2015 cherrybomb albino

[Mantle wedge]

This is my blood python. 2015 female cherrybomb, if I remember correctly the parents were purchased from VPI. She's not my first blood python, I used to have several bloods and Borneos back in the day. She's definitely the most docile snake I've ever had. This picture is from early April, now she's probably about 26" long.

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/12891772_10101000472531849_6093988559371525886_o.j pg

[dannybgoode]

Gorgeous. What are bloods like to keep? I'm really interested in them, have read the care sheets etc but it's always good to hear firsthand from people who keep them.

[Mantle wedge]

First, I think they don't deserve their reputation for being mean, nasty, and difficult to work with. In my own experience, babies are often nippy but usually calm down with gentle handling, and for me this didn't require anything other than just routine cleaning/cage maintenance. I had two that never really got used to me. They weren't insane or anything, but I'd have to be more careful about how I approached them. But overall, if you handle them calmly and deliberately, you should have few problems. And buying from a decent breeder I'm sure helps, because the breeders I've talked to usually take care to breed for personality as well as color. One of my bitey ones was definitely captive-hatched from a wild female, and the other I think was not more than one generation away from the wild.

Second, they were fairly easy to care for. Of course they require kind of a big cage, but I maintained mine in a room that was around 82°F (27-28°C) with no gradient/hot spot, fed med-large rats once or twice every five weeks, and they were happy and healthy. Humidity was provided by a water bowl, and they got sprayed when they were about to shed.

If you want a snake you can hang around your shoulders/neck and walk around the house with, a blood probably isn't the right choice. They're strictly terrestrial and aren't very good at hanging on the way a ball or carpet python would be. But if you want to sit down on the couch and have a big snake in your lap, bloods are pretty good for that. They're slow-moving, and large without being unmanageable, so they're good pets for someone with a bit of prior snake experience. And I think they have the right combination of size, color, and patterning so that they make a great display animal as well.

Overall, I think bloods and Borneos are great snakes. Many years ago I thought they had a good chance at being the next big thing, and they had a little bump in popularity maybe six to eight years ago, though that seems to have died down. I'm unlikely to get any more for a long time, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them for any moderately experienced snake keeper. Get one from a reputable source and you almost can't go wrong.

[dannybgoode]

Brilliant. Thanks for such a detailed response. I find them fascinating and can see one in my collection...

[Tsubaki]

Absolutely gorgeous! I love bloodpythons, and yours is a stunning specimen!