Reticulated Python Iridescence

[rrainville]

I was just wondering if all reticulated pythons morphs have an iridescence to them, or if it's only certain ones. Do albinos have it? Dwarves and SD?

Thanks for helping a retic noob

[riddick07]

The albinos do have a sheen to them but not the rainbow iridescence.
http://i.imgur.com/u4XORU3.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2rrshVI.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/gYZj0np.jpg


The ones with the best iridescence are the darkest morphs like the Goldenchild.

[DJC Reptiles]

Most reticulated pythons show some level of iridescence, especially after a shed. But if you want iridescence there are better snakes that are easier to take care of, such as white lipped pythons, and Brazilian Rainbow boas.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Most reticulated pythons show some level of iridescence, especially after a shed. But if you want iridescence there are better snakes that are easier to take care of, such as white lipped pythons, and Brazilian Rainbow boas.

I'm not sure I'd say either of those are easier to take care of. WLPs get pretty big, although their care seems to be simple. They also aren't as commonly CBB as retics or BRBs, which can cause issues when a newbie tries to care for them. Parasites, failure to thrive, defensiveness, etc.

BRBs are extremely sensitive to husbandry mistakes, though they stay a small and manageable size.

If nothing else, I would put all three at about the same level of care. SD retics are also something to look into, as they should stay a small manageable size. High percentages of SD and also non-morph (unless anery) seem to stay the smallest, mixing in mainland blood can result in larger snakes.

[LightHawk]

As far as I know, retics don't have a particular iridescence to them. however, there are many types of snakes that do have a very iridescent look.

brazilian rainbow boas and Colombian rainbow boas are known for their iridescence and stay quite a bit smaller than a retic.

some of the liasis genus of snakes also tend to have visual iridescence, but are far less common and usually get bigger.

also might be a good idea to look into sunbeam snakes, super iridescent and stay very small. not sure how easy they are to keep tho.

[phenyx]

Most reticulated pythons show some level of iridescence, especially after a shed. But if you want iridescence there are better snakes that are easier to take care of, such as white lipped pythons, and Brazilian Rainbow boas.

Brazilian Rainbows are NOT easy to take care of and should not be recommended as snakes for beginners. I've been struggling with "failure to thrive", very poor feeding response and multiple regurgitations with my baby BRB (Jerkface) since late February. His temps and humidity are well within the narrow range and still he's failing.

For the love of BACON, please stop recommending BRBs as easy care snakes for beginners. I am a beautiful example of why.

[scales.jp]

I was just wondering if all reticulated pythons morphs have an iridescence to them, or if it's only certain ones.


From what I've seen, Golden Child and it's related morphs (Motley GC, etc.) seem to have the best iridescence. Maybe it's just easier to see on them because of the reduced background colour, but they really do look beautiful. That also goes for the dwarf varieties.:)

[bigsnakegirl785]

Brazilian Rainbows are NOT easy to take care of and should not be recommended as snakes for beginners. I've been struggling with "failure to thrive", very poor feeding response and multiple regurgitations with my baby BRB (Jerkface) since late February. His temps and humidity are well within the narrow range and still he's failing.

For the love of BACON, please stop recommending BRBs as easy care snakes for beginners. I am a beautiful example of why.

I am a seasoned keeper, and I still lost 3 of my rainbows to an unknown illness. Everyone is currently going through another round of testing, but if they continue to come up negative...I may just have to assume it was an issue I had with the species.

I had 3 rainbow boas die with similar symptoms: regurgitation and death. 2 of those 3 also showed signs of losing weight. The third one died too quickly to have had any weight loss.

A keeper on this website has said they had no luck with BRBs, despite having little or no issues with other species (I believe in one of your threads but could be mistaken), and I see keepers in the BRB FB group with issues all the time. I see more health issues in the BRB keeper group than I do in the boa constrictor keeper group, and they have 6x the members than the BRB group does. Perhaps it's all chance, or the BC keeper group has admins that clean out the page more often, but all this combined just makes BRBs come across as a rather difficult species to work with.

[psychocircus]

I am sure DJC meant easier in the department of size, handling, significance of feeding response, and safety. Regardless, I too have lost a BRB in the past.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I am sure DJC meant easier in the department of size, handling, significance of feeding response, and safety. Regardless, I too have lost a BRB in the past.

That could be it, but we don't want to mislead new keepers into getting a species just because they stay small and eat well if physically they might not be able to handle any mistakes in their husbandry.

On the other hand, I don't think WLP meet any of those criteria. They can get up to 9'+, though the average seems to be about 6'. They don't handle very well usually, though if you can find CBB you may be able to find a docile individual. Because of their size and behavior, I wouldn't say they are safe for an inexperienced keeper.

[Scubadiver59]

I hope my juvenile male WLP keeps up his trend of being fairly easy to handle—once I get past the first defensive response when I take him out, he’s a dream to handle.

That could be it, but we don't want to mislead new keepers into getting a species just because they stay small and eat well if physically they might not be able to handle any mistakes in their husbandry.

On the other hand, I don't think WLP meet any of those criteria. They can get up to 9'+, though the average seems to be about 6'. They don't handle very well usually, though if you can find CBB you may be able to find a docile individual. Because of their size and behavior, I wouldn't say they are safe for an inexperienced keeper.