My wife and I popped in on the reptile show up in Tempe, Az. this afternoon, and I came home with a very sweet year old female ball python.

It was a toss up between two little females from the same vendor, both captive bred and about the same age. The one had markings that I liked better, but was a bit smaller. The other has markings closer to typical normal BP markings, but is larger and was much more personable as I handled her. She pretty much made the decision for us when she crawled up onto my shoulder, then up over my ponytail and the brim of my hat, and wrapped around my hat like a living hatband. It was almost like she was saying, "Hey, I've found myself a spot. Let's go home now!"

She's around 3 foot long or so, has a good healthy "heft" to her and girth that appears nicely proportioned to her length (as opposed to looking either thin and emaciated, or overfed and obese). About my only trepidation on her is that the vendor says he's been feeding them live, and not pre-killed, so it will be interesting to see how she reacts to pre-killed prey.

She's slated to end up as a mate for my normal male BP, Phil (hence her getting named "Dixie" already). With any luck, I'll be able to find a nice little female Albino Het to mate to Magellan when the time comes.

I'll see about getting a picture posted of her soon, probably after I've let her settle in for a week or so. Granted, I'll probably "disturb" her again when I get a more permanent home set up for her. Her temporary home is in a Rubbermaid type box, but I hope to get her into something a little larger this week.