Antaresia ID

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Licespray

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What are these 2?
There’s a darker and a lighter one, darker is male and lighter is female. Tape was set out at 1m so you can sort of get the size from that. Close up head photo is the lighter female.

Cheers for the help.
 

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It's difficult to be sure without knowing their origins. The male is a Spotted or Spotted hybrid. The female is probably a Stimson's or Stimson's hybrid, possibly a Stimson's x Children's. It looks a little like some of the Antaresia you get around the imaginary line someone drew to say stimsoni and childreni split in northern NT, but very few of those are in captivity so it's more likely a hybrid than what some would call an intergrade. Especially after the F2 generation, hybrids can come out looking like all sorts of different things, in some cases you can see dead ringers for Stimson's, Spotteds and Children's coming out of the same clutch. I saw one hatch out looking very much like a Spotted Python, from a clutch of pure Stimson x something which looked like a top end (faded with small spots) Children's Python. Without knowing their origins you'll never be sure, especially with something like that 'Stimmy type'. All you can say for sure is that the male is at least part Spotted and the female probably doesn't have any Spotted blood (if it does, it's several generations back).

If you want pure Antaresia, make sure you go to the effort of sourcing pure Antaresia.
 
It's difficult to be sure without knowing their origins. The male is a Spotted or Spotted hybrid. The female is probably a Stimson's or Stimson's hybrid, possibly a Stimson's x Children's. It looks a little like some of the Antaresia you get around the imaginary line someone drew to say stimsoni and childreni split in northern NT, but very few of those are in captivity so it's more likely a hybrid than what some would call an intergrade. Especially after the F2 generation, hybrids can come out looking like all sorts of different things, in some cases you can see dead ringers for Stimson's, Spotteds and Children's coming out of the same clutch. I saw one hatch out looking very much like a Spotted Python, from a clutch of pure Stimson x something which looked like a top end (faded with small spots) Children's Python. Without knowing their origins you'll never be sure, especially with something like that 'Stimmy type'. All you can say for sure is that the male is at least part Spotted and the female probably doesn't have any Spotted blood (if it does, it's several generations back).

If you want pure Antaresia, make sure you go to the effort of sourcing pure Antaresia.
I heard somewhere that they were going to split stimson pythons into two separate species; The eastern stimson's and the westerns. Do you know if this is true?
 
I heard somewhere that they were going to split stimson pythons into two separate species; The eastern stimson's and the westerns. Do you know if this is true?
Very old news, people have been arguing about it for years, sometimes ridiculously even as a full species split. Antaresia stimsoni stimsoni and Antaresia stimsoni orientalis. Some people have been using these names for a long time. Really, it should be Antaresia childreni childreni, Antaresia childreni stimsoni, and maybe Antaresia childreni orientalis. But, the desire to split generally trumps taxonomical sense.
 
Last edited:
Thanks, these were gifted, just trying to work out rx
It's difficult to be sure without knowing their origins. The male is a Spotted or Spotted hybrid. The female is probably a Stimson's or Stimson's hybrid, possibly a Stimson's x Children's. It looks a little like some of the Antaresia you get around the imaginary line someone drew to say stimsoni and childreni split in northern NT, but very few of those are in captivity so it's more likely a hybrid than what some would call an intergrade. Especially after the F2 generation, hybrids can come out looking like all sorts of different things, in some cases you can see dead ringers for Stimson's, Spotteds and Children's coming out of the same clutch. I saw one hatch out looking very much like a Spotted Python, from a clutch of pure Stimson x something which looked like a top end (faded with small spots) Children's Python. Without knowing their origins you'll never be sure, especially with something like that 'Stimmy type'. All you can say for sure is that the male is at least part Spotted and the female probably doesn't have any Spotted blood (if it does, it's several generations back).

If you want pure Antaresia, make sure you go to the effort of sourcing pure Antaresia.
If it helps their 5th/6th labial scales are in contact with their eyes (same on both) which according to “a complete guide to reptiles” by Steve Wilson aligns with the orientalis stimpson type. They’re currently listed as a “stimpson breeding pair” but both are easily over a meter in length (as shown in the photo), id say over 1.2m. They aren’t our snakes but given they’ve bred in the past (we may be getting gifted these snakes) would it be wrong to allow further breeding?

I agree that the male looks like a spotted.
 
Thanks, these were gifted, just trying to work out rx

If it helps their 5th/6th labial scales are in contact with their eyes (same on both) which according to “a complete guide to reptiles” by Steve Wilson aligns with the orientalis stimpson type. They’re currently listed as a “stimpson breeding pair” but both are easily over a meter in length (as shown in the photo), id say over 1.2m. They aren’t our snakes but given they’ve bred in the past (we may be getting gifted these snakes) would it be wrong to allow further breeding?

I agree that the male looks like a spotted.
Scale counts only work with pure animals and even then, traits like that are unreliable. Hybrids can come out with any combination of traits from the parental species.

I don't see any particular reason to breed them and personally wouldn't. They're probably hybrids themselves and certainly aren't the same pure species as each other. Quite likely they're siblings. If you're going to put the effort into breeding snakes you might as well get something better. You'll struggle to sell the babies unless you lie about what they are or sell them very cheaply to a pet shop which will be happy to lie about what they are. There's low demand for unmorphed hybrids. But, hey, your snakes, your choice.
 
No need to lie, just thinking of using them for breeding experience. Can give them away or sell very cheap - life’s not about making money mate ;)
 
No need to lie, just thinking of using them for breeding experience. Can give them away or sell very cheap - life’s not about making money mate ;)

I'm not just thinking about money either. I figure that if you're going to put all the effort into creating new life you might as well create life that will be appreciated and cherished rather than seen as without value and likely neglected. A few years down the track when people are struggling to give those snakes away because they don't want them any more and no one wants to take them and they end up neglected, it's just not a good look for our hobby or fair on the animals, when you could simply have chosen to create something else.

If you give them away or sell them cheaply, some of them will end up being passed on, they'll have their pictures go up online, people will guess their species and they'll get sold as pure, people will realise they aren't pure and at no stage will anyone who knows what they're doing want to keep them. People will likely get them thinking they're something they're not and then realise what they are and be disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that big a deal or anything, but I personally wouldn't be inclined to breed them and wouldn't recommend it.
 

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