Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased a bullsnake from Ron at the crawl space about a year and a half ago... It is a male 03 hatchling... His parents were a couple of 8' monster reds, my snake was sold as a normal, although he has quite a bit of red... He is also slightly over five and a half feet long now and pretty thick too... Is this normal for such a young bullsnake or is he going to be a freak of nature? The reason I ask is that I also have an 04 kingsville red that I purchased from John Cherry a few months back, a very pretty female that is getting redder every time I look at her, but just seems to be growing at a more normal pace, not nearly as fast as the Crumbly line bull I mentioned... I plan to breed them in about three years to see what I come up with... Also what is the lifespan of bullsnakes? And finally, Is it acceptable ethically speaking to breed these two I mentioned from different backgrounds? I would appreciate any replies...

Thanks,
Eric

Hey Eric,

Glad to hear you still have the little female and she is doing well for you. From an ethical standpoint as long as you represent the offspring as what they are, I would not have a problem with it. You will be producing a color morph with no locale attached to it though which may impact the pricing of your animals. Color morphs are a passion of mine, but I still try and keep the lines separate if possible, for instance the trumbower lines and the bell lines in the white sided bulls. Locales such as the little female you got which is a Lubbock Texas animal are awfull neat also, so I guess it is really your choice.

As far as the size of the bulls, I have seen litter mates that were strangely different in size during the first 3 or four years and then ended up approx. the same size as adults. Additionally the lubbock line of bulls are widely variable, I have a female that is over 7' and I have several other females that are audlt and about 6'. So I wish I could answer your question, but without a crystal ball I would probally miss the mark. LOL.

Post some pics of your female I would love to see her.

Take Care and Stay in Touch.

John Cherry
Cherryville Farms

Cherryville Farms - Reptiles

Hi john,

Thanks again for the e-mail last night verifying the female bull is in fact a kingsville red... Would your records tell you the exact day she was born?

Thanks,
Eric

Sorry for the delay in answering, but before I shot off my mouth again without the records in front of me I ahd to cehck. She was pipped on 8/21/2004.

John Cherry
Cherryville Farms
Cherryville Farms - Reptiles

A day before my 40th birthday... Wow... She has that leo thing goin' on... I knew it was meant to be... I will try and post a pic in the next couple of days... Thanks again...

Eric