Considering getting a blood...love 'em or hate em'?

From what I can dig up, people either love them are hate them. Are these really bile shooting hell-beasts or sweet wittle cuddly sausages with heads? And what kind of pets do they make? I'd love to hear more opinions from owners considering the crazy stuff I've found on Yahoo answers...

Thanks everybody!

P.S.

I think bloods are by far some of the most beautiful and impressive snakes I've ever seen, but I can't enjoy an angsty snake :(

I've heard they get a bad reputation mostly from people who get wild caught animals, those are supposedly near impossible to tame down. I got to hold some real docile ones at a show, and I know some people who really enjoy them.. But they are a bit more feisty, so you'll just have to be more careful! :D As long as you learn to read your snake for stress most animals do tame down, just not every animal will(same is true for all species!)

They're just like any other snake

Some are feisty, some are puppy dogs.

Proper housing is a must to helping them feel secure and happy.

Handling them as babies really helps as well.

I LOVE them!

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...P1030941-1.jpg

That is a gorgeous blood! I want one even more now! They look massive, but really are not that long it seems.

Getting them from a good source and working with them from a young age really helps, in other words avoid getting a wild caught animals from someone that does not take the time to work with them.

They are less forgiven when it comes to husbandry than other species which means do your homework.

I have loved blood for a long time and took me a while to decide on getting one (I wanted to make sure I was ready for one), I had the opportunity to handle some large adults and it sealed the deal.

I only have one blood and I adore him, hard to resist that face ;)

http://stewartreptiles.com/wordpress...ns/blood06.jpg

Ya, I've been doing a lot of research on their humidity requirements. I've been waiting for the expo this weekend so I can handle some and get an idea of what I'll be dealing with.

Love them...as a species I haven't found them to be any more feisty than the avg boa or bp. I've had bloods for about 6 years (although I've always had very small collection) and have yet to be bitten or musked despite handling them frequently. Most of the bloods I've owned were calm from day one but I had an albino a few years ago that was sold to me as a *insert bad word here*..the seller's wife thought she was the nastiest of the lot. She was absolutely terrible for the first 3 or 4 months that I had her, striking at the side of the caged when you walked by, whipping you with her tail, etc. But after those few months of careful handling (and throwing one of my old T shirts in with her) she calmed down considerably and was very easy to handle, she actually turned out to be the one my friends and family members would want to "pet" (I don't think anyone I know is really too fond of actually holding any of my snakes). I'm still regretting selling her.

http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/p...thia27/800.jpg

I had a Sumatran Black Blood a few years ago. He was cool when he was small and I didnt care if he nailed me but he was just always mean. When he got bigger I was completely intimidated by him. The constant striking and hissing..... I just could no longer deal with it and sold him. It was just no longer enjoyable, so I did us both a favor.
That was my first and only. They are awesome looking though:gj:

Absolutely love them!! I got my first pair of red blood babies almost 9 years ago after keeping ball pythons for 6 yrs. One was really feisty and always tried to bite, and the other bit on occasion. When they matured, they both calmed down and are easy to handle - one a bit more than the other, but I use them at educational events and they do very well. My Sumatran short tails (black bloods) are perfectly sweet and didn't even try to bite as babies. I have 6 short tails now, and not a single one is hard to handle. I even feel comfortable letting my little nieces and nephews hold them - with supervision, of course. I realize that a few may be very defensive, but it seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

If you're comparing them to ball pythons, I'd say that they are harder to get out of the cage because they are very food motivated, but once they're out they are more curious. They seem to watch you a little closer and have a bit more 'personality.' I just like everything about them! :D

I can see it really depends on the snake, the thought of a great eater is enticing!

they are awsome as long as they are happy lol

I love 'em. My Borneo has been a doll since day 1.

You may want to check out Borneo and Black bloods as I believe the red bloods tend to be the nippier of the 3.

Dennis

I'll keep the other two in mind, I wasn't aware there was a difference between the three beyond coloration. What is a fair price for a cbb baby at a show then? Similar to a normal ball?

Bloods/Short Tails are VERY color/lineage priced

A run of the mill baby thats farmed or brought in from Indo could be 50-100 bucks.

Id expect to pay 2-300 for a nice healthy animal

Now if you want cream of the crop NORMALS within each species, your talking high dollar. A lot of times even more than some morphs.

pray you get a tame one lol.

I personally wont have one just based on the fact on the mean ones sometimes just sit there and dont move until you startle them then the just explode. my heart cant handle that haha. im ok if I know the snake is pissed.

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

Bloods/Short Tails are VERY color/lineage priced

A run of the mill baby thats farmed or brought in from Indo could be 50-100 bucks.

Id expect to pay 2-300 for a nice healthy animal

Now if you want cream of the crop NORMALS within each species, your talking high dollar. A lot of times even more than some morphs.

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Thanks for letting me know! With this kind of species I really want to make sure and get the best possible animal. I'm not a fan of farm-bred or imports at all. You get what you pay for.

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

Bloods/Short Tails are VERY color/lineage priced

A run of the mill baby thats farmed or brought in from Indo could be 50-100 bucks.

Id expect to pay 2-300 for a nice healthy animal

Now if you want cream of the crop NORMALS within each species, your talking high dollar. A lot of times even more than some morphs.

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I agree :P,.. I love'em and would have one if I could afford the one I want. :rolleyes: One of these days.

Yeah, I have a lot more to learn about "blood" lines before I'll get one. I see so many on kingsnake etc.. It is hard to verify if they are c.b., w.c., or c.h., etc. It seems like the prices match up to a c.h. or wild caught so I'm very suspicious.

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Originally Posted by tsealock

Are these really bile shooting hell-beasts or sweet wittle cuddly sausages with heads?

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Both.

On the "pissy" scale, I rate my 2010 brongersmai a 6 or 7, down from an 8 or 9 when I first got her. I've had the "pleasure" of meeting pissy adults, but have also met perfectly calm adults AND babies!

I don't handle my little girl without my snake hook, because otherwise she invariably takes a swing at my, and in my experience with "taming" snakes, the more interactions you have with them where they DON'T strike, the less likely they'll be likely to strike in the future.

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

Now if you want cream of the crop NORMALS within each species, your talking high dollar. A lot of times even more than some morphs.

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I have to strongly repeat this. I saw a couple animals at NARBC back in october, SUPER beautiful "normal" red brongersmai bloods, that had a price tag of $1000 or $1200 for the pair. If I hadn't only budgeted $200 for that show, I would have bought them.

Wow, that steep for a normal? Really, I'm willing to pay more for better temperament than looks. I have yet to see a blood I didn't think was pretty, but it seems the more generations an animal is removed from the wild, the more docile it will be. Or at least, I can cross my fingers! lol

I paid 2000 for a normal that I have right now

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Originally Posted by tsealock

Wow, that steep for a normal? Really, I'm willing to pay more for better temperament than looks. I have yet to see a blood I didn't think was pretty, but it seems the more generations an animal is removed from the wild, the more docile it will be. Or at least, I can cross my fingers! lol

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I could see paying that much for a perfect animal. Who did you get her from? I'm clueless about blood breeders. They don't seem to have as much advertising as the ball python guys. Is there anyone who specializes in these beauties?

Ashley Lopez, he has some nice stuff. SMALL collection, but nice.

Just depends on what your looking for. Everybody in this small group of Blood people kind of has their own little direction they're going. And so depending on what your looking for, I could give you a couple names of people to try first.

Are you wanting morphs? Normals? Reds? Yellows?

Blacks?

Borneos?

Here's that girl below.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...P1020962-1.jpg

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Originally Posted by tsealock

I could see paying that much for a perfect animal. Who did you get her from? I'm clueless about blood breeders. They don't seem to have as much advertising as the ball python guys. Is there anyone who specializes in these beauties?

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She is stunning! When I get one, I'll be looking for a black blood baby. I want to handle some adults this weekend to see if I'm ready. I love how thick bloods are for their relatively short length. I keep hearing the the borneo and blacks have better attitudes? Or does it just depend on the snake? ( I'm thinking it depends on the snake and where it comes from more than anything.)

Love'em, we'll have about 100 Borneo babies come spring..If ya consider a Borneo Ya might come by in the spring..Folks love coming by and handling a couple hundred lbs of short tails..May have blacks as well but no ovulation as yet..28 Borneo eggs went into the incubator yesterday..

now that would be awesome!

Where in Oklahoma are you guys?

I have my nieces and nephews coming over next month. I'll take some new pics of them holding all my bloods. I think I've posted the others a few times. :D

Shawnee, We run to Greenville & Caddo mills to see family and it takes 4 hours and 250 miles so from Denton you could likely omit a half hour and miles..Meanwhile heres whats been taking place lately..
http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/q...m/IMG_6651.jpg
This girl will lay next and is a Blonde double het for ultra and granite..
http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/q...m/IMG_6647.jpg
http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/q...m/IMG_6646.jpg
http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/q...6594Medium.jpg

They are worth the drive! I can't wait to see what hatches! They are beautiful and obviously pretty tame.

Looks like we'll have blacks as well..:salute:

I found a place that are selling baby blacks from 150.oo to 200.oo I'm heading to pick one up today. I should of just pulled the trigger yesterday but well i wanted to think about it... I have been around them for about 4 years now and i have to say if you can handle them a few times a week you should almost never have issues. But again you have to think about how your going into the tank / rack system to grab them.. THEY ARE NO BALLY lol -- I think if you use your head you should be fine :)

I'm soo excited to get some bloods now!

I have had my sumatran red blood for a couple years now and I have found that he has more personality than any of my ball pythons or other colubrids that I have worked with. I first got him at the Rocky Mountain Reptile Expo when he was a few months old and was as mean as you could possibly find. I worked with him every day and he calmed down, but it seemed like once he hit his "teenage" years he became extremely unpredictable, warm and cuddly one day and trying to take a chunk out of my arm the next. I stopped handling him for a while until just recently and now he is very calm and relaxed with me, but as soon as he knows theres another person in the room he will start hissing and striking at them.

I really do love having him, even though he is a challenge and pretty unpredictable. I would say that you should try to find one that is fairly docile as a baby and then work with them. I hope you find something! Good luck! :D

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Originally Posted by tsealock

I can see it really depends on the snake, the thought of a great eater is enticing!

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Tsealock , what is the yellow and white snake in your avatar ??

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Tsealock , what is the yellow and white snake in your avatar ??

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It is an albino ball python. I have a female one. :)

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Originally Posted by tsealock

It is an albino ball python. I have a female one. :)

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Stunning , it is more yellow than the others I've seen , top of my list but the way things stand it doesn't look as though I'm ever going to be able to afford one , sadly.

The flash makes them look a lot brighter, but they look better in person. Mine has a lavender and yellow head. PM me for more info. Lets keep this thread on topic :)