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photo: Jim Collurak |
Crisis in the market for Ball Python morphs
October 2009
"I am going to get out of a tight spot just in time and go back in my old job".
A well-know german ball python breeder made this confession to us in mid September 2009. We don't want to disclose his name but would like to add, that he is not the first one who gets out.
One of the reasons for the ongoing crisis in the previously prosperous market for ball python morphs is that several major american breeders glut the European market with bags of ball pythons which they are selling for dumping prices (up to 50% off).
The sales of these animals in the U.S. has drastically decreased due to econimic crisis, overproduction and the more and more stringent laws as to the housing of boids in the U.S.
Several years ago it got about the U.S. breeder scene that one can earn serious money in Europe with ball python morphs, especially in the fairs at Hamm/GER and Houten/NL. Furthermore, it is not a handicap either that one can declare the exorbitantly expensive ball python morphs as normal-priced generic ball pyhtons and thus safe a serious amount of import taxes. The customs officers don't know about the prices anyway...
The production of these breeders is construed to the US - market. In the U.S. 1200 animals and more are kept in warehouse-like facilities and produce a corresponding number of eggs. And now the European and especially the German market is glutted with large number of hatchlings. Rumor has it that one of the major ball python breeders has already acquired an estate in The Netherlands in order to change residence where appropriate.
Meanwhile even the most naive consumer muses about that the ball python which he/she has acquired 2 years ago for 3.500 Euro costs less than thousand meanwhile, tendency further decreasing...
Why are we talking of market, prices and production here, when it's about hobby and animals? Quite simple: Because a large number of buyers is considering economical aspects when they buy an animal. True to the motto: If I purchase a pair of ball python morph for 3000 Euro apiece and breed it in a few years I am going to be rich (5 eggs times 3000 Euro = 15.000 Euro).
Oh well.... a naive fallacy, because the most state-of-the-art ball python morph is an old hat in 3 - 4 years.
Furthermore the buyers meanwhile see through the scam of many ball python morph breeder who was described by an insider as following:
"Take a ball python who hardly looks different to a normal one, give it a special name and add a zero to the price tag".
We are glad that the pristine wildlife forms of Boa constrictor are having a rather shadowy existence in the U.S. and that the means of manipulation in breeding true boas are very limited. So we have no reason to be afraid that we will one day face such a developement also in pure-bred boas.
Moreover, we are glad that a steadily increasing number of former ball python morph keepers is moving into the Boa constrictor camp. This is documented by the increasing number of calls that we get from ball python morph owners who lament about the dropping prices of these animals and inquire as to true boas.
By the way, the conditions in the market for boa constrictor color morphs are identical to the ones in the ball python morph market.
Abandoned boa - the consequence
July 2009
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photo: Jim Collurak |
This Common Boa was run over on a road in Union County - North Carolina/U.S.
Apparently the owner wanted to get rid of it and abandoned the animal by turning it out from the car.
Needless to say that the boa had no chance....
It is a pity that such a beautiful boa was owned by such an idiot. We sincerily hope that he/she will pay for this.
Jim Collurak, who found the boa put the photo kindly to our disposal.
If you know of this boa and the owner or if you know of someone who has had such a boa and now it is gone please notify the
corresponding authorities.
Gene test to tell true boa constrictors from crossbreeds
March 2009
Good news for the increasing number of Boa constrictor enthusiasts who want to make sure to acquire pristine wildlife forms ("purebred Boa constrictors"):
An austrian student of veterinary medicine will tackle this subject in the context of his diploma thesis. Objective of his work is to elaborate the genetic differences of the subspecies of boa constrictor and its local forms. After his work is finished it will be possible to provide evidence whether or not a boa constrictor is actually a pristine wildlife form or not.
The corresponding equipment for such a research is ready and available at the university. The student has asked us for our support that we gladly provide him with. We will keep the visitors of our website informed as to the progress and publish the results of this important work.
It seems that bad times are breaking for "purebred swindlers".
Albino boa X het for albino = 50% albinos + 50% hets?
According to Mendel’s Square a successful breeding of a female amelanistic Boa constrictor ("Albino Boa") to a male who is heterozygous for amelanism is supposed to yield 50% amelanistic ("Albino") boas and 50% boas heterozygos ("hets") for amelanism.
However, it looks like Mendel’s Square is cancelled by the "albinogene"!
Here are two drastic experiences from two different breeders. In each case a "het" male was mated to an "albino" female.
offspring 2004: 26 normal colored (heterozygous) babies, 1 albinobaby (stillborn), 3 infertile eggs
offspring 2007:
18 normal colored (heterozygous) babies, 0
albinobabies
We concede that these two examples are the most aggravating cases, but ALL of the breeding results that we know of are below par, considering Mendel’s Square. How come?
Dr. Wolfgang Heuberger, veterinarian for reptile diseases:
In "Albino Boas" developement disorders of the babies occur, frequently leading to the death of the progeny, because the "albino-gene" is often coupled to other mutations who have a harmful impact to the embryos. Therefore in previous literature the term "lethalgene" was applied. The number of stillborn babies, infertile eggs and crippled babies is above average when the albino-gene is involved.
Furthermore, in our experience Albino embryos often stall at an early point in time and are completely absorbed by healthy females. Thus it doesn't necessarily happen that the female gives birth to dead babies or delivers infertile eggs.
It remains to be seen whether
similar problems will occur in other color morphs and designer boas (or designer ballpythons). Understandably, such breeding results aren't shouted from the rooftops by the Albino Boa breeders (in their own interest) and therefore such information is distributed only sparsely.
We have also posted this report in the kingsnake.com boa forum, one of the most wellknown forums for boas (mainly sponsored by morph breeders).
Although it was written matter of factly, this report was deleted within a few hours by the admin of this forum. We tried to post it again, same result!
This shows how scared the morph breeders are that the information provided in this report might be distributed.
An admonishing example...
Those who think it is a good idea to put a living rat in the boa enclosure during the night should take a look at these photos...
Anita Preisser,
working as a specialized saleswoman in a pet shop has put these photos
to our
disposal. The owner of the boa is a young lady who asked her for help.
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This pic shows the numerous spots on which the boa has been gnawed by the rat. |
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It is prominently how deep the
wounds |
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As cases of serious burns are showing as well, boids seem to be only little sensitive for pain on the surface of their body. |
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When they are not hungry, boas with a calm disposition are ignoring the prey items in spite of their intrusive behaviour. In such cases the hunter becomes the prey...
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It is doubtful whether the boa will survive. The danger
of a serious infection and the prolonged recovery from such large wounds give a bad prognosis. |
Therefore:
Never put a living prey item
in the enclosure with
the boa without permanent supervision!
Birth of
Boa c. amarali- Bolivia variant -
Here are some photos
Now it is proven that the aberrant pattern of the mother is genetically determined
We took the photos shortly after the
birth of the babies. It's easy to imagine how
beautiful the
young are going to look, considering their nice appearence even as newly -
borns, where
most of the boas actually look ugly...
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Boa c. amarali cb 03.08.05
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Birth of Boa c. sabogae
06-27-05
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Boa c.
sabogae |
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Boa c. sabogae |
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Boa c. sabogae These animals are the first captive born Boa c. sabogae outside of Costa Rica whose purebreeding is proven and whose provenance can be documented. |
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Boa c. sabogae
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Correction
In the Herp. supplies catalog of M&S Reptilien (Vol. 1, 2005) a printers error occured in our report
Boa c. sabogae - How many specimens exist in captive husbandry?
It reads:
To the best of my knowledge and belief I would claim that the descendants of my sabogae are the only ones worldwide whose legal origin and pure breeding is proven. I would request everyone who has an opposite opinion to investigate the provenance of the others so-called sabogae and demand a piece of evidence regarding the country of origin from the source of purchase, as I am able to present it at any time.
H + E Stoeckl
Correction:
This statement is not from us, but from
Robert Meidinger
Director
World of Snakes
News from the reptile
show in Hamm
Here is an email that we have got in September 13, 2004:
Hello
I have a question or rather I need some help on a Boa c.c.
On
Saturday I have bought a boa c.c. in the reptile show in Hamm. At home I put
it in a cage and left it alone firstly. Today I have noticed that its
behaviour is kinda weird.
The boa
tried to scramble upwards on the pane but then lost control of its body and
fell down. When the animal is cringing it looks like
that it is a little bit crooked.
When I am handling the boa it is moving very weird as though it has no control. Also, it is not feeding.
I have not applied any chemical substances (mite repellents or such stuff). I have called the seller (breeder) and he meant that the boa is suffering from a poisonous substance. (...)
How should this have happened?
I hope that you can help me.
Regards
S.
... in all of our books we warn against buying boas at reptile shows. On our website we are ranting against reptile shows. Meanwhile we ask ourselves what else we can do in order to convince the last sceptic not to buy animals in a reptile show.
Cannibals
Normally Boa constrictor doesn't feed on other boids.
But it can happen in rare cases
as the photos prove that Markus Bär has put to our disposal.
The boa in the photo is a Boa c. imperator from El Salvador,
who had been kept in the same cage as a
ball python (the poor guy). Either snake was of approximately the same size.
The boa ate the ball python and (due to the size of the python) regurgitated it a few days later.
We assume that the boa stroke for the python for some
reason. Maybe the boa lay in wait and the python made a careless move. This may
have induced a chain of reaction in the boa that made it
consume the python.
We want to stress that boids normally doesn't fit in the
prey pattern of
Boa constrictor snakes. This was surely an isolated case and an
absolute exception. Normally you don't need to be afraid when you
house
your Boa constrictor along with other boids.
We thank Markus Bär for putting the photos to our exclusive disposal.
Like all the other photos on our website, the "snake ate
snake" photos are
subject to the copyright and must not be copied.
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The El Salvador Boa after eating |
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The ball python who is folded in the stomach of the boa is clearly recognizable |
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A shot from above showing the ball python in the stomach of the boa |
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The ball python after it was regurgitated |
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The gastric acid of the boa has already started to dissolve the head of the python |
Boa market in Germany gradually
turnes into a crime -scene
We already pointed out on our "crossbreed page" that even the most stupid Boa constrictor breeder has recognized meanwhile that the demand on crossbreed boas has suffered a huge decrease.
The consequence is that by a miracle all crossbreeds vanished almost over night and only "true boas" are offered to the boa - enthusiasts now.
But meanwhile even the most gullible customer knows that fraud is ruling the market when it comes to the topic "pure breed boas".
The new developement, however, is that in addition to lies and deceptions phony Cites documents are used.
We got this pic of a forged Cites - document from an Austrian customer who bought a pair of crossbreeds that had been offered to him as "Corn Island Boas".
In order to hoodwink this guy the seller applied the "top score fraud legend":
"The animals have been
smuggled to Germany and were seized by the customs duty. I have got the boas
from the officers. Now I have decided to sell them".
This phony story is not new. We have heard several times that people had been ripped off that way. The new thing is that the offender has tried to verify his deception with a forged Cites document:
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....
by the way, the German customs duty is just as little eligible to issue a Cites
- document as Concerning this fact the
stupidity of the |
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.... this is the original cites document which was used to produce the forged one above * (notice the identic signature and the identic shape of the crosses done with the biro) |
*
Meanwhile we have learned that the Cites - certificate above this text was forged as well (one would not believe it). This document was never issued by the corresponding authority.That means that a forged Cites - certificate was used to produce another forged Cites - document (this time from another person).
So much as to the topic honesty in selling boas and reliability of Cites documents...
... in conclusion we don't want to conceal that the authorities have already started an investigation.
... Meanwhile word has spread that it is common in Germany to sell crossbreeds as true locality specific boas.
We have been confronted with such a case again when an acquaintance of ours offered us a litter of Hog Island boas for sale the other day. Our investigation in this matter brought to light that our acquaintance had been ripped off. In fact the Hog Island Boas were HogXAmarali crosses.
Our acquaintance agreed to publish her email in which she thanked us. The reason for publishing this email is to make the people more alert yet when it comes to purchase supposedly true boas.
"I
would like to thank you because you were the one who has uncovered this
mistake. You maybe think now that I am stupid. But thinking about the trouble
I would have faced by selling the animals as true Hog Island boas and carry on
breeding these boas I get over it.
Now I will try to sell these animals as crossbreeds for a lower price and hope
for understanding buyers. A male has already found a good place. Hopefully all
the other animals will also get a good place.
Besides I blame myself that I have not investigated the matter as thoroughly
as you did. Actually one must not simply trust other people but rely only on
facts that are often toilsome to discover.
Meanwhile I am investigating the background of my other animals. It is just
that one is learning from the mistakes.
I
haven't reached Mr. ******* so far. Therefore I wrote him a letter. I am
curious as to his reaction, but I don't expect very much of him.
Thank you and much success for the future!
Regards
*********
Boa constrictor - Use by Man
The boa constrictor today represents one of the most heavily exploited reptile species. Dodd (1986, 1987) reports on legal importation of snakes into the United States.
From 1977 to 1983, over 113000 live boas were imported; this amounted to nearly half of all the imported snakes listed for protection by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Live imports decreased 97 percent from 1979 to 1983 as more animals were used for production of ornamental leather.
In 1983, 6572 whole boa constrictor skins, 1714 large leather pieces such as briefcases, and 165843 small pieces, mostly shoes, were brought into the United States.
The only other snake species that supplies more skins and leather is the reticulated python (Python reticulatus). Though Otero de la Espriella (1978) describes a culture operation for boa constrictors in Colombia, the vast majority of imports must arise from natural populations whose status is completely unknown.
Report courtesy of C.R. Smith, http://crinaustin.home.att.net/
Some photos from the National Breeders Expo 2002
in Daytona Beach/Florida
The
photos was made by our friend Joachim
Layer,
www.big-snake.de
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Beware of bite injuries in the
area of the eyes!
Several times we pointed out in our books how important it is to wear defence glasses while handling a pet boa (or other boids)
This email we received on February, 20th:
"Hello,
I am an eye doctor and recently treated a patient who was attacked by his
pet boa constrictor. The snake struck at my patient's face and its fangs
became caught on his eyeball and cheek. He was only able to free himself
with difficulty. He sustained a serious eye injury, but fortunately with
surgery we were able to save his sight. Clearly this is an unusual way for a
person to be injured and I plan to write a report of the case for
publication in one of the medical journals.
I am writing to ask some questions about the snake's behaviour - is this an
unusual occurrence or do boas often strike at their prey before squeezing it
to death? Are all boas non-venomous? Finally I would be very grateful if you
have a close-up picture of a boa gaping to demonstrate the fangs. Of course
I would acknowledge your assistance and the source of the picture in my
report.
Many thanks for your help.
Richard Sheard
Specialist Registrar, Ophthalmology
Southend General Hospital
Leigh on Sea
Essex, UK"
Of course, we were able to be helpful to Dr. Sheard. Here is the photo we sent him:
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Furthermore Dr. Sheard
informed us,
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Zoologists at the University of Jena study digestion process of giant snakes
At the University of Jena, zoologists examined the digestion process of giant snakes. The most modern medical equipment, like supersonics and MRIs, were used for this. That way, the digestion process could be examined (thank God) on the living object.
According to the zoologists, this research has already delivered amazing results: Giant snakes are equipped with some sort of a turbo-digestion, in which the inner organs extract in an extreme manner. The metabolism can reach higher levels than the one of a 100-meter runner.
The reptiles perform heavy-duty labor during the digestion. Amazingly, only the head of the prey is dissolved in the stomach of the animals at first. Only afterwards is the headless body dissolved. Within 2 days, the prey is turned completely into mush. As time passes, the mush then flows into the tube formed intestine. Within a few hours, the digestive tract swells up to three times of its original size.
The weight of the digestive tract also increases drastically. This is the only way that the sudden wave of nourishment can be mastered. In order to digest a whole pig, a giant snake needs little more than a week. During the process of swallowing, the snakes already begin to breathe deeper and heavier. Heart and lungs perform highly.
During the digestion of a large prey item, snakes use forty times as much oxygen as they do while resting. Only racehorses achieve this at full gallop for a few minutes, while giant snakes can keep this up for several days. This digestive maximum performance leads to only half of the calories reaching the energy storages. The rest is already used up during the digestion process.
But, the
animals have no choice. They have to digest that quickly. The unchewed prey
begins to decay from the inside immediately after being swallowed, producing
gases that lead to painful bloatings.
Even far more dangerous are the developing ptomaine. Some giant snakes have
eaten themselves to death with oversized prey items. Long breaks in the feeding
cycle are necessary, because the intestinal tracts are strained to such a degree,
that it sometimes takes months to regenerate them.
We thank Juergen Kromer www.boa-constrictor.de for the authorization to publish this article.
