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Royal Python
My experience with Python Regius began back in 1993 - with a group of wild caught adults that I picked up in a Reptile shop that was around at the time. They were looking very sorry for themselves and I broke all the rules and decided to take them on.
Now they were challenging - after treatment for parasites, both internal and external, I settled down and began working with them and several months later and after a lot of frustration and hard work they were all thriving.
And that was where my Royal python collection stopped....
...Until 2001
I had watched with some bewilderment as the first mutations started to arrive on the scene in the 90’s -The Albino had been around since the early 90’s but then later I watched with more than a little interest as the Axanthic, Piebald and Pastel appeared.
The prices that these animals were commanding was astonishing and the Royal python world was starting to buzz....but I confess that I still didn’t really get it and I remained totally engrossed in my Green Tree Python and Emerald Tree Boa collection
And then it happened, I acquired some visual VPI Axanthics - and that was it I was hooked - the Royal Python bug had got me. Albino’s and Pieds followed fairly quickly and large sums of money were changing hands and the Royal collection began to grow.
I was and remain fascinated with the genetics and these captive bred royals were a pleasure to keep, in fact I now go as far to say that quality captive bred Royals are just about the perfect python to keep in captivity.
I now maintain a large collection of Royals, not for any other reason than I find them just about the perfect python to keep and really do enjoy the incredible variety of colour and pattern mutations and all that can be achieved with them.
I have no desire or need to breed them for a living and only breed to further and enhance my collection.
It has become a real family affair with my 2 sons, Dan and Sam now beginning to build their own Royal collection and involve themselves in the daily choirs that accompany the maintenance of a large collection and in 2010 we combined our collection and resources with our good friend Kasia, a fellow enthusiast.
Unusually, I like to ‘display’ my Royals and therefore I house a good proportion of my collection in Vivs. All are fitted out with lighting. I just like to house them so that I can see them. They thrive in these conditions. I do use racks for hatchlings up to 6-7 months of age but that’s it, maybe it’s a hangover from my arboreal species keeping days that I display and house them as I do but it works for me and more importantly my Royals so that’s the way I will continue to do it.
However that being said the collection is currently split over two locations a few miles apart so plans are afoot to build a purpose built building to house the entire current collection and to future proof it and we are currently at the planning stage with architects but sometime in 2012 it should be complete.
I am happy to see the days of some spectacular mutations being sold for big money behind us and more breeding leads to more realistic prices and in turn allowing more to become involved in the Royal python community.
There will always be those new mutations that command large sums of money but the reality is that those that can afford to outlay £10K’s or more on a single snake are relatively few so the more that these truly stunning mutations are affordable to a greater portion of the current Royal community the better in my opinion and affordable prices also of course allow the community to grow, which has to be good for the hobby
I keep Royals for the pleasure and am happy to leave the business breeding of this species to those few that have demonstrated they can and can do so reputably, responsibly and with due consideration to those animals in their collections. If you are looking to acquire a Royal, choose your breeder wisely, there are many very good breeders around but the hobby does attract the less than scrupulous and I receive many emails from new Royal owners that are experiencing problems and the person that they bought their snake from either cannot , will not or doesn't know how to help. A reputable breeder will be able to support you long after you have handed over your cash and will be happy to do so. It is relatively easy to identify a bad seller so take your time and do a little research into any prospective sellers before parting with your hard earned cash.
I used to write a few words on this site about the genetics of each of the mutations I keep but I have stopped as I now recommend you visit:
It is a comprehensive resource for Python regius and I highly rate the site.
I will continue to update my site regularly with new mutations and any snakes I have for sale and all animals that are featured on the site are either in my collection or bred by myself. I am happy to talk snakes at the drop of a hat feel free to drop me an email anytime
All the best Rod Foster |
