I've been working with ball pythons for over ten years now. Two years ago I decided to breed them as a business. I run a small operation. Currently I have approximately 100 snakes in my breeding program and hope to produce over 200 babies in the 2013 breeding season. I've always been fascinated by reptiles, snakes in particular, and being able to work with them every day is very satisfying.
Yes, there are some laws in place that restrict what exotic animals people can have. These are usually at the state or local level. Some cities require permits, while other cities outright ban certain species. I recommend to anyone interested in keeping an exotic pet that they should research any local laws that might be in place before purchasing their pet. At the Federal level, there are some restrictions. There is the Lacey Act, which makes it a felony to own certain forms of wildlife and to transfer others over state lines. Recently, due to the supposed problem in the Everglades and a faulty scientific study, several species of... Read More +
First, I want to clarify that I am not an expert in the Everglades, nor am I an expert in Burmese Pythons. I am also not an environmental scientist. So, with that being said, I will definitely share what I know and my opinion on the matter. Fear sells. That's how mainstream media makes their money. "Stopping a Burmese Python Invasion" will catch more eyes and get more reads than "A Few Burmese Pythons Found in the Everglades." It's far more intriguing to make it out to be a huge problem. The facts are actually much more boring. The media tells us that the burmese pythons are in the Everglades due to careless pet owners releasing their pets... Read More +
If the snakes are close to the same genus/species classification and are similar in body size, then yes. For example, you can relatively easily cross a ball python and a blood python. These are two closely related species. You could not, on the other hand, cross a ball python with a rattle snake. Those species are just too far removed from each other.
It depends. The market is really driven by mutations of patterns and colors (typically referred to as 'morphs'). When a new mutation is discovered, either from a wild caught import, or through a fortuitous captive breeding, it is extremely expensive. Some new mutations hit the market at up to $100,000, but most new genes are introduced at a price range of $10,000-25,000, depending on the desirability of the morph. Each year, as more individuals carrying the morph are produced, the prices come down. When you combine multiple morphs into single animals, the value goes up, depending on how many morphs are in the individual and the rarity... Read More +
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Simple answer: yes. Longer answer: Snakes can't really be tied in a knot as you might tie a string or a rope into a knot. Their bodies, while flexible, cannot bend at a tight enough angle to be knotted, at least not without fatally injuring the snake. Snakes can and do get wrapped up in themselves, but I've never witnessed one do that and not be able to easily backtrack to unwind itself.
Thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you enjoyed them. When I met my wife over 6 years ago, I was not breeding pythons. I did have a couple reptiles as pets, a ball python being one of them. So she was aware that I was a reptile enthusiast, but she really had no idea what she was getting herself into. :) It had been a dream of mine to someday breed ball pythons since that time ten years ago when I purchased my first ball python as a pet and was introduced the world of morphs and the endless possibilities that are available with mixing and matching them. It was just out of my reach, financially, as well as logistically at the time,... Read More +
Yes, I've been bitten many times. Bites from babies are barely noticeable. They are lucky if they pierce the skin and draw blood. Bites from adults are a little worse, but still not bad. I like to compare it to a bee sting, except the bee sting hurts a whole lot more. Ball pythons do not have fangs. Instead they have a lot of tiny, extremely sharp teeth. It feels like a bunch of little needles. If you can handle getting a shot, you can handle being bit by a ball python. Larger species have larger teeth, and can cause more damage. I've never been bitten by a larger species, so I have no first hand experience. I do know that in some... Read More +
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