I've been looking into P. curtis..

Hi all,

Does anybody around here have some experience with blood pythons that they would like to share with me? I'm starting to look into them more and more. I know the basics of them, but I always like to get some info from people who have PHYSICALLY dealt with them.

Take a look at this beauty and tell me you wouldn't want one:

http://www.vpi.com/8VPICareSheets/Py...Blood0a170.jpg

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
(That pic is of course not from me, it is from vpi.com)

Thanks!
Jen

Do know anything about them...but she is a beaut..

Dont know that is.....

I figured that's what you meant... it's all good. Someone here might.. :)

i've seen blood's be very aggressive. of course i've never owned one, so i wouldn't know.

*Shudders with envy for that gorgeous Blood*

Aaaaaahhhhhhhh, Blood Pythons! Love em, but don't have any.....yet.

In my experience it's 50 / 50.
Some have been great some have been nasty. I've read some articles on the wc being nasty and the CB being nice, so on and so forth.
I personally couldn't tell you if this theory is true as when we get rescues 99.9% of the time there is no history on them.
But I do always recommend buying CB from a reputable breeder (i.e.:NERD).
Anyhow you never know unless you can trust the breeder themselves. That way you may be able to figure out the personality of the snake before the purchase.
Bloods are a wonderful species to keep once you have experience with them, you'll see what I mean.
BUT remember they can, and may very well be nasty. It's really a coin toss.
Rusty

nasty or not they're nice look'n snakes

You can say that again... :D

They are beautiful!

Bloods are so awsome, but I'd much rather have a nice arboreal.... Or a macklott's :)

the thing I like about the bloods the most is their head structure they look so.............mean!
I love em

Movied this to the blood forum

I have personal/hands on experience, would you like my input?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BallKingdom

Movied this to the blood forum

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Wasn't this already in the blood forum? :? Where was it?

Oh, and Danny, sure any input would be great. Have you worked with all types of bloods, (blacks, malaysian, sumatran, borneo, etc) or just a specific kind? I need all the help I can get, it would be really appreciated. :) You can also PM me or email me if you would like to discuss it further.

Thanks,
Jennifer

Quote:

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Originally Posted by emroul

Oh, and Danny, sure any input would be great. Have you worked with all types of bloods, (blacks, malaysian, sumatran, borneo, etc) or just a specific kind? I need all the help I can get, it would be really appreciated. :) You can also PM me or email me if you would like to discuss it further.

Thanks,
Jennifer

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Correct me if I'm wrong but Malaysian/Sumatran are the same snake and "blacks" as you put it are Borneos. I've worked with both species for several years, what specific questions would like answered?

Well, I have always figured they are the same snake; just different localities (like BCI's and BCC's).

Anything you want to tell me about their requirements (i.e temps, humidity, etc. How the differences are between temperments [between the two different subspecies], etc.) Just any tips you feel like throwing out there. I've read alot on them, and I know that CBB is better than anything (like ball pythons) because they won't tend to be as nippy, even though there are exceptions; they will be more willing to feed than WC, etc. Just anything you feel like telling me, go for it. :D

Jennifer

All snakes have their own indivual personalities regardless of species, which you might of heard many times before. To my own personal experience, both species are nippy as babies, they both settle down with frequent interaction. Borneos are just much faster in calming down than Sumatrans in general. I'm gonna assume that you know the basics since you said that you've done alot of reading. My greatest challenge in caring for this kind of snakes at first, was keeping the humidity levels up. What I ended up doing was soaking the substrate(newspaper), wich I had to change daily to avoid bacteria growing. Also, I provided a larger than usual water bowl/dish, I also covered 1/3 of the screen top with syran wrap and in hot days I also sprayed the tank to keep the humidity levels up. You live in Arizona which gets hotter than California in the summer, so you'll have to mess around with the humidity/ temperature levels just to get it right. If your really interested in this type of snake, I have "friends" that breed this kind of snake and I get them for dirt cheap prices. I my self am getting one in the next 10 days or so when I move to my new house. If you want I'll post pics of the blood then and if you want I'll hook you up with one for a good price.

Wow, that's cool that you have "friends in the business". Thanks for the offer, I'll definately keep you in mind. As for keeping the humidity up, I was thinking that I would probably just use cypress mulch after the first few weeks of quarantine. That stuff works wonders. But yeah, I figured borneo's are better "first bloods" since they don't grow as large; I've heard this from a few sources. But I really like red sumatrans, borneo's are alittle to brown, lol. But they are still awesome looking. Do you have or have you had any adult bloods, and would you have any pictures of them? I know they get HUGE girth-wise (that's an understatement, lol). Like they are as big around as a burmese python, or something of the like, packed into a 5-6 foot length. That's just incredible.

Well, anyway, thanks for the info; and if you have any pics that would be great. :)
Jennifer

I gotta go but yeah I have pics of adults from last year, I gotta find the film and develop it(I know, I know but I don't like posting pics of anything unless It's important but I'll do you the favor. Cypress Mulch works great as you stated before but again don't forget to change it every few days to avoid excess bacteria growing because it grows on mulch regardless.

Thanks alot for all the info. I really appreciate it. :)

Jennifer

They're not nasty...they're just misunderstood. I have 70 of them in my private collection and even the evil ones are fun to have around, but only because I know what to expect from them. These are not, however, snakes for the uninitiated handler who isn't well-versed in reading snake behaviour, as they can be uppity & aren't as forgiving of husbandry errors as some other species.

K

Thanks alot K. :) I'll keep that in mind.

Jennifer

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Danny

Correct me if I'm wrong but Malaysian/Sumatran are the same snake and "blacks" as you put it are Borneos. I've worked with both species for several years, what specific questions would like answered?

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Sumatran & Malaysian red bloods - Python brongersmai. Two localities of the same species. Malaysians haven't been imported in large numbers for about 20 years. Sumatrans are extremely prevelant & make up the majority of the red bloods in herpetoculture today, including the various morphs. Don't let the name red fool you - these animals naturally occur in a range of colors from light yellow to reddish chocolate brown.

"Black bloods" - this term is herpetocultural vernacular for the Sumatran short-tail python - Python curtus. The smallest of the short-tail python group, these animals hail from western Sumatra & parts of southern Sumatra. They are considered to be more docile than red bloods and are quite popular in herpetoculture. There are a couple of different forms of this animal - the black/chrome headed type, the head of which ranges in coloration from a rich jet black to a light silver coloration from specimen to specimen, and also the orange-headed variety which is often confused with the Borneo short-tail as hatchlings. Sumatran short-tails start life fairly light & darken up within the first few years.

Borneo short-tails - Python breitensteini This is the most popular of the short-tail pythons (although reds & blacks are quickly catching up) due to their docile nature, robust adult size & ease of maintenance for the keeper with some experience under his/her belt. Borneo short-tails range in coloration from creamy tans to rich cocoa, some with stripes or melting patterns, some almost patternless. There is a population of this species that occurs in Sarawak & is considered by some to possibly merit subspecific status, although DNA work has not shown enough difference between the two populations to merit a change in nomenclature. There are, however, several folks keeping and breeding the Sarawak short-tails in captivity with a strong following. Sarawaks are fascinating snakes - very alert & seemingly active, with a rough, bumpy feel to their scales that is more pronounced than that of Borneo breitensteini or the other two short-tail species.

Just some insight.

K