Some SA Womas look reasonably similar to Tanamis or WAs, some look very different. I hadn't seen many until late last year, but in the last few months I've seen several dozen adults and a similar number of hatchlings and juveniles. From what I've seen, they're typically not any darker than a typical Tanami and many have been very light by any woma standards (if they genuinely were almost black or almost so, there would probably be a huge demand for them). The patterns are usually less contrasting than you'll see on Tanamis and much less than a typical Uluru. I took some pictures of SA womas, but I was amazed when I looked at them, despite the snakes looking utterly different from Tanami womas, the colours were brought out badly in the flash and they turned out looking quite similar to Tanamis.
Prices do crazy things, lately people have been talking about the SA Woma prices rising over the next season or two, which might happen, but I'm tipping they'll stay about the same. People have been saying Tanami Woma prices will drop, ten years ago they predicted that in two or three years time they'd be $1,000 or so each, and five to ten years later they'd be around $500 each (I tended to agree back then, and I was wrong! Five years later they hadn't changed and ten years later they're still selling for more than they were supposed to be going for eight years ago! I now guess that we'll see a very slow decline in "entry level Tanami" woma price over the next few years, with some lines sitting steady and others, like the Topaz line, increasing). People were tipping Chondroes to drop hugely, from 1995 or so to 2005 or so I was saying they'd sit still or go up, in that case I was right! I think from this point we'll see a fairly steady decline in Chondro prices. (So far I'm about as good a predictor as a coin
). Apart from looking brilliant, one of the appealing things about womas is that they are so different in their behaviour, the way they feed, the way they respond, they are very unique. SA Womas are less like the NT Womas in behaviour, and somewhat similar to Black Headed Pythons (which themselves are reasonably unusual, but they're no woma
). One thing about the SA Woma which is likely to keep its price lower is their reputation of growing much larger than other types, although to my surprise, after seeing as many as I have, only about four have been much larger than 6', probably only two were over 8'. Rarity in captivity is a funny thing. I have Lampropholis delicata, they are far more rare than Chondroes in captivity (I think I'm still the only person in Victoria legally holding the species), but you couldn't sell them for 1% of the price of a Chondro. Supply is only part of the story. If you get the chance, have a look at some of both types in the flesh as pictures of Womas can be very deceptive. Preferences vary widely, so the most popular one won't necessarily be the one you'll want to get. Did you see my recent Woma thread? I posted pictures of two very different looking Tanami Womas, one dark and regularly banded, the other a very light Topaz Woma, many people had very strong preferences one way or the other, several people said "The xxxx Woma is the better one, no doubt about it" opinions were split about 50:50, I still can't decide.
What would you consider to be an aspect of SA Woma quality which you'd like to see improved?
