Natural History:
In Cuba, Tropes are often called Cuban Boas due to their physical appearance, despite the lack of genetic relation. Although they look like boas and hunt through constriction, Tropes are not directly related to boas and pythons but instead make up their own family; Tropidophiidae. Tropes are different from most other snakes both in their physiology and in their behaviour.
Tropes are some of the only snakes to be able to change their colour and do so from light to dark variations dependent on available sunlight. Another difference between Tropes and other snakes is that Tropes, when threatened will begin to bleed through their mouth, nose and eyes to try and deter predators by making it look sick.
Tropes are rarely seen due to their subterranean life but come up to the surface when it rains much like earth worms. When it rains frogs often conjugate to breed such as the Cuban Treefrog. Often times Giant tropes will gather around the base of trees that have Cuban Treefrogs so if the treefrog were to climb down or another were to climb up it would become predated upon.
Anecdotal:
while in Cuba my father and I went on a guided night hike with a Cuban Angora veteran who now works for Zapata National Park. We went searching in a series of farmer's fields which contained a monoculture of large palm trees. We found nine tropes curled up at the base of these palm trees waiting for Cuban Treefrogs to climb down. The guide said that the snakes were Cuban boas which is an understandable mistake as they have a similar shaped head and often called dwarf boas. It was a great herping trip that night as we also found Cuban Treefrogs in their native range and endemic Cuban Giant Toads.
In Cuba, Tropes are often called Cuban Boas due to their physical appearance, despite the lack of genetic relation. Although they look like boas and hunt through constriction, Tropes are not directly related to boas and pythons but instead make up their own family; Tropidophiidae. Tropes are different from most other snakes both in their physiology and in their behaviour.
Tropes are some of the only snakes to be able to change their colour and do so from light to dark variations dependent on available sunlight. Another difference between Tropes and other snakes is that Tropes, when threatened will begin to bleed through their mouth, nose and eyes to try and deter predators by making it look sick.
Tropes are rarely seen due to their subterranean life but come up to the surface when it rains much like earth worms. When it rains frogs often conjugate to breed such as the Cuban Treefrog. Often times Giant tropes will gather around the base of trees that have Cuban Treefrogs so if the treefrog were to climb down or another were to climb up it would become predated upon.
Anecdotal:
while in Cuba my father and I went on a guided night hike with a Cuban Angora veteran who now works for Zapata National Park. We went searching in a series of farmer's fields which contained a monoculture of large palm trees. We found nine tropes curled up at the base of these palm trees waiting for Cuban Treefrogs to climb down. The guide said that the snakes were Cuban boas which is an understandable mistake as they have a similar shaped head and often called dwarf boas. It was a great herping trip that night as we also found Cuban Treefrogs in their native range and endemic Cuban Giant Toads.