Darwin Carpets

[pythonmum]

so if its not possible to tell by looking at them, are you saying a normal darwin also exhibit the yellow under the chin ????

Yes. If you bred them into an albino (would take 2 generations), the albino would have lots of yellow. The albinos are missing melanin - the pigment that gives brown and black colours. They still have reds/yellow/oranges. The yellow is unmasked and gets your attention more.

 

[cement]

If he's soaking in his bowl then the humidity is probably too low.
Opening the door to the enclosure should be like getting of a plane in Darwin.
Also spraying in the enclosure can help replicate the tropical climate.

 

[syeph8]

I would say it is unlikely that the picture you linked was close to 3.1m a 1.5m carpet can reasonably easily eat a possum. Here's a link to another darwin that was just under 2m that ate an almost adult cat. CATastrophe - Python eats family's pet | Northern Territory News | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | ntnews.com.au

As for breeding, 3 years is a good age for females, males can go a bit younger.

almost adult? it was 8 weeks old! although it could have eaten a much bigger one, it was a tiny kitten

 

[J-A-X]

Yes. If you bred them into an albino (would take 2 generations), the albino would have lots of yellow. The albinos are missing melanin - the pigment that gives brown and black colours. They still have reds/yellow/oranges. The yellow is unmasked and gets your attention more.

thanks for the info, when i read my post afterward it sounded like i was trying to be a smart alec, i wasn't, it was a genuine Q... i really didn't think the 'standard/normal' darwins would have shown any yellow as its a recessive gene.. i've learnt something today...

 

[pythonmum]

thanks for the info, when i read my post afterward it sounded like i was trying to be a smart alec, i wasn't, it was a genuine Q... i really didn't think the 'standard/normal' darwins would have shown any yellow as its a recessive gene.. i've learnt something today...

I didn't think you were trying to be a smart aleck - don't worry. Most people don't know that mammals only have one type of pigment (melanin), but snakes have xanthophores which make the yellow colours and iridiophores which give irridescence (the 'rainbow' effect you notice on water pythons). When you see 'axanthic' snakes, they are missing the yellows, but still have melanin. Axanthic BHPs look very black and white, whilst normal ones have a range of warmer brown-red stripes. It is a recessive gene, just like albinism.

 

[J-A-X]

PMSL....... now my brain hurts......

 

[waruikazi]

almost adult? it was 8 weeks old! although it could have eaten a much bigger one, it was a tiny kitten

I took the x-ray, caught the snake and saw the cats siblings and parents. They were only a little bit smaller than the parents, hence being nearly adult size.