you know the dang answer, you saw it here, dang boy!

ok ok, I will babble on. We here, without question found BHP's to be amoung the fastest growing snakes. We had no problem having wonderful successful large fertile clutches in under 18 months. Same for Womas.

At the time, my great friends and Python breeders, the Barkers, had other experiences. they saw problems with young females. Again, I did not. Same snake and at times it was the exact same snake. So, any halfwit(me) can tell you, its not the snake, its the conditions.

They offered smallesh neodeshea cages often with solid doors so the cage was effectively a hide box. and their room controlled the temps. I of course was a rouge, I offered temp ranges and larger cages, etc.

They fed on a schedule, I fed when the snakes were hungry(all the time)

Let me say, the Barkers, are extremely intelligent and so dang good at what they do. But they kept the animals in a way that suited their entire opperation, not what was best for the animal. And while they are extremely good at what they do, it was not about that, it was simple approach. Different approach, different results.

As with all these reptiles, you cannot heat a tiny cage to the point necessary to asimilate large amounts of food. In nature, they can and do get any heat they want and MORE.

As you know, I have seen BHP's in nature, from east to west and north to south and observed litterally hundreds of them. And they are not afraid of heat. Found one crossing the road mid-day, just up the road from Sandfire(western black&white) and it was 100F out. Got me! lots of other stories about them as well.

Back to captivity, a friend told me that some folks think you have to feed them FISH, oh my, or they have problems. First off, fish would be a rare prey item in Oz. as these things are not raparian, they are xeric. Which means they normally live away from water and in Oz, that does mean away.

Anyway, keeping them in conditions that will not allow their NORMAL choices of conditions, IS NOT ABOUT THE ANIMALS, ITS ABOUT THE KEEPER. Then trying to mitigate that with such things as fish is, well, very human, and not about the snakes in the least.

So as you would say, we as hairless apes, wait your not hairless and neither am I, should have the grey matter to allow us to change to fit the animal, instead of forcing an animal to fit to US, those hairless ones(not you or I) say, rats will cause them to have problems, well if you add heat, it makes them lay tons of eggs and if thats a problem, then I agree.

And yes, I often wonder if this shoe box, recipe mentality is not an effort to limit offspring. If its accidental, then the purpose is still served. Limited potential.

See what you made me do, I going herping sir, no wait, I going to the bar and watch that young lady kiss some wicked arse. Best wishes

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