Big breaders vs small breaders. temperment??

So me and my wife have had this ongoing discussion about snakes temperaments and personalities. It's been our experience that when purchasing a snake from a small breeder, that maybe handles their baby snakes more,they have a much better personality than snakes that don't get handled as much. Don't get me wrong I have had nothing but good luck with the big guys but there temperaments seem different. I don't know are we out there or do you think it makes a difference? Opinions please.

I would have to agree being a small breeder that has bought from both large and small.

*the word is Breed and breeder ;)

It makes sense. If you have 200 snakes it cant be easy to get a lot of hands on time with each one as opposed to someone who has say 50 snakes right?;)

I think it just depends on the snake personally.

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

I would have to agree being a small breeder that has bought from both large and small.

*the word is Breed and breeder ;)

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Damn auto correcting phone.

I want to agree with Mike, it probably depends on the individual. I bought my girl from a big breeder and she just has an awful temperament that I still haven't been able to crack after a year and a half. Then again, out of all the ones I picked up and looked at, she was the only one that was snapping at me from start to finish.

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Originally Posted by Andybill

It makes sense. If you have 200 snakes it cant be easy to get a lot of hands on time with each one as opposed to someone who has say 50 snakes right?;)

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Right. We were wondering if snakes brains work in that way. I have snakes that I have got young and no amount of handling did anything to mellow and some that seemed to mellow with handeling .

I know a owner of a zoo in toronto and his dinking with african rock pythons. he had a very easy going Arock (odd huh?) and actually went to a importer and viewed quite a number of arocks until he found one less willing to strike. he has been breeding the most docile to most docile and actually has a a large group of very calm trustworthy African Rock pythons.I have seen a handful of them now and they are all big teddy bears very burm like really chill and relaxed. Many animals temperament is at least partially genetic. It is a best guess that temperament is partially genetic in Royal pythons too. It is quite likely not so much breeder size based but also the parental temperament as well. I have friends whom are not breeding poor feeders and to see if they can produce a line of Royals that are all good feeders. They are in 4th gen so it is to early to say but it is looking like there maybe something there.

I don't know how much you can base strictly off the individual snake itself. Which I'm sure has something to do with it. But my butter, that came from a big name, is not always the friendliest, (she may bite you, if given the chance). My bee, who came from Joe blow on kingsnake, is an absolute doll. My enchi, from Freakie frog, is such a little love. My most recent, lesser pastel from Bob Futo, also appears to be very laid back. So, If we are just chalking up numbers, I'm 3 to 1, nice vs. crabby, from a huge breeder, to smaller breeder. Gotta say, I really, really, am in love with the 3. They (in my eyes) are gorgeous, and sweet to boot! So, who knows, but by my odds, it would seem to make a difference.

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I bought my pin from a mid-size breeder (I think he has around 2-300 snakes) and she was a sweetie-pie. RARELY hissed (with the exception of when I opened her tank to top the water or spot clean during her post-eating days, and when a friend of mine, whom she ALWAYS hissed at him, tried to pick her up), and never stroked me AT ALL; to the contrary, she was very curious and not-shy.

I miss her :(

I think it's a mix between the snake itself, the breeder, and also the owner. I don't know where the ones I had came from because I did not purchase them myself, but I'm willing to bet both of them came from a pet store. Charlie was rarely handled growing up (his previous owner had already had him for four years, but was unsure how many years old he was when he got him from another person) and was severely shy and timid when we got him, but after about three months of handling him nearly daily, he started to come out of his shell and become a lot more confident we weren't about to kill him or something. :rolleyes: Penelope was an angel from the get-go. Super sweet, and rarely ever jerked her head back when touched unless the movements were really fast and perceived as a possible threat. You could even kiss her dead on the tip of her nose without a single flinch 99% of the time! :D

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

I think it just depends on the snake personally.

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i think it depends on the snake itself also, but i do see that big breeders not having the time to handle all the snakes as much as a small bredder would. But ball pythons are suppose so be calm right? Come handle my pin female:gj: se will make you rethink that:D

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Originally Posted by 1nstinct

i think it depends on the snake itself also, but i do see that big breeders not having the time to handle all the snakes as much as a small bredder would. But ball pythons are suppose so be calm right? Come handle my pin female:gj: se will make you rethink that:D

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Yeah, they are not all sweet. Had a female pastel that was straight up nasty. And my butter, has her moods. Lol.

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I have always found the small town bakers to have much more delightful temperaments than the big names like Wonder Bread.

i got a blackhead from a big breeder and that thing was as nasty as can be after a year of constant handling she is just now starting to calm down but i buy from the same guy and i have some that are tame as can be. when i hatch my guys out until they have 3 meals in them i dont mess with them but i think the big breeders sometimes dont have time to handle them. i guess you could say its 50/50

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Originally Posted by MrLang

I have always found the small town bakers to have much more delightful temperaments than the big names like Wonder Bread.

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I dont really like wonder bread. Is it just me or does it smell like chemicals lol?

Pepperidge Farm has some good stuff. :gj:

In my experience, small breeders seem to have more laid back animals. Like us, we work with them a lot and make sure that they are used to being handled so that when others come around they are quite used to it.

Really, I think it has to do with the disposition of the snake, and if it's been handled.

I knew a rat breeder that would breed only the calmest rats that he had. He NEVER handled them for the first two of so months of their life. But he could go in and grab whatever had he wanted and it would be the most calm and loving thing ever. I think the personality of the snake is what it will have for the rest of it's life, but people CAN go in and modify a snakes behavior.

I firmly believe that if you breed angry/mean animals, you will get more angry/mean animals. I don't think breeding for personality is anymore different than breeding for a morph color. You pick the nicest example of the snake, and try to get more of them.

When it comes to BP handling them or not is not gonna make a difference, like it does with other species that need to be work with on a regular basis.

It depends on the snake.

BP are naturally laid back even without any handling which is why they make a good first snake.

Now when it comes to hatchlings they are defensive regardless whom they come from and actually do better when left alone.

I think it depends on the snake. I've bought from both, and I have different personalities from them, no matter where they came from. Some are really calm and climb right into your hand, and others hiss and stiffen up or ball up when I pick them up.

I got my lesser and my ghost females from the same breeder this summer. Hes a small time breeder in CT, Shane and Kim (KSC Exotics). I literally handpicked these two snakes from a whole wall of babies he had. They were on the same shelf in the rack. My ghost is very friendly and within ten seconds of me picking her up she relaxes and starts crawling through my hands. My lesser on the other hand, will still ball up on occasion and hisses whenever i take her out. Shes so headshy i swear she jumps at her own shadow lol.

Now someone try and convince me that its bc Shane held my hypo more and ignored my lesser... :rolleyes:

It 100% just depends on the snake.