Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i had revently seen a picture of a banka and was blown away. the pic i saw was of a banka that prehistoric pets has. are they all that stunning? also, i seem to be having problems locating CB youngin bankas. any suggestions on where to look?
thanks in advance.

~JQ
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0.1 flame race sandboa
0.1 anery 2/3 het albino sandboa
1.0 cal kingsnake
1.1 betta
0.1 ferret
1.1 hypo male, albino female cornsnake

These comments might draw fire from other members but they are my opinion. I do not consider myself an expert on blood pythons though a have 12 of them (about 6 too many) and I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night. I also keep Morelia, Gray-bands, Thayeri and Hondurans. I love them all and they all have strong merit as pets. I am not an avid Ball Python person but my 5 yr old son is dragging his pet ball python "Ballboy" around the house as we speak. That snake has the makings of a saint.

Here goes my good-humored diatribe on Bankas & bloods in general

A) See my post from yesterday. I included a picture of a pair of authentic Bankas taking a bath. The male is orange/red and does not have a dorsal stripe. He does not fit the sterotype of a Banka, though he came directly from Banka Island. The female is scorching red with a stripe. I also attached a picture of "Ruby" my Banka "type" female. Her true origin is unknown.

B) It is likely not all red bloods advertised as Bankas are Bankas but rather "Banka Type", usually meaning red with a dorsal stripe.

C) It seems to me that most of the "Bankas" out there are wild caught. At the very least, I suspect that virtually all moderately priced adult Bankas are wild caught. CBB babies seem to be in short supply still. Be patient I should have some this summer, as will others.

D) Wild caught blood pythons are positively rotten pets. They can be very aggressive. Mine are anyway. They should be avoided by all but very experienced keepers (so why do I have them? its that holiday inn thing again). I hear grumblings that wild caught Bankas are exceptionally short tempered. Mine are. The female Banka type pictured below is actually pretty calm. I suspect she is CBB, though it is not known.

E)BUY YOUR FIRST BLOOD FROM AN EXPERIENCED AND REPUTABLE BREEDER. I CANT STRESS THIS ENOUGH ! Kara from NERDS or the Barkers at VPI would be at the top of my list. Virtually anybody that routinely posts on this list would also be a good candidate. These lucky skunks own every color morph on the planet and they are dedicated owners/hobbyists. That is why they are on this list. FARMED BABIES are not the same thing as CBB. They are grown in huge numbers and do not receive human imprinting or socialization skills.

F)Bloods are not like Balls, Corns or Kings. They can be large, temperamental and require more tightly controlled conditions. I recommend starting with a black or a borneo. Blacks seem to be extraordinarily calm and stay a bit smaller than some of the reds. I also have reds and yellows that are lap dogs. The personality varies widely between individuals.

Well, there you have it. Everything I know or think I know about Bankas/bloods. Sometimes I think I am the King of Tennessee as well, but the doctors are still working on my medication for that one. Now somebody will post something that refutes every single thing I said. Just remember, its only my opinion and you know what they say about opinions. They are just like .....

Steve

I complete agree with Steve's response and his view on bloods having kept a few myself for a bit of time. The WC are notoriously difficult to acclimate moreso if they are subadult-adult. The juvenile farmed animals are not nearly as bad, but there are far less problems with CB who are subjected to human care from day one. There are too few CB bloods available and even less so locality/type specific like the Bankas or Sarawaks. However, the participants on this forum will change that I am sure.
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Hey,
Your points were well taken and right on the mark!
-Angel
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"Until we lose our self, there is no way of finding our self."
-Henry Miller.

Out of the 5-RINGS you definately have the ONE TO RULE THEM ALL.I wish I didn't looked. That Blood makes me ill.I almost picked her up but hesitated because he wouldn't give me a straight answer whether he/she was tame enough to handle.I'm glad someone from this forum got her/him.She is definately in good hands with you.Hey Steve,did you find out for sure what it's SEX was?Have you gotten a chance to join Nerd's forum?It's a great forum and it would be great for someone like you helping NEWBI'S out with questions.Just about everyone here also frequents the other forum.Oh yeah just in case you want to get her off your hands pls consider me.Thanks Ashley Lopez

Kamakiri,Yes Banka's seem to naturally have that bright red coloration.I was lucky enough to aquire Captive Hatched bloods from LLL REPTILE in SanDiego C.A.,however they got them from Bushmaster Reptiles.They do have a minimum order.I think it is 600.00/800.00 dollars.You can buy some and sell off the rest.My C.H. is very TAME and doesn't mind being handled it is just like it was C.B.However I was lucky enough to aquire it at 3 weeks old.Good Luck. Ashley Lopez
Here some pics of her changing color




Check out the red flush in her cheeks

Nice, very nice. One thing my Bankas lack is the red head. Looks like yours has a good dose of it.

Steve