WC Ball Pythons

[Lockes]

What are your opinions of WC Ball Pythons?

[lord jackel]

What are your opinions of WC Ball Pythons?

In what way? How they eat? Breed? Look? Act?

[Lockes]

In general

[jglass38]

Not for me. No guarantee that they will ever eat regularly or breed. Not worth the discount. Get some CH or CB babies and grow them up.

[lord jackel]

In general

My opinion -
They will ALL have some issues when you first get them (some more some less)
Ticks - easily treatable
Wounds and scars - treatable and will go away with sheds
Internal parasites - treatable

Acculmation issues - these are hit and miss some snakes will settle right down and start eating others may take a lot of work and still others may never eat - this in my opinion is the biggest issue to overcome. This is pry the biggest risk why unless you have lots of experience with getting snakes started most will recommend you stay away from WC.

The good side - potential for a new morph or trait. Also larger females are much much cheaper (relative to CB versions)...so it can help you get breeding sooner.

[tmlowe5704]

I have 2 WC that eat sporadically. I got them in january of this year and they have both eaten 5-6 times. I am going to switch them both to cypress and see if that convinces them to eat. One came in with ticks, a quick look over with tweezers and the usual PAM treatment and she was good to go. Both were over 1200 g when I got them and you can't beat that $40 price tag. I tried to breed one with my pastel male this year just to see if I could have any luck, but no such luck.

[Rapture]

Hey tm... how about trying pre-killed? I got the advice from the VPI book and my WC female eats religiously after months of fasting when I first got her while trying to feed live mice, rats, and gerbils.

[tmlowe5704]

Thanks rap. I never tried P/K but I may have to.

[Sevo]

Hey tm... how about trying pre-killed? I got the advice from the VPI book and my WC female eats religiously after months of fasting when I first got her while trying to feed live mice, rats, and gerbils.

Did yours finally take a pre-killed rat or mouse?

[Lockes]

My biggest question is why wild caught ball pythons are still being taken out of the wild?

From the responses so far all I can say is that the only motivation for wiping out the wild population would be a financial one. Not completely wiping out but maybe significantly reducing the gene poolin the wild.