My new Spider BP!!!

[Will0W783]

Well, I stumbled across some really good fortune. I found a few days ago an almost ready to breed spider male on Fauna dirt cheap and picked him up. He just arrived and man, is he handsome! The first picture is the one the seller sent me and the second is the snake on my fiance's hand. I plan to breed him to our female 50% het albino. I'm so excited over this guy; I've lusted after spider BPs since I got into the trade a few years ago but couldn't afford one. Love this new guy- any suggestions on a good name for him?

[teague]

Beautiful!!! Wow that is...amazing looking. Name...how about Copper? He shimmers like a coil of copper.

[Aaron_S]

How about 'spiderboy' or you could go with 'snake'.

Why would you waste your time on a 50% het albino mate for this guy? Prove out the female first :P

[Will0W783]

She's the only female I have that is breeding size. My other female is a yellowbelly and only 4 months old. I really can't afford an albino male to prove her out with right now. I figure after I get a clutch or two next year I can afford to get one then maybe. The seller said he's already producing sperm plugs and looking interested in neighboring females, but my female isn't receptive right now and I want to grow him up a bit more. He's only 441g.
Here's a better picture of him- I look like crap in it, but oh well. Of course my dear fiance would have to snap a pic when I was looking down at the snake and smushing my chin up..ugh.

[Will0W783]

Hmmm....Copper is a good possibility. I'll think about it. Thanks! :)

[siz]

LOL you could call him Parker, like Peter Parker...Spiderman! Haha. I actually like Copper much better. I like the white sides on him.

[Will0W783]

Yeah, he's got a few orange scales at the border between his white tummy/sides and his khaki back-really neat. He kind of wobbles a bit, but not much. My fiance didn't know that spiders tend to have wobble so he was concerned the snake was ill until I told him. The snake's like a little drunken sailor..lol. I'm assuming that wobble refers to a slight unsteadiness with their heads- like his neck is tired. When he moves, he slightly bobs his head up and down. Copper is a good name- he has such a crazy pattern, maybe Copper Chaos?

[Aaron_S]

How about popeye since he's a 'drunken sailor'. So much better than a name for his colouring.

[Will0W783]

LOl...I like that. That's a good possibility too!

[siz]

Haha that's exactly what popped into my head too when I read "drunken sailor" :D

[Will0W783]

He is like that though- he bobs his head slightly when he moves and when he lifts it to look at you, it's like he's woozy- his head sways around a bit on his neck....I knew to expect that from a spider, but it is still weird. It isn't very pronounced, but it is noticeable if you're familiar with snake movements. Still, I'm thrilled with him- he's gorgeous and alert and active!

[Aaron_S]

You need to prove out your female possible het. You need a het for albino male :P

[Will0W783]

Yeah, wouldn't hurt- but I don't know if we have space for another large BP right now.

[Aaron_S]

large BP

That's an oxymoron if I've ever seen one ;)

[Will0W783]

Yeah...it is. They are generally large snakes. Anyway, I decided I'm going to name him Achilles, because he is strong and healthy-seeming, but he has that wobble- it's his Achilles heel, so I figured the name was fitting.

[Will0W783]

Oops- brain fart! By oxymoron, you mean they aren't that large. Yes, they aren't that large compared to coastal carpets or the giant pythons, but we are pretty much full of snakes right now. Possibly in a year or two, but for now I can't.

[Aaron_S]

I'm comparing them to other medium snakes. Bloods, Borneos, BCI's etc.

[Will0W783]

BCIs get much bigger than BP, and borneos are fatter and bloods do get bigger too. I can see where you're coming from. Really it's a matter of not seeing the need to prove her out right now. I'd just sell the babies as spider or normal, if I even breed them within the next year or so. I have space for some more snakes, but I really can't justify getting another normal-looking BP this season just to possibly prove her out, when she could just as well turn out to not carry the gene, since it's only 50% possible. and then I'd just have normal babies, and the market around me is so flooded with normal BP babies, I don't really want to do that right now. I only got this male spider because he was a good deal and I really like his pattern, and I just remodeled to have more space and cages. I figure I can breed him next season to her, or I might wait another full year. He is 441g, and I don't want to breed him too soon. He needs to gain more weight, I'd like at least another 200g on him before I breed him and I won't power-feed any of my snakes. He is producing sperm plugs, but if he goes off feed due to cycling for breeding I don't want him to be too small. Their health and happiness comes first. So who knows, maybe by the time he would be ready to breed anyway, I'll have been able to prove her out or prove her not het.

[teague]

Willow that is so awesome! I named my BP Achilles until I found out it was a girl, now its Athena. So good choice!