Help. Lol. Bought this snake at an expo yesterday- as a Sunbeam. Though the more that I look at her(I tried to tell sex, I think she’s female but not positive) the more I am convinced that’s not what she is.
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Can I see a picture of underneath the tail? I am trying to narrow down species because it isn’t a sunbeam snake. Maybe some better shots of the head too.
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You’ve got a Jodi’s Pipe Snake, Cylindrophis jodiae.
That’s what I thought it was too. Gotta see the tail clearly to make sure as it is kinda orangish/red.
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Edit: Disregard my original reply, looks like a Jodi’s. Also misread buff for black while reading a description. 
Imma say it is probably a Cylindrophis ruffus after the newest pictures.
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This is about the only info I can find on care for them.
Sounds like you will need to feed frogs but might be able to get it to eat earthworms or lizards.
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If you still have the seller’s information, I’d consider contacting them in regards to selling you a mislabeled species. As @ashleyraeanne linked, they’re a species that tends to eat eels, snakes, lizards, and the like. If you intend to keep it and don’t have the experience, it could be a real struggle to get it feeding and kept in the right environment.
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On top of it being wild caught and needing to be taken to a herp vet to get rid of all the internal parasites it definitely has given it’s size. It is on the upper end of size for this species so it might be pretty old too.
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I did contact the seller. They said it’s a Jodi’s and that the person I actually talked to got mixed up between the Jodi’s and the Sunbeams that they breed. Whether or not that’s true- I don’t know. They also said they feed pinky rats or mice.
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I’d take everything you’re told with a grain of salt. If someone managed to sell you the wrong species, it puts into question everything you’re being told, obviously, especially because there is a noticable pattern difference between a Sunbeam and a Jodi’s. I’ve never seen the latter sold as captive bred, or at all, really.
The best you can do at this point is, if you think you’re capable, see if you can get it feeding and do research into what kind of habitat/temps it needs. Otherwise I’d be asking for a refund/return, since they sold you an animal you were under the impression was a completely different species.
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Yeah… they offered to exchange for an actual sunbeam but I did buy for $400 and when you know that they sell for $75-125… they said that the price is because they are captive bred. So I don’t know if I’d rather return and be refunded, keep her, or exchange for what I did want. I won’t have reliable access to frogs etc if that’s what she needs.
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Tbh it sounds like you were played. Looking back through MMs sold listings for other colubrids, you can find captive born/bred Sunbeams in the last year that have sold for under $200. While pricing is up to each individual breeder, it seems a bit steep to charge that much solely because the animal is captive bred. Not only that, but as far as I know, there aren’t any breeders reliably producing cb Sunbeams, hence why most babies you see are noted to be “captive hatched” i.e. there was a WC female that laid in captivity.
In the end, it’s up to you what you choose to do, but I wouldn’t really trust anything they’ve told you.
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Okay. Thanks. I’m trying to see if I can get a return/refund.
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In your position, that’s probably what I would do as well with as many unknowns as there are involved. At least with Sunbeams, they’re kept widely enough that there’s some solid knowledge in the hobby about care and feeding requirements. I don’t know of many people with pipe snakes, even fewer (none) with that particular subspecies, and obviously the breeder/seller can’t be trusted as a source of care information in these circumstances.
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It doesn’t look like a Jodi’s. It looks like a common pipe snake. Jodi’s don’t have the checkered bellies as brightly as a common.
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