Please Help!

Hey guys, so I came across this ad and I really would like some help from those more experienced than myself. The ad is for a female WC yellowbelly. So she may or may not be a yellowbelly? I need help from those who are better are identifying yellowbellies than myself. Here is a picture, anyone have thoughts? Its a great deal... but only if she really IS a yellowbelly.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...27377718_n.jpg

- - - Updated - - -

More pics

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...83585919_n.jpg
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...63585363_n.jpg
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...40207619_n.jpg
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...83585919_n.jpg

she dose look like she has something going on but being wild caught theres really no way of knowing what it is. if its a good deal i would pick her up and when she gets up to weight throw her in with a normal male and see what happens

Looks like a yellowbelly, but I would pass based on the fact that she is wild caught.

Looks like a YB, but unless you're prepared to treat that snake for illnesses and parasites, I would pass.
WC snakes should always be treated when coming into captivity.

I have two adopted WC snakes. PASS, my advise. They can be very difficult and complex to deal with. Royal pythons are a basic entry snake but WC Royals are not, they are advanced.

Even a free female yellowbelly isn't a great deal when you take vet bills into account.

Thanks guys, I went ahead and passed on her. As it turns out he was asking much more than I had thought anyway and what he was asking was not really a deal at all.

I agree it looks like a YB, but wild caught animals can be difficult. I don't have any wild caught animals and it would take a lot for me to get one.

I have one adult WC female, and from experience I can tell you they are very difficult. Even after being treated by the importer, she was covered in ticks. It took months to get her to eat, and her feeding has been sporadic at best.

She is docile, but ball pythons as a rule are. Now that I know what to expect, it would take a lot for me to get another WC snake. They are simply not for a beginner or novice snake owner.

Gale

From my understanding the native habit for Python Regius is Africa, unless the OP is from Africa, is there really a difference between a wild caught here in the US and a Craig's List rescue that is in poor husbandry? I guess I would just like more background how this particular ball is was actually wild captured.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by martin82531

From my understanding the native habit for Python Regius is Africa, unless the OP is from Africa, is there really a difference between a wild caught here in the US and a Craig's List rescue that is in poor husbandry? I guess I would just like more background how this particular ball is was actually wild captured.

---

My thought were that maybe it was WC in Africa and was imported over here.

Seeing how there isn't a wild population of BP's in North America, a Wild Caught BP will be from Africa then imported to the states.

Yeah, there are plenty of WC snakes available in the US. They are caught as wild adult animals in western Africa and shipped over here by an importer. It's fairly uncommon these days---the captive hatched and captive bred snakes available are simply too cheap and widely available for importing wild ball pythons to be profitable anymore.

...except when there is a suspected morph. Morphs are sometimes worth the money of importation, and new genetic strains and dinkers sometimes have appeal to speciality breeders.

The price of new blood! If I had money to burn I'd be interested in trying a wc, especially a wc morphology.

Although Balls are not a domesticated, CB are certainly conditioned to human handling. I have spoke to people whom have bought a ball and never have seen it 'balled up' ever. It arrived so used to human contact that the animal has never felt threatened by a human. Conversely my WC animals are almost always balled up when I am visible and one in particular stays that way hours after I return her to the rack. She usually will not eat for ages after I have her out. She is the ONLY animal I don't do a full clean once a month with if I did she would never eat. She is slightly better after 3 years but still she does not trust me at all.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by loonunit

Yeah, there are plenty of WC snakes available in the US. They are caught as wild adult animals in western Africa and shipped over here by an importer. It's fairly uncommon these days---the captive hatched and captive bred snakes available are simply too cheap and widely available for importing wild ball pythons to be profitable anymore.

...except when there is a suspected morph. Morphs are sometimes worth the money of importation, and new genetic strains and dinkers sometimes have appeal to speciality breeders.

---

I guess this its kind of what I was thinking. Why would someone go through the trouble of importing a ball python when they seem so readily available in the US. If it was a morph or a new gene it would make more sense.

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kitedemon

Although Balls are not a domesticated, CB are certainly conditioned to human handling. I have spoke to people whom have bought a ball and never have seen it 'balled up' ever. It arrived so used to human contact that the animal has never felt threatened by a human. Conversely my WC animals are almost always balled up when I am visible and one in particular stays that way hours after I return her to the rack. She usually will not eat for ages after I have her out. She is the ONLY animal I don't do a full clean once a month with if I did she would never eat. She is slightly better after 3 years but still she does not trust me at all.

---

More to the point, CBs are conditioned to domestic strains of mice and rats. And aren't stressed by captivity. They still usually have seasonal anorexia, but they just aren't the impossible feeders that the original WC population was.

(But yeah, I find that babies I handle right from hatching, or which were clearly handled a lot by their breeders before I bought them, are lot friendlier and less headshy as juveniles and adults.)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by loonunit

More to the point, CBs are conditioned to domestic strains of mice and rats. And aren't stressed by captivity. They still usually have seasonal anorexia, but they just aren't the impossible feeders that the original WC population was.

(But yeah, I find that babies I handle right from hatching, or which were clearly handled a lot by their breeders before I bought them, are lot friendlier and less headshy as juveniles and adults.)

---

Yes absolutely this too!