WC Gravids?

[nixer]

i know the pics albey is refering to and those snakes were taken from a back burn and then sent here. what does this have to do with ppl her importing when they were sent here that way

[wilomn]

i know the pics albey is refering to and those snakes were taken from a back burn and then sent here. what does this have to do with ppl her importing when they were sent here that way

Not a clue. Apparently he chickened out with some point or other he was trying to make.

[azpythons]

burnt gravids? i know a website that are selling those for a little cheaper than unburned ones. dont seem like a big deal to me....what are they supposed to do kill the burnt ones? at least in human care they can get prompt treatment for there wounds....i dunno...i just bought a wc gravid...anxiously awaiting the egg laying. i cant wait for people to cuzz me out cuz of this....

[Shadera]

I am sorry about the post above. The pictures were a bit too graphic so I took them down.

I agree, Albey. It saddened me to see those snakes. Some of those burns didn't look very old, either. And still charging top dollar. Good grief, you can get CB adult females for that price.

I'll take my snakes unburned, please.

[CeraDigital]

I don't care to find out, I get enough joy from getting stubborn CBs to eat and breed and to successfully lay their eggs. If I want to find something more challenging I'll choose another species, not import a gravid female.

How could you comment on the difficulty of feeding, courtship and breeding when you've only been keeping your animals, what? A year?

I posted this about the burn subject on another forum if anyone is interested to find out exactly what the burns are from. Yes, the burns are still fairly fresh, a long with a myriad of other problems they come in with.

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They get burned from bushmen, and tribesmen. They go out into their range, and instead of digging hole through hole, through all those weeds that are parasite infested or possibly hiding a larger predator such as an Afrock, or venomous snake....they simply grab a wheat/grass torch, toss it in, kick back and let it burn. When all is said and done, they go through the cleared area, collect the females in their holes, and sell them to the exporters for normally around $0.05-$0.70 or so. When the exporters get them, and have females ready to lay, they'll hold onto those females until they lay, then sell those females off to the importers here, along with the females with a little more leeway time on their hands with laying. The eggs that do hatch get passed off as c.h. animals, along with some that are actually bred and hatched in African facilities. Not many, but some.

.....a lot of African reptiles are collected, including African Rock Pythons, Nile Monitors, and Savannah Monitors. Less time spent digging and searching, more money made. You can't blame the tribesmen and bushmen....they're just trying to etch a small living and survive, and this is one of the few ways they can. Its the exporters and collectors who abuse it, and take advantage of them. 5 cents a snake to 70 cents a snake...c'mon now.

.....If those animals were close enough to get burned...some pretty bad... then they were close enough to the surface of the hole to breathe in all of that smoke. In that event, they probably have a myriad of neurological damage done, as well as internal damage to the lungs and such. It just doesn't seem quite right, from a business, conservation, or moral standpoint. Our hobby is somewhat about conservation, when this is the complete opposite. As a business, that could be taken in the same light as willingly and knowingly selling a "defective product" whether it be live animal, or a simple machine. From a moral standpoint....I think that speaks for itself... What can you say other that dirtbag?
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Take it as you wish.
Andrew

[AaronP]

How could you comment on the difficulty of feeding, courtship and breeding when you've only been keeping your animals, what? A year?

I've been keeping snakes for about 6 years. My first snake was a WC male who was a terrible eater, took me 6 months to successfully get him to eat. So don't try to call me out on crap you know nothing about. I've never bred snakes and this is my first season but I've already begun to felt the excitement and nervousness that comes with it.

[CeraDigital]

I've been keeping snakes for about 6 years. My first snake was a WC male who was a terrible eater, took me 6 months to successfully get him to eat. So don't try to call me out on crap you know nothing about. I've never bred snakes and this is my first season but I've already begun to felt the excitement and nervousness that comes with it.

Call you out on something I know nothing about? Hmmmm....You've already dropped how many snakes you've owned before. You've owned two before your current collection...both dead.....

[Tosha_Mc]

Due to the accusations being thrown around that the Importing of Gravid Ball Pythons was illegal. The staff decided to research the accuracy of these statements.

The information that follows was collected by me from first hand sources and in no way reflects in one way or another BP.net and any position that we have in regards to the subject.

I had a nice long conference call conversation with the Head of the Federal CITES Regulation and Inspection Department along with the Spokesperson for the Import/Export Legal Research Department.

The importing of "gravid" ball pythons is legal!! The gravid condition is not a required declaration for importation. There are "That they are aware of" no local state wide laws regarding the regulation of Gravid reptiles in regards to sale or welfare.

However baby's hatched from females that are sold as "Wild Caught Gravid" must be labeled and resold as "Wild Caught Animals" and not Captive Hatched or Captive Bred as per the US Wildlife Fish and Game Department.

Just a clarification on this -- The US does not have a law in place against the importation of gravids specifically -- the countries they are coming from have laws that restrict exportation -- which makes it a cities violation.

[Nate]

Just a clarification on this -- The US does not have a law in place against the importation of gravids specifically -- the countries they are coming from have laws that restrict exportation -- which makes it a cities violation.

Where can we find this information?

[CeraDigital]

Where can we find this information?

Email C.I.T.E.S. with the information you're inquiring on....