Customer Reviews

Complete Suboc, A Comprehensive Guide to the Natural History, Care, and Breeding of the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake

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After months of anticipation, I finally received my advance copy of Dusty Rhoads' The Complete Suboc: A Comprehensive Guide to the Natural History, Care, and Breeding of the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake. When my wife brought the mail in, I immediately opened the package and I was impressed with the book at first sight. Unlike many of today's paperback publications, The Complete Suboc was a nice sturdy hardbound text with a beautifully done dust jacket. But that was just the eye-candy to tease the reader with. What about the meat of the book? What did the inside really have to offer?

I sat down and spent the next four hours until dinner digging into the book. The more I read, the more I was hooked on it. After dinner, I again picked the book up and retired to my office/herp room and picked up where I had left off. Bedtime rolled around and instead of turning in, I continued to read and I read until 4:30 AM when I finished the book and finally hit the sack. Thankfully, I did not have to get up early the following morning.

If you have any interest at all in Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes or in the herps of the American Southwest, including the other species of ratsnakes native to this region of the country, you will enjoy this book. If you keep or breed the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake or any of the other southwestern ratsnakes you will find this book most useful, if not essential.

The book's 300 pages are crammed full of information and personal experiences. Oh, and did I mention the range maps and the some 288 full-color photographs by a cadre of well-known herpers and photographers.

The author devotes the first 30 pages to the natural history of the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake and then discusses the species history from back when it was first described by Arthur Erwin Brown, Director of the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens in 1901. Coluber subocularis, as it was originally known remained known from only a handful of specimens for the next several decades and was considered one of the country's rarest snakes. The State of Texas protected them from 1977 until 1987 when naturalists and herpetologists we able to show that they were actually one of the more common snakes within their range.

The book discusses how to choose a Trans-Pecos Ratsnake and describes the many color and pattern morphs of the species. Localities and races of the "Suboc" are also discussed in some detail. There are detailed discussions relating to basic caging and housing requirements for captives, the use of naturalistic vivaria, along with discussions about feeding, breeding, oviposition, and incubation of Suboc eggs. There is also a Bonus Chapter on reproductive husbandry written by David G. Barker and Tracy M. Barker.

Another chapter deals with the common diseases and disorders of the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake. A second Bonus Chapter, which actually could have stood alone as a work of its own, discusses the other ratsnakes of the American Southwest in some detail...the Baja Ratsnake, Baird's Ratsnake, and the Western Green Ratsnake.

In Appendix A, the author uses the style of the late Carl Kauffeld to describe his own search for subocularis in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas.

The book concludes with 16 pages of recommended reading and 8 pages of cited texts.

With the publication of The Complete Suboc: A Comprehensive Guide to the Natural History, Care, and Breeding of the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake author Dusty Rhoads has firmly established himself as one of the leading experts on Bogertophis subocularis.

On a rating scale of "1" to "5" I give the book a resounding "5". Job well done, Dusty!

Gerald Keown

Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research

This book is thoroughly enjoyable for anyone interested in Trans-pecos Rat Snakes.

It is easy reading and combines information for three major target audiences, whose concerns are usually addressed independently:

· Hobbyist concerns.

· Field herping concerns.

· Herpetological (taxonomic, physiologic, etc.) concerns.

This author has a friendly, "down to earth" discussion type style of delivery that gives you the impression that he is sitting right there with you. The author seems to be talking with you and not at you.

It seems I needed such a book 26 years ago when I kept my first Trans-Pecos Rat Snake. I would not have made as many catastrophic mistakes since then, had this book been available!

I too was eagerly awaiting the completion of this book. It was certainly worth the wait. From the incredible wealth of knowledge to the beautiful photographs of every color and pattern of suboc you can imagine, this book is loaded. I can't tell you how many times I've opened it to get some quick advice or just to check out a particular locale or color morph. Of course, it's also a great read cover to cover.

If you keep subocs, like subocs or plan on keeping subocs, this book is for you. It's also reasonably priced considering the high-quality printing.