Black-headed python progression thread
Well we finally pulled the trigger and did it. After dreaming of this species ever since first seeing them in person at a La reptile show 20 years ago we finally manage to get a pair. The one in the picture is a 2016 female acquired from Derek Roddy. She is one of his hold backs from his yellow jacket line. About a week after, we managed to acquire a male from a friend of his that is also a 2016 yellow jacket line. He is unrelated but his parents originated from Derek Roddy's stock.
I am going to make this a progression thread for both of them and any others we manage to add later on. We have plans to add more and breed them. Because of this we are being very selective of the specemins we choose as to only propagate the best bloodlines. For those who do not know bhp's take 4 to 5 years to reach sexual maturity (when raised responsibly) so this is going to be a long process but one we are very excited abbout. I will try to post as many post shed photos as possible. These guys tend to get brighter with every shed for the first fiew years.https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...71028_8974.jpg
Anyhow, thanks for looking.
Re: Black-headed python progression thread
Awesome looking snakes. I just found out about these species thanks to watching Brian's B. vlogs. It looks like they can get to be huge. I look forward to seeing them grow.
Re: Black-headed python progression thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
madhatter18
Awesome looking snakes. I just found out about these species thanks to watching Brian's B. vlogs. It looks like they can get to be huge. I look forward to seeing them grow.
According to Derek, this is a product of power feeding and leads to a very early demise. Unfortunately due to the price tag these snakes demanded years ago many people spent a fortune on them then proceeded to power feed them (easy to do considering their feeding response is insane). Unfortunately their desire to eat comes from their natural low fat reptile diet in the wild. Power feeding them jumbo rats makes them grow fast and become sterile adults that reach lengths of 10 feet only to die of fatty liver disease.
A healthy bhp that has been responsibly fed and grown should not typically exceed 7'. Depending on local you will occasionally get one larger but it is also not uncommon for them to top out at 5-6 feet (typical size of a woma).
Re: Black-headed python progression thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
enginee837
According to Derek, this is a product of power feeding and leads to a very early demise. Unfortunately due to the price tag these snakes demanded years ago many people spent a fortune on them then proceeded to power feed them (easy to do considering their feeding response is insane). Unfortunately their desire to eat comes from their natural low fat reptile diet in the wild. Power feeding them jumbo rats makes them grow fast and become sterile adults that reach lengths of 10 feet only to die of fatty liver disease.
A healthy bhp that has been responsibly fed and grown should not typically exceed 7'. Depending on local you will occasionally get one larger but it is also not uncommon for them to top out at 5-6 feet (typical size of a woma).
That's interesting. I'm glad you told me. The K. Brothers on youtube have a huge collection of snakes and BHP are one of them. They were huge when I saw them in a video. If not power feeding, do they stay somewhat thin? Maybe thin is not a good word but not thick like a Burmese python? (this sentence is a mess)
I think they would be fun to own. The only concern I have is their size compared to me. I'm 5'3 on a good day and I'm not sure if I could handle their adult size.
For names, are there any themes you like? Aragorn and Arwen come to mind for a couple name. Lol.
