Hello!
I'm a graduate student at California State University Chico, and I'm looking into individual recognition based on photographs.
I suspect that ball pythons can be identified to the individual level over time based on their head scale morphology. This would have really useful implications for breeders/keepers if these scale patterns are indeed individual specific and remain identifiable throughout the animals lifespan. (My main idea was that this would be a definitive, easy way to track animals through their life and through transfers in ownership... you could track the animal back to its original breeder and potentially confirm genetics with that breeder)
To do this study I'm relying on the herp community to help me out and get me photographs of their animals heads!
I'm looking for a large number of photographs of a variety of morphs, sexes and ages. Ideally I'd like photos with weight (g) and length (SVL, cm or inches), but at a minimum a photo of the animals head would work!
The photos are super simple to take and don't need fancy equipment (though it does help!) This was a quick photo with a really low quality camera phone. Ideally any submitted pictures would be clearer, especially in the area between the eyes- I need to be able to distinguish the shapes of the scales (large images work better for this):
Also I would like to coordinate with a few breeders or people with several young animals to see if the pattern does remain the same over the time span of hatchling-subadult-breeding adult (a minimum of 30 animals total (ideally at least 5 per person) for a commitment of 2-3 years). I'd need a little more information from these people (weight/length/sex of animal would be mandatory) but these people would be specifically acknowledged in any presentations/papers regarding this research.
If you're interested in helping: please post a reply, shoot me a message or email me at cyasuda@mail.csuchico.edu
Thanks!!!
