I thought I’d be interesting to see a quick recap of the highlights of forum activity from last year. Sorry, it took longer than I thought and would take too many days to do a recap of the photo section – but this is a nice look back at what we’ve been chatting about. Enjoy!!!
January
Bunch of people changed their names for the new year.
Lotsa people with new cameras and new lenses!
Incubator questions 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 of them
I want to import BPs 
What does my snake say - a variation of the words found on peoples snakes
$150K for a two headed snake – and it’s not even a ball.
Havic aka Brian n Chrissy did their first preschool show and tell – and had a blast doing it. Way to peddle that addiction to the young’ns – glad to hear all went well and everyone had fun!!!!
Gravid Questions, Ovulation questions, pooping questions, shedding question…. Not one “is this a pastel question”
Congrats to the Boa Forum for finally getting a Week In Review
A bunch of new ball owners this week – unfortunately they all seem to have inherited their snakes from people that couldn’t/wouldn’t take care of them any longer - 
. Props to you all for stepping in and doing the right things. Remember people, this is a 30 year commitment you are making when you purchase these animals!!!
Lots of ovulation photos for this week.
Harlequins?!?!?! Whats up with these?!?!?! And better yet, why are they called Harlequins they aren’t very harlequin like?
Couple of RI questions – watch your temperatures people!
A big week for Brian and Chrissy first a reptile show, then a new camera, these two are really getting hooked! Congrats guys!
After two years of trying Cheryl finally got a male het pied that can copulate!!!! Congrats Cheryl! This should be a lesson to all – it’s not always as easy as throwing two snakes in the same cage.
Market Crash Discussion of the Week – Pastels – Again
February
Are all Caramels kinked?
Where do you feed?
The poll for why you breed snakes got only 4 replys – what no one whats to admit to doing it for the money?
Who has the biggest balls discussions – 4 of them.
Mouse gets revenge – this story was just too good to be true! Man tried to burn mouse - mouse runs into his house and burns it down.
More males not breeding – some just finding their way.
Two threads on het pied markings – where is the hunters guide when you need it.
Thread about Pit Bulls
Ebony thread and whether or not Graziani actually has one.
The no substrate method
Keeping up with the times the Ball Python world has now merged with internet dating and you can now find that perfect mate (at least for the season) for your ball on ematch.com.
A mixed review of NERDs ball python book – are there too many pictures? Is it too expensive? And just how long until we can pick it for $20 on ebay? Now those are the questions. But most importantly is it prominently displayed in enough pet stores so that we can entice more and more people to invest in the ball python phenomenon?!?!?!
Whatever happened to the Circus Ball!!!!!! Is this another fabulous animal that will disappear off the radar for two years?!?!?!
Stolen Snakes – Morton Wright had some Ivories, Albinos, Pastels and Super Pastels stolen from his collection.
Official Thread from Hell: Legislators want tougher laws for reptile owners.
Incubator fans – wow – who woulda thought there were so many opinions on incubator fans.
Are there any fatal morph combos – we’ve all heard the rumors about albinos, there are even rumors about Spiders. So the question is this …. Every season we see dozens of normal females sitting on clutches of 10-12 (or more) eggs – for the life of me I can’t remember a caramel albino or spider or pinstripe on a clutch larger than normal (6-8) can anyone else? So here’s my challenge – lets see if we can find the biggest clutch produced by two morphs. I’m betting it’ll be a bumblebee project, but it will be interesting.
Thread about safety of keeping your frozen rodents in with your people food. There were some pretty ghastly responses to this one – can someone say road kill.
Hemp bedding – ok since we keep seeing this question - I just gotta ask – is this really a necessary and useful bedding? Or is this just a marketing ploy to get some stupid person to put their animal on it so that they have a stoner ball?
Hubby really dislikes the idea of rodents next to his ice cream - nita
Lessen for the week – if you want to ask the forum if your snake looks “unique” post a picture of said snake that shows the “actual and real” colors and pattern – not one that makes them look normal with the tag line – but this isn’t really how they look. Also – don’t post one that the color has been completely distorted by the flash – we all have pictures of our snakes that look cool because of poor photographic skills.
Another “what line is the best pastel line” thread
March
Kevin @ NERD Chat
A request for some background from those that “got lucky”. Big breeders need not apply. And someone really needs to buy Aaron (aka ABX) a new camera – we’d like to see some really nice shots of those (super) sables. Beautiful animals!
Three threads on Shipping Temperatures …. Bottom line – if you don’t feel comfortable shipping then don’t. for more information on Fedex’s cargo hold temps please check the following thread – Thanks for the follow-up Jay.
Support your local Herper … Should we only buy our herping supplies from those that share our hobby? I like the concept – but lets face it some things you can just get cheaper elsewhere, should we only buy out tubs from a reptile supplier if we can get them from office depot for $2.00 cheaper (and no shipping? Should we buy our crocks from a reptile supplier if we can get them at the dollar store for 1/3 the cost? Should we pay $16 for PAM when $6 equate bedding spray will do the same job? We only buy racks from those that make them instead of build them ourselves? Where do we draw the line?
Not all balls take to being moved out of their nice comfy little homes - be it shipped across the country or just to a new tub - you never know what will put a perfectly good feeder on strike!
Lots of Egg Pictures
Finally - some Decent Super Sable Picts
Yes - the Derma is breeding
African Soft Furred Rats - Yeah - they're probably illegal in California too.
Cold Weather Shipping – a pictorial
The Unveiling of the JESTER BALL - (my guess is that he is a Paradox True Ghost)
Pastel Genetic Stripe (LOL yeah it rocked!)
Paper Work Included – mixed opinion on this one – “Paperwork” should specifically entail – a photo identification of the animal being sold – who originally produced the animal and from what (who the parents were) and any guarantee on the genetics and any specifications and/or limitations thereof. Additional paperwork would include feeding and other husbandry information, microchip identification (were applicable) and receipt (cause we need this for taxes).
Best 15K investment – a good car to get you to and from your day job.
African Rats got 24 threads this week and that is not including the ones that got pulled before I caught them. And yes that is right "threads" not responses!
A thread on overdue layers.
Scale Rot – what is it and were does it come from. I’ll give you a hint – there are different kinds of scale rot and they come from different problems – and there are different ways to treat them.
Duct tape to catch a snake – if anyone has had the misfortune of having to peel a terrified, writhing snake off of a piece of tape or other sticky substance – you know that that falls under cruel and unusual punishment – bad idea – there are more humane ways to catch a snake.
Another discussion on the use of the term “proven” in ads. Maybe we should just drop this term altogether? Seems to cause quite a bit of confusion.
1. Proven to breed
2. Proven to produce viable clutches
3. Proven to produce morph
4. From a proven line of animals
Another Big Ball thread …
No Substrate Incubation thread – various how to’s and pictorials
Parthenogenesis: reproduction by a female animal that has never been in contact with a male of her own species. Asexual reproduction in female animals of a sexually reproducing species. Sometimes occurs in certain reptile species.
Something to make you go hmmmm --- seen how many adult female pastels there are up for sale in the past few weeks?
Breeding small males – the up side: you wont have to wait until next year to get those awesome new combos! The down side: (1) you might be wasting your female and end up with a bunch of slugs (2) your small male – could go feed and literally breed himself to death. Any questions?
Lotsa granite questions this week – sheesh you’d think were a real morph or something.
Tom Baker – checked in with an update on Crystal and siblings lotsa nice photos and we are glad to hear Mom and Dad are getting it done again this year – hope there are more Crystals this year!!!
Music Ads – Yeah get used to them they will be ever present for now on – alternative music for your alternative pet? I know don’t know I think with more people pushing to mainstream reptiles – alternative may not be the way to go. I think we should pony up and hire Brittany Spears to carry a snake around instead of a Chihuahua. LMAO …
Sables – Hypermelanistic or IMG – And what exactly is IMG a simple increase in the amount of melanin that the animal is born with or an increase in the amount it produces over a lifetime. Maybe we should rename the typical IMG ball the Presto Chango Ball – Just so we are all clear on what we are talking about.
Water – tap, drinking, avian, arrowhead???
The Angry Market Activist
by Christopher Bianco (and company)
Act I
(The Angry Market Activist enters the room.)
Angry Market Activist: I am so angry! Joe Schmoe is selling Cinnamon Pastels below market value again! Joe Schmoe is crashing the market!!!
Act II
(The Angry Market Activist dials the phone.)
Angry Market Activist: Hello? Is this Plain Jane? I'm calling about the Orange Ghost you advertised on Kingsnake for $2500. Will you take $1250?
Act III
OK. I'll take $1250, just don't tell anyone.
Act IV
Post on Kingsnake:
What do you think of my $1200 Hypo!
Act V
For Sale 15.36 Het Hypos Males $500 Females $2000
Act VI
For Sale Proven Breeder Hypo Male – only bred a few females lots of breeding left in him - $6000
Thread regarding Children and Snakes and the Department of Social Services really brought out this group of herpers.
Mr. Smith of Africa comes out of hibernation to exploit the new batch of BP breeding hopefuls!
April
Snake sitters – the good, the bad and the “they would have been better off turned loose in the yard to fend for themselves” ….
Lots of ovulating going on
Twisted oviduct thread … Kenny keep us posted!
Favorite Thermostat Query
Yet another TV show capitalizing on how terrifying snakes are, spreading misinformation and showing the general public how stupid and inept herpers are! Oh yea – thank you animal planet!
Can humans get their pet sick?!? – That is the age old question – in most cases the same virus’ that get you sick will have no affect on your pets. Unfortunately there are other ways that people and animals pass around germs that make each other sick. But snakes don’t catch the common cold.
Legislative alerts (check the links for info):
Louisiana’s got a new one which knocks back the 12 feet rule to any constrictor …
California’s got a new one in the works – tho it isn’t aimed directly at herps it looks to impact your ability to feed them. [url=
Websites – if you are going to have one, spend less time trying to make them look perdy and more time keeping them up to date.
I begged and pleaded, I danced naked to the snake goddess. 
Melinda666
Lots and Lots of clutches
If a male horse is called a Stallion and a female is called a Mare, what is a male and female snake called?
Does UPS ship snakes? This is the age ol question – formally the answer is no – tho there are those that follow the “what they don’t know wont hurt them” theory – but do you really want to buy a snake from someone that follows that wisdom? Maybe what you don’t know won’t hurt you?
Moldy Eggs – whattayagunna do – there are two camps – those that believe mold wont affect healthy eggs and those that remove them – another interesting thread
And yet another “do you think this is special” post with crappy pictures.
Sanitizing sprays - Clorox® Anywhere? Plain ol’ bleach and water, Vircon S, Virosan aka Nolvasan aka Chlorhexidine?
Platty Daddy Reproduction Discussed
Lots of Clutchs on the clutch count!
Snakes on a plane: the movie – no foolin’ – it’s soon to be released. Someone thought it would be great to combine peoples biggest fears – flying and snakes.
– a forum favorite
Infertility, common or not? - A thread about females being bred for several years and not laying!
NEW VISION RACKS who's using them - 9 out of 10 Ball Breeders recommend Visions Racks (get them now before the price increase)!
It was suggested Mojaves Lessers and Butters might be related all hell broke loose in the ball forum!
May
Many many Snakes still not eating
HELP.... ROUTE HEAT CABLE - Apparently the average herper takes 4-5 tries to get the heat cable properly wired into their new vision racks.
Another live vs. FT thread
Cheryl rescued ball attacks – a new classic on the BP forum!
I find it amazing that people can be more negative than me – jyohe
Whats your next morph purchase
Could “normal” temps be too high to illicit a good feeding response
Does the I in IMG stand for Increase, Increasing or Increased? Seems there is still some confusion within the community and each could be used to describe entirely different animals!
8 pound ankle biter dog vs. 11 foot Burmese python – if the snake had been properly caged this would have never happened, if the dog had been on a leash this would have never happened. If neither animal was under it’s owners control who’s to blame the accidental escapee or the one that is purposefully let loose, both, neither? Courts ruled in favor of the dog owner.
Congratulations to all those that are getting their stragglers back on feed!!!! It’s been a long winter!
What is your most anticipated combo Pied morph this season?
Anyone ever seen the AFRICAN PLATTY?
A big Thank You!!! to JP for the No Substrate Incubation Method – seems to be working great for a lot of people!!!!
Some Good Odds 7/8 pastels – congrats Jay~
Some not so good odds 2/9 pastels - KyleScott
A very good lesson learned sometimes people forget even the smallest mouse can damage your snake and it doesn’t have to be left unattended over night – it just takes one good bite or a bunch of little ones.
Prepare to be shocked, I was!
Methylene blue – the cure for your egg fungus – thanks Joe for a great tip
CONGRATULATIONS TRACY AND VPI – The pastel spot is beautiful!
A Creationism vs. Evolutionism discussion on the Kingsnake forum – now I’ve seen everything
June
Does anyone do breeder loans
Is it time to throw in the towel on your Ebony project?
Congratulations ROUSSIS REPTILES!!!!!! The first Pied Spider apparently 99.7% white!
Congratulations ROUSSIS REPTILES!!!!!! F2 Superballs
Congratulations to Tom Baker for proving the Crystal genetic and for popping out the Paradox
Full Clutch - 3 Crystal Balls, 1 Paradox Crystal, 2 Mojaves, and 1 Normal... Awesome Odds!!!
Last years Crystal
Congrats to Amir on the Super Mocha Latter Ball
Can snake eat hamburger
STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM a new project for Nextworld – cool snake, nice project, perhaps we can find a new name – this one doesn’t seem to be gellin with the community?
Everyone has there theories and ideas on genetics behind others 'little secrets' but it is funny to imagine the breeders sweatin when someone sees somethin close, followd by the sigh of relief when someone else bashes the idea – General_Cha0s
July
Best Pastel Line
Pray with me... Dear 'ball python egg god' who art in my incubating room, incubators, closets, garage, or worse case scenario...bathroom towel shelf...let me have a good season. Let my eggs be laid properly. Let my vermiculite be at just the right density. Let there be no power outages until the season is over. Keep mold away from my eggs. When I 'cut' my eggs so I can take a peek at what's inside, let my hands be steady and let my chainsaw chain be sharp. Let all of my eggs hatch without incident. And one more thing oh great ball python egg god...please...please...I beg you...don't let my babies be white!
THE CYCLONE BALL – big Congrats Anthony it’s amazing!!!!
Lots of Pastel Questions – but no Is this a Pastel posts!!!! I kinda miss the good ol’ days.
Any Het Axanthic markers
Most overrated morph?
It’s a Girl!!!! 
Bad eggs Slightly Graphic
Trade value vs cash value– Why the price difference?
Daytona prices? – If you think the prices at the show are cheap – wait till you see what the price at the bar is!!! A drunk herper-with-money dream come true!!!! Daytona - Come early, stay late and all the best deals happen in the bar.
HI Press: Snake investigated – Attempted murder/auto theft investigation leads to confiscation of illegal ball python.
A bunch of “What do you think this is? / Get a load of this!” Threads
"There are two types of snake owners. The majority are people, like myself, who keep snakes because they think the SNAKES are cool/interesting. And the minority are people who keep snakes because they think it makes THEMSELVES cool/interesting."
– Back Beat
August
Whatever happened to the Derma ball
What's Happening With The Banana Ball
What's Happening With The Coral Glow
Anyone know where Tony went
Hunters Guide to Womas
Ghost Bumble Bees
Bumblebee Yellow Belly
Yellow jacket what is this?
Two threads about the Daytona Beach Hilton not allowing animals in their rooms – now correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t this common knowledge – from what I understand people have had to sneak their animals into their rooms for years now?!?!?!
Pied Albino - ROUSSIS REPTILES
Lesser Woma Lemon Pastel – NERD
Red Stripe Ball Pythons - IanG_OutbackRep
"Satan™" is a registered trademark of NERD, Inc. Any copyright infringment is punishable by ETERNAL DAMNATION and some other terrible stuff.
September
UT Press: Neighbors Fear Python Farm Article about The Snakekeeper’s, Dan and Colette Sutherland, run in with the local City Council who don’t want the snake farm in their town. The permit hearing is Sept 21st – best of luck to you Dan and Colette!!!
We mourned the loss of Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin
Lotsa posts about the different shows
Questions about the Axanthic Pastel crosses
I finally got my pastel to take a F/T without moving it with a tweezer! Now if I can just get him to stop biting me. – HognoseVsPython
7-foot Burmese ball python found on truck
Pastels: Junk snake status
"Inferno" Ball – NERD
Axanthic Bumblebee ? – NERD
New African Morph – JaredHorenstein
New Spider Combo! - dhrsterling
New morph! – idealreptiles
Axanthic Killer Bee – NERD
How do you afford these morphs
BIGGEST crap EVER
Whats the best ball book:
Ball Pythons: History, Natural History, Care, & Breeding
Pythons of the World Volume II
By David G Barker & Tracy M Barker
Designer Morphs
The complete guide to medium sized python and boa morphs
By John Berry
The Complete Ball Python
A Compreensive Guide to Care, Breeding, And Genetic Mutations
By Kevin McCurley
Who still has clutches hatching
What snake has a possibility or is the nearest to dethroning the ball python from the herpetoculture spotlight
*** Krugerrand *** - dhrsterling
A Spider-ISH Surprise... (paradox spider) - Exotics by Nature
Black-Eyed Fun - NERD,Inc
(Davies Fire x Kev's wc co-dominant hypo/fire lineage)
Black Lace - New Recessive Proven!!! - dwherp
AND THREE REQUESTS FOR PICTURES OF ADULT SNOWBALLS – IF YA GOT EM SHOW EM!!!
October
Congratulations 2006 Photo contest winner - Python Dreams Tom Baker for his awesome picture of the Crystal Ball !!!!
Rack Threads:
Visions
Animal Plastics
Freedom Breeder
The Usefulness of a Male Normal
Spider Wobbling
Power feeding good? or bad
Mean Balls
A couple of Heat tape threads
Definition of power feeding
What in Blazes is that Inferno Ball
Power outages! What to do?
Quarantine Protocol
Black Knight legal battle question
Water Bowls!
Smallest baby - Gulf Coast Reptiles hatched some citrus ghosts and had a set of twins in one egg.
What's the best thermostat
November
CONGRATULATIONS TOM BAKER -- Pastel Crystals
Cinnamons - Question about what color cinnamon’s make better pewter’s – turned into a discussion about the differences between black pastels and cinnys addressing issues in breeding for supers
What is the current list of albino crosses
Breeder loans
Lots of threads on feeding Frozen Thawed / Pre Killed
What is the smallest male Spider you have ever had breed
Provent a Mite, Reptile Relief or Frontline
Cinny projects
Is frequent handling counter productive to reproduction?
December
Newbie w/ ? about snake activity
Good business question
Water Dish Solutions
Spots on Spiders.. a flaw
Man gets drunk and high on prescriptions meds goes to wheelchair bond mans house turns out lights and steals ball python – then forgets where he put the snake.
Pastels with random white scales
Techniques to stimulate young males
Lots of Snake Porn!!
What does a BLACK PASTEL make
High White on Spiders
The 13 foot Attack Ball Python Thread
Hovabator Question
triple hets breakdown
Military Captures Massive Ball Python Warning Graphic Images ….
-----
Tosha
but I got a question. Do you run on ever ready batteries? You just keep goin' and goin' and goin'. 
