If the BP natural range is south of the Saharan Desert, what is a sub-Saharan?

[PsychD_Student]

So I've been seeing sub-Saharan ball pythons for sale on kingsnake. What on earth are these supposed to be? I guess I'm confused because the natural range for ball pythons is south of the Saharan desert... I'm afraid it is a way to market your normals in a way, promising they'll grow huge... one day...

[BoostedMX3]

Maybe another way to market wild ones?

[dr del]

Hi,

It's a name used to distinguish snakes from a specific locale. The other name for them is "Volta" if I remember correctly.

They do indeed grow substantially larger than regular ball pythons. Their heads are huge in comparison to normals and they lay bigger clutches as well.

The last part appeals to those who are chasing long odds on a combo.

It's a personal choice but I'd far more intrested in preserving them as a seperate line until it is proven there are no genetic differences worthy of calling them a subspecies or an official local variant. Unfortunately I can't find anyone selling them over here.

But they are definitely different enough to be marketed as such.


dr del

[angllady2]

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

[nimblykimbly]

I wonder if that's what I have...? Sorry for the crappy pic... I got her as a Normal but we all thought 'gosh her head is huge' compared to others...?



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[gsarchie]

Good golly, Kimbly! How long have you had her and how big is she?

[swansonbb]

Great. Something else to add to the never ending wish list. On a side note, has anyone seen a male for sale?

[nimblykimbly]

Good golly, Kimbly! How long have you had her and how big is she?

I have only had her a short time... She's still in QT with the rest of the group I got her with (the pairing pics I just posted show all of her better). The guy I got her from said he thinks she's 3 or 4 years old. She's 3100g, and honestly I haven't even measured her length yet....

[nimblykimbly]

I just measured her... The tape measure was out 5ft.



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[OhhWatALoser]

OP I understand your confusion, I have no idea why they call them sub Saharan, since as you stated the entire natural location of ball pythons is inside the enormous area called sub Saharan, its not really being very specific at all.

But as stated above, what they call sub Saharan.... they get huge.