Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So my question is what snake has a possibility or is the nearest to dethroning the ball python from the herpetoculture spotlight?
What snake can possibly turn up as many or as cool looking morphs?
What would you consider the number 2 snake out there right now?

Angolan??? all the good points, none of the bad...as in they feed great. No real morphs yet other than those from crosses, I really like womma pythons but as far as the perfect snake, I really think balls are the s%$t. I have milks, boas, kings, and balls, I like to be diverse but I think that even though there are a lot of morphs out there, there are many more to come with ball pythons. They are the "perfect" snake. Once you get used to the fact that they do not feed like other snakes, you have it licked. They feed on their own schedule, breed on their own schedule, so I guess the term ROYAL fits them. If you look at all things considered, balls are the best. I love my others but my pythons get the most attention, except for maybe my black milks but that is just because they change throughout their life and are probably the most un-demanding snake I have ever had. Scratch what I just wrote, I love all snakes...LOL

Right now I think the only thing that can hold a candle to bp's in the morph and future department is central American boas. I think a ton of new morphs will come from them and the smaller size makes them very desirable. Colombians or are very nice but the lack of imports limits the amount of new morphs that will be produced by them and the adult size is a turn off to some. I love boas!!! I like bp's mostly because of all the awesome morphs. I think boas have alot more personality and that is what I love about them. That's my .02 Vinnie

I do not think any other snake will ever have as many morphs as ball will. As far as #2 it should be BLOOD PYTHONS. They are great snakes to work with and the CB are not mean like most people think. The morphs T+, T-, Lavender Albinos, Ivories, Strippers, and a few others I am sure. The future of the blood python looks great.

Ryan Young

Male VPI T+ Albino

np
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Kyle
www.royalvariations.com

The only thing with bloods is the size! 30lbs of snake is a lot!
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Nita Hamilton
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Ball Pythons
ballpythonworld.com

One doesn't get a reputation for randomly biting, unless one randomly bites...

also, doesn't the excessive humidity thing get to be a pain?
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when life hands you lemons, make super lemons, bumblebees, etc...

I've bred bloods and have never kept the humidity at an "excessive" level, same as balls...the term "excessive" itself implying too much. Nothing should be kept at that level of humidity. Just my $.02...
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1.0 Solomen Island ground boa
1.1 green tree python
1.0 jungle carpet python
1.0 Boa constrictor imperator
0.1 Borneo short-tailed (blood) python
1.0 albino Burmese python
0.1 woma
0.1 Western hognose snakes
...and a recovering rescue ball python.

Carpets!
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Jon F

their huge size i think everyone would own retics. just one look at the purple albinos and i was in love. plus all the other morphs especially kevins jet black. man that snake is just AWESOME, how bout some pics santa.

Santa? I don't think he'll be giving them away for Christmas ;o)

bloods,w.hognose,super dwarf retic morphs,and the boas!!!!pick one.
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ball pythons,pastel,het&PH albino,het&PH hypo,PH pieds,PH clown,and norms!!
borneo ST,black,& red blood pythons
garter snake morphs
bull snake morphs
w.hognose morphs
e. box turtles
1.1 super kids Memfis Lance and Linda May(co-dom)

As you can see from my name I love burms. Now I know everyone is going to say "they get too damn big!" and yes, they do get big, but everyone has their preferances. Burms are starting to come out with some new morphs, but just pretty slowly since a lot of people dropped them and went into the balls. If you think about it just about any other snake would have tons of morphs if there were as many around as balls. I posted a pic of one of my male burms, to show how gorgeous even just a regular can be.
Link

I have to agree nic morphs and have to add black head pythons. They hold many many secrets!
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Greg Power
B.O.A. Inc
boainc@gmail.com

...there are some good alternatives and many breeders and keepers are already diversifying. There is no doubt in terms of number of proven genetic morphs, that Ball/Royal pythons are the number one choice. There easy going nature and size are huge plus factors. Ball pythons will remain popular for years to come ... and we are still seeing new proven mutations.

Good alternative choices (many already mentioned) include:

Central American Boas - huge potential with may new mutations, small size, easy to breed and hardly ever go off their food .... on the whole, they have better personalities than Ball pythons ... big growing market for these guys.

Bloods and Short Tailed pythons - load of OUTSTANDING morphs, color, color, color, everywhere ... good choice for those who want a large snake, in a short body. (Must be CB !!) Check out VPI.com

Carpets and Rainbow boas are both very popular, neither grow too large (okay some Coastals get big) ... but on the whole they are very manageable and the number of mutations, designer morphs and hybrids are growing all the time. They also make great display animals.

Regular Colombian BCI - still HUGELY popular although some do grow quite large (need big cages). Big list of proven morphs and some of the best looking Designer morphs around .. just look at the Super Jungle or Albino Motley ... sweet.

Thats my 5 cents worth

cheers, John
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www.johnberryreptiles.com
www.designermorphs.com - the most complete guide to boa & python mutations, morphs and hybrids

I agree with John!
(Balls are still the best and will always have the most mutations, but there are some others neat Boids with some great morphs out there!)

And he should know, he did all the research on this already! If you havent checked out his book, you might want to. He has pictures of every morph for Bloods, C.A. Boas, Carpets Balls and Rainbow Boas! Its a collectors must have, if you would like to see what else is out there besides balls! Heres the link to it... http://www.designermorphs.com/

Jon
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Thanks
Jon Dvoretz
Next World Exotics
www.nextworldexotics.com

The Hunters Guide to the Morphs
www.nextworldexotics.com/hg.htm

money. His book is well written, full of information and great pics.
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Greg Power
B.O.A. Inc
boainc@gmail.com

Things are still getting bigger and bigger every year...

more proven morphs every year

more breeders every year

more interest every year

more money invested every year (fools and their money soon part)

more eye candy every year

besides they are small enough to house, feed, and not be intimidating. Big enough to not be fragile or easily lost. Docile enough to hand to a 3 year old. They do not over produce themselves (few eggs and not every year). And you will not break the bank feeding them since they only eat for half the year

Dethroned? I doubt it will happen in my lifetime...

Ryan
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when life hands you lemons, make super lemons, bumblebees, etc...

Rare snakes will always fetch $$$ from experienced keepers that know how special these jems truly are. Blackheads should take off once the albino and anery morphs hit the U.S.

For mass appeal I would say that Balls and BCI rule the boid world, and once the price of morphs trickle down to pet prices, Balls and BCI will be hard to beat.

Also don't forget about the colubrids...