I admit it... I've been lurking around in the blood python section of the forum for a while now, ogling everyone's awesome snake pics and toying with the idea of adding a blood or short-tailed python to my collection. I was reading the blood python temperament thread and didn't want to hijack it, so I thought I'd ask my questions in a separate thread.

I love the color and pattern variation in all three species and have always found chunkier snakes more appealing (not necessarily giant ones, but those that look more like BPs in body type than corn snakes). My main hangup with getting a short tail would be whether or not i could safely and correctly handle it myself.. Given that I am short (5'1") and small (roughtly 115lbs) I am not sure that I could correctly handle the python so that it is comfortable for both me and the snake. Because of this, I'd lean towards getting a smaller specimen but I am not sure if my idea of "small" is correct and have no idea on adult weights / girths with these guys.

I'll list my questions below but feel free to add any info you feel is pertinent.

1. Is there a general size difference between the three species or are there any lines of any of the species that stay smaller?

2. Is there an appreciable difference in size or girth / weigh between males and females (what weight / girth could I expect to be normal)?

3. Would an adult be difficult to handle correctly (supporting it's weight and body length) for me based on the specs I listed?

4. I know this is slightly OT, but could an adult be fed on rats (I want to raise my own food and can't have anything like rabbits that eats hay due to allergies)?

Thank you for your time and help!