How big

I'm planning on an STP myself Borneo STP to be exact. Aiming for an October arrival date. CAN'T WAIT = BUT if you are getting any type of blood or STP be SURE to get it from an established breeder otherwise temperment can be a problem. (I learned all of this from Beaglegod and KLG) Bloods and STP's are ambush predators and thus can be a bit tempermental if you don't get one from a quality breeder (i.e. Newenglandreptile.com). it will cost a bit more yes - BUT the temperment and feeding response is better, you have the ablility to talk to or ask questions to people who have years and years of experience and you have beautiful coloring and solid bloodlines. Just a tip. :) when buying a STP or blood the extra money is totally worth it .. as with buying a BP (so they eat.)

yeah, I'm getting my bp form alexhuereptiles.com

Start with one of the smaller varieties like a male sumatran short tail, spend some time with him until your comfortable caring for his needs and than youll be better prepared for a female or one of the larger species, check NERDs website for some basic info. Im hoping to one day have a female borneo and a male Red Blood to satisfy my cravings for blood ....muahahahaha.

Sweet, Blood Pythons sound awsome! Ok, I've decided my second snake will be a Blood Python. But I won't be gettign one any time soon.

Hehe - temperment can still be a roll of the dice regardless of where or who you get them from - there's no guarantee anyone can breed a "nice" blood. Having dropped that caveat there certainly ARE some nice ones out there - my son's "Black Blood" (curtus curtus) is just one of the mellowest snakes in the house. The "Red Bloods" (brongersmai) we have in the house are a bit more tempermental, however younger as well. Yeah I won't spoil your googling fun other than to say the brongersmai average greater lengths than the other two (curtus and breitensteini). Bloods are awesome - but definitely require a step up in husbandry on a few fronts.

Here's our son's black blood - he named him Vader (curtus curtus)
http://home.ma.rr.com/repden/BlackBlood1a.jpg

And Kali-Ma our screamer of a Sumatran Red (brongersmai)
http://paintedover.com/uploads/3/kali_close5.jpg

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

Hehe - temperment can still be a roll of the dice regardless of where or who you get them from - there's no guarantee anyone can breed a "nice" blood.

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That's true only to a point. Temperament in bloods & STP's has been shown to be genetic. To what extent is still unknown, but there are lines of various bloods & STP's that are more docile or aggressive than others.

And some of us make it a point to combine lines with fabulous looks & awesome personalities, so yes, temperament can be a selectively bred trait.

K

To add to that constellation is the amound of handling/interaction these beautiful tykes get - and I imagine at a nicely staffed facility like KLGs you'll find more of that than you would at various warehouse distributors where the snakes are more often "stored" than properly kept, true?

I personally think bloods are kind of a 50/50 deal in terms of personality. Granted, those numbers can vary greatly from animal to animal & aren't scientific or anything - just based on my own observation. I think half of their personality is based on the critter itself, and half of it, as with any snake, is what you put into that animal as a keeper. It is crucial to establish rapport with any snake, but the larger constrictors seem to react more to routine & interaction. Grabbing a blood behind the head - for example - is the quickest way to kill its trust in you...one has to be willing to take a few bites here & there to establish a long term working relationship with any snake, and the bigger ones are no exception.


So yeah, just some rambling thoughts on the subject. :) They're a lot of personality, and a lot of what you make of them.

K

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Originally Posted by KLG

And some of us make it a point to combine lines with fabulous looks & awesome personalities, so yes, temperament can be a selectively bred trait.

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Awesome to hear you say that explicitly!

Well...you know...snakes are kind of like significant others: the best when they're both great to look at, and fun to be around. ;) (no, I'm not really that shallow, but I think you get my point)

K