Snakes and Stones Pr. 2

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #564

BP = HGW/Lesser/Het Lavender Albino with some Beryl from NH, USA.

[Homebody]

Good News/Bad News:
They ended up rejecting me (no explanation)--so I won't have to worry about it.
My industry has been in sharp decline for over a year so there are a lot of people struggling against one-another for the few remaining jobs that exist.

Sorry to hear it. Better luck next time.

[Bogertophis]

Good News/Bad News:
They ended up rejecting me (no explanation)--so I won't have to worry about it.
My industry has been in sharp decline for over a year so there are a lot of people struggling against one-another for the few remaining jobs that exist.

I hope you were "spared" this time so that something better comes along soon.

[Lord Sorril]

Sorry to hear it. Better luck next time.

I hope you were "spared" this time so that something better comes along soon.

Thanks! I certainly hope so. I'm competing against epic numbers of people...some skilled jobs are only posted for a few hours before they are removed due to the overwhelming number of applicants...

I still have 10 or so ball pythons to photograph for the 2025 season, been slow with my photography as I have been focusing on my job hunting.

I was trying to find my old photos of all the other snakes I kept in the past before I switched over to ball pythons--hard to believe I have been keeping them for so long...
I ran across a photo of some old ball python eggs (I wasn't even numbering the clutches at that point), and I thought to myself 'These must have been goners...', but then I saw a few months later that they all actually hatched...hahaha

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #565

BP = 100% Het Piebald/VPI Axanthic + 50% Het Hypo
I count ~35 different types of stone from various parts of the world in the photo above.

Breeders Note: It is rare, but it does happen occasionally that I have a male that is terrified of a specific female and will totally panic when placed in the same enclosure.
In my case: This happened the other day. I double/triple checked their genders to confirm they are not two males.
Innately females will be larger than males at full maturity so I don't think size discrepancy between the two is the problem.
Luckily I have two males with the same genetics so I rotated the second male into the breed scheme (without issue).
It is so odd though...

[Homebody]

Breeders Note: It is rare, but it does happen occasionally that I have a male that is terrified of a specific female and will totally panic when placed in the same enclosure.
In my case: This happened the other day. I double/triple checked their genders to confirm they are not two males.
Innately females will be larger than males at full maturity so I don't think size discrepancy between the two is the problem.
Luckily I have two males with the same genetics so I rotated the second male into the breed scheme (without issue).
It is so odd though...

Too bad you can't ask him.

[Bogertophis]

...

Breeders Note: It is rare, but it does happen occasionally that I have a male that is terrified of a specific female and will totally panic when placed in the same enclosure.
In my case: This happened the other day. I double/triple checked their genders to confirm they are not two males.
Innately females will be larger than males at full maturity so I don't think size discrepancy between the two is the problem.
Luckily I have two males with the same genetics so I rotated the second male into the breed scheme (without issue).
It is so odd though...

It's probably her five o'clock shadow?

[Lord Sorril]

Too bad you can't ask him.

I've asked him several times but he never answers...

It's probably her five o'clock shadow?

Lol...

If it was really another male I would expect them to spar.
Sometimes I put males vs. males to get them all hyped up for mating--so I know what their snake-dance fighting reaction looks like when two male ball pythons cross paths.
Instead I see a fear response that is just straight up panic:
The male pushes as hard as he can against the doors of the enclosure-so much so that I fear if I left him in the enclosure that he would either break the door hinges-or more likely his face...

Photo #566

BP = Pastel/Orange Dream/Het VPI Axanthic + 50% Het Hypo (Pattern overview of BP pictured below)
Stone = Banded Hematite (USA)

[Bogertophis]

...

Lol...

If it was really another male I would expect them to spar.
Sometimes I put males vs. males to get them all hyped up for mating--so I know what their snake-dance fighting reaction looks like when two male ball pythons cross paths.
Instead I see a fear response that is just straight up panic:
The male pushes as hard as he can against the doors of the enclosure-so much so that I fear if I left him in the enclosure that he would either break the door hinges-or more likely his face...

...

That's really strange- such bad chemistry, & especially when another male doesn't react the same way? Any chance they've met before, on a nightmare date?

[Lord Sorril]

That's really strange- such bad chemistry, & especially when another male doesn't react the same way? Any chance they've met before, on a nightmare date?

Hahaha, possibly. I've seen this before...this is another reason I try to mate 2 males to a female each season. As my genetic combos have become more complex I don't always have a backup male though...

I should have added a coin for scale for the photos below. This female has grown fast and makes the stone look small.

Photo #567

BP = Mojave/Het Gravel or YB/Het Hypo
The stone is a piece of intensely UV reactive Montana Agate.
I tried to photograph the light orange color of the UV reaction, but, the reflected light overwhelmed the camera.