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scales deep? The most I have every personally seen is 7 from one of my own proven females.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Jay,

I imagine you would have checked both sides, so you are reasonably sure she might be a female and she probes 9 - wow uhh!

Just for everyones benefit, a female might probe deeper on one side than the other because someone has punctured the soft-tissue inside the tail earlier with a probe and it doesnt heal. Thats why probing is a very delicate process, you can hurt the animal, and why I (like I am sure Jay does) check both sides of the tail when I probe. I had a Jungle Carpet X Diamond python that probed 10 on one side and 5 on the other, however, probing snakes with prehensile tails are like probing 8 foot pieces of wet speghetti though...uhh!

~np

Ohh yeah, no 6-7 was the most, although maybe I sold her off as a male come to think about it now!

~Alan

>>I imagine you would have checked both sides, so you are reasonably sure she might be a female and she probes 9 - wow uhh!

Oh yeah. One side is obviously damaged as the probe meets no resistance and the probe end goes all the way in. The other side probes to 9 scales. I have never had a male probe that shallow. But like I said, I the most I have seen a confirmed female probe is 7 scales.

This snake was sold to me from a trusted and reliable source, however, they were into Chondros mostly and not too much into Balls. I did something really stupid and did not confirm the sex when I picked it up. I tried to breed this past season and nothing, so I thought I would double check. Sold to me as a female, but I believe it's a male. Sigh - was supposed to be a 100% het Pied.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

UGHH! Sorry for you Jay...do you have any recourse with the seller you think?

I have my 100% Pied girl at 1400grams finally and I am on pins and needles going into this coming season. Pied is my favorite morph, the reason why I - like many here got into Balls, and I am looking forward to this big time. I bought from a reputable source, but I really didnt get any guarntees in writing for what they are worth anyway...

I hope it works out for you. You have many friends that buy snakes on here and you would think the person who sold the snake to you would want to keep you happy or lose their good name and many customers potentially....keep us posted.

~Alan

Unfortunately, they went out of business. And my other het Pieds (from another source) just don't feed regularly enough. I have a few that are teetering around 1300 grams, but as usual have gone off feed again. Sigh. I'm not sure I will see Pieds with the way my luck is going.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Jay, I have a female chondro that probed 10-11 on both sides. She was sold to me as a male and raised as a male, but never refused food and never showed interest in females. Low and behold I stick a male in with "him" and they're locked up within minutes. There are exceptions to the rule. Rare but it does happen.

Brandon Osborne

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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

Wow! Thats a beautiful snake!!!

Steve

I havent worked with GTP's, I think they are beautiful and I want to get into them when I have more time to dedicate to my snakes (ie, kids get older), so I am not sure about them. However, Ball Python males will lock up with each other, I have seen it happen and other people have posted their observations of this. With Balls, except for Jay mentioning this one female, probing has always been a very definative method, thats why I was really suprised and if it wasnt Jay saying it, I really wouldnt have believed it. Are you sure you GTP is a female?

Absolutely sure! Male chondros will only lock up in combat to kill each other. They have been noted as one of the most aggressive species when it comes to male combat.

To add to it....the "male" has produced 2 clutches for me in 2 years. Unfortunately she became eggbound this season and has been recovering for the last few months. Here is a pic of her from her most recent clutch.

Brandon Osborne
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

Eggs, Yup, thats pretty definative- huh!! LOL!!

Your killing me, I want to start with Chondro's so bad! I love Amazon Basins too, but their husbandry requirements are not in my plans right now . Someday I will have the time and space for them and I will start an arboreal collection. Balls are so great though they are perfect for so many conditions (ie, limited space required, docile with kids around, dont get too big, are fairly easy to breed, the variations are unreal, the cost involved is reasonable, etc..), you cant go wrong with Royal Pythons at all.

Good luck with her Brandon.

~Alan

Male or female, that's one SIC looking Chondro!
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Brandon,
That is a nice looking Biak Green Tree.
Perhaps someone made a mistake earlier in her care while sexing her and "punched through". It is a very thin membrane and somtimes can be penetrated accidentally by someone who is inexperienced with sexing Morelia.
This might cause a female to probe deep.
As long as it properly healed....
It should not negativly effect her breeding potential.
Good looking snake.
Certainly looks to be a Biak Island Locality.
Good luck with "her". Hope you get to hatch some out.
Your friend,
Harlin Wall - WALL TO WALL REPTILES!
970-245-7611

Thanks Harlan. She was aquired as a 2.5 yr old from a fairly reliable source. I've had several others from them that all probed to normal depths. I have a female ball that also probes at 7 scales deep. This is an animal I raised myself. I think there are execptions to the rule, we just have to know how to read the animals in those cases.

My Biaks behavior, feeding, and body shape are the reasons I chose to use a test male. Here are some babies from last year.

And the sire used in the breeding.

Thanks
Brandon Osborne
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com