Advice needed on buying albino Darwin hatchie

[Tigerlily]

I always thought my next snake would be a hypo Bredli, but they never seem to be available when I'm looking and now there are several albino Darwins available in my price range I'm considering buying one.

I know the best way is to look at the parents, but even within a clutch there's a lot of variation in colours/markings etc... is there a way to predict how bright the snake will be by the hatchie's colours? I actually prefer the ones that are more pale than vivid. It seems that in the snake world the bright ones are more sought after (as in expensive), is this correct? How about ones that are more a pastel yellow with more white? I really have no knowledge of these things. Can you tell by the brightness of the pink hatchie how bright it will be as an adult? Is it safe to assume that a hatchie with more distinct stripes will end up with brighter stripes as an adult?

Most importantly: If there are two hatchies from the same clutch and one is darker than the other, will the darker hatchie be a darker yellow or can you really not tell?


Bonus question, what is a "tri colour albino"? I saw one advertised and it looks beautiful with yellow, white and pink, but I thought that the pink disappears as the python matures. What am I missing?

Thanks for any input! I'll be asking all the common sense questions when buying a new reptile but if there's anything specific to albino Darwins please let me know to ask the breeder! Thanks

 

[arevenant]

Just buy the one YOU like the most, what other people think of your purchase is entirely irrelivant.
As for brighter vs darker - snakes can sometimes completely throw their colours in a single shed (think calico bhps for example) so as far as a tell for later colours its not a good indicator.
Looking at the parents is still pretty much the best indicator of future colouring; unless its a cross/morph/jag in which case its all pot luck...

 

[swampie]

Yes, just buy the hatchie that you like the look of, all albino Darwins will turn out to be stunning adults, I haven't seen one that I don't like the look of.

 

[Snapped]

They all look superb, they are on my wish list.

 

[Tigerlily]

I have a couple new questions.

What is the difference between a Blondie line and a White Phoenix line? I'm assuming they're just two different snakes, but what do they look like?

Are there any reasons a breeder would list for sale hatchlings that are unsexed other than they don't know how? If that's the reason, does that mean they're inexperienced?

Cheers for any help

 

[pinefamily]

Some breeders don't like to sex new hatchies, as there is always an element of risk involved, not to mention there is also the chance of getting it wrong occasionally.
Blondie was the very first albino Darwin found, at a caravan park outside of Darwin I believe. White Phoenix is another one found in the wild.

 

[Tigerlily]

Oh they were found, not bred! Cool... I keep seeing the lineage mentioned in ads so it sounds like they must be very different from each other. I've seen Blondie, but is there anywhere I can see what White Phoenix looks like? I noticed it's not as popular as Blondie - is that just because Blondie is more established or does the White Phoenix line have any health issues etc I should know about? Thank you

 

[pinefamily]

Not as far as I know. Blondie is more well known because it was the first albino on record. It was brought down to Adelaide and bred by Simon Stone. Not sure about the origins of White Phoenix.

 

[Wokka]

Blondie was found virtually in Darwin and then bred "on" by Simon Stone who had a high profile in the captive reptile industry. White phoenix was found at Adelaide River (about 50 kilometers from Darwin) and then bred by Rob Coward who had a far more private lifestyle. They were both found about the same time but unfortunately White Phoenix perished in a fire, which is where the name came from ( out of the ashes etc), so the breeding was delayed, whilst the few progeny from before his death were grown on.

 

[pythonmum]

Blondie and White Phoenix lines can interbreed and they produce normal-looking albino offspring. All are lovely animals that continue to develop their colours in the first two years. They don't fade with age. The 'tricolour' is a marketing term. There is nothing different about that. I just sold a yearling that had lovely white, yellow, orange and a bit of lavender pink. He was a normal albino.

The albino Darwins tend to have calm temperaments, but there are always exceptional animals that are snappy. I have bred 4 clutches and only had one I thought was a snappy little jerk. Like any snake, they are more defensive as hatchlings.

if you find one for sale now, it will be older and you will get a good idea of the colour. As others have said, go for what you like. If you want to wait until about December, you can get a young hatchling. When trying to guess which ones will be pale, a newly hatched albino with lots of deep reds, will have lots of white as an adult. It is great fun watching them colour up.