A carinata is a much smaller species than australis. Average maximum lengths for carinata are about 20-24 inches. If your male is 22 inches, he is a good sized carinata (of which I am jealous, btw, its a nice looking specimen). Australis, on the other hand, can grow to 6 feet. At first glance, in some photos, the morphology of both is very similar, however, australis is longer and thinner than carinata when you look closely. From the photo you posted, if you are familiar with Candoia, you can see that it is carinata, just based on size and pattern (australis mostly has slightly different patterning), and you can also see that it is a Waigeo Island variety. Not rare, but not as common in the pet trade as those from other parts of Indonesia.

It is not uncommon for dealers who are not familiar with Candoia to get the IDs wrong. It is not a real common genera in the pet trade (relatively speaking) and a great deal of folks just don't know how to ID them...

Oh and trust me, you are lucky that guy is eating pinkies!

Hope this helps,

j
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John R. Stebbins
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1.1 Candoia bibroni australis
0.2 Candoia carinata carinata
2.0 elaphe guttata guttata

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