Please Help!

[Daybreaker]

From my understanding the native habit for Python Regius is Africa, unless the OP is from Africa, is there really a difference between a wild caught here in the US and a Craig's List rescue that is in poor husbandry? I guess I would just like more background how this particular ball is was actually wild captured.

My thought were that maybe it was WC in Africa and was imported over here.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Seeing how there isn't a wild population of BP's in North America, a Wild Caught BP will be from Africa then imported to the states.

[loonunit]

Yeah, there are plenty of WC snakes available in the US. They are caught as wild adult animals in western Africa and shipped over here by an importer. It's fairly uncommon these days---the captive hatched and captive bred snakes available are simply too cheap and widely available for importing wild ball pythons to be profitable anymore.

...except when there is a suspected morph. Morphs are sometimes worth the money of importation, and new genetic strains and dinkers sometimes have appeal to speciality breeders.

[RaltsXIV]

The price of new blood! If I had money to burn I'd be interested in trying a wc, especially a wc morphology.

[kitedemon]

Although Balls are not a domesticated, CB are certainly conditioned to human handling. I have spoke to people whom have bought a ball and never have seen it 'balled up' ever. It arrived so used to human contact that the animal has never felt threatened by a human. Conversely my WC animals are almost always balled up when I am visible and one in particular stays that way hours after I return her to the rack. She usually will not eat for ages after I have her out. She is the ONLY animal I don't do a full clean once a month with if I did she would never eat. She is slightly better after 3 years but still she does not trust me at all.

[martin82531]

Yeah, there are plenty of WC snakes available in the US. They are caught as wild adult animals in western Africa and shipped over here by an importer. It's fairly uncommon these days---the captive hatched and captive bred snakes available are simply too cheap and widely available for importing wild ball pythons to be profitable anymore.

...except when there is a suspected morph. Morphs are sometimes worth the money of importation, and new genetic strains and dinkers sometimes have appeal to speciality breeders.

I guess this its kind of what I was thinking. Why would someone go through the trouble of importing a ball python when they seem so readily available in the US. If it was a morph or a new gene it would make more sense.

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[loonunit]

Although Balls are not a domesticated, CB are certainly conditioned to human handling. I have spoke to people whom have bought a ball and never have seen it 'balled up' ever. It arrived so used to human contact that the animal has never felt threatened by a human. Conversely my WC animals are almost always balled up when I am visible and one in particular stays that way hours after I return her to the rack. She usually will not eat for ages after I have her out. She is the ONLY animal I don't do a full clean once a month with if I did she would never eat. She is slightly better after 3 years but still she does not trust me at all.

More to the point, CBs are conditioned to domestic strains of mice and rats. And aren't stressed by captivity. They still usually have seasonal anorexia, but they just aren't the impossible feeders that the original WC population was.

(But yeah, I find that babies I handle right from hatching, or which were clearly handled a lot by their breeders before I bought them, are lot friendlier and less headshy as juveniles and adults.)

[kitedemon]

More to the point, CBs are conditioned to domestic strains of mice and rats. And aren't stressed by captivity. They still usually have seasonal anorexia, but they just aren't the impossible feeders that the original WC population was.

(But yeah, I find that babies I handle right from hatching, or which were clearly handled a lot by their breeders before I bought them, are lot friendlier and less headshy as juveniles and adults.)

Yes absolutely this too!