Reptile & Amphibian Forums

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1.1 Ball Pythons
1.0 Bolivian Boa
3.0 Ferrets
2.0 Cats
2.0 Dogs
0.1 Rat

For the love of nature and all that is good in the world.. let's hope NOT!

My opinion only..

Gus.

I have wanted a pair of Hogs for two years and am basically afraid to purchase any. I spoke with Gus in '03 about availability of coming-soon offspring and for some reason I backed out. I have regretted that ever since. I read everything pretaining to them every chance I have and the more I learn the more fearful I become about purchasing some. It's not because of price or fear of receiving a sick snake. It is about being able to PPOVE lineage of a particular line. Just how is that accomplished? Will there be paperwork....cites...charts...charts of offspring....bill's of sale....receipts......or what? Other than taking a reputable breeder's word for it, how do I know a particular individual is an original.....say F3 offspring? Throughout the last few years there is only one person that I would trust (I'm not saying that there are not many crediable breeders....I just don't know who they are with the exception of Gus). I also realize that Hogs aren't expensive snakes.......I just am not interested in owning and possibly breeding any "other BCI 2 generations ago" at this time. I have seen a half-dozen over the last year that I find appealling to me and have not purchased aby of them because no one can or will provide an assurance that they are not crossed at some point with other BCI. Thank you all who have been honest!

So......how do I know?
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When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is ready, the teachers appears.

bolivians and Hog islands are such beautiful creations in their own right. I can't imagine any good reason for some one to want to muck them all up like that. as gus said, this is only my opinion.

me and my wife were having a talk about breeding my bolivian, (personally I'm a little hesitant) She said that she liked the hog islands and that I should breed them together. Trust me, I would never do that, it just got me thinking if anyone had tried it.

And even though I do not go out of my way to make crosses, I have bought them from folks when I see them available. Most of them are pretty cool.. seeing the expression of each species at once. This is just a run down.

I have a Hog x Surinam aka Orange Flame(Serpents Den), very good color and he's got something Hoggs don't, pattern and contrast.. awesome.

I also have two have two Hogg x Peruvians(Byron Crosby), they have a very high amount of orange and pink with the high yellow top coat of a Peruvian.. will be great with a hypo.

One Argentine x Colombian(Dan Eby), not everybody's cup of tea, but the cross tones down the black from the Argentines making them appear more silver while maintain some contrast between saddles and background.

And this little guy(below).. a result of 50% Bolivians Crossed to each other. Not sure what the the original cross was made up of, probably some type of imperator. He's got a perfectly connected back pattern, a long well colored tail, and bu-koo pink on his face and belly. Very good dorsal to lateral fading. He was produced by Reptile Ranch. Thanks Laura.

Even though I see the value in maintaining species purity, I don't view crosses as completely undesirable. However, in another sense, this is why I've said this hobby needs a reliable registry.

Later-
Matt Schubarth
Pet Nebula