iridescent WLP

[Smulkin]

After months of searching for a juvenile black-phase White Lipped Python I gave in to frustration at the MARS show a while back and settled for a young CBB gold-phase. The iridescence on these things is unreal - easily matching if not surpassing that on my wife's pair of Brown Water Pythons. And then there's temperment - for a species dubbed "face biters" and supposedly touting more teeth than any other python this guy is amazingly tractable. He "speaks" in little puff-like hisses, just very vocal, but no real long annoyed hisses or anything resembling a strike yet. This is in contast to a 3yo female at a store down the road who does everything to live up to the species hype - absolutely terrorizing the staff on cage cleaning days. I'm looking forward to finding him a mate and haven't surrendered the hunt for cbb black-phase juvies.

Anyway here's a shot showing some of his "rainbow brite"

 

[Washout]

So would you say these are more iridescent than rainbow boas as well? Also are there any smaller snakes that are iridescent? Seems like most of them will easily reach 6ft. Are there any that don't get over 4'?

 

[Smulkin]

THey might appear to me more so but I'd think that's only because of the background coloration being more uniform/less patterned. From the numbers of rainbows I've handled it does appear so - these things just have such a glossy sheen. We don't have any boas (houseful of pythons and wife terrified at the prospect of IBD eating into her hets). Ringed Pythons are pretty iridescent, more common now at shows and don't typically get a whole lot longer than 4'.

http://images.google.com/images?q=+"ringed python"&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&sa=N&tab=wi

 

[Washout]

Can you keep a ringed python in a 20gallon long tank? Those are about 4" long in total I think.

 

[LPacker79]

Can you keep a ringed python in a 20gallon long tank? Those are about 4" long in total I think.

A 20 gallon long is much smaller than 4 feet. It's 30x12x12. You have to get up to a 40 gallon before you find one that hits 4 feet in length.

 

[pitbulllady]

Irridescent Snakes

So would you say these are more iridescent than rainbow boas as well? Also are there any smaller snakes that are iridescent? Seems like most of them will easily reach 6ft. Are there any that don't get over 4'?

Many specimens of the Brown House Snake(which isn't always brown, by the way)are very irridescent, and seldom get over 4 ft. in length for females(males are smaller. Like pythons, they are constictors, with the same verticle pupils and silky-smooth skin, but not as particular in their heat and humidity requirements as the White-lipped python. The New World and Old World "Sunbeam" snakes are probably the most irridescent snakes I've ever seen, and they,too, are constrictors that usually get about 3-4 feet in length.

pitbulllady

 

[Washout]

Many specimens of the Brown House Snake(which isn't always brown, by the way)are very irridescent, and seldom get over 4 ft. in length for females(males are smaller. Like pythons, they are constictors, with the same verticle pupils and silky-smooth skin, but not as particular in their heat and humidity requirements as the White-lipped python. The New World and Old World "Sunbeam" snakes are probably the most irridescent snakes I've ever seen, and they,too, are constrictors that usually get about 3-4 feet in length.

pitbulllady

Hmm I don't think I'll touch a sunbeam with a 10ft pole.

One thing that new owners should be warned about-these snakes have a NASTY musk, and I mean nasty. If you get musked by an irate sunbeam, plan on taking a shower and washing the clothes you were wearing about five times. As sunbeams stress easily, do not handle them unless it is absolutely necessary. So success with sunbeams amounts to four things; keep them humid, buried, warm, and leave them alone.