Reptile & Amphibian Forums

a quick question for everyone. i noticed that LLLReptile has bangka blood babies and adults for sale. the one thing i was wondering was, being that they are still sumatrans do they look normal as hatchlings and develop that deep dark red as they grow? or would you be able to tell if you were looking at one, because the picture they have up looks like a normal. these are some amazing looking animals and i'd love to get my hands on some. thanks for any input.

-voodooh

I don't know what the big deal is right now with bankas.I've seen just as nice wc and cb sumatran and malaysian bloods.Also it these bankas all sound really fiesty and mean.Any how thats just my opinion, don't mean to knock on you in any sort.Check out ben siegel he has some nice bankas right now and doesn't say anything about being mean.Good luck with the bankas

Also I'm sure its just as hard to tell the bankas from sumatra and malaysia, so anyone can just say one thing just to make a buck.I really don't know much about the bankas to answer your question on similarity on the babies colors, so maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all. Later, Ethan

Just what I think....Bangkas are not really a new locality. Dave and Tracy Barker had some Bangkas they worked with in the past(Check out the old articles published in the Vivarium(I think sometime in 1994-1996, I know is also had articles on Sierra Mtn. Kingsnakes and Blue-Tongue Skinks, which were on the cover) and REPTILES(Jan. and Feb. 1996). I don't know if they bred them back then or not. Tracy and Dave Barker are very intelligent and they kept records of everything back then; before all this "locality" trend. All this hype about "locality" adds some $$$ to the bottom line. If you have a beautiful animal or a animal that keeps you happy, it shouldn't matter if it came from Bangka or not. Some people to breed for color, temperament,locality, or whatever else. Its a matter of choice I guess. Bangkas are nice, but I'll pass until Captive Breds are available. All the Bangkas I have seen are 3-4 feet in length, which is the age that many red blood pythons are at their "reddest". I have yet to see how bright an older adult is. I doubt that Bangkas keep their bright reds like the other localities; they probably darken to maroons, dark reds, and/or oxbloods as they become older. Post some pics to persuade my opinion. Maybe, I have my head up my butt... but at least I know where it is.
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"Life is what you make it, not what you make up."-murs

thanks guys for the input, i definitely agree, and truthfully i'm not so much looking for a locality as i am the color. i saw an add for bushmaster that had this insanely red blood with a totally black head, and i fell in love. the only time i've it actually referred to as something is bangka. and truthfully, the babies that are listed that i mentioned dont really differ all that much in price from "non-localized, normal" bloods. by the way fishkiller, amazing new girl.... blood red like a cherry coke can! she's something else, i'd like to get my hands on one that looks like that. anyway, blah blah blah... blah blah... sorry.. done..

-voodooh

Yeah I hear what your saying about those bright reds with almost a black head.I've only seen a few of those and the Bankas do seem to have that darker head.Someone somewhere will eventually put theirs up for sale, you just have to be looking constantly untill you find it.Its like a game, I'm glad I'm over that game constantly looking at websites all the classifieds etc.All I'm waiting for now is a male Sarawak, and maybe trade my female black for an orange head black. Later Ethan

"maybe trade my female black for an orange head black. Later Ethan"

do you have a black headed black?? If it is really black, I am interested. Orange heads are easier for me to find, but of course it seems like everything you are looking for is hard to find. Next, after you get "one", then you see them everywhere.
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"Life is what you make it, not what you make up."-murs

I had an interesting experience with Bangka Bloods recently that I want to share. First off, I do have a lot of experience with Bloods; raising, keeping, getting wild caughts feeding, treating wild caughts, etc., although I have never bred bloods - came close but no cigar. For many years I lived very close to a guy named Tom Weidner of Des Moines, IA. Tom had probably the best collection of Bloods in the country at the time (before Dave & Tracy Barker claimed that tittle). And when I say he had red bloods, I mean he had RED, RED, RED, BLOODS !!! Not like what so many now are trying to pass off as red bloods. Some of those animals were truely amazing. He first bred them in 1975. His top year of production was 11 clutches. I bought a lot of bloods from him (back when they were selling for $600 each) & bought a lot of wild caught imports from my good friend Tom Crutchfield when they first started coming in from Sumatra back in the 80's (and yes, you can tell Sumatrans from Malaysians BTW). Emeralds & Bloods were about all I did at one point.
Now along comes the Bangka Bloods. Kameron tells me their color is very uniform from that locality & he ought to know, he brings a lot in, if not all, and has been there. I bought some off the internet recently in an attempt to rebuild a blood python collection, but not unfortunatly, from Kameron. I should have. It's interesting what a digital camera does to the color red. The pics in the add showed some of what even I would call "screamer bloods". They were awesome - pictures ! When I got the animals I could not have been more disapointed. They were not even close to the pics that were posted. They were no better than average Sumatrans. I sent them back & got my money back.
I say all this not in an attempt to air out any dirty laundry (I believe that should be kept private & between the two parties) or expose anybody - I dealt with it already & was satisfied. I do think however that a lot of people don't really know what a real nice red blood looks like, and I also think a lot of people are buying these farmed imports thinking they are going to turn out to be beautiful red adults. They're not. You can tell which ones are going to be the nicest ones out of a clutch or a group of babies from a fairley early age if you know what to look for. Ugly babies generally don't turn out to be beautiful adults. Yes, they all start out life looking brownish or tan, but they'll give you hints if your looking hard enough. There are clues to look for. These baby bloods that are for sale for so cheap & plentiful are from wild caught/gravid adults. Just like the baby Balls, they are pet shop quality. They are not selectivly bred for color. You get what you pay for. The vast majority of Blood pythons caught in the wilds of Malaysia or Sumatra are not red. Actually VERY few are ! That's why great looking red blood pythons are so rare in captivity; they are rare in the wild.And that's why building a collection of really nice red bloods is so hard. You get what you pay for !
Paul Edwards
Paul Edwards Reptiles