Help me with locality/dwarfness

I have a change to pick up a 1.1 pair of (what i am being told) are SDs but i dont know enough about determining what makes dwarfs based on head scalation. I know that is how you tell but Ive always delt with mainlands never dwarfs.

Here are some pictures, i know face shape isnt normal
http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/...Uploads/r3.jpg
http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/...Uploads/r2.jpg
http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/...Uploads/r1.jpg

If the seller can not tell you and guarantee the locale of the retics then if you breed them, you will not be able to sell them as a certain locale. Scale count and pattern is not a 100% accurate way of telling. How old are they supposed to be? The face and head shape does look like a dwarf but to say super dwarf without definitely knowing the background of the snakes and seller, might be wrong. Try to get more info on them. This is why everyone, even if they only want it as a pet, should always keep track of where their snakes came from and who produced them in case they ever want to sell it later on.

My male is a Kaoloata and my female is a Honey Island but I only know this because the breeders I got them from know this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

If the seller can not tell you and guarantee the locale of the retics then if you breed them, you will not be able to sell them as a certain locale. Scale count and pattern is not a 100% accurate way of telling. How old are they supposed to be? The face and head shape does look like a dwarf but to say super dwarf without definitely knowing the background of the snakes and seller, might be wrong. Try to get more info on them. This is why everyone, even if they only want it as a pet, should always keep track of where their snakes came from and who produced them in case they ever want to sell it later on.

My male is a Kaoloata and my female is a Honey Island but I only know this because the breeders I got them from know this.

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I appologize for the lack of detail in the first post. It was from work and my boss gets pissy sometimes when i go on "personal" forums instead or "work" forums.

The female is an 07 the male is an 08 and they were originally produced by Prehistoric Pets. The female is ~6' and the male is ~4.5'. They come with papers, but are simply listed as "super dwarf reticulated pythons" in the description. I am good friends with a lot of the workers down there and if i pick them up may take them down there to see what Jay has to say if he has a little more of an idea, Im sure if i could track Tim down he would know, but now the he is gone who knows for sure :please:

The will be purchased as pets, being that I recently got rid of 3/4 of my mainlands because of room/plans changing, and I just love retics and the deal is way to good to pass up on if they really are going to be less than a 10' animal

Here are some full body shots, he also has a supposed SD Tiger he wants to sell me cheap as well
http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/...ads/retic1.jpg
http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/...ads/retic2.jpg
http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/...ads/retic3.jpg

That light and high yellow coloration makes me think Honey Island. The Honey Island SD's are super dwarfs but they do get about a foot or two longer than the Kaoloata or the Kayaudi island SD's.

The Honey Island SD's generally have the high yellow (platinum type) look to them. They also have much deeper orange eyes similar to the mainlands.

The Kaoloata and Kayaudi SD's are the olive drab color and usually stay very small. No larger than a black rat snake. They are the ones considered true super dwarfs.

Like I said. The head shots do look to be an SD. But the locale is not the smallest of the SDs.

For reference.. My female Honey Island is three years old, 6 feet, and about 7 lbs.. http://tapatalk.com/mu/43a34993-238c-75b1.jpg
http://tapatalk.com/mu/43a34993-23be-2ff1.jpg

My male Kaoloata true SD, is over five years old, 5 ft, and 5 lbs...
http://tapatalk.com/mu/43a34993-241d-12ab.jpg
http://tapatalk.com/mu/43a34993-2437-1e04.jpg

Now I'm no expert on SD locales by far. No one is because most of these islands have stopped the collection and exportation of these snakes. Also, it's known that export papers have been labeled one thing, when multiple snakes were collected from more than one island. It's most likely impossible to distinguish between a Kaoloata and a Kayaudi as far as the smallest known SD's are concerned, but the pictures you posted look more like Honey Island. Any SD, no matter what the locale, should not exceed 6 1/2 ft-7ft as established adults.

That's all the info I can give. The locale of any SD can be argued forever. It's an ongoing debate because of discrepancies in export papers. You also can't rule out the possibility of breeding one locale with another to produce an extra small SD with that nice high yellow coloration.

Just search super dwarf retics and locales. You'll find more than one forum conversation on different snake forums that might help you understand a bit better.

Ive pretty much decided Im going to pick them up. He has a very nice SD Tiger for sale as well, but i dont have an extra $500 laying around to pick it up


thanks for the info/opinion!

Honestly, if they are that small and good tempered, I say go for it. They are faster and more flighty than mainlands but have the same personality. They are easy to calm down and handle even if they are extra flighty. You'll love them no matter what their locale is.