Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello Rob,

As a future breeder of burmese pythons I was curious what you would propose (if anything) as far as the selling and distributing of these animals? What I mean by this is that MANY of these snakes end up in rescues and abandoned or neglected, and I was wondering if people such as yourself that work in these rescues have any sort of "plan", so to say, to prevent the situation from getting worse? For example im sure you would like to see breeders being more selective on who they sell their animals to. Age would be a decent determining factor I would think. Ill go out on a limb and say that probably 90% of burmese pythons that are bought by teens end up neglected animals. So what is a breeder to do if someone young wants to purchase their animal even after being informed about their size, requirements, etc? Should I go as far as to say that it would be necessary to make sure that someone has the proper setup before making a sale (unless its another breeder of course)? I know this could turn into a real touchy subject, and I dont intend to be starting any arguments. I just wanted to get the perspective of someone always taking in all the giant snakes that has to be completely sick of seeing so many neglected animals and figured you would have something to say on this touchy, but interesting topic.
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-Sam the Man

I'm not Rob, and I won't speculate on what he'll say, but I'll throw my unsolicited opinion into this.

I don't like people telling me what I can't do so I won't do the same to anyone else, but if you want to be responsible (it sure sounds like you do), don't breed burms. Period. There are far too many being bred already.

Breed something smaller and less common that the average person can reasonably be expected to provide for.

Just by $0.00000002.
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

Well said! If you are asking for my opinion, I'll just say that burms are not the ideal pet for about 99% of those people who would like to own them. I know that's extremely opinionated and based purely on my experience in having rescued 100's, maybe 1000's, of burms over the years but that's what I truly believe. Like dogs, we already have too many burms that are in need of good homes; why perpetuate teh problem? There are indeed so many other incredible pythons to keep as pets and that's where your focus should be: olive pythons, borneos, red bloods, jungles, and many others.

Just my .00000000000000000000000000002 worth! Rob

>>I'm not Rob, and I won't speculate on what he'll say, but I'll throw my unsolicited opinion into this.
>>
>>I don't like people telling me what I can't do so I won't do the same to anyone else, but if you want to be responsible (it sure sounds like you do), don't breed burms. Period. There are far too many being bred already.
>>
>>Breed something smaller and less common that the average person can reasonably be expected to provide for.
>>
>>Just by $0.00000002.
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>>What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

"if you want to be responsible (it sure sounds like you do), don't breed burms"
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-Sam the Man

If you breed your female burms to albino granite, albino labyrinth or albino green morph males then you will have all 100% double het babies which will be considerably much more valuable than straight, normal burmese. At least three-fold the value.

This double het factor will usually ensure that anyone buying your babies at an inflated value has only future breeding in mind and thus has only long term goal-oriented intentions. Such herpers/breeders usually respect their investment more than the whimsical impulse buyer that only wants to own a big snake long enough to shock and impress his friends but then finds out that it's a bundle of responsibility to keep and then gets rid of it in short time.

Even better, if you breed your female burms to male retics and produce bateaters you will have a product that is likely to never be cheap or considered "expendable". These retain their high value year after year because so few breeders produce them.

I hope this helps y'all out in making the best decisions.
Our Website!

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David Beauchemin
High End Herps.Inc
http://HighEndHerps.com

Very good point! I tried once a while ago to update my info that appears below but couldnt find it,,,,ill have to try again. The pair of burms that I am constantly posting questions about is a pair of het t albinos. I really wanted to get a clutch this year but it isnt looking so good and am done trying this season. They are only an '05 pair though, so they are a bit young yet (but were fed very generously). BTW hows the hand doing Dave? Are you officially back in action?
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-Sam the Man

My hand is doing great and I am back in action. My doctors can't believe how fast it healed and how much mobility and feeling I got back in the fingers in so short a time. I was back to using power tools and building cages and racks and cutting wood (with the same saw, lol) in 3 weeks and 3 days. It's funny though... as I go through the snakes each day even a small snake can squeeze my left hand even slightly and send it into a burst of pain. But I have no problem hefting giant gals. Funny thing is, when my index finger is squeezed or pinched or bumped, my brain tells me that my thumb is hurt. Somehow the nerve centers got crosswired, ha ha.

Thanks for asking.

That's great that your burms are het albino. That's a good leg up on producing more valuable babies. I would seriously consider getting a male albino granite for your female though instead of using your het male. It would change a 3k clutch into a 10k clutch for just a few hundred more invested.

Don't hesitate to email if you need any help with anything, breeding or otherwise. I always have time for my fellow herpers and always love to do what I can to help.
Our Website

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David Beauchemin
High End Herps.Inc
http://HighEndHerps.com