We are just wrapping up our 2024 season. I has been a good one and we are patiently waiting for the first clutches to hatch. Here are some of our females on eggs!
2023 Season Recap
Hey Everyone,
It has been a bit since we posted anything here on our blog, but we just wanted to run down some of the highlights of 2023. It was a great year for us with some surprising results that made us look at some of these projects in a different light.
First up and the most shocking was breeding T+ Zig Zag Batk x T+ Sunder Golden Eye. We were not even sure the male was a Zig Zag, and needed to breed the female to be sure she was Sunder. Our initial thinking was just that this pairing would produce some beautiful babies if nothing else (and that is always the goal!). Well to say we were surprised with the results would be an understatement. The T+ Sunder Zig Zag Golden Eye was certainly the highlight of our season. Best Golden Eye combo we have made yet! This pairing breathed in new life to the Zig Zag project for us.
T+ Albino Zig Zag Batik
T+ Albino Sunder Golden Eye
Breeding
T+ Albino Sunder Zig Zag Golden Eye
T+ Albino Sunder Pixel (Top)
T+ Albino Sunder Golden Eye (Left)
T+ Albino Sunder Zig Zag Golden Eye (Right)
Next up is something we have been keeping a lid on but it is time to share with you all! If you have been following along with us for any amount of time, you know we love T+ Albino and how important it is for us to get that into the Pied project. Check out this pairing! Getting a chance to make Matrix and Batrix 100% double het T+/Pied was a huge step for the future of this project!
Pied x Electrostatic
Electrostatic on eggs
Batrix 100% double het T+/Pied
Matrix 100% double het T+/Pied
Wrapping up a great year would not be complete without extending a very big THANK YOU for all the support. We have said it before, but it cannot be understated, we could not do this without you all. Hope everyone of you has a great 2024 season! More great things to come in the world of Blood and Short-Tailed Pythons.
Scaleless Update: Guardian Homes
Hello Everyone,
We wanted to take a moment to update everyone on the status of the scaleless blood pythons, as there have been additional developments with this clutch. Our approach from the beginning has been transparency and we want to ensure that always remains the case. As it turns out, this is not a viable mutation. The normal scaleless blood passed within 48 hours even though it appeared perfect (for a scaceless snake). The T+ Albino developed skin lesions just a few days after hatching and passed within the same time frame. There was another scaleless Albino in the egg at the time the original blog was written, but it was severely kinked and did not survive.
On average a baby Blood Python takes 90 days to have its first shed, they require high humidity, and produce a lot of liquid waste. So unlike in other snake species such as Scaleless Ratsnakes, the odds are really stacked against baby scaleless Bloods.
Now we’re left with decisions to make regarding the adult hets, and this is where we need your help. Through no fault of their own these snakes have a mutation that negatively impacts their offspring, and we want to ensure that they are never bred. One of our options is to euthanize them, but that’s a heart-wrenching choice for a blood python enthusiast. These animals are robust and healthy. They are great feeders and beautiful snakes. Killing them to prevent their future reproduction feels like a drastic measure, and one we’re extremely hesitant to take.
Another alternative would be to place these animals in guardian homes, with the understanding that they must never be sold or bred. We will heavily screen any such potential homes, and would require a notarized contract agreeing to these terms, along with a return clause should the guardian home be unable to care for the snake at a future date. This isn’t a choice we make lightly, but is one that we feel is in these animals’ best interest as responsible keepers. These snakes won’t be free but the adoption fee will be reasonable. We can’t have these snakes going somewhere on a whim, but we are willing to work with keepers who can take on this level of commitment and long-term care.
We want to see a positive outcome for these remaining snakes, and also give a few extremely responsible keepers the opportunity to have beautiful blood pythons of their own. If this is something you’re interested in doing, please reach out to us with the following information:
- Your name/contact info/location
- A detailed overview of your lifetime herpetocultural experience to date
- Your understanding of blood python care and husbandry
- The setup you would use to house one of these blood pythons if selected as a guardian home
- The steps you would take if you were unable to care for this snake at any point in the future
- Any questions you may have for us
Below you will find pictures of the available animals looking for a guardian home.
From Dinker to Scaleless
Hey Everyone!
This is going to be an interesting post, so we hope you enjoy.
Whether you love them or hate them, scaleless Blood Pythons are here! This all started with a clutch years and years ago. We bred a Golden Eye that we produced from Redbull Line x GE, to a Batik 100% het T+. To our surprise the entire clutch, albeit small, was bizarre looking. We coined it the “Oddball” clutch. So, we decided to keep them all back. Raised them up slowly and bred two of the siblings together for the first time this year.
When working through a breeding process like this, we really never know what to expect. Could have been a one off thing, incubation error, or something else at play that caused these animals to look the way they do. So as we waited the 60 days for these babies to hatch, our brains were going every direction. The first two animals pipped on 6/11/2023 and like we normally do, we began to cut the rest of the clutch. What we found had us shocked! Albino Scaleless and Scaleless Blood Pythons! This was a result that we never once considered being possible and certainly was not our intention. But they are here now.
Scaleless snakes have appeared in Ball Pythons, Ratsnakes, Cornsnakes, and I am sure some other species. They do require a bit more care and attention to detail than their scaled counterparts. That being said, we have elected not to move forward with this project. After these animals are well-started, we plan to move the entire group and will only consider keepers who understand the specific care these snakes require.
They do have a scale on the tip of their noses and actually do have an egg tooth. They also have belly scales about half the length of their body. They strike no problem and seem to move around like any other snake. Time will tell how they do as they are offered their first meals and start to grow.
In the meantime, marvel at these pics and love them or hate them, it was wild to see these animals fully developed in their eggs.
UPDATE 6/18/2023: Unfortunately the two scaleless animals passed after 48 hours. While this is a small sample size, they do not appear to be viable.
GE x Redbull Line
Sire to Oddball clutch
Dam to Oddball clutch
Oddball clutch
Dam (from Oddball clutch) to Scaleless animals
Sire (from Oddball clutch) to Scaleless
Scaleless
Albino Scaleless
Scaleless
Albino Scaleless fresh out of the egg
Live on Triple B TV with Brian Kusko
Hey everyone,
In case you missed it, I went live with Brian Kusko, Triple B TV on YouTube Tuesday night. We had a great chat that went by way too quickly. I wanted to say thanks to everyone that gave us feedback and commented live during the show!
Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/live/kf0pN_RByRk?feature=share
Thanks again Brian for having me on, hope to do it again soon, and maybe I will see you at the Tinley Park show!
The Sleeping Giant
For years dedicated Blood Python keepers have been saying these snakes are going to continue to gain in popularity and we are finally beginning to see it. But we feel these animals have not even hit their stride yet with keepers in the industry. Below we have highlighted some of the reasons these are the sleeping giants in the hobby.
1) Low Barrier to Entry-We feel these animals currently have the best bang for your buck in the hobby. You can get some really incredible snakes for great prices. There are many breeders out there that have been working hard developing consistent color and pattern traits over time, and it is just getting better.
2) Color and Pattern-Piggy backing on point 1, is the quality of animal you can get. Keep in mind a well bred hatchling Blood Python is about as ugly as they will get, and the transformation into an incredible adult is hard for any other species to beat. Instead of being born looking the best it ever will, you will get to watch your hatchling transform into a breathtaking adult python.
3) Size-Blood and Short-Tailed Pythons hit that sweet spot when it comes to overall size. Not too big but their babies also hatch at a size where they can take small mice or rat pups right way! They are an adult python that a person working solo can easily handle on their own. They also have a relatively slow metabolism so they will not eat you out of house and home. They are just right!
4) Carving Your Own Path-With the wide variety of color, pattern, and morphs available today, there are almost endless possibilities on the direction you as a breeder, if you want to dive into that, can go. This allows you to create your own space in the market and bring whatever unique traits you like to other keepers. You are not stuck chasing the person ahead of you!
5) Care- Once you dial in their specific parameters such as temperature and humidity, these pythons are easy keepers. There is lots of great information on all aspects of husbandry at Kara’s site, bloodpythons.com
6) The Future-There is no better time than now to get into this group of snakes if you have been wanting to do so. We have laid out just a few reasons why we believe this to be the case, and this is only scratching the surface. The next 10+ years are going to be a lot of fun and we cannot wait to see what the future has in store for these incredible pythons.
A New Chapter: The Pied Project
Hey everyone!
Lots happening around here with the birth of our first child, Annabelle, and our first clutch of the season on the ground. We are so grateful for these two incredible events!
So, lets dive into the Pied project and what it means moving forward. We were fortunate enough to acquire one of the first Pied Red Blood Pythons available. She is thriving with us and laid a nice clutch of eggs on 3/5/2023 after being bred to a T+ Albino Pixel (pictured below).
Our goal was to get T+ into this project as soon as we could, and we could not be happier with how it went. She did an incredible job as a first-time mom, is back on food and resting as I type this. We do offer our females a nest box, but she decided to not utilize it. The clutch is now set up in the incubator and the 60-day count down starts now. It will be a while before we see the full potential of this clutch but that is what playing the long game is all about!
Below are pictures throughout the breeding season, as well as her growing up. We hope you enjoy this update, and that you will continue to follow this project as it develops!
Female Pied x T+ Albino Pixel
Pied Ovulation
Pied laying
Subadult
Juvenile
Baby
The Herpetoculture Podcast
Been awhile!
Just wanted to share with you all a podcast I did with Justin Smith and Jake Bratz on their channel, The Herpetoculture Podcast, Home - The Herpetoculture Network. We had a great conversation that covered Bloods, Short-Tails, USARK, the zoo business, and more! I posted the links below to both the recorded version and the YouTube version.
YouTube: (36) Bloods, Short-Taileds, and Cold-Blooded Earth with Nick Bottini | THP #179 - YouTube
Sunder: Update and Potential Problem
Hello Everyone!
We wanted to give and update on the Sunder Project. After doing the same pairing we did in 2021, we wanted to tweak a few things about the project. The pictures in the original post have been updated. Sunder (to break into pieces). New Gene! — Cold Blooded Earth
First and foremost, yes, it is the real deal! We were happy to be able to repeat the results from last season, and it was even better this year. We even hit, what we believe are a few more Super Sunder Golden Eyes, and one of the most incredible T+ Albino Sunder Mapgies! They are pictured below.
As we refine this project over time, we will of course keep everyone up to date on what we are seeing!
T+ Albino Sunder Magpie
T+ Albino Sunder and Sunder Golden Eye 100% het T+
T+ Albino Super Sunder GE (top left) Super Sunder GE het T+ (Top right) and Sunder GE het T+
**Potential Issue with the Super Form** In this clutch this season we hatched two animals with a slight under bite and they were Super Sunder GEs. We did not see this happen last season, and hatched 4 Super Sunder GEs in this clutch that did not express this issue. However, we wanted to highlight this just in case it is tied to the Super form. We must do more test breedings. This in our eyes, does not change how incredible the Sunder Gene is, and its future potential. If the Super form does have a defect, we will treat it just like the Super Batik and avoid it. Stay tuned for more!
In case you need the link to the original Sunder Blog post, you can find it here, Sunder (to break into pieces). New Gene! — Cold Blooded Earth
Super Sunder GE expressing the under bite
Brittney Gobble Photography/Gobble's Reptiles
A few months back we were fortunate enough to have Brittney Gobble and her husband Johnny out at our place for a visit and she took some photos of the collection. Brittney is an incredibly talented photographer, and her work can be found on Facebook at Brittney Gobble Photography | Facebook.
Brittney and Johnny also have an amazing collection of Ball Pythons, Hognose snakes, Boas, and some Blood Pythons. We are happy to see them dip their toes into Blood Pythons and are looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for them and the projects they have invested in. Take a look at their collection here, Gobble's Reptiles | Facebook, you can also find them on Instagram at Brittney Gobble (@gobblesreptiles) • Instagram photos and videos
We want to be able to offer a Blood and Short-Tailed Python calendar for 2023! If this is something you would be interested, please comment on this post. Below you will find just a few of the shots Brittney got as a preview.
Again, a big thank you to Brittney and Johnny for driving down to South Carolina and spending the day with Kendra and me. We had a blast, the snakes behaved themselves, and the conversations were great. Looking forward to doing it again soon!
T- Albino CBE Stripe
Pied Blood Python
Sunder Golden Eye
Brittney, Pied Blood, and I (yes, I actually do exist!)
Fallout
Hey Everyone!
In June of 2021 we produced two T+ Albino Ivory Golden Eye Batiks from Electrostatic (T+ Albino Ivory Batik) x T+ Albino 007 (Golden Eye Matrix). We were fortunate enough to produce both the sire and dam as well. They are pictured below
This combination is a bit wordy when you have to say it over and over again, so we wanted to call it something a bit easier and landed on Fallout. The definition of Fallout seems to fit well with how the Batik gene presents itself in this combo. We have not made the Fallout without T+ Albino yet but are very excited to see how that looks as well.
Here are a few pictures of the T+ Albino Ivory Golden Eye Batiks aka T+ Albino Fallouts from hatching up until today.
These two are doing great. Eating well and have been flawless from day one. Lots of color coming in for albinos at the 6 month mark. We are thrilled with these T+ Albino Fallouts and cannot wait to see what the future holds for them. Hope you all enjoy, and don’t worry, we will be sharing more photos as they continue to grow!
Pied Progression from March-October
Another photo drop post here. We wanted to share how our female Pied as grown and changed over the past 7 months. Really impressed with her.
Recent Photos
Hey Everyone!
Here are some photos we have taken over the past few months. Blood Pythons just make great models!
T+ Albino 007
T+ Albino Pixel
007 Batik 100% het T+ Albino
T+ Albino Ivory Golden Eye Batik
CBE Stripe Golden Eye 66% het T- Albino
Sunder Golden Eye 100% het T+ Albino
A Crash Course on Pollens
Hey everyone!
For this blog we wanted to talk specifically about Pollens and compare them to normals. As this morph continues to grow in popularity, especially with the super, Flower, being as great as it is, we thought some side by side pictures would help with identifying them.
These pictures are all clutch mates and recently hatched. We chose Pollens from this clutch that were relatively easy to identify, but keep in mind some of them are a bit more subtle than the ones pictured here, and there are others more obvious than these. Just as there are a wide variety of Matrix looks, the same holds true for Pollens.
Some of the traits that help us ID Pollens are varying degrees of dorsal striping, separation between the lateral markings; lateral markings look like they are reaching up and trying to touch the dorsal pattern.
Hopefully you are able to see the differences in the pictures below. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have. We are still continuing to stare at these so if you see something we don’t, share it!
Normal
T+ Pollen (Top)
Normal (Bottom)
T+ Pollen (Top)
Pollen (Bottom)
Lateral view of Pollens
Close up Pollen
T+ Pollen Close up
Sunder (to break into pieces). New Gene!
Hey Everyone!
Some of you may have seen that really busy Golden Eye we recently posted on social media. The entire clutch from the normals all the way to the Magpies were very interesting. So we got to looking at them a bit closer after they had all emerged from their eggs. Sat them out side by side and determined that we have a new gene at play. This was completely unexpected, but now looking at the pairing and the results we cannot un-see it!
We want to introduce you to the Sunder and Super Sunder. The inspiration for this name came from the pattern changing that this gene does. It breaks the dorsal pattern up into pieces. The Sunder, like a lot of incomplete dominate Blood Python genes is a bit subtle. But we took a lot of comparison photographs posted below to help illustrate what is going on. The Super Sunder is much more extreme in appearance.
What we find so exciting about this new project is the dramatic affect it had on the Golden Eye gene. It blew the normal thick dorsal stripe on the Golden Eyes apart. This gives us the ability to flood the Golden Eyes with even more color. And these babies show this off before even having a single shed.
The Sunder gene offers a whole new direction for some of our projects. What could it do with Ivorys or 007s? Pixels would be a great way to go. And even some of the busier pattern morphs like ZigZag could be really great!
As always, feel free to send us an email if you would like to talk about this new project, or anything else we have going on here at CBE. Enjoy!
Normal (Top)
Sunder (Bottom)
Sunder GE (Top)
Normal (Bottom)
Sunder (Right)
Super Sunder Golden Eye (Left)
Left to right: Sunder, T+ Albino Sunder Magpie, Super Sunder GE, Normal, Sunder GE
Normal
T+ Albino Sunder
Sunder
T+ Albino Sunder Golden Eye
T+ Albino Super Sunder Golden Eye
T+ Albino Sunder Magpie
Dam: Sunder Golden Eye het T+
Sire: T+ Albino Sunder Golden
Variability Among Siblings
Hey everyone!
This is a topic we have touched on a few times but we are going to revisit it due to a recent and very exciting clutch we had hatch just the other day.
Here is a link to the previous blog post, Long Term Projects: Part I — Cold Blooded Earth, but the pairing was T+ Albino 007 (Golden Eye Matrix) x Electrostatic (T+ Albino Ivory Batik). Loads of potential offspring with this breeding and all resulting offspring are T+ albino.
Knowing how varied Matrix, Golden Eye, and 007 can be, even siblings can look completely different. And as we begin to add more genes to these base morphs things can get a bit crazy. That is exactly what happened here. Our goal doing this breeding was to hopefully hatch a T+ Albino Golden Eye Ivory Batik. We were fortunate enough to do just that! In fact we produced a pair.
So what does this have to do with the topic of variability? Well, they look different. So what we began doing was looking for the similarities. Their face patterns in this case since there wasn't much else to go on other than faint dotting. We also compared these facial features to some other similar but fewer gene combinations including Golden Eye Ivory and 007 Batik.
In doing these few things and having a much closer look, it became clear these two animals, while different looking are in fact both T+ Albino Golden Eye Ivory Batiks. I'm sure these little baby snakes were sick of being stared at all day!
Golden Eye Ivory
Golden Eye Matrix (007) Batik
Risk vs Reward
Today was a big day here at CBE, and as such, I’m looking back in self-reflection over the events that came together to make it happen. Like many of you, I had a passion for reptiles from an early age. This passion was – thankfully – fostered by my parents and provided me the opportunity to build a varied collection at a younger age. Once I acquired my first Blood Python I was hooked and eventually this incredible species became my sole focus.
During that time, I also took a job at a zoo here in South Carolina where I met my (then-future) wife, Kendra. I spent 8 years working with some amazing animals, but ultimately knew in my heart of hearts that I wanted to strike out on my own someday. With the support of my wife, as well as some steadfast mentors in this industry, I took the plunge into breeding Blood and Short-Tailed Pythons full time.
Nearly four years after that fateful decision, I look back with gratitude over taking the chance to go my own way. It should go without saying that writing my own ticket has not been all sunshine and rainbows. I’ve learned a lot about myself and continue to do so: as a businessman and strategist, but most importantly, as a snake keeper. It is nearly a paradox: living a lean, simple life that is extremely rewarding at the same time. There have been many ups and downs. Things do not always go as planned working with animals, as many of you know all too well. Clutches don’t pan out, animals can die, numerous unexpected factors can impact each moment and as such, I’ve learned not to take a single one for granted. All the same, at the end of the day the risk of striking out on my own has been ultimately rewarding.
This brings me to the next chapter here at Cold-Blooded Earth. We were recently presented with the opportunity to acquire a female Pied Red Blood Python. As with any animal there is a risk, and one of this magnitude was a decision I needed to seriously ponder and consider. I leaned on my wife and the support of those same people I have relied on in the past…and finally took the plunge. Today she arrived and opening the shipping bag was a surreal experience, one that instantly transported me back to my childhood fascination with reptiles, all the while illuminating those possibilities that lay ahead.
We want to share this with you all as we raise this girl up…the experience of starting from humble beginnings and grasping what feels like a once-in-a-lifetime chance. We plan to do regular updates and take lots of pictures as she grows. Without the support from our community this moment would have remained a dream instead of becoming a reality.
With gratitude, wonder, and great anticipation, we invite you on this Cold-blooded journey with us. We are thrilled to have this opportunity and very much looking forward to what the future holds. This life may not be easy as pie, but hey, at least there’s pie(d)!
Long Term Projects: Part I
Hey Everyone!
With the actual breeding part of season behind us, and egg laying starting to happen now, we wanted to do a few in depth blogs about some of this years projects.
To start this off we are going to dive into the T+ Albino 007 x Electrostatic clutch that was laid yesterday 3/27/21. She did a great job laying 10 fertile eggs, and one slug egg. Clutch weight (fertile ones only) was 1132 grams.
What makes this pairing so exciting is all the work, time, and planning to get to this point. The Dam, T+ Albino 007 (Golden Eye Matrix) was produced by us, and her sire (GE het T+) and dam (T+ Albino Matrix) were also produced by us.
As for the Electrostatic (T+ Albino Ivory Batik) we produce his Sire, (T+ Albino Batrix) and raised his Dam, (Ivory het T+) from a baby. She was only possible het T+ at the time, and we were fortunate enough to prove her out as a 100% het Albino.
Family Tree Breakdown
Electrostatic: Produced by us
Sire: T+ Batrix: Produced by us
Sire: Batik het T+
Dam: T+ Albino Matrix : produced by us
Dam: Ivory het T+
T+ 007: Produced by us
Sire: Golden Eye het: Produced by us
Sire: Golden Eye
Dam: T+ Albino
Dam: T+ Matrix: Produced by us
Sire: Matrix het T+
Dam: Matrix het T+
So in order for us to get those 10 beautiful eggs yesterday, it has taken us YEARS to get to this point. From raising and getting healthy animals into adult hood, breeding them, and then raising their offspring into healthy and mature animals. And through all of that, we are about 60 days away from seeing the results of this and being able to continue working these projects into the future!
What comes next? We are not sure just yet. Maybe adding in a gene we do not currently work with, or something we have been raising up? Either way we are excited about moving these projects to the next level.
Male Electrostatic
Female T+ albino 007. Note: the dark color above her nostrils is from her nest box substrate
10 Fertile eggs on scale
Enjoy the Conflict: The Fight Never Ends
Today, I wanted to touch on the bigger picture of our hobby and industry. For the last few years it seems that new anti pet legislation arises every week and it is getting worse and worse! All animal keepers in every state are under attack. The bills are more creative and more sweeping. We have to ALL come together and push back.
The reality is that if we do not rally together as a unified group it is only going to get worse. We have to enjoy the conflict! Speak up, make your voices heard, support your fellow keepers in other states, and the species they keep even if they are different than yours. The species is irrelevant at this point. It is an all out push to stop us from keeping the animals we all love. Enjoy showing these people how much you care and how much you know. Be excited that you can reach out and help another keeper you have never met before who works with a different species.
I know this is a big ask for a lot of us. We just want to be left a lone and enjoy our animals but if we don’t step out of our comfort zones there will be nothing left to keep. So get involved! Speak your mind, write letters, tuck your shirt in and go speak at your State Capitol when asked, educate those around you that are unaware of what is happening, send emails, sign petitions, be a positive force and voice for the animals you work with. We have your back! And there is no better organization that has the backs of all of us than USARK (usark.org)
USARK is on the front lines and they are our greatest ally. Please become a member. It is only $5 a month (a coffee from your favorite coffee place). Without them, I do not even want to think about where our industry would be. I have personally worked with them here in South Carolina and the work they do is amazing, BUT they cannot do it alone. They need your help. There is power in numbers. Your voice is just as important as the next person.
Whether you keep one Leopard Gecko or a building full of venomous snakes, we are all experts in these animals. We know how they tick, the ins and outs of their behavior. You are the expert, not the people writing these bills or enacting these unjust and biased laws. Be confident in your knowledge and your message to these people. Show them who we are, do not let them put labels on us or assume we are something that we are not.
Today, right now, is the time to rally together. No more infighting or bashing the new keepers. Take that energy and use it where it is needed! We do have an enemy out there and it is not your fellow animal keeper, it is the anti pet groups and legislators trying to take away your ability to keep the animals you enjoy. We need our industry to grow and that means bringing in new people, not making them feel unwelcome. We ALL started somewhere and none of us were born knowing what we know today. Be the positive change you want to see in this hobby. The real threat is much bigger than cage vs rack or whatever other petty argument is making the rounds on social media that day!
So everyday check usark.org for new alerts and get involved. Make it part of your routine. Like any muscle memory it will become habit very fast. We have a responsibility to each other as keepers to stay informed and stay engaged. Show them that we will not be steamed rolled or scape goated. That we are a wealth of knowledge, and we are responsible herpetoculturists, that we are a force to be reckoned with. These anti pet groups are very organized and powerful but you know what, so are we!
Lets get the message out, lets all support each other, and lets be a strong unified voice for the animals we all love!
Python Breeding Process
For this post, we want to give a basic run down of how we breed our Blood and Short-Tailed Pythons. There is not a one size fits all way to do this. Depending on the region in the country you are in, how you house your animals, where they are housed, and the way each animal naturally cycles will make your strategy different.
Here at our facility in central South Carolina we offer basking sites for all our animals from babies to adults. The building also has two large windows which let in natural light. October is when we being to cool our animals down. This is the time of year that SC experiences tropical depressions and shorter days, triggering our animals to begin the cycling for breeding. Our over all basking spot temperatures are dropped from 86-82 degrees on a 6 hour time frame. It is not a drastic drop in temperature, but the overall ambient temperature in the building also beings to decrease this time of year.
Animals are introduced during storm fronts from Oct-Jan. We continue to feed both males and females during this time, but reduce the overall size of the meals. Generally feeding only medium rats during this time. Males are introduced into the females enclosures on a three day rotation (or until breeding activity stops). Then they are separated until the next weather system rolls in.
Copulation (this process can last for hours)
We usually see females begin ovulating in January and this goes on until March most years. Ovulation is when fertilization actually happens and this event is quite obvious with large swelling. This mid-body swelling generally lasts for 24 hours. (See picture below). Basking site temperatures are fully restored at the end of January.
T+ Yellow Albino ovulating
Once ovulation occurs the female will go into a shed cycle. After this shed, known as the post ovulation shed, eggs are laid within 30-45 days. We offer a nest box for gravid females using slightly damp sphagnum moss or coco fiber. Some females will utilize this area to lay, others lay underneath their substrate, and others lay on top of their substrate, we just like to give them the option. After oviposition (egg laying) is done, the eggs are gently removed from the female and placed in the incubator.
Zig Zag morph on eggs in a nest box
We use perlite as an incubation box medium. The perlite is mixed with water, about a 2-1 ratio of perlite to water and the eggs are placed directly on the substrate. Then the containers are moved into the incubator. Eggs take around 60 days to pip and a few more days to fully emerge from the eggs. Once they absorb all their yolk and crawl out, we set them up individually and offer their first meals at two weeks old. One of the more interesting things about baby Blood and Short-Tailed Pythons is they do not have their first shed for a few months, unlike other snake species that shed right away or within the first week.
T- Lavender Albino emerging from its egg
Hope you will find this crash course helpful as you start on the journey of producing your own little pythons. As always, please feel free to email us with any questions you may have.