Not good news, and its all on me...

[vinnimac]

I wish I had found this site earlier, and listened to the advice so readily, and freely given. Last year I decided I would buy myself a BP for my b'day, so I went to the local shop and get one. Actually, I had to go back after I first went 'cause i wanted a female, and the kid working at the time couldn't say for sure which were which. I came back later and the owner had one set aside that he was 'sure' was a female, so I bought her and happily took her home to the established set up, and let her settle in. Now I start all my research into the different kinds, and breeding, and everything. Then one day, I come across an ad for two 50% het pied brothers for an outstanding price. This time I do my homework, find out the guy is reputable, call the breeder he got them from, and go ahead and do it. So now I have a female getting close to breeding size, 2 het to pick from and breed with her, and my wife says, "Are you sure Cleo (my first one) is female?" Knowing how often she has pretty reasonable doudts, I make an appointment and take her in for an exam. Guess what? Cleo is a Cole! Now I have 3 males, an irritated wife that wants to see babies, no female, and a snake that I have become attached to, that really has no place in my breeding scheme. I don't want to dump him just cause he is male. I really want to say to anyone just getting into snakes, DO WHAT THE PEOPLE HERE SAY!!! Visit the store often, have them feed the one you want in front of you, and demand on sex verification if you are buying for a particular reason. I had no problems with him, eats well and loves being handled, so I will find a place for him. Who knows, maybe I will breed him later, and discover a whole new morph!!

[Shelby]

Yeah, well never trust the average pet store to have the slightest idea how to sex a snake.

There's nothing wrong with breeding normals, you could buy a normal female for your original male.

[PrincessErica]

I kind of figure that if a pet store is getting their animals from a breeder, they're all males. Seems logical that breeders would keep the females to sell on their own, or get up to breeding weight, and since normal males are a lot less valuable, they sell them off to the pet stores. Just a theory of mine though.

[lil_southern]

how old is your python in that pic??? i have just got my first one and i have been told that the pet store that i got it from does not take good care of there snakes because the owner is scared of them!!!(what a jurk) mine is right at 8 months old and is only as long as my arm...shes dark colored and i love the way she looks right now.......she still has the blue tint to her.... how big are they supposed to be at 8 months old if they are healthy

[PrincessErica]

They all grow at different rates depending on the food they've been eating and other factors, both hereditary and environmentally. Even if you think she's small at this point, keep feeding her appropriately-sized meals regularly and she'll grow like a weed. If you're not feeding rats already, definitely make the switch over and you'll see her putting on size in NO time.

If it was my pic you were asking about, Olie was probably about 10 months at that point. Right now he's 14 months and 34". He was a problem feeder in the beginning and very thin, but he's gaining ridiculous amounts of weight every week. I used to worry he was too small and stuff, like you, but now he's a regular ole' chunk. Just keep up with regular feedings.