Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i see so much emphasis on the many various morphs of bp's on the market, i thought i would share perhaps the rarest morph out there yet (and i really should figure out a way to market this idea!).

i have a normal, yes, NORMAL, bp that is over 38 years old....a beautiful male that is the size of most large females....a truly magnicent animal. i'd be happy to email a pic; and to think that i give away most of the babies; i need a name for this morph; i know "oneofthelongestlivedballsonearthmorph"...any takers Sorry, i shouldn't poke fun at the many breeders producing all kinds of weird patterned (and inbred) morphs; to each his own....there really are some beautiful bp's being worked with but i just hope we don't stop appreciating the normal wild-type bp that got me in the hobby and profession.

Rob Carmichael

I'd never forget the normals.. Need them to breed to my co-doms...

SHAME ON YOU!!!

Not even a picture

Seriously, 38yrs an still going strong, eh? That is awesome and a rarity in itself. I do understand your concern for the longevity of common patterns and colors in ball pythons. Personally, I would like to see selective breeding for common traits, as well as, the many different mutations. Ball pythons certainly do carry a wide variance in pattern and colors even for normal specimens. This is one reason I got into them before the craze as a hobbiest.

Here is to another 38yrs for the young fella.

Take care,
Toddg

if someone wants to post a pic I would be happy to send one....he's quite a handsome fella. Rob

I was learning how to use my camera tonight and I was taking pics of George Knaacks pied female (posted above) and he asked if there was anything else I wanted to take photos of in between my fosters and my bud light and I said I want a nice pic of a real good looking normal just because there isn't a whole lot of them around. We picked out this girl...what do you think?

very, very nice....that's what I am talking about; you just can't beat a nice looking normal bp. Thanks, Rob

Had a full photoshoot of just normals the other day...they never get old.....love em!!

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Luke Martin
Bronze Serpent Reptiles

Luke,

Your good with the camera. I like the fifth one down

But it was worth the wait! Lovely pics, my faves are 4, 6, and 7 from the top Have you thought of using your photos for a cafe-press type online store?

I still have to work out the blur on my photography...but I've come a long way if you've seen some of my first pics....lol

Never thought I was good enough for what you were talkin about...may have to look into it...
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Luke Martin
Bronze Serpent Reptiles

THANKS! LOL I was looking for some good pics to throw together for my tattoo design!

Any of those my girls? LOL
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"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." - Kurt Cobain

"You laugh at me because I am different; I laugh at you because you are all the same."

~~ Krystal ~~

Here's some little ones!

That's really cool. I would bet that most normals do not lite that long, due to overfeeding, negligence, owner disinterest, etc.
My oldest guy is from sometime before 1999, when is the time his former owners got him as an already-adult. I hope he has such a nice long life as yours!

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2.1 Ball pythons
1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.1 albino Cranwell's horned frog
1.0 bearded dragon
1.0 Tiger salamander
1.1 breeding Clawed frogs
1.0 black kittycat
3.1 Oscar cichlids
0.1 Paint horse mare

yes, it is a very cool experience to have a snake for that long...I hope you get that chance too. The secrets to a long life for a bp are fairly simple: 1) good stress management: avoid overhandling, 2) provide a stress free environment: this means providing nice, tight fitting hide areas on both the warm and cool sides of the cage placed in a Quiet area where there are few stressors such as lots of people walking by, other pets like dogs and cats, loud music, etc. 3) Feed a quality diet and the right intervals: AVOID overfeeding, 4) providing the proper temps and humidity levels. You do this and your bp will live a long life. Rob

I've heard the saying, "The candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long" but I never thought to apply it to feeding my ball. Is overfeeding really unhealthy? And what is considered overfeeding? I just got my first girl about 5 months ago and was happy to just get her eating so as soon a someone told me I should try to feed her two mice a feeding I did, and the results have been pretty good. But is this bad in the long run, I got her to have a pet that I loved and cared about, and I do, not to show off for a few years till her "charm" has worn off. I want her to live a good long healthy life, so I was wondering if two "feeder"3-4 inch) mice a week is too much? She's about 20-22 inches long and seems to take them both without a problem. In fact she looks like she's ready for more about 4 or 5 days later crawling out and flicking her tongue around when I walk into the room. So yea, this is a long roundabout way of asking for a proper feeding plan.
Thank You,
Jeff

Someone got some free time!

Here is a photo of my 22yr old girl who is still going strong.

Rob, your male is older than most of the forum readers!

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Support your local herp society
www.chicagoherp.org

easy now Rich....I still feel young at heart (its just everything else that's going down the tubes!). Great looking bp! If I can ever figure out how to post a pic, I will post my old granddaddy bp.

I adopted him and he is only 2280g, was only 1016g when I got him this summer. I can't seem to upload here either, oh well. He is a sweetheart and a great eater and a normal.
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Nita Hamilton
5.9 Normal BP's
1.0 Het Orange Ghost
1.4 Humans (DH, Me and 3 daughters)