Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In a few months, I'm looking to pick up a pair of bloods. I just had a couple questions about them, because I've been having trouble finding info -

1) Any suggestions on good books/websites with blood info?

2) What's your basic setup like for your baby vs. adult bloods?

3) I've seen some nasty bloods and some sweet bloods. Any recommendations on how to make sure I end up with a handleable adult animal?

4) I want RED blood pythons. Like smack you in the face, bright neon red bloods. I've seen some absolutely smoking red bloods around but I don't remember whose booths at reptile shows that I've seen them at. Are the really red babies just from a few generations of good captive breeding or is there a specific locale or something I should be looking for?

Thanks in advance!

~jenny
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"We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words."
- Anna Sewell (1820-1878)

You have found one of the best places to get your questions answered. This forum has always been a place where beginners can ask questions of those breeders that have been working with bloods for twenty years or more. I don't think there is a definitive well written book on specifically Blood Pythons on the market. I would buy it if there was one.

I have heard people say that there is no way to pick out a red baby blood right out of the egg. Even though they do not come out of the egg red, I believe there are indicators that help predict with accuracy a baby that will tun red as an adult. I'm not an employee of BloodPythons.com,but if you go to that website and look at the available animals, they show you photos of the parents and each baby in that clutch. Their babies are graded by appearance and priced accordingly. I think the baby that is darker in appearance at birth has a better chance of turning red as an adult.

I believe that you can breed for temperment. I also know from experience that you can breed two wild caught blood pythons that are mean as hell,and get offspring from them that turn into sweet tempered animals after growing out of the snappiness of babies. Bottom line with bloods is that you have to work with them a little to get them comfortable with being handled.

>>In a few months, I'm looking to pick up a pair of bloods. I just had a couple questions about them, because I've been having trouble finding info -
>>
>>1) Any suggestions on good books/websites with blood info?

I love this forum, but I spose I am Kinda Biased. Kara has some great blood care sheets as well. www.bloodpythons.com. We are also having a Blood Python Chat coming up this friday. Kara, Ryan and Rich.

>>2) What's your basic setup like for your baby vs. adult bloods?

The biggest mistake I think people make with bloods is giving them too much space. I am getting ready to move all my sub adults into a rack caging set up. Bloods do not like a lot of distraction, they are a quiet snake. Aquariums are simply for fish. For babies, shoe box racks are good, for adults a 4 food AP or Boaphile or Vision is acceptable. The cage does not require a lot of climbing space as bloods are ground dwellers.

>>3) I've seen some nasty bloods and some sweet bloods. Any recommendations on how to make sure I end up with a handleable adult animal?

This is a regular question. More often than not all babies snakes will be evil. They are babies and we are the big bad predators that will eat them. As for adults, WC makes a huge difference, but just like cats and dogs each have a personality. I know some breeders are looking at breeding for temperment. Pay the extra, go to a good breeder.

>>4) I want RED blood pythons. Like smack you in the face, bright neon red bloods. I've seen some absolutely smoking red bloods around but I don't remember whose booths at reptile shows that I've seen them at. Are the really red babies just from a few generations of good captive breeding or is there a specific locale or something I should be looking for?

Once again pay the extra and go for a good breeder. Color is genetic as much as local. A smoking pair of parents will produce a smoking baby. Getting a snake from someone at a petshop or local swap may be cheaper but may not produce the colors or results you want. There are a TON of breeders here on our site of smoking sexy reds.

Consider getting a list of questions and stop by our blood python chat on friday. Both Ryan and Kara will be there to represent the reds. Rich is a few years away from reds yet, but he will be there for the Sarawaks and borenos (which are my favorites).
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

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