Because there are locality specific ball pythons that DO get larger than normal. I own one. Although she's not a giant yet, she has the potential. At 5'6" long and 3600 grams after a 7 month fast, she is quite large by ball python standards. But more than that, she looks different. Her head and neck are much larger and thicker than the average ball, even one as big as her. I have seen pictures of some massive girls. They are reported to grow in excess of 8' and weigh over 8000 grams. I have never seen one that large in person, but several members here have.

I believe Deborah or Robin one has a photograph of a giant, the ball python's head is larger than a human hand. I think NERD has one or more, as does Ralph Davis and a few other big names.

Here are some comparison pictures of my two females.

This first one shows them side by side. The darker girl is the Ghana or sub-saharan.



In these pictures, you can see the very noticeable difference in the size of their heads and necks.




This is despite the fact that the lighter girl is a solid 8" longer and weighs 300 grams more. I have hopes that once I get my Ghana to eat regularly for me, she'll gain even more size. She certainly has the potential.

Gale