Which one to choose ?

[marckitt]

Hi. I could get one of these two males . They are captive bred by a good breeder. I'm searching for a real nice dark male. I know that they will darken with age but maybe looking at these two boys you could give me an advice which one to take...... Which one seems to get more darker when older ? I would prefer 149, but i´m not sure....
Both are black heads - am I right ?



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[Aedryan Methyus]

Hi Marckitt,
They all basically look the same, but 149 looks like he might have higher, cooler side patterns than 150. Sumatrans get darker and darker with age, so both will be very dark as adults. Neither of these are Black Heads per se'. They fall somewhere in between Chrome Heads and Black Heads. 149 seems to have some cool black shadowing on his head that might darken up more as he ages, though...

Glad you decided to go with captive bred instead of captive farmed.

[dboeren]

I would go 149 as well, I think he has better patterning.

[marckitt]

Thanks a lot. Can't await to get him 😁

[C.Marie]

Congratulations, they are both very handsome snakes ( I am sure either will be wonderful) good luck with your new friend can not wait to see him once he settled into his new home

[marckitt]

Thank you. I will surely post a lot of pics 😀

[marckitt]

So on friday i will pick him up. I have a rack for quarantine for him. It is 14x10x5 Inch . Is it suitable for him, a 9 month old male or too small ? For example my 30 Inch, 450 gramm female ball python fits in nicely.......

[Aedryan Methyus]

Personally, I wouldn't keep anything larger than a hatchling in a tub that small... All of my 2016 Bloods and Short Tails went right into 28 qt. racks, which is probably a little too large, but the excess space is consumed with wadded up newspaper for them to hide under, a hide and a large water dish and they have been doing great. If you are only going to keep him in there for a month he should be alright, though...

In my opinion that size tub is also way too small for a Ball Python that size. As a general rule, if the snake can stretch all the way down the long side + all the way along the short side it is too small, but I feel that is even pushing it. Going by the dimensions you gave that would only be 24" total for a 30" snake...