Looking for breeders that breed for size...?

[Scooda954]

I used to and my largest female weighed at 7100g right before she laid 13 eggs (they hatched out from 90g to 110g). She passed last year at about 19 years old due to a bad RI.

Wow that’s crazy never heard of one getting that big, sorry for your loss. So if a hatchling come out the egg at 110 grams chances are it’s going to be above average as an adult?

[redshepherd]

True I’ve been looking into some boas that might stay in the 5-6ft range

Keep in mind that boa proportions are different from ball pythons- boas have a much longer body, so a 5-6 ft boa would be much thinner and have a smaller head than a 5-6 ft ball python. It would be a smaller snake.

Just like how a 5-6 foot blood python would be a large, thick snake.

Look at weight and not length if you just want something that feels girthy and sizeable.

[Godzilla78]

Keep in mind that boa proportions are different from ball pythons- boas have a much longer body, so a 5-6 ft boa would be much thinner and have a smaller head than a 5-6 ft ball python. It would be a smaller snake.

Just like how a 5-6 foot blood python would be a large, thick snake.

Look at weight and not length if you just want something that feels girthy and sizeable.

Yes. And If you want a fat, thick, heavy snake, get a blood python, if you want a super long snake, get a mainland reticulated python.

[zina10]

You should try to find someone that sells BP's from the Volta region. If you can get a pair, chances are that you will have large off spring.

But don't expect them to hit that crazy size quickly. The BP's that reach 2000 gr quickly are usually just overfed snakes. Not the same at all than genetically LARGE snakes. Volta BP's are large overall, NOT fat and sqishy. They have larger heads and big, muscular bodies. It does take a few years for them to reach that large size and then they keep on growing slowly.
That is the only way you will get a truly large (not fat, overweight, powerfed) Ball Python.

I used to have a rescue female that was 4500 gr. BIG, with a really huge head. She was gravid and her clutch weighed around 1500 gr. She laid 6 huge eggs, one went bad. The hatchlings were between 89 and 116 gr out of the egg. The female regained her weight quickly.

A few years later I had another large normal female. She weighed 3200 grams and kept putting more weight and size on, slowly. She also had a really large head, I will attach some pictures.

Right now I have a Pastel Yellowbelly male that seems unusually large for a BP, esp. a male (and yes, he is a male). He has always grown faster and bigger then my others, even though I fed all 5 BPs the same amount of food. I got 5 BP's that year, all approx. same age and weight (all from diff. clutches, though) So I absolutely believe that genetics play the largest role.

The smaller "big" female I had:





Sadly I don't have pictures of the huge one or her clutch. All pictures from way back then disappeared when one of the online photo hosting sites went bust and just shut down before people could save their pictures.


Here is the big male I still own, he continues to grow. He is now almost 9 years old.








I do believe he has something "genetic" going on with his size, esp. since he grew bigger and faster then the other 4, despite all being on the same diet with the same husbandry.

[Scooda954]

Keep in mind that boa proportions are different from ball pythons- boas have a much longer body, so a 5-6 ft boa would be much thinner and have a smaller head than a 5-6 ft ball python. It would be a smaller snake.

Just like how a 5-6 foot blood python would be a large, thick snake.

Look at weight and not length if you just want something that feels girthy and sizeable.

This is true I don’t want slim snake I want something with some girth but not a blood python, something a little more agile. Think a short tail boa might be my next snake, it fits the criteria I think.

[Scooda954]

You should try to find someone that sells BP's from the Volta region. If you can get a pair, chances are that you will have large off spring.

But don't expect them to hit that crazy size quickly. The BP's that reach 2000 gr quickly are usually just overfed snakes. Not the same at all than genetically LARGE snakes. Volta BP's are large overall, NOT fat and sqishy. They have larger heads and big, muscular bodies. It does take a few years for them to reach that large size and then they keep on growing slowly.
That is the only way you will get a truly large (not fat, overweight, powerfed) Ball Python.

I used to have a rescue female that was 4500 gr. BIG, with a really huge head. She was gravid and her clutch weighed around 1500 gr. She laid 6 huge eggs, one went bad. The hatchlings were between 89 and 116 gr out of the egg. The female regained her weight quickly.

A few years later I had another large normal female. She weighed 3200 grams and kept putting more weight and size on, slowly. She also had a really large head, I will attach some pictures.

Right now I have a Pastel Yellowbelly male that seems unusually large for a BP, esp. a male (and yes, he is a male). He has always grown faster and bigger then my others, even though I fed all 5 BPs the same amount of food. I got 5 BP's that year, all approx. same age and weight (all from diff. clutches, though) So I absolutely believe that genetics play the largest role.

The smaller "big" female I had:





Sadly I don't have pictures of the huge one or her clutch. All pictures from way back then disappeared when one of the online photo hosting sites went bust and just shut down before people could save their pictures.


Here is the big male I still own, he continues to grow. He is now almost 9 years old.








I do believe he has something "genetic" going on with his size, esp. since he grew bigger and faster then the other 4, despite all being on the same diet with the same husbandry.

Thats a beautiful pastel! Hopefully I don’t have a three feet female later down the road. Too bad snakes don’t come with pedigrees like dogs