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Truco is Spanish for "trick". Truco is an Apricot phase (which is why each band of yellow and red has an orange hue) Pueblan Milk snake, Lampropeltis triangulum campbelli, from south central Mexico. Certain Milk snakes have white in place of yellow, but generally all Milk snakes are Coral snake mimics. The three colors, red, yellow, and black are the same on both the venomous Coral snake and the non-venomous Milk snake, but the sequence is different. On the Milk snake the sequence is black, yellow, black, red, black, yellow, etc. On the Coral snake the sequence is black, yellow, red, yellow, black, yellow, red, etc. The easiest way to remember is to say the old rhyme, "Red and yellow will kill a fellow. Red and black is a friend to Jack." The safest course of action if you come across a snake while you are out camping or hiking is to just keep your distance. If you are close enough to see the color sequence, you are probably close enough to be in harm's way if it is a venomous snake. It is also important to note that once you leave the North American continent, color and pattern of Milk snakes and Coral snakes will vary and the old rhyme will not necessarily hold true. The image to the left below Truco is a Texas Coral snake, Micrurus tener, photo by and © Dave Barker of VPI.

Brit and Sirius are Corn snakes, Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Formerly Elaphe guttata guttata). Brit is a male, and is heterozygous (looks normal but carries a recessive trait). Sirious is female, an albino, labeled as a "Snow" in the trade. This pair is another adoption for SnakeTalk. I had intended to pass them along to my friend Jim Dunlap, but I grew attached to the pair very quickly and decided that they would work well in my educational presentations, so I added them to the SnakeTalk collection.

Corn snakes are found throughout the south eastern United States. The Corn snake makes an excellent pet for the first time keeper. They have long been bred in captivity, and are very easy to care for. Also, since they are a temperate zone snake, there is no need to heat the cage as long as you keep your thermostat set around 70° F in the winter. There are variables to consider, but if you read Don Soderberg's book, Corn Snakes in Captivity, you will have no question unanswered.

www.cornsnake.net

Caddyshack is a Sonoran Gopher snake, Pituophis catenifer affinis, and is found from the western tip of Texas across New Mexico and Arizona to south eastern California and south into south central Mexico. Caddyshack is my Rattlesnake mimic. The color and pattern of the Bull snakes and Gopher snakes is very similar to the Diamondback Rattlesnakes, demonstrating once again that discretion is always the best course when it comes to interaction with snakes in the wild. In the image to the left, Caddyshack is curled up in his absolute favorite hiding place, an old piece of PVC pipe. You will notice on the detail image he tore a scale off his nose last shed... not to worry, he has healed since this picture was taken.

Stripe is a Colombian Boa Constrictor, Boa constrictor imperator. Boa Constrictors are tropical snakes that range from north central Mexico down into South America. The Colombian is the most common variety of pet Boa having been imported in great numbers for many years and also because it has been bred prolifically in captivity for the past couple of decades. Stripe was born in captivity 02/May/2002 along with more than 30 siblings. Stripe is the only one I kept from that brood.

Glory is also a Colombian Boa Constrictor, Boa constrictor imperator, but I have little information on her origins. I adopted Glory in 2006 after she was seized by Animal Control. I estimate her age to be approximately 9 years, but she could easily be a little younger than that, and possibly quite a bit older. Glory is a very mild tempered snake, and very well adjusted to handling by many people which is what makes her an ideal snake for my SnakeTalk presentations. She is about 6.5' long.

Spike is a young Burmese Python, Python molurus bivittatus (adopted December 2006). Spike is a normal colored Burmese Python, and is approximately 4' long. I have not yet sexed Spike, so I do not know if the snake is a male or female. If Spike is a male, he will grow to between 12' and 14' long. If Spike is a female, she will be capable of attaining a length of more than 20'. Although I feel captive propagation of snakes is essential to the continued survival of many species, I will not breed Burmese Pythons. I have a need for the Burmese in my SnakeTalk presentations, but feel that there is no need to increase the captive population of this species... typically, people just don't need a 14' to 20' snake as a pet.

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Banana is also a Burmese Python, Python molurus bivittatus, but Banana is an albino, or more specifically an amelanistic (lacking black pigment) colored Burmese. Banana is definitely a male. He is approximately 8' in length, and will reach his maximum length of 12' or 14' within the next three or four years. I adopted Banana in February 2007, so I know nothing of his origins. Banana is very cooperative and mild tempered, but has a somewhat aggressive feeding response. Because of this trait he would not be a good snake for a new herpetoculturist. I really have to have my wits about me when I am feeding Banana.

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Ball Pythons, Python regius live in arid scrub regions in Africa, and are imported annually in great numbers for the pet trade. The Ball Python will make a fine pet if cared for properly. The absolute best book available on the Ball Python is Pythons of the World, Vol. II: BALL PYTHONS, The History, Natural History, Care, and Breeding by Dave and Traci Barker. There is also a DVD, All About Ball Pythons, available at VPI.Com for only $23.95. Either way, you can't go wrong getting your information from Dave and Traci.

I am currently working with 9 Ball Pythons, 4 males and 5 females as noted below. With the exception of the Pastel Ball Python, these snakes were each hand picked from a large number of the "ranched" import babies of April, 2006. Most of them have something unique about their color and/or pattern. They all have a very gentle disposition, which is not uncommon for Ball Pythons.

Banjo is a female. She was chosen for my Ball Python breeding project because of her strong colors and reduced pattern. I have a male, Widget, with an even more reduced pattern which I am hoping to mate with her.

Gimme is a male "Pastel" Ball Python, Python regius, a co-dominant genetic trait. Unlike recessive traits, such as albino or anerythristic, a co-dominant trait will produce (theoretically) offspring in equal numbers to the mate. For instance, if you breed a Pastel with a Normal, you will get 50% Pastel and 50% Normal from the mating. With a simple recessive trait, such as albino, to normal pairing, you will get 100% heterozygous (look normal but carry the recessive trait). You would then have to breed hetrozygous to heterozygous before you would get any albino offspring. Gimme is so named because it was less than 24 hours after I saw him that I called my friend and said, "GIMME!"

Maxine "Max" in my opinion is an incredibly beautiful female. Max is of particular interest to me because of her strong yellows and oranges in her ground color. I have no idea if the colors will be carried on to her offspring, but I aim to find out. Originally, I had intended to pair Max and Peaches (below), but now that I have Gimme (above), I will probably give him first crack at her. I am hoping the pairing will produce some interesting results.

Peaches is a male. He carries strong yellows and oranges in his ground color, especially along the lower edge of his side. He is a beautiful snake, but the most appealing aspect of Peaches is his personality. During maintenance, Peaches will actually crawl out of his enclosure toward me when it is opened. I have grown very found of him. I think Peaches makes a great addition to my breeding project, but even if he never breeds he is still a great pet.

Snuggles is a female Ball Python with some very intense color, somewhat reduced pattern, and a great deal of blushing overall.

Spalding is a female. I picked out Spalding in 2006 (before I had decided to embark on a Ball Python breeding project) to use in my SnakeTalk presentations because of her pleasant temperament, and because she is a prime example of a "normal" Ball Python (albeit a very pretty normal Ball Python).

Speckles is a male. I thought Speckles was cool because his pattern is reduced in a unique way. He has the standard Ball Python pattern, but instead of the spots that run down the sides of most Ball Pythons, he has speckles. All of the other snakes either have spots, some spots, or no spots. Speckles is the only one in this group with this granulation down his sides.

Twenty Four is a female. She is a very pretty snake, but has little about her that is remarkable or particularly unique. Twenty Four is in the group primarily because she is the subject of a painting and limited edition print I produced in February, 2007. While shooting photos of Ball Pythons to be offered for sale, this little girl adopted the namesake defense posture and inspired me. That is her in the banner at the top of this Ball Python section, and there is a link below to see the painting. If anyone is interested, the painting is not for sale. The name Twenty Four comes from the fact that she was the 24th snake I photographed that day and it just stuck.

To see the painting, CLICK HERE.

Widget is a male and has the most reduced pattern of all the Ball Pythons in this group. Hopefully, this trait will continue to the offspring. I doubt that the characteristics of these snakes (except for the Pastel) are strong genetic traits, but I am hoping that the high color, blushing, and limited pattern will carry on down the line to some extent. I think these characteristics are very cool.

NOTE: For those who do not know, there are generally three ways snakes come into captivity; captive born/hatched, ranched, and wild caught.

• Captive Born/Hatched: This is a no brainer. These are offspring from adult snakes, bred in captivity and either born or hatched according to the nature of the snake. For example, Pythons lay eggs, while Boa Constrictors carry their young to term and bear live young. The parents may be captive born/hatched, ranched, or wild caught, but typically the parents are maintained in captivity on a long term basis.
• Ranched: This is a term applied to snakes born/hatched in captivity from wild caught gravid females (egg laying or live bearing), or hatched from eggs robbed from nests in the wild.
• Wild Caught: Another no brainer, this term is applied to snakes caught in the wild. Acquiring a wild caught snake is not necessarily a bad thing as fresh genetic material is very important to captive breeding, but there are many difficulties associated with wild caught snakes. Generally, a beginner should not acquire a wild caught snake.