Getting a Hypo (50%)/66% het Genetic Stripe Bredli! + Q's

[OatBoii]

Hello everyone. I have great news!

After a nice conversation with Nick Mutton today, instead of a Darwin, I have decided to go with a Bredli! I've added a picture of the beautiful 50% hypo male I will be getting at the bottom of the post. He was born 8/21, so he is already quite established, which I think will be much better for me than a very young snake. For now, he is temporarily named "Ziggy", until I can decide on a more official name.

We discussed a lot, but ultimately, I think the Bredli is a better fit for me than the Darwin after discussing with him some of the ins and outs of carpet python care and growth. He was wonderful to talk to, truly an awesome guy. I'm super excited to get everything set up for Ziggy, I hope it all gets here soon! It is on its way... But, well, processing is taking more time than I would like, and I am an impatient person at heart. Either way, it is actually quite cold where I live right now, and it might take 1-2 weeks before temperatures are warm enough for shipping anyways, so I'm not too concerned. And even if temperatures look good but I'm not 100% ready yet, Mr. Mutton informed me that a small tote would actually work quite well (if not better) for a juvenile CP of his size, so I could always get something small and temporary set up while I wait for the big stuff to get in.

His enclosure will be a 36x18x18 PVC with 3' heat tape to maintain floor temps, and an 80w DHP for ambients/basking spot. I have a herpstat 2 for a thermostat, and I'll play around with probe placement and the like to figure out what works best. Should I run the heat tape down the direct back, direct front, or middle of the enclosure though? Also- If I need to lightly elevate the enclosure so that the heat tape has space away from the dresser, what is the easiest and most secure way to do that?

I also ordered several pieces of L-XL grapevine online, which I am hoping to use to create several opportunities for climbing for him. Since this will be a display enclosure, I also got one of Exo-Terra TRex skull hides, but not to use as a hide. I want to fill it on the inside/block off the smaller holes so that there is no danger of him getting stuck, and then use it as a decoration piece for a "dinosaur" themed enclosure. Although, it is probably not very dinosaur themed with just one dino decor item in it xD Oh well, there is time to find more, perhaps even at the expo in April. I'm also looking for ideas/recommendations on reptile perches that would look good. Mr. Mutton mentioned that this bredli loves to climb, so I'm very interested in figuring out ways to give him lots of arboreal climbing areas. Has anyone ever used avian perches, the kind that you can screw in? Are there other good options for perches in the hobby?

If he doesn't seem to be thriving in that enclosure, the plan is to get a smaller tote and then set it up inside of the larger PVC. This will let me keep my ambient temps in a good place, since the PVC will still be better at keeping ambient heat in than if I just set the tote out. Whatever works best for Ziggy, works for me.

This is "Ziggy" ! I will be sure to take more pics once he actually arrives.

[Homebody]

That's a fine snake you've got there. Congratulations.

[Bogertophis]

What a beautiful choice & from a well-respected source too- Way to go!

[OatBoii]

Thank you! I'm super excited, he is truly a beautiful animal and I can't wait to see how he grows. Now for names though...

I'm not super well versed with carpet python genetics, but I think he looks amazing for being 50%. Maybe I'm just biased though- I really love that particular shade of coppery-rust-red, even more than the 100% hypos I saw.

[Wanik4]

Hello everyone. I have great news!

After a nice conversation with Nick Mutton today, instead of a Darwin, I have decided to go with a Bredli! I've added a picture of the beautiful 50% hypo male I will be getting at the bottom of the post. He was born 8/21, so he is already quite established, which I think will be much better for me than a very young snake. For now, he is temporarily named "Ziggy", until I can decide on a more official name.

We discussed a lot, but ultimately, I think the Bredli is a better fit for me than the Darwin after discussing with him some of the ins and outs of carpet python care and growth. He was wonderful to talk to, truly an awesome guy. I'm super excited to get everything set up for Ziggy, I hope it all gets here soon! It is on its way... But, well, processing is taking more time than I would like, and I am an impatient person at heart. Either way, it is actually quite cold where I live right now, and it might take 1-2 weeks before temperatures are warm enough for shipping anyways, so I'm not too concerned. And even if temperatures look good but I'm not 100% ready yet, Mr. Mutton informed me that a small tote would actually work quite well (if not better) for a juvenile CP of his size, so I could always get something small and temporary set up while I wait for the big stuff to get in.

His enclosure will be a 36x18x18 PVC with 3' heat tape to maintain floor temps, and an 80w DHP for ambients/basking spot. I have a herpstat 2 for a thermostat, and I'll play around with probe placement and the like to figure out what works best. Should I run the heat tape down the direct back, direct front, or middle of the enclosure though? Also- If I need to lightly elevate the enclosure so that the heat tape has space away from the dresser, what is the easiest and most secure way to do that?

I also ordered several pieces of L-XL grapevine online, which I am hoping to use to create several opportunities for climbing for him. Since this will be a display enclosure, I also got one of Exo-Terra TRex skull hides, but not to use as a hide. I want to fill it on the inside/block off the smaller holes so that there is no danger of him getting stuck, and then use it as a decoration piece for a "dinosaur" themed enclosure. Although, it is probably not very dinosaur themed with just one dino decor item in it xD Oh well, there is time to find more, perhaps even at the expo in April. I'm also looking for ideas/recommendations on reptile perches that would look good. Mr. Mutton mentioned that this bredli loves to climb, so I'm very interested in figuring out ways to give him lots of arboreal climbing areas. Has anyone ever used avian perches, the kind that you can screw in? Are there other good options for perches in the hobby?

If he doesn't seem to be thriving in that enclosure, the plan is to get a smaller tote and then set it up inside of the larger PVC. This will let me keep my ambient temps in a good place, since the PVC will still be better at keeping ambient heat in than if I just set the tote out. Whatever works best for Ziggy, works for me.

This is "Ziggy" ! I will be sure to take more pics once he actually arrives.

Awesome, his hypos always look cool. Not many people can tell you how to set your enclosure or heat up. You have time, play around and monitor and adjust. Usually 1/3-1/2 works depending on enclosure size for heat on bottom. Use a thermo gun, of course. Large PVC works well for perches, many tree pythons set up this way. You can still wrap them with vine until his forever home is ready. Best of luck and have fun.

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[Homebody]

His enclosure will be a 36x18x18 PVC with 3' heat tape to maintain floor temps, and an 80w DHP for ambients/basking spot. I have a herpstat 2 for a thermostat, and I'll play around with probe placement and the like to figure out what works best. Should I run the heat tape down the direct back, direct front, or middle of the enclosure though? Also- If I need to lightly elevate the enclosure so that the heat tape has space away from the dresser, what is the easiest and most secure way to do that?

While I agree with Wanik that trial and error is the best way to tweek your set up, the first thing I would try is to run the heat tape down the middle of the bottom of the enclosure. You're trying to compensate for your low ambient temps, so I think this would do the best job of heating the entire enclosure.

To raise your enclosure, I'd use shims. They're inexpensive, stable and make it easy to adjust the height.

[Gio]

Congrats!

Your new animal is very similar to the one I got from Nick.


My fella came relatively established as well.

You will get various opinions on setting up. I have my own process. Nick and a lot of the carpet folks like the radiant heat panel as a heat source. For Bredli pythons, the RHP is wonderful. There is not humidity concern whatsoever. I will mist maybe 3 sprays during a shed and that likely isn't a necessity.

I've had the boy in 2 different cages. He and the boa switch off in either a 6' X 30" x 2' or a 4' x 30" x 20".



He's pictured in the 6 footer here.


This snake and my old retic are and were the most arboreal animals to grace my cages.


Every cage here is set up in the same manner. I use real tree branches and also use wood dowels wrapped with fake vines. If you are using real branches you will want to freeze them or treat them and wash them several months before installing them. I think I had the big branch in the 6 footer out in the cold garage over a full winter. The I brought it inside to see if there were any critters. I've never had issues with real branches.




The Bredli is now in the bottom 4 footer.



6 footer with the RHP installed. I have all the panels in the same spot in every cage.


LED tape lights are very easy and allow multiple color options.



The center cage is 4 x 2 x 2. It's one of my favorite display cages. You can see the mix of real branches and the vine wrapped dowels.



Too many of my photos and not enough of your photos.

I do hope these ideas help you. You have arguably one of the easiest snakes to take care of there is.

Cooler desert nights and very hot dry desert days are typical in the region where these guys are found.


Here's a beautiful video of the Bridle's territory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caDgRIGX-uY&t=63s

Enjoy the new snake and welcome to the club!

[OatBoii]

Thank you for all the pictures and suggestions! I really appreciate them. I just ordered some shims, and hopefully they'll get here around the same time everything else does.

I'll look into PVC perches for now. Since this wont be his forever home, I dont want to make anything too elaborate, since I will likely repurpose it after he has outgrown it. As far as natural wood, I'd have to go hunting, but thank you for the idea! I'll keep it in mind.

Mr. Mutton mentioned he is eating either adult mice or frozen rat pups of a similar size right now- Should I continue with the adult mice for a little while after he gets here, or should I try and transition him to rat pups as soon as I can?

[Wanik4]

Thank you for all the pictures and suggestions! I really appreciate them. I just ordered some shims, and hopefully they'll get here around the same time everything else does.

I'll look into PVC perches for now. Since this wont be his forever home, I dont want to make anything too elaborate, since I will likely repurpose it after he has outgrown it. As far as natural wood, I'd have to go hunting, but thank you for the idea! I'll keep it in mind.

Mr. Mutton mentioned he is eating either adult mice or frozen rat pups of a similar size right now- Should I continue with the adult mice for a little while after he gets here, or should I try and transition him to rat pups as soon as I can?

My carpet pythons have always been picky eaters...I'd get a mix. Sometimes they'll eat from tongs, sometimes from a plate laying there. Just my experience.

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[Caitlin]

He is a beautiful snake from an excellent breeder - congratulations, and I'm really excited for you!

Just a few thoughts as a keeper who has multiple of the Australian pythons, though I am also new to Bredl's - so take or leave this as you prefer.

I wouldn't even bother with warming the floor of the enclosure. I'd be pretty surprised if he spends much (or any) time on the ground and he may not even use hides. I'd create a warm spot by running heat tape up the side or rear panel of the enclosure on one side so that you can create a temperature gradient from warmer to cooler and so he can access a warmer spot, if he chooses, while on an elevated perch or shelf. Unless you keep your snake room really chilly it is very possible that the DHP will be all he needs.

My perching choices may not interest you as I tend to add items that I think the snakes will enjoy based on their behavior and am usually not very concerned with aesthetics so again, feel free to ignore this. The Morelia pythons in general like elevated areas that they can sprawl across, so I'd add a little kitchen shelf, for example. I also like the PVC elevated perches/water dish holders made by https://reptileperch.com/

For youngsters, bird perches at various heights are fine - in a glass enclosure you can secure these/artificial vines/etc. with Command hooks.

None of my Australian pythons (Antaresia or Morelia) have ever been picky eaters. You should be fine starting him with whichever food he has been accustomed to. There is no need to push him toward rats if he prefers mice - they are nutritionally pretty much equivalent. I have an adult Jungle Carpet python who is a 'mouser' and while it means I feed him a couple of big mice rather than one rat, other than that minor hassle it is not an issue. He also loves chicks and quail, and I'd anticipate that your Bredl's will eventually appreciate these too.

Please keep us updated about your new addition! My Bredl's is close to yours in age (June '22) so it'll be nice to have someone to swap photos and stories with.