Reid,

I apologize if you took my request for a belly shot as an attack, as that was not my intention. In this case, the white ventral scales would make the ID on your black head more conclusive and that’s what I was after.

Every week I engage in similar conversations with people in attempts at identify various ball pythons - some of those are my own snakes that puzzle me. A friend of mine, who happens to be buying my next BH male, text me last night about your pictures and was trying to ID the stereotypical BH characteristics that distinguished it from the normal clutch mate you have pictured with it. My response to your thread was for partially for his benefit and I was hoping it was for yours and mine too. If black heads are varying that much we all need to know that and the best part is, everyone who sees this thread will know your animals are the real deal and what to look for before handing over thousands of dollars.

If Ralph helped ID this snake then that's awesome and congratulations are in order for you (maybe that’s where I made a mistake –by not congratulating you first), but Ralph’s private conversation with you doesn't add knowledge to those considering investing in the project who may have their first exposure to black heads on threads like these.

I don't doubt the picture of the breeder male as being a black head, but the hatchling just isn’t as obvious when I compare it to animals I’ve made and those made by friends of mine over seas. Again, this comment and my response to your thread is not an attempt to question the validity of your post, but rather a way to help you, anyone who views this thread and me, as we identify animals we produce from our BH projects.

If anything is obvious it's that black heads are throwing animals that don't make a lot of sense…and it’s an awesome problem to get to figure out! I feel fortunate to be in this project as it’s just getting started. Ralph and I have both produced animals that are not easily identifiable and it's as if some of the siblings exhibit black head characteristics, but they are not black heads - many of those do not have a clear white belly (thus the basis for my question). Like Ralph, I'm holding onto snakes that are questionable (2 of those are males from my black head x dream bee YB pairing). Only a few people have seen these and they don’t know what to make of them, and in reality, I may not know exactly what I have without breeding them. My point in saying that is that any animal I've sold or intend to sell in this project must be a black head without question - I owe that to my customers and it's a way for me to protect the integrity of this project. That does not mean I’m saying your snake is not a BH as it very well may be one.

As an educator by trade, and a father to young children, I live in a world of inquiry…and from my perspective, most of our learning comes about from asking questions. If you or I, or any breeder for that matter, is going to sell animals, we must be accustomed to answering questions people have about animals we produce without assuming their only intention is to discredit our integrity.

Best of luck with your black head projects, Reid. I wish you success and I look forward to seeing some new black head combos from you in the near future.

Regards,

John
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John Woolard Reptiles

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