Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I saw a snake at the N.Y. show yesterday that was labeled 100% diamond. It looked right to me but another guy whispered to me that it wasn't pure. I asked another breeder that I know and trust and he said not pure either. I've seen plenty of diamond X carpets. My question is how can you tell ?

I saw the same snake, and judging by the price, and the average quality of some of the animals around it, I couldn't see it as being pure. It was obviously very high % diamond, but the only way I would feel comfortable is going through a reputable breeder that I'm familiar with. As far as how to judge by looking, I'm not sure....w/ so many crosses, I think it's going to get increasingly difficult to tell in the future. I think more people are going to try passing off high % crosses as pure. BTW - I picked up a pair of Bredli after looking at over half a dozen. One of the decision factors was the breeder. Not only did he have the nicest ones, but they were clearly marked, and he was very professional....not probing a snake for every other person that walked by!
mike

Thanks mike. Diamonds are on my "short list" and I would hate to get burned on a misrepresented animal. The dealer you got your new snake from sounds like Jay. I Got a nice jungle from him last year. He produces some of the best animals around. By the way, I picked up a pair of amason basin emeralds from Ralph who had the booth in the corner. I'm very happy!

It took all the willpower and three supportive (if you want to call it that) friends to pull me away from those Basins. Couldn't spend the money unplanned! Which did you get? The Bredls I got at Elegant Reptile Images diagonal from Ralph. BTW, Ralph and I were talking about some of his other projects, and I'm sure I'll be dealing w/ him by the time summer rolls around. Also, did you notice the black and yellow snakes right next to the food court beside the dried out WLP? I think they were labeled "spitota" or something similar. Do you know what they were? I might be interested in some healthy ones, but haven't found anything on them.
thanks,
mike

I don't know about the animals near the food court. The basin I took were from the two pairs he had available. Ralph split and rematched the pairs for me. I'll post pictures of them tomorrow on the tree boa forum. (Tom)