Okay so today on our way to drop Nathan off at work we stopped by our favorite reptile shop because there was a ton of activity and we wanted to see what was up. Basically there was bear and tiger cubs but the point is that one of the workers had a blood python out and was handling it. Nathan really loves blood pythons so we went over to investigate, and the conversation between her and a fellow co worker baffled me and left a bad taste in my mouth. She said, "I like blood pythons because they're like ball pythons. I mean they're not ball pythons, but they're really similar. They're practically the same. I mean, I could totally breed this guy with my ball python." I just kinda gave Nathan this look and walked away as fast as I could. I mean, was this lady smoking crack? Or am I wrong and she is right? Are my feelings of disbelief justified?? Help me understand!!!
There are ballxblood hybrids. I believe they're called super balls. http://roussisreptiles.com/our_collection/super-ball/ There's a couple photos of a few. Call me crazy but I'm not to keen on the looks, accept those eyes.
Oh god that is one ugly snake. Yeah I thought maybe it was possible but I don't know why you would want to do it
Well supposedly it has the size of a blood python with the temperament of a ball. So you get the best of both worlds, or something like that.
I personally think mixed species breeding is highly unethical, thankfully it not too common of a practice. They call them "super balls" and I think they are super ugly. Another not uncommon hybrid species is carpet python x green tree python
I think they are kinda neat and look surprisingly like some ball python morphs( black pastels, mojaves, leopards etc). There is a lot of discussion that some morphs are from breeding hybrids.
Personally, I'm not into breeding hybrids. However, I will admit that the "Super Ball" is pretty interesting looking. I love the contrast in the pattern and color.
Imagine this. Burmball (I think that's what they're called) Burmese x ball python........ I can't even work out logistics on that one. I mean how?????? That's all ill say on that. Any two snakes in the same family can be mated its harder, but can be done.
I looked into breeding hybrids, you need a male and female of both species, both have to be "in the mood", you pair up same species and just before they lock you switch them out. There is always the risk of fighting between the 2 mixed species, and of course the eggs are not always fertile.
This whole hybrid thing doesn't seem like a good idea. It's like a breeding a lion and a tiger to get a liger (tigon). Just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD.
^^^^ Exactly! I couldn't agree more. Even subspecies crosses leave a bad taste in my mouth, though that certainty is more reasonable. Ethically you have to draw the line somewhere, and crossing species together, regardless of how pretty the offspring, is wrong in my book
For me the main issue stems from the number of physical issues these types of animals have. They are usually not healthy animals by any means.
I too am not a fan of cross breeding species, subspecies or even locality's. I really hate it when people cross locality's and subspecies and don't tell the people who are buying it that they are not pure. I see this a lot in boas. The common leopard geckos you see in captivity are no longer pure. They have been crossed with subspecies at some point.
