Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Reproduction aside, have male deserts been known to have a high metabolism and slower growth rates? I.E. take longer to reach, say, 700-1000g than "normal" males.

experience with numbers of Deserts...I have seen them both. I have seen males grow long pretty quick. I did have one that seemed like it was a munchkin regardless how much it ate. As if it did not invest much of its food intake to growth. Male seem to possibly breed earlier and smaller in general. They are "a bit" nervous and high strung which may make them more reactive to environmental stimulation..... such as a nice cycling female.

They seem thin for their length..... and don't seem to have the potential to be obese..... kind of like a a weasel!
Males are GREAT!

SANTA
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We have produced a fair number of Deserts, and in our experience there is a small percentage of animals, both male and female that just seem to eat less than all the others. They are by no means tiny, but our average Desert, both male and female grow rapidly and beefy. The animals we have sold are all doing very well, so they didn't stop eating after their shipment. Easily 8 out of 10 Deserts we hatch are what I would call strong feeders and will grow as much as you feed them.

Anthony
Conley Herps, Inc

My male desert hit 900 grams in a little over a year. He's got a great appetite and doesn't seem to have trouble putting on weight. Maybe some more people can chime in so we can get a sense if this is typical of the morph or not.

My male tiger (desertXenchi) bred last year at 350 gr. I got a few good clutches from him. He didn't go off of feed until the end of breeding, and then only for a little while.

i have 6 males. i have three males born august 2011 that are now over 500 grams. they are not thin. they are in no way nervous or agitated. my baby pieds and het pieds are the most garter-snakey snakes i own.

i find all 11 of my deserts to be exactly like most other ball pythons, some of them zen calm.

just reporting my experience, i understand it may not match others.

I only have 2 Desert genes in my collection, but I would agree with Kevin on the high strung factor to a degree, especially with the male. Both animals are from PE stock.

I have a male Desert het Pied that huffs and puffs when I pull him out, and will strike at the tub 5 out of 10 times when I walk past. I like the spunk, great eater but young.

I have a 2010 female hatched Sept. 2010 that is 1000 grams and a very solid feeder.
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Matt Buchanan

hey matt, as i mentioned in my post, my pieds and het pieds are antsy - whose to say it's the desert aspect and not the pied factor that creates a more high strung animal?

that said, my albinos are always the calmest of the ball morphs i work with... 9 of my 11 deserts are poss het pied. but the two non het albino deserts i own are also just as calm and easy going as any balls i've ever owned.

the nice thing here is mostly were all reporting they eat fine, nervous or not.

i meant to say: 9 of my 11 deserts are poss het albino.

This is an interesting post. Not the desert part because everyother posts seems to pretain to them lol.. But the fact that different breeders have different "genetic" morphs that show similar charateristics. I think it may have to do with the original animals the breeder invested into and their genetic makeup. I only say this because 90% of my het albinos and albinos are crazy. They snap at everything, they never stay put, they jump out of their boxes at you. I love the fact that they have a strong feeding response and grow out of control, but they are all a little nuts lol.. My pieds and het pieds are actually calm as can be and grow in girth before they do in length, but ive found the males dont want to breed at a young age. Some of my male pieds have gone 3 years before locking up where as my bees, spinners ext (spider gene) seem to breed at 350 plus grams producing clutches with no slugs.

Just thought it was an interesting topic, so the above is only my personal opinion gathered over the past 10 years. I have not added much to my collection other then hold backs, so most of my animals are products of my original "aggressive" line. I wonder if temperment is something that can also get handed down to offspring if the animals are all raised in the exact same environment (meaning they are all fed in cage and not handled as pets)

Interesting..
Kim
N.A.R.C

I've worked with close to I'd say a thousand or so different deserts including desert morph combos. I can't say that they have a higher metabolic rate, but I can see how somebody would say that they appear to grow slower than most other BP's. As far as temperament they, in my experience, definitely have a touch of genetic madness going on with them. You toss that desert gene in with anything else and it seems to turn a nice docile snake into a little offensive S.O.B.