Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I PRODUCED THIS GUY IN 2001 BREEDING TIM MEAD BLOOD LINE AGAIN.
NONE OF HIS BABIES COME OUT BROWN. THEY ALL START OUT BLACK AND DO NOTHING BUT GET BETTER LOOKING WITH AGE.

WOW!! Beautiful Black!! I can't wait until mine gets his colors in. He is only a few months old, but his father looks just like the one in your picture. Beautiful!

Lu

Hey Brandon,
That is what I've been looking for and can't seem to find any one other than one person that's actually bred any that good looking. Wow! what a killer looking SST. Where is Tim Meade located and is he breeding any still or are you. Thanks -- Angel
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In the theater of my life, this pickle has no goal!!

np

Hey not fair! some things are meant to be a secret; LOL!! Guess I'm an easy one aren't I?. Hehe!! Well, how can one not be awe struck by that beauty, they just don't make them like that any more. Can't wait to acquire a pair similar to this guy. Thanks for the tease!
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In the theater of my life, this pickle has no goal!!

Hard to come by these little fellows. I purchased my male from Jeff and now I need an unrelated female. This one is going to be tuff.

Lu

np

but if anyone knows differently, please enlighten the rest of us.

Thanks!!!

KLG
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"Remember the days of the old schoolyard?" - Cat Stevens

TIM SOLD ALL OF HIS SNAKES. THE BARKERS (VPI) PURCHASED MOST OF ALL HIS ADULT BLACK BLOODS,BORNEO BLOODS, STRIPED BORNEOS & STEVE ROUSSIS GOT HIS MARBLE BLOODS WHICH STEVE HAS DONE A GOOD JOB WITH!
I GOT A FEW OF HIS BLACK BLOODS ON 1997 AND THEN A FEW BABIES WHEN HE SOLD EVERYTHING. I ALSO GOT A VERY NICE STRIPE BORNEO BUT THAT GUY NEVER BRED FOR ME AND ENDED UP DEAD.
MOST OF ANYONE WHO GOT HIS BLOOD LINE LIKES TO CALL IT THERE OWN BECASUE FEW PEOPLE NEW TIM. BUT HE HAS DONE EVERYTHING WITH THE BORNEOS EXCEPT BEING THE FIRST TO PRODUCE THEM IN AMERICA WHICH I BELIEVE (VPI) DID THAT. HOWEVER HE WAS THE FIRST TO PRODUCE THE BLACK BLOODS IN AMERICA AND A FEW WEEKS AFTER HIS FIRST EGGS HATCHED A GUY NAME DICK GEORGEN PRODUCED SOME VERY NICE BLACKS.
I KNOW THIS ISNT A BOA FORUM BUT IF ANYONE HAS THE 2ND ISSUE OF THE BOA CONSTRICTOR MANUAL BY PHILIPPE DE VOSJOLI YOULL SEE TIM MEAD ALSO HAD THE BEST BOA BLOOD LINES TOO.
THIS GUY COULD GET ALMOST ANYTHING TO BREED. I THINK THE ONLY SPECIES HE COULDNT EVER GET TO BREED WAS THE SAVU PYTHONS. ODD ISNT???

Listen children, here are stories of snake people that are no longer with us, perhaps we can learn from their experiences.

Tim was (and is) a good guy and he was very good with his snakes. We knew him early on because he bought a lot of his stock from us. Tim and his mom were partners in their business of python and boa breeding. The last we heard, they are completely out of snakes and now are into horse breeding.

As Tim got very interested in working with horses, he lost interest in his collection of snakes. He put it up for sale and sold a few bits and pieces, but mostly couldn't find anyone interested in Borneos and Sumatrans. Too bad you guys weren't around then, because he did have some very nice snakes that just now are beginning to receive their fair share of attention. Short-tailed pythons just didn't have a big fan club a few years back.

Actually, I think the main reason Tim got out of snakes was that he always had a problem selling his stuff. That's what he told us, anyway. He lived a pretty private life out in the obscurity of east Texas, and he never advertised much. He was in the business for probably about 8 years, beginning with Burmese, and he produced excellent animals for probably five or six years, but just didn't feel like he was able to make the connections that he needed.

Any way, we did end up taking what Tim couldn't find homes for and there were some mighty fine boas and pythons in the bunch. Unfortunately, they were mite-ridden and had been neglected too long and we lost almost everything in a fairly short time after it arrived here.

Interestingly, you mention Dick Goergen as having bred Sumatrans at the same time as Tim. Dick Goergen was a true pioneer of modern herpetoculture, and another very nice guy. He also was a keeper with an avid interest and extensive experience with blood python and short-tail pythons. He worked for decades with blood pythons, starting long before most of you were born. Heck, I sold him an adult female blood python back in 1975 and he had a big collection of bloods then.

Dick also got out of snakes at about the same time as did Tim, and his reasons were pretty much the same. Dick had always kept and bred snakes, but I think when he got real interested in breeding snakes as a business, at some point the interest and the magic started to leave.

And what's the lesson? I don't know for sure. It might be that breeding Sumatran short-tailed pythons will make you lose your interest in snakes. But I think it might have more to do with the importance of shepherding your interest in snakes, realizing where your real interests lie. The actual business part of the business of breeding snakes is a long way from the magic and fascination of snakes that originally brought a lot of us to here in the first place. That's what we all have to guard within ourselves.

Thank you for the history lesson. If there is a lesson to learn from this story, it is that a commitment to these animals is something that outlasts the typical span of human interest. I have helped relocate animals from collections of people who dove into herps and lost interest afterwards. Sometimes shortly afterwards (especially when they look at the food and electric bills). I regularly hear of herp society members who got out of keeping them due to burn out or changes in lifestyle. This is the same problem with bird keepers and really all pets in general. Just visiting an animal control/humane society is testament to the passing whims of the average person. I have always advised people to start slow and stay slow when acquiring herps.

I also joke with others that marriages aren't as tough a commitment as keeping herps! But thanks again for the story, I certainly enjoyed reading it.