Finally Tracked Down my Snake's Origins...

[Herpo]

Hi all,
With a bit of observation of my snake and those of others, I now suspect that my snake is an junglexcoastalxMD (MD would explain his temperament). I'll post pics later for confirmation, but what I'm wondering is:
1. Is that an intergrade (sold as one)
2. Right now, he has a dull yellow colour, still beautiful IMO, but is it likely that he will get a brighter yellow colouration as he grows older. He is 4 1/2 months old.
Thanks,
Herpo

 

[Wally]

Herpo

You really do open yourself up to an animated debate when you pose questions and make statements such as you have here. If you really must know the heritage of the reptiles you keep do some research into keepers that bred reptiles with proven lineage from wild caught stock. Captive bred morelia ID in Oz is now nothing more than a guessing game.

 

[Prof_Moreliarty]

Hey, got more pics?

1. it's not an intergrade
2. Most carpets will get a bit brighter as they age up to around 2 years old.

 

[arevenant]

Unless you trace it's origings back through it's specific breeders, it's a guessing game you'll never win.
With all the excess jag sib stock thrown around and the scruples of many, much of the last few generations are mud.
Know your breeders, know your lines, do your research and you'll never have a problem with trying to ID one of your own animals...

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Yep, the other commenters have got it right. You'll NEVER know what you've got, regardless of your best considerations. The cross-breeders have basically buggered the captive Morelia gene pool forever. For every "pretty" snake produced, there are many others which are sold off as the thing they look closest to, and so many new keepers have neither the knowledge nor sophistication to demand better.

I look at it like this - you can start out with several pots of beautiful clean colour, and initially you may combine some of these to produce a few more pretty colours, but as you progress with the mixing of different colours, you realise suddenly that all you've got in the mixing pot is a very big quantity of poo brown, and you'll never know what went into it to get you there. That's exactly what has happened with captive Morelia, here and overseas. I don't see it as much different to the greyhound racing industry - those that perform get to claim the high prices and the accolades for as long as they perform, but for every one of those, there are probably dozens or hundreds that are systematically killed because they don't "make the grade" - humans are sometimes fickle and disgusting things.

Many reptile breeders have had a very disrespectful relationship with our native fauna, and had total disregard for the hard-won privilege it is to keep these animals. I guess as soon as reptiles became commodities which could be traded in the marketplace, this was bound to happen.

Jamie

 

[Norm]

I really wish people would spend at least a couple of months researching and browsing through forums to build up some basic knowledge and common sense before buying a snake. The growth of the hobby is great and also obviously nessasary for it to survive but it also has its obvious pitfalls.
Herpo, trying to find out now what your snake is is like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted ( or something like that ). Accept that it's a nice pet carpet Python, avoid the temptation to breed it and before you make further purchases research, know what you want from the hobby, and be selective about who you buy from.

 

[Kurama]

Its a mutt.

 

[adderboy]

The way things seem to be going pretty soon we'll just have "high yellow Morelia" or maybe "high yellow carpet" and all the MD, SWCP, diamond, coastal, jungle, Darwin, Bredli stuff will be lost in the wind. Oh, and carrying the jag marker...

All of which will make the matters of provenance and locality a thing of the past. What a pity.

If you like the snake you bought, Herpo, enjoy it for what it is.

S

 

[Herpo]

Thanks everyone,
@profmoreliaty, thanks for answering, I will post pics when I get home, away ATM.
I would like to point out that I have already done some research, and am going by observations, info from the seller and internet browsing. I am well aware that I cannot be sure. [MENTION=13907]Kurama[/MENTION], I thinl its unfair to call the snake a mutt. Reserve that for the original breeder if for anyone at all. You cannot blame a snake for the genes it carries. Othet than that, thank you all, will post pics probably on the weekend.
Herpo

- - - Updated - - -
[MENTION=1948]adderboy[/MENTION], I love my animas for what they are, just wanted to be more or less aware on origins for future breeding.

 

[BredliFreak]

I guess there are a lot gene mix ups these days. An Intergrade is a natural hybrid (e.g Coastal and Diamond) so it is potential it is an intergrade of Coastal and jungle. I have seen slightly yellow coastals so it might be a coastal thing or maybe this is the muddy gene thing going on. I doubt there is MD since it might just be a placid animal but maybe I'm wrong, or there could be something like a Proserpine gene in your snake. I hope researching your snake goes well with lots of results. For now, love it as a Coastal Carpet or just as a python. It doesn't matter as long as you love the animal.

@Kurama That is a cruel and unfair statement. For one thing it is man's fault for mixing these genes and second of all it is probably a nice snake, for temperament and patterning. After all, it exists and we can't undo that. Don't ever say something like that, especially about another person's animal who they love with all their heart.

Regards,
Bredli

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Snakes are snakes, whatever they be, and one man's meat is another man's poison. I certainly meant no negative judgement of individual animals and peoples pets, I was just pointing out the impossibility of determining the genetic makeup of these creatures once we've had out dirty mitts on them. They are no more or less lovable than any other critter - I have had high-bred dogs and "lowly" mixed breeds at different times in my life, and loved them all. So, Herpo, please enjoy your beastie/s just as you always have, and take pleasure in musing on it's heritage - you'll never be sure, but it's fun to speculate.

Don't forget the photos when you can - we'll all be drawn into the speculation then!

Jamie

PS I'm not sure the other posters were actually being critical of your snake either - they probably came across as a bit blunt, like me !

 

[cement]

The definition of an integrade as it applies to snakes should be researched by yourself herpo,it is a term of long but widely mis understood standing. It is possible that it is a pure integrade............but its also highly likely that some breeders may not even fully understand what an integrade is.
Making a call on origin based on temperament for ANY snake species is probably the worst way to try to pinpoint it.
But yeah it can be fun trying to work out a mix using morphology, unless like me your pulling them out of the wild.

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

I hate the use of that word "intergrade".
It masks the sins of many

 

[Wally]

I hate the use of that word "intergrade".
It masks the sins of many

Not to those who understand it's context here.