone out there with access to it?

Later – the oxy x janseni’s head shape helps a lot with it’s mamba-ness. On a mamba, it gets described as coffin shaped (wonder why?). On the stick insect front, an email today from JM – he’s got some Peruphasma schultei nymphs – beautiful creatures.