Angolan Pythons???

Hey all, was perusing morphmarket and came across an Angolan python that caught my eye.

Anybody have experience with this species?

It's not something I'm going to do any tome soon, but maybe down the road.

Thanks in advance for any info you may be able to share.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Hey all, was perusing morphmarket and came across an Angolan python that caught my eye.

Anybody have experience with this species?

It's not something I'm going to do any tome soon, but maybe down the road.

Thanks in advance for any info you may be able to share.

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When I first joined this forum I had an Angolan Python named "Zina". Hence, my user name..

Back then that was my Dream Snake. Back then it was also quite un-affordable to me. However, someone posted one with a "birth defect" and the price was lower. Not cheap, but lower. She had a weird scar on her belly. Higher up from where the belly button would be. A good 2 inches long. The scales in that area seemed "cut in half" in a line. Not open, of course, but they were separated. And the line seemed slightly puckered.

I figured it was just cosmetic, so I got her.

Boy, what a pleasure that snake was !!! Its like a Ball Python 2.0 !!! In a way it reminded me sort of how a Carpet Python grows and handles. A lot more bold, a lot less shy. However, still terrestrial like a Ball Python. She grew QUICKLY. No feeding problems at all. She was beautiful. No morph needed, her coloration and scales were exquisite. They have those round scales that slightly stick up, so pretty.

Get bigger, too, then a Ball Python. Frankly, I'm not sure why they aren't more popular. Probably because there aren't any "morphs" ? At least not that I know of, or not like Ball Pythons.
Whenever someone looks for a snake like a Ball Pythons but "more snake" it would be the perfect one !!!

When she was "hunting" she would wag her tail wildly back and forth, to funny !!!

Sadly, I found her dead one morning in her hide. Absolutely NO indication that anything at all was wrong. She usually didn't hide all that much, so after being in her hide for 2 days straight I lifted it up to check if she was in shed :( Up until then she ate fine, shed fine, acted fine. Later on I figured that something internally was most likely also not "right" in the area of that large scar. And as she grew, it might have caused an issue. It was devastating.

I couldn't get a necropsy done because there are no reptile vets anywhere close from here plus she was already stiff, may have been dead for up to a day under the hide.

This is absolutely a Dream species to work with. You would not regret it !!


At the breeder:

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/IMG_2156.jpg


her weird scar, kind of hard to see...NOT the belly button. The puckered up part is lower down

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/DSCN0566.JPG


and more pics

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/DSCN0559.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/DSCN0568.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/DSCN0591.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/DSCN0594.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/IMG_3996.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/DSCN1438.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/SAM_0098.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/IMG_4167.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/IMG_4163.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/IMG_4166.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/IMG_4162.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/IMG_4151.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...e/SAM_0099.JPG

Thanks for the awesome reply!!! I'm walking out the door to work, but will reply more thoroughly after I get home.
Thanks Zina!!!

My buddy has a pair that he’s planning to breed this upcoming season. If he gets eggs from them then I’m already planning to have him put my name on a female.


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Definitely want one someday!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

My buddy has a pair that he’s planning to breed this upcoming season. If he gets eggs from them then I’m already planning to have him put my name on a female.


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You won't regret it. They are magnificent! And not common at all. So beautiful!


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I have a pair of Angolans, and agree with everything Zina said - right down to the tail wagging lol

They really are like if a Carpet, a BP, and a Common Boa got together into one snake as far personality. My female was a little snappy as a baby and will sometimes even be 'moody', especially when I've got her out while she's hungry, but she's really a sweetheart. The male was more bluff than anything else, now he's just a puppy. Literally the most gentle and trusting snake I have. Both are inquisitive and seem very visually oriented.

Thanks to their harsher environment (the two species are separated by ~1000 miles), they're much more forgiving in terms of temperature and humidity than Ball Pythons, and don't have any of the BP eating weirdness. I mistake of feeding my female like a Ball for about her first three years. Year one and a half would have been fine in hindsight, but year three she exploded into obesity. It's taken me two years to get her down to breeding condition. They are very, very efficient.

Will be pairing this year, hopefully they go. . . . There's actually already a plan for clutch if they do. Fingers crossed.

I have a small group of them and they are some of my favorite pythons. They are much more active and inquisitive than a ball python. They do get a bit bigger than a ball python and mine are fairly vocal when handling them but they are all very docile and easy to work with.

Mine was a sweetheart. Never even heard her hiss.
Wonderful snakes!


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Thank you all for the replies!!!

They're definitely on my radar now.

Wow that's a purdy snake! I have never seen these before. I really like the pattern.

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Originally Posted by Helonwheelz383

Wow that's a purdy snake! I have never seen these before. I really like the pattern.

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Right?? Super cool looking. I had only heard a very little about the species, but doing some morphmarket window shopping I stumbled across them again.

Based on them being slightly bigger than BPs but having a similar docile disposition I'm definitely considering adding one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Right?? Super cool looking. I had only heard a very little about the species, but doing some morphmarket window shopping I stumbled across them again.

Based on them being slightly bigger than BPs but having a similar docile disposition I'm definitely considering adding one.

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I don't blame you. Very cool. I jumped on wiki to read a little about them. Apparently they are less common in captivity because of a previous civil war in the area they live. Nobody goes looking for them since there are so many abandoned land mines. They've gotta be extremely closely related to BP's.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Helonwheelz383

I don't blame you. Very cool. I jumped on wiki to read a little about them. Apparently they are less common in captivity because of a previous civil war in the area they live. Nobody goes looking for them since there are so many abandoned land mines. They've gotta be extremely closely related to BP's.

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I saw that as well.

as for the split scales on Zina's belly.... maybe I'm way wrong but can't that sort of scale division be proof of inbreeding? not trying to step on toes at all! I just recently learned about the divided scale thing and I was curious if this could be an example.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wolftrap

as for the split scales on Zina's belly.... maybe I'm way wrong but can't that sort of scale division be proof of inbreeding? not trying to step on toes at all! I just recently learned about the divided scale thing and I was curious if this could be an example.

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I have no idea! I didn't even know that was a thing. They weren't just divided, but in one area they were also mishappen and puckerd looking. It wasn't just a clean line of divided scales.
I just figured it was cosmetic only and it didn't bother me.
I also can't be sure if her sudden death was related to that, but I can't imagine what else could have happened. There wasn't a single day she was even slightly off or odd acting.
Always ate, passed waste without issues. Was hydrated, beautiful and vibrant. Never acted strange either. Certainly no symptoms of disease.
Husbandry was always just right. No power outages, no issues with the heat or thermostat.
It was very odd and devastating.
There was a sibling for sale as well that didn't have that issue and they were the same size and looked almost the same aside from the so called birth defect.




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That’s so sad to lose a pet when you didn’t have the chance to fix it! I wish animals could just tell us what was wrong. I’m sure it was something freak but I’m very sorry all the same. ):

I had no idea about the inbred scales either but they don’t pucker.... who knows. She just had some character! :)


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