konp69
Not so new Member
So a few months ago, I graciously took ownership of a close friend's (assumed to be) Children's python. Everything was done legitimately - I made sure her license was valid, she checked mine, looked at the forms, we did the movement advice, all of that stuff. On the forms he'd been written down as an A. childreni which is what he was originally sold as. Now I've known this snake since he was tiny, he'd be roughly 5 years old at this point. From the time he was a tiny little thing to now, he's had extremely vibrant markings that stand out against a lighter brown background.
Now it's my understanding that these markings are present in several python species but in childreni at least they fade as they reach adulthood. That's the thing - this guy's markings haven't faded one bit and he's pretty sizable now. I've tried to figure it out by looking online but have really only become more confused.
Here's a few pictures of him (link in text) so you can see what he looks like now. Right after a shed he is astoundingly vibrant, it gets a little more subdued over the next few days but he never fades to the muted slightly-splotchy brown I've seen in so many pictures of this species. My guess, or my theory, is that he might have simply been mislabelled at the original point of purchase - the way I've heard it this can be easy given they look quite similar when young?
All of that aside, he's a brilliant snake, very friendly and easy to handle and absolutely gorgeous to look at. He doesn't flick his tongue though. He eats just fine, but the tongue-flicking just doesn't seem to be his thing.
Also, this is my first post although I'm a lurker since I owned this little dude. You guys seem to be pretty damn helpful when the chips are down. So hello from me, I'm sure I can learn a lot from being here.
Now it's my understanding that these markings are present in several python species but in childreni at least they fade as they reach adulthood. That's the thing - this guy's markings haven't faded one bit and he's pretty sizable now. I've tried to figure it out by looking online but have really only become more confused.
Here's a few pictures of him (link in text) so you can see what he looks like now. Right after a shed he is astoundingly vibrant, it gets a little more subdued over the next few days but he never fades to the muted slightly-splotchy brown I've seen in so many pictures of this species. My guess, or my theory, is that he might have simply been mislabelled at the original point of purchase - the way I've heard it this can be easy given they look quite similar when young?
All of that aside, he's a brilliant snake, very friendly and easy to handle and absolutely gorgeous to look at. He doesn't flick his tongue though. He eats just fine, but the tongue-flicking just doesn't seem to be his thing.
Also, this is my first post although I'm a lurker since I owned this little dude. You guys seem to be pretty damn helpful when the chips are down. So hello from me, I'm sure I can learn a lot from being here.
