Wild Caught Ball Pythons
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Wild Caught Ball Pythons

 
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rayaustin



Joined: 10 Sep 2006
Posts: 20
Location: Fort Drum, New York
PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 1:40 am    Post subject: Wild Caught Ball Pythons Reply with quote


Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on purchasing and breeding Wild Caught Ball Pythons. I have a 2400 gram female in my collection which is doing fine eating 2 medium rats every 3 to 5 days, probably my favorite out of all my normal balls. Have thought about attempting to breed her but have seen in various places that the consensus is that they are extremely hard to breed and best left to the very experienced breeders. Any thoughts??
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RonCrawford
Site Admin
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Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 2008
Location: Pottsville, PA (USA)
PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 1:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You're actually better off buying a baby female and raising her up over trying to breed a wild caught female. They import them gravid, get the eggs and sell the females. It can take YEARS before they're ready to breed. Not worth the hassle.
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Kattywampus



Joined: 09 Sep 2006
Posts: 147
Location: Columbus, Ohio
PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm honestly surprised it's legal to catch/sell wild ones. Aren't they becoming threatened?
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deborahbroadus
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Joined: 16 Jul 2006
Posts: 6679
Location: Baltimore, MD
PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RonCrawford wrote:
You're actually better off buying a baby female and raising her up over trying to breed a wild caught female. They import them gravid, get the eggs and sell the females. It can take YEARS before they're ready to breed. Not worth the hassle.


After a CB female is bred, how soon can she be bred again...*I know when she's up to normal weight after she delivers her eggs* My question is why does it take the wild ones years to be ready to breed again?
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RonCrawford
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Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 2008
Location: Pottsville, PA (USA)
PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

deborahbroadus wrote:
RonCrawford wrote:
You're actually better off buying a baby female and raising her up over trying to breed a wild caught female. They import them gravid, get the eggs and sell the females. It can take YEARS before they're ready to breed. Not worth the hassle.


After a CB female is bred, how soon can she be bred again...*I know when she's up to normal weight after she delivers her eggs* My question is why does it take the wild ones years to be ready to breed again?


They're conditioned for the Africa cycle and temperatures and are often slow to become acclimated to breeding. With respect to how often you can breed females, you can do so year after year. Some breeders give their females a year off but you can breed them every year if you'd like.
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deborahbroadus
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Joined: 16 Jul 2006
Posts: 6679
Location: Baltimore, MD
PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I see. Thanks for the info! Very Happy
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Dread



Joined: 16 Sep 2006
Posts: 43
Location: St. John's, NL
PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kattywampus wrote:
I'm honestly surprised it's legal to catch/sell wild ones. Aren't they becoming threatened?


Why don't you read Dr. Gorzula's report (1997) linked to from the rcreptiles.com page?

Though there definitely should be more study, all indications are that there is a large healthy wild population throughout the entire P. regius range, even in those countries that have an active harvest (not just for pets).

The age structure of the wild populations shows low recruitment in each year, so collecting and selling CH babies isn't as detrimental as some might think.
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RonCrawford
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Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 2008
Location: Pottsville, PA (USA)
PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dread wrote:
Kattywampus wrote:
I'm honestly surprised it's legal to catch/sell wild ones. Aren't they becoming threatened?


Why don't you read Dr. Gorzula's report (1997) linked to from the rcreptiles.com page?

Though there definitely should be more study, all indications are that there is a large healthy wild population throughout the entire P. regius range, even in those countries that have an active harvest (not just for pets).

The age structure of the wild populations shows low recruitment in each year, so collecting and selling CH babies isn't as detrimental as some might think.


The link to the report is here http://www.rcreptiles.com/articles/study-royal-python-ghana.pdf and the link to Ball Pythons in the Wild DVD video (footage to the report) is here http://www.SteveGorzulaPresents.com
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