Kevin Hit 3.

[Gio]

Interesting to see two schools of thought here. Needless to say, Nick is well regarded as the authority on carpets, Bredli included. So his word carries a bit more weight for me. Though I don't discount Casey's knowledge or experience, I think Nick holds the trump card (I use that term loosely, hehehe).

All said, I'm loving this species!

Nick sent me studies from Shine and some other science based studies. Most are the study of Australian snakes but there are others as well.

The BIGGEST factor seems to be wild VS captive when it comes to discussing sexual size dimorphism and breeding.

In captivity, a smaller male may be a better breeder. Why? It may come down to overfeeding in captivity a lot of keepers just don't do the right thing. In nature, I have no doubt a larger male will be more successful. They will win in combat and go on to breed.

Rapidly grown, large males in captivity are not the same as successful, large males in nature that have had the advantage in finding food. An athlete and completely out of shape person can both weigh 280 pounds. There usually isn't any question as to which body type will succeed in combat. They reached their weight in different ways.

Too many things change in captivity to compare wild VS captive.

Nick used the analogy of male lions being the larger sex in the wild. They combat for territory and mating rights.

I first discussed sexual size dimorphism with Gus Rentfro regarding boa constrictors when I was just getting into this. Gus is a world authority on boas.

Gus felt a male boa could certainly attain the same size as a female boa if being properly raised as a pet. No pheromonal cues from a female could likely keep a male "on feed" vs going crazy looking for a mate.

This is an interesting and under studied topic, however I'm still expecting Kevin to make at least 7 feet.

Bredli are only second in size to the most southern form of coastal carpets (Brisbane locality) and tend to be heavier but not as long. That's right off Nick's webpage.

That said, there are exceptions in every form.

I'll keep Kevin's updates coming as he ages and grows.


Check out this lunker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3ARxHtiNCI


And this male coastal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3cgRxyrSRI