# Yearling bhp



## Tony Stark (Jan 25, 2018)

Yearling bhp freshly shed and out for a stretch. Will feed him tonight this guy has a Jekyll and Hyde personality. He gets a varied diet between rats,rabbits and quail.

























Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## richyboa72 (Jan 25, 2018)

Nice pics.They are so cool with there stripes. then it looks like someone dipped there head in black paint


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Tony Stark (Jan 25, 2018)

richyboa72 said:


> Nice pics.They are so cool with there stripes. then it looks like someone dipped there head in black paint
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Yeah Bhp has to up there with my favourite pythons they are beautiful.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## richyboa72 (Jan 25, 2018)

They are stunning that’s for sure,I think if was going to have a python it would be toss up between a bhp or a white lipped python I love how iridescent they are 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Tony Stark (Jan 25, 2018)

richyboa72 said:


> They are stunning that’s for sure,I think if was going to have a python it would be toss up between a bhp or a white lipped python I love how iridescent they are
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



We can only keep Aussie natives but thats ok because we really are spoiled for choice. I’m a Geordie by birth but did not keep reptiles when I lived in the [emoji636] 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## richyboa72 (Jan 25, 2018)

Good lad, slight warmer than here like
At least it’s been above freezing today and the snow from all day Sunday has gone ( bet it makes you glad to have moved to warmer shores)

As you say there’s a fair few native snakes to keep down there 
We are quite lucky in the U.K. to be able to have pretty much what we want .
As any lunatic that lets anything go here wont survive the winter and wipe out all our native species.there are still idiots that try like and give the hobby a bad name .
I really think it’s great they are so strict about invasive species but I guess you guys don’t think that sometimes 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Foozil (Jan 25, 2018)

Fantastic! One of my favourite snakes.


----------



## Tony Stark (Jan 25, 2018)

richyboa72 said:


> Good lad, slight warmer than here like
> At least it’s been above freezing today and the snow from all day Sunday has gone ( bet it makes you glad to have moved to warmer shores)
> 
> As you say there’s a fair few native snakes to keep down there
> ...



I do not miss the climate in Newcastle lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Pauls_Pythons (Jan 25, 2018)

richyboa72 said:


> We are quite lucky in the U.K. to be able to have pretty much what we want .
> As any lunatic that lets anything go here wont survive the winter and wipe out all our native species.there are still idiots that try like and give the hobby a bad name .



Does that also apply to gov't officials who allow non natives in that are killing off the indigenous humans???? (Sorry that might be in bad taste)


----------



## Nero Egernia (Jan 25, 2018)

Love the glossy black head. Why anyone would want to breed BHPs with orange heads is beyond me.


----------



## Foozil (Jan 25, 2018)

Nero Egernia said:


> Why anyone would want to breed BHPs with orange heads is beyond me.


So a woma?


----------



## Pauls_Pythons (Jan 25, 2018)

Nero Egernia said:


> Why anyone would want to breed BHPs with orange heads is beyond me.



Not quite an orange head but reduced black.
I actually have some and they are stunning animals. Not everyones cup of tea I agree but then again I'm not into Jags or Carpondro's or mixed carpets.


----------



## Foozil (Jan 25, 2018)

Pauls_Pythons said:


> Not quite an orange head but reduced black.
> I actually have some and they are stunning animals. Not everyones cup of tea I agree but then again I'm not into Jags or Carpondro's or mixed carpets.


Any pics? Excuse my ignorance but I've never heard of reduced black bhp's.


----------



## Nero Egernia (Jan 25, 2018)

Pauls_Pythons said:


> Not quite an orange head but reduced black.
> I actually have some and they are stunning animals. Not everyones cup of tea I agree but then again I'm not into Jags or Carpondro's or mixed carpets.



Hey Paul, I was recently shown a picture of one that resembled a Woma Python. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions and personal tastes but I find it particularly strange that people are selectively breeding BHPs with orange heads and WPs with black heads. Why not just have the other if you prefer black or orange heads?


----------



## Pauls_Pythons (Jan 25, 2018)

Foozil said:


> Any pics? Excuse my ignorance but I've never heard of reduced black bhp's.



Yes mate. I will get some over the weekend and post on this thread.



Nero Egernia said:


> Hey Paul, I was recently shown a picture of one that resembled a Woma Python. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions and personal tastes but I find it particularly strange that people are selectively breeding BHPs with orange heads and WPs with black heads. Why not just have the other if you prefer black or orange heads?



I don't disagree with you entirely and I have said many times that I'm happy doing my own thing, (Morphs) but don't always agree with some of the other stuff that goes on in the hobby (and I'm sure there are plenty who don't agree with pattern/colour variations that are seen as being 'non wild type'). 

Just on that let me point out that wild caught BHP's from some regions do carry gold patches, (reduced black) under the chin. This has simply been expanded upon by some breeders through selective/line breeding.
I think the specific animal you are referring too would be from a QLD breeder, (I won't name names). Thing is they have also been bred to bring out another trait that I really like which is the Train Track pattern along the spine.
A Orange/Gold headed BHP is not really a Woma is it? (And I never heard of a black headed Woma though I have seen and would love to have a black woma). Regardless of colours/markings a BHP is still a BHP.....Lets be honest here BHP is just a name. Is a Zebra no longer a zebra because its pattern/colours change?
These are not crossed with other species, they are an extension of a trait that can be found on wild type animals......Is that not what humans do. (I'm sure we have had this conversation before lol)
We do have a plan for the reduced colour line which Im not going to go into any great detail on and I agree it won't be everyones cup of tea but its still a BHP.


----------



## cement (Jan 25, 2018)

My thoughts exactly Lol!! I mean fair enough, go for gold if thats what you want to do, gives me a laugh though.
Their both Aspiditis, so very closely related, and I wouldn't be surprised if we learn't that they all originated from either a woman or a Bhp, which is why its fairly easy to do. The black head makes it very difficult to see it coming down a burrow, even keeping them, occasionally that black head will surprise you. I have black hides for mine and they'll wait just inside the opening, but you just can't see them there.
Ive kept a few back from different breedings over the years and have a stunning one with reduced melanin (heads still full black) but the body almost glows yellow in the sun between the bands. Awesome snakes.


----------



## Prof_Moreliarty (Jan 25, 2018)

Snakes evolving from woman hmmm you might be onto something @cement


----------



## Pauls_Pythons (Jan 25, 2018)

Prof_Moreliarty said:


> Snakes evolving from woman hmmm you might be onto something



Well picked up, quick as a flash in fact.




cement said:


> Their both Aspiditis, so very closely related, and I wouldn't be surprised if we learn't that they all originated from either a _*woma *_or a Bhp, which is why its fairly easy to do.



I agree. My own belief is that they are variations of the same animal that have naturally morphed over many generations.


----------



## Tony Stark (Jan 25, 2018)

PS he doesn’t live in that tiny container I merely transport them past our house cat in it lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Pauls_Pythons (Jan 25, 2018)

@Foozil 
Not the most recent pics but you get the idea.


----------



## Foozil (Jan 25, 2018)

Thanks, @Pauls_Pythons! I personally love those animals. Would love to own one eventually!


----------



## Murph_BTK (Jan 25, 2018)

Paul's pythons are bang on as is the advice !! ... I will own a off spring one day *(soon) [emoji6]

Instagram: murph_BTK


----------



## Pauls_Pythons (Jan 25, 2018)

Murph_BTK said:


> Paul's pythons are bang on as is the advice !! ... I will own a off spring one day *(soon)



Thanks Murph


----------



## Murph_BTK (Jan 25, 2018)

Anytime mate!! By the end of the year I want to have my hands on another BHP.. and yours ore the ones I am aiming for.. [emoji4]

Instagram: murph_BTK


----------



## Nero Egernia (Jan 26, 2018)

Pauls_Pythons said:


> Just on that let me point out that wild caught BHP's from some regions do carry gold patches, (reduced black) under the chin. This has simply been expanded upon by some breeders through selective/line breeding.
> I think the specific animal you are referring too would be from a QLD breeder, (I won't name names). Thing is they have also been bred to bring out another trait that I really like which is the Train Track pattern along the spine.



I only saw the picture. I don't know who the breeder was. Are there any records of wild BHPs with orange heads?



Pauls_Pythons said:


> A Orange/Gold headed BHP is not really a Woma is it? (And I never heard of a black headed Woma though I have seen and would love to have a black woma). Regardless of colours/markings a BHP is still a BHP.....Lets be honest here BHP is just a name. Is a Zebra no longer a zebra because its pattern/colours change?
> These are not crossed with other species, they are an extension of a trait that can be found on wild type animals......Is that not what humans do. (I'm sure we have had this conversation before lol)
> We do have a plan for the reduced colour line which Im not going to go into any great detail on and I agree it won't be everyones cup of tea but its still a BHP.



Fair enough Paul. If you're keen on them you're entitled to that. But can you really still call an orange headed specimen a Black Headed Python? If you take a look at the Latin name _Aspidites melanocephalus_. In Greek _melano_ roughly translates as "black". Whereas cephalos, derived from the Greek word _kephalos_ translates as "head". It's only a name, of course. But it does make you wonder when the said animal no longer resembles its name.

In no way am I trying to bash morph breeders. I'll probably be one of the first to admire an all black python. It just seems as though people get carried away when it comes to selective breeding. If in another world it was normal for BHPs to have spots instead of stripes, I'm sure every man and his dog would be attempting to breed an individual with stripes. When does it end? Why is there a need to change the animal in the first place?


----------



## Pauls_Pythons (Jan 26, 2018)

Nero Egernia said:


> Why is there a need to change the animal in the first place?



Man has spent millennia changing everything he can. Its what humans do. Too often used is the word progress and unfortunately progress is changing the world we live in at the fastest pace it ever has.



Nero Egernia said:


> Are there any records of wild BHPs with orange heads?



I'm unable to answer that but I have seen photo's of wild BHP's with reduced black on the chin/throat. George might have a better source of information than I but it honestly wouldn't surprise me.

Is a white tiger any less of a tiger? Leucism, Albanism, Chimerism, All occur in the wild but to a lesser degree than in captivity. Captive breeders line breed to bring these traits to the surface in an environment where the animal isn't going to become a snack for a predator. Why, because there is demand for them. I have no doubt that the traits you refer to are visible in wild animals though to much smaller extent/number than they are in captivity. There are still variations in wild types that have not yet been brought to the market in any numbers....I will name the Bumblebee BHP. I have yet to know anyone selling them.....it will be seen as a new and exciting morph when it does but its a genuine line of wild type animal.

The world will continue along its current path unfortunately and even if it, (breeding morphs) were banned all that would happen is that the value would increase and the market for such variations would increase. Then we would have these animals kept in squalid conditions by truly unscrupulous people. 
[doublepost=1516892011,1516891576][/doublepost]Some examples of melanism in wild animals.






This video has some fairly interesting parts if you can cope with the typical 'over presenting' on it. Including a rare Silver Boa thought critically endangered.


----------



## cement (Jan 26, 2018)

Black headed python is a "common name". Which when referring to snakes is the worst thing to call them by really. Albino BHP are in captivity and guess what colour their heads are? Yep orange. Melanism or black pigment is generally a natural uv protection system, but it can also serve as camouflage, and also a means of heating up quicker. Most cold climate snakes are dark so they can heat up to their optimum body temperature quicker.
I'm of the opinion that _any_ morph produced in captivity (other than jags and crosses) has been represented in the wild at some time. There is documented evidence of wild Bhp with gold patches like Paul's mentioned.
So for a snake to not represent its "common name" is very common. 
Take the green tree snake, their not even green most of the time, they are more olive/grey and yellow. Sometimes they are blue. Sometimes they are black. So wether it "resembles it's common name" or not is irrelevant, but can be confusing.


----------



## SpottedPythons (Jan 26, 2018)

Gold flecks or spots on the underside of the head are relatively common in Dajarra (QLD) specimens. Not to such a large degree as in captivity, but the gold head form originated from these then was outbred to the NT forms who show more orange on the bodies.


----------

