Choosing a Male vs Female Coastal

[Cam]

Hi guys. I've been talking to a couple of breeders, and one in particular who's very reputable for producing great looking snakes. I've been looking mostly at female jag coastals for the nice combo of size and color. Now, he showed me a pic of a really nice looking male yearling he has and seems to be encouraging me to go that route. His points are

1) Males get brighter than females (SOMETIMES he said, anyway)
2) Males are cheaper than females (from him anyway)
3) He went on to say that the size difference isn't really worth worrying about.

Now, I don't care about the price difference for one, so let's just forget that point.

My questions are about the color and the size difference with coastals. I really like big impressive animals, so if a female is going to get a foot or two longer with similar color, I'd much rather go that way.

I'm going to ask him whether there's any other reason he's urging me to go for the male but I'd like to see what the carpet keepers here think.

[Cam]

Crap! I forgot the "Pics or you suck" Rule. Here's a photo of the male in question.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/vermeuliscious/maleJJ1.jpg

[alessia55]

Crap! I forgot the "Pics or you suck" Rule. Here's a photo of the male in question.

You've only been here for a little while and you've already caught on to our unspoken rules. You will have no problem surviving here ;) :p

As per the carpet, I can't help you. I'm useless when it comes to carpets. But our carpet experts will be with you shortly :D

[red ink]

Hi guys. I've been talking to a couple of breeders, and one in particular who's very reputable for producing great looking snakes. I've been looking mostly at female jag coastals for the nice combo of size and color. Now, he showed me a pic of a really nice looking male yearling he has and seems to be encouraging me to go that route. His points are

1) Males get brighter than females (SOMETIMES he said, anyway)
Yes, sometimes... but it's not conclusive either sexes can be brighter than the other, it depends on the "lines"

2) Males are cheaper than females (from him anyway)
Yes and no... excess or lone males are always cheaper than single females. High quality males... well they price them to what ever they want

3) He went on to say that the size difference isn't really worth worrying about.
Yes, not really worth loosing sleep over, it's marginal and they all act the same anyway

Now, I don't care about the price difference for one, so let's just forget that point.

My questions are about the color and the size difference with coastals. I really like big impressive animals, so if a female is going to get a foot or two longer with similar color, I'd much rather go that way.

Depends what kind of coastal you want... pure coastal get to 10-12 foot, pure coastal Jags will reach about the same... Morelia mixes with coastals is anybodies guess

I'm going to ask him whether there's any other reason he's urging me to go for the male but I'd like to see what the carpet keepers here think.

That male in the pic you have does'nt look like a pure coastal JAG to me, it looks to have JCP in it... so adult length would be???

If your after the JAG gene then yes it's better to have a male than a female as you can pass that gene on to multiple females, where as a lone female is one clutch per season



Hope that helps...

[Cam]

Very informative, thanks. He got back to me with uncharacteristic alacrity tonight and said he was just trying to save me some cash and he'd happily send me some pics of his female juvies. I'm not planning on breeding but yes I see why the male would have an advantage there. Thanks again!

[Terranaut]

I think thats a jungle jag with a bit if coastal in there and not a coastal jag. Just from the pic. The body patern suggests JCP and the head patern is symetrical. BUT I am new to trying to region carpets so I could easily be wrong.

[jaleely]

i wanna see the female pics too!! The male is really nice. i'd go handle them and decide from that and how they look if price isn't a big deal.

[Cam]

Thanks all. I don't have female pics yet -I'm sure they will come tonight or tomorrow. He assured me the male he was talking about was pure coastal but it is definitely interesting to hear it doesn't look coastal. I'll post the female pics as well. For where I live, and what's locally available, This breeder is recommended as the best around and it's probably not going to get any better than his specimens; so even if it's not a pure coastal, I'll be happy with it. I don't care about lineage, I just want a big, pretty carpet, and it looks like that's what I'll get.

[Ikester1981]

I'm not sure you could say thats not pure coastal just by looking. but ask to see pics of the parents and prior clutches from said parents. the snakes should bare some similarity such as the head pattern. So if the breeder is as reputable as you say then you should feel comfortable in your purchase.

[red ink]

Thanks all. I don't have female pics yet -I'm sure they will come tonight or tomorrow. He assured me the male he was talking about was pure coastal but it is definitely interesting to hear it doesn't look coastal. I'll post the female pics as well. For where I live, and what's locally available, This breeder is recommended as the best around and it's probably not going to get any better than his specimens; so even if it's not a pure coastal, I'll be happy with it. I don't care about lineage, I just want a big, pretty carpet, and it looks like that's what I'll get.

Sweet dude... If the lineage doesn't matter then the decision is easier, wait to see the pics of the female and then just pic which snake you find prettier :)

[Ikester1981]

I can see how the JCP assumption could be made though. with the separated "boy/girl" pattern. Pure coastals usually have a more broken up sporadic pattern. However, there are coastal jags that bare the same pattern as the one in question that are pure as the driver snow. Either way its still a good looking snake.

[Cam]

Here are the female pics - one is brighter, the other is bigger:

Female 1: Brighter:

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/vermeuliscious/FFJ-2011.jpg

Female 2: Bigger

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/vermeuliscious/FDJ-2011.jpg

I'm leaning towards female #1. I do want a larger animal but #1 is way prettier IMO.

[Trent]

I am curious are these Jeff of Henrys snakes you are looking at?

[Cam]

I was leaving names out on purpose but I guess since all appears to be positive at this point I'm ok to say these are Jeff's snakes. I have spoken to both breeders though.

[alessia55]

If you're not going to breed, I'd settle for what I personally find physically appealing, and temperament. Any chance you could visit them in person?

[Cam]

If you're not going to breed, I'd settle for what I personally find physically appealing, and temperament. Any chance you could visit them in person?

Not really an option unfortunately. I think temperament is malleable anyway - if I happen to wind up with one that's a real pain to work with, and won't yield to any efforts towards calming - then it will be a challenge and it will keep things interesting. :p

[shaunyboy]

ask the guy for pictures of the parents,that should clear up if they're PURE coastal or not

the link below,shows some typical looking PURE jags,from a very reputable breeder

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=coastal%20jaguar%20pythons&source=web&cd=3&sqi=2&ved=0CDIQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.acreptiles.com%2Fpythons_carp et_jaguar.htm&ei=QOuaT6zMNISf0QWj0bzpDg&usg=AFQjCNE6SinxkzrL_sX3nyeCEmWK7a9jhA&cad=rja

what is the age difference between the male and female ?

imo,MALE'S are usually worth MORE than females,because.....

you can breed a male with multipule females in a season,resulting in multipule clutches

a female can only be bred only once,resulting in a single clutch

they are both decent looking jags in your pictures mate

cheers shaun