Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm under the impression that womas go through an ugly stage around a year to 2 years old.
Is this the case?

To be 100% honest, I've craved a woma for years and years, and finally got one ( a late '06 baby) online after MUCH window shopping, and thought I was happy the first few weeks, but looking back, I was forcing myself to be tickled about finally having one.
Now that I have one, all the magic seems to have gone. I'm really caught off guard by this, and I'm trying to figure out why.
I feel confident to be able to to rule out the simple answer "You always want what you cant have". I think it's something other than that. When I bought the snake, the pictures were of a beige and red snake. In person though, the snake has a greenish haze to it now and seems muddier than I remember from the pictures. I have no reason to believe it's not the snake I asked for, I'm just wondering if the snake is going through one of those ugly stages and I just need to wait it out. I've been tempted to sell the snake, and really, I'm in shock I would consider this after wanting one for sooooo long.
I dont want any negative attention drawn to the breeder. They have a good reputation from what I've seen and they were really cool during the entire transaction and I'm convinced this is all due to my newness to womas or something on my end.
Any insight/advice/experience? I'm really bothered by this surprise.
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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

It happens, thats why you see the number of adds with " I'm moving on to a different project ", or " I've lost interest " in the classifieds. From my experience, you see what you get with Womas. Some are dark, some are light, I have both and I couldn't tell you which I like better. Alot of people get out of them because they act more like a Kingsnake instead of a Python. The easiest thing to do is put it in a rack, forget about for a few months, and one day you'll go to feed or water it and realize what you have. If that doesn't happen, then you've lost interest in the project and you sell it off and move on. I've seen this with me, and every other keeper I've had interactions with.

Try to appreciate the total package, so to speak. When I first saw them, I wasn't particularly drawn to them, but I soon found myself getting fascinated with them. They honestly have to be some of the most interesting snakes I own.

I must say, however, I disagree with the idea of keeping them in racks for the following reason. My adults are kept in 4'x2'x1' enclosures w/ clear plexi fronts. After about a half an hour in the snake room, I notice they start to cruise their enclosures. It's this inquisitive nature that sets them apart from my other snakes. Perhaps they're looking for food, etc., but I usually wind up taking them out, and that's when I truly appreciate what I have

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"He who would stifle debate rather than engage in it, does so at the expense of his integrity and credibility"

Mike Curtin

No doubt there are prettier snakes out there, but what makes woma's so great is their disposition, their ability to eat and ease of shedding. I got mine about 1 1/2 ago and he's an average looking woma but he's the friendliest of all my snakes, plus he's always out cruising. I've had snakes too that I was disappointed in how they turned out, however, I will keep them because i've become attached to them.

Thought I'd share a pic or three of this guy. These just go to show how important the lighting is with womas for taking pictures. This is the same snake, pictures taken within 5 minutes of each other. Two inside with artificial light and one (the middle) outside on a rainy day.
The outdoor picture most accurately represents the snakes true coloring, with the weird blueish and greenish tinting on it that has me wondering about the ugly phase. This blue coloring is not what I had in mind for my first woma. With the top and bottom pictures, I only see those colors when I take it's picture with a flash.
From the indoor picture, it's a screamer. From the outdoor picture, its....just weird.

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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

*Shrug* I've seen more colorful womas, sure, but he still looks pretty handsome to me. There are much uglier ones out there, to be sure. The heavily broken banding is the only major turn-off to me. I'm biased, though - I like these snakes for their personality more than anything. That's the rub - if you want something to look at, there are much better things out there than any woma...but they're way more personable and interesting, to me at least.

SEND him to me! I am desperate for one myself, but yeah for the personality not the looks.