A few Questions about Blood Pythons....

[nca1979]

Greetings all...

I'm relatively still new to being a herp owner. I've had my baby ball, Hannibal, now for about a month and a half. So far things have been great, he has fed at every opportunity, the temps/humidity have been ideal, and he had a reasonably successful first shed. This site and everyones input has been a tremendous aid in helping me and Hannibal along.

Of course, in joining this site, I discovered blood pythons......

I plan on taking another 6 or so months with my ball python before I even seriously consider taking on another snake, I want to make sure everything I'm doing (husbandry, diet, etc is correct)......but in the meantime I had a few questions about bloods because they are just way too cool!!!!!!!

How large do bloods get?
Can you feed them frozen/thawed food?
Where is the best place to purchase one? (i'm in new england)
Are the temps/humidity requirements the same as ball pythons?

Any info would be great! Thanks a lot!

[littleindiangirl]

How large do bloods get? Brongersmai- Up to 6 feet and fat
Can you feed them frozen/thawed food? Yes, a lot prefer it
Where is the best place to purchase one? (i'm in new england)Nerd
Are the temps/humidity requirements the same as ball pythons?No
Temps are cooler, in the low to mid 80's, shouldnt be over 85, and most often with no hot spot unless gravid. Humidity is recommended at 60%

Check out VPI's care sheet and Nerds!

http://vpi.com/publications/blood_py...ation_and_care
http://www.newenglandreptile.com/CareBlood.html

[nca1979]

Thanks a lot for the info! I will definatley check out those sites.

I actually had found the Nerd site before, but still haven't had a chance to drive up there and check it out, something I defiantley will have to do!

How has your experience with your bloods been? How are their behavior as compared to ball pythons? Some bloods can look intimidating (probably why i like them so much), but it seems like they would be great snake.

[littleindiangirl]

I'm pretty new to keeping them myself, so I don't know personally how they are across the board.
Personality wise, I haven't had much dealings with brongersmai, but the borneo's and sumatran short-tailed have been good to me. I have 2 sumatran short-tailed (black blood), and I guess I handle them differently from a BP, but they have never been aggressive or mean.

My youngest is a ham, he is about 7 months old, and while shy when pulling him out, he also is the quickest to be a lap snake and just sit with me, cruise lazily around and give me big ol' puppy dog eyes.

Jade is older and can have her moments, if she doesnt want to be bothered, she gives me a nice big exhalation of air and sits stock still and follows me with her eyes. lol, creepy. I give much respect to this girl, and once she's out of the enclosure she's fine. She's not as used to being handled as the younger one, but we got her after she was already a year old. She too has never had a bad day with me.

All 3 species are my favorite snakes. Great feeders, gorgeous and really have the chance to be puppy dog sweet.

[NateDogg13]

I havent had my blood for nearly as long as Ive had balls but Im liking him more than the balls. He more mellowed out and lets me hold him longer then either of my balls. Oddly he is more of a picky eater than my balls. Basically I care for them the same just my blood gets one spray then the balls. If it wasnt for the size Id own just as many bloods and short tails as I plan on balls. Great snakes, get to know your ball well and become very comfortable with husbandry and after a while your when up to the task caring for a new blood should be easy street and come second nature to ya.

[nca1979]

All the pics I've seen of Bloods are incredible, I want to see one in person!!!!!

Hopefully I'll get up to Nerd ASAP to see what they have there....

[Earl]

It appears all the bases have been covered here so I will just say Nate you will love being a Blood owner but just so you know, if you happen to get a real feisty one and end up getting bit, just do what I do and bite em back. It works for me and it will work for you to.

[Kara]

All the pics I've seen of Bloods are incredible, I want to see one in person!!!!!

Hopefully I'll get up to Nerd ASAP to see what they have there....

If you want to come up & get some hands-on experience with bloods before you decide to commit to one, let me know & we'll set something up. They're quite a bit different than ball pythons in terms of care requirements, so it never hurts to know what you're getting into ahead of time. Just drop me a line or send me a PM.

K~

[waltah!]

You should definitely take a trip to NERD/Zoo Creatures! I got my hognose from Zoo Creatures and have made a couple of trips up there. If you are interested in bloods then you should def contact Kara. If nothing else, it's a really cool shop for sure.