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Anyone Know Scale Counts??

vtrescuekid Oct 04, 2005 10:50 PM

Does anyone know the scale counts for Irian Jaya or Coastal Carpets?? I've got a snake that I'm pretty sure is a Coastal Carpet but I'm not totally sure and having the scale counts for the two would help. Any info. would help and would be extremely appreciated. Thanks!
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1.0 Anery Columbian Redtail Boa
1.0 Striped Irian Jaya Carpet Python
0.1 Gray Banded Kingsnake
1.1 Ball Python
1.0 Sunglow Striped Corn
1.1 Leopard Gecko (Male-Albino, Female-Reduced Pattern)
Various Fish

Replies (8)

mattbrock Oct 05, 2005 10:22 AM

Do you happen to have pics of the snake?

vtrescuekid Oct 06, 2005 09:16 PM

Yes, I have pictures of him but they are misleading. I've seen pictures of Irian Jaya's that look identical and I've seen pictures of Coastal Carpets that he looks identical to. I'm thinking he's a Coastal Carpet, but the only way to be sure is by scale counts and I can't find them online or in any books. Here's some pictures and I'm sure people will say he's a Coastal, but I want to be 100% sure because I plan on selling him and there's a significant difference in price between a Striped Irian Jaya and a Striped Coastal Carpet. The other confusing thing is size. Which adult males are generally larger, Coastal's or IJ's? Thanks again for the help.

-----
1.0 Anery Columbian Redtail Boa
1.0 Striped Irian Jaya Carpet Python
0.1 Gray Banded Kingsnake
1.1 Ball Python
1.0 Sunglow Striped Corn
1.1 Leopard Gecko (Male-Albino, Female-Reduced Pattern)
Various Fish

GaryF Oct 07, 2005 07:26 AM

I don't see anything there which looks in any way Irian Jayan. If it is anything pure, it's probably a mcdowelli.

And, in answer to your other question, Coastals are GENERALLY bigger than Irian Jayans but, as with scalecounts, the overlap is such as to make size next to useless as a single diagnostic. There are some big ijs out there and some coastal bloodlines that stay pretty moderate.

G

vtrescuekid Oct 07, 2005 06:56 PM

The fact that I need to know scale counts to accurately figure it out and noone seems to know what they are.
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1.0 Anery Columbian Redtail Boa
1.0 Striped Irian Jaya Carpet Python
0.1 Gray Banded Kingsnake
1.1 Ball Python
1.0 Sunglow Striped Corn
1.1 Leopard Gecko (Male-Albino, Female-Reduced Pattern)
Various Fish

bhmorrill Oct 08, 2005 12:34 AM

I agree that nothing on that snake makes me think Irian Jaya at all, but here are some scale counts for coastals that I got from the Barkers' "Pythons of the World I" book page 147:

270-300 ventrals
40-60 scale rows at mid body
80-90 subcaudals

There are other scale numbers presented in their book as well, but I don't really want to type them all out. There are quite a few of them. But, I don't know where you will get his kind of information on Irians until the Barkers come out with their "Pythons of the World II."
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Ben

vtrescuekid Oct 08, 2005 02:19 PM

Thank you very much for providing the scale counts. I've been trying to find them for the last month or so posting the question every week and everyone just replies asking for a picture, but thank you. It's highly appreciated. You're right, it looks like a Coastal, but I just want to be 100% sure before I look into selling him. Thanks again.
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1.0 Anery Columbian Redtail Boa
1.0 Striped Coastal Carpet/Irian Jaya Carpet Python
0.1 Gray Banded Kingsnake
1.1 Ball Pythons
1.0 Sunglow Striped Corn
1.2 Leopard Geckos (Albino, Severe Reduced Patter, Carrot tail)
1.1 Pugs (Male-Fawn, Female-Black)
Various Fish

bhmorrill Oct 09, 2005 09:12 PM

No problem. If you think you will be dealing with pythons for any extended amount of time, I would suggest you get the Barker's book. Another good book is the Reproductive Husbandry of Pythons and Boas. I LOVE that book! It is kind of old now, but still has lots of useful info. But for Aussie pythons, the Barker's book has most everything.
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Ben

mattbrock Oct 09, 2005 10:36 PM

Sorry I have been away and couldn't post.

That is definitly nothing other than a M. s. mcdowelli. Irian Jaya would be the last thing to cross my mind with that snake. One reason scale counts are not an end all solution is due to the extreme variability within carpets. The scale counts overlap among ssp. making it quite difficult.

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