You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.
Hi,
I'm thinking about getting woma python or eastern indigo in near future. But although I found some care sheets I'm having a few questions for people who works with these species.
I know that both woma and indigos are considered one of the more inquisitive, calm and brave snakes. And thats what I want (ofc both are looking gorgeous too, haha!).
But I'm curious how much do they eat? How strong is their feeding response? I talked once to a breeder of woma and he told me that they need hook training, as they are similiar to SD retics in their predator mode. I don't know anyone who has indigos, but as they seem to love to eat I guess that it's similiar?
And how strong do they get? I'm not having a lot of experience with snakes bigger than my adult female Russian (5 feet), so I guess that some training for me would be needed. I was holding adult taiwanese beauties few times (they were around 8 feet), and it was okay, but they were really calm and easy, so I don't really count it as valuable experience.
Both species are hard to find in my country, so I'll have time to consider what would suit me, and what I want. But if you're having some experience with these species, please, share what you think about them etc. Thank you!
Just warning you, eastern indigoes get huge. If the size of a boa constrictor is a problem for you, indigoes certainly will be. Someone I follow on Tumblr has a 6'-7' indigo that's of a similar girth to my BCI of 6.5', it's 3 years iirc. Womas are much smaller.
From what I heard from a woma owner is that womas like to "taste test" things similar to kingsnakes. They'll be fine one second and the next you got a snake chomping on you, but they'll let go when they find they aren't getting anywhere. They just do it. A lot. Feeding response seems strong.
The indigo owner says their's is always on the look out for food, the next day after a big meal, still looking for that next morsel. So I'd say similar to a retic? I've never heard of them complaining about being struck at, just that the indigo is ready for food and staring them down. So you're looking at a snake always wanting food, but gotta be cautious about how you present yourself.
This is what I've noticed from their posts, but I don't have any experience with either species, so hopefully someone who has could elaborate on these points, and give you some more.
I've never had a woma, and my eastern indigo is only about 5 feet right now. He's a great snake though. How much do they eat... I guess the answer is "a lot". I was feeding Loki every 2-3 days when he was smaller, but now he's only eating 1-2 times per week, although the meal size is larger. He's never tried to bite. I guess they do have strong feeding responses, but I've kept Loki so well fed that he has rarely been hungry. If he seems excited when I reach in, a quick touch on the non-sharp end always snaps him out of food mode.
The largest indigo really isn't going to be a problem for most people to handle. They're not as heavy as the big constrictors. That said, they're really not for everyone. They do eat a LOT. And poop just as much. And depending on what you're feeding, it can smell pretty bad. My personal opinion is that they do best if fed a variety of prey items. And, they need large cages. Mine is in a 6'x2' enclosure, and that really should be the minimum size for an adult indigo.
Here's a great video from John Michels of Black Pearl Reptiles. He covers all the drymarchon, but really, they're all very similar.
__________________
...the old ones ... knew in their bones... that death exists, that all life kills to eat, that all lives end, that energy goes on. They knew that humans are participants, not spectators. -- Stephen Bodio, On the Edge of the Wild
Feeding a lot, celaning a lot and big enclosures are not a problem. But today I checked the prices in Europe and the cheapest babies I found were for 1080$... so I think that this is a little too much for me.
And yeah, bigsnakegirl I heard about that "taste" thing too. Well... they just love to kiss people, haha!
Still if someone has womas then please, share your thoughts
Mike and I have a woma, and she is very different from all our other pythons. Very curious and inquisitive, she will investigate anything and everything. A very intelligent snake. She is also very tame, but her feeding response is crazy, like we've never seen in a snake.
__________________
0.1 Bp (Zoey);0.2 BR boa (Casey, Ally);0.1 Dumeril's (Missy);1.0 Albino bp (Mojo);1.0 Banana bp (Bozo);1.0 het ghost CRT (Dante);0.1 Woma python (Lilou);0.1 Desert bp (Skye);1.0 Pewter bp (Spencer);0.1 Champagne bp (Dumdum);0.1 woma bp (Gracie);0.1 pastel woma bp (Pixie);1.0 Super Pastel bp (Chester);0.1 blood python (Athena);1.1 CA boa (Pepper,Bobbi)
Yeah, that's about as cheap as you can find them here too.
Good luck with the woma. They seem like cool snakes.
__________________
...the old ones ... knew in their bones... that death exists, that all life kills to eat, that all lives end, that energy goes on. They knew that humans are participants, not spectators. -- Stephen Bodio, On the Edge of the Wild
Why not get a black headed python? Almost the same as a woma (gets a bit longer), but without the food response. Our guy is a lamb at feeding time, taking the prey off the tongs with his mouth.
Why not get a black headed python? Almost the same as a woma (gets a bit longer), but without the food response. Our guy is a lamb at feeding time, taking the prey off the tongs with his mouth.
LOL. You should check the prices of BHP's outside of Australia.
__________________
...the old ones ... knew in their bones... that death exists, that all life kills to eat, that all lives end, that energy goes on. They knew that humans are participants, not spectators. -- Stephen Bodio, On the Edge of the Wild
Hatchies here go for around $450+ Australian dollars. We were lucky to get a yearling at this year's expo for $270. They wanted to clear their stock before the new ones came along. And it was one our premier BHP breeders too.
I only saw a single ad on Kingsnake and The Reptile Report, and it was a 3' male for $2,000. I don't know of any specific breeders to compare prices to, though.
How about a carpet python or bull snake? Large but manageable size, simple husbandry, normally good temperaments, active and consistent eaters, beautiful display animals, not very expensive. I'm just saying.
There is a one breeder of BHP in my country, and the babies are going for about 630$, so it's not THAT bad. Still one of the most pricey ones, haha
El-Ziggy, haha, no problem, it's nice that you want to help. Unfortunately bull snakes are one of the rarest, so it would be hard to get. And my other half doesn't like them too much, so I think that I will give them a rest. Carpets are cool, especially jaguars and jungles, but again, hard to find, and if so, the prices are not too nice. But who knows, maybe if I'll find one...
Womas seems to be a good try for me... but the feeding response that you all described is a little crazy, and I'm not really sure.
There is a one breeder of BHP in my country, and the babies are going for about 630$, so it's not THAT bad. Still one of the most pricey ones, haha
El-Ziggy, haha, no problem, it's nice that you want to help. Unfortunately bull snakes are one of the rarest, so it would be hard to get. And my other half doesn't like them too much, so I think that I will give them a rest. Carpets are cool, especially jaguars and jungles, but again, hard to find, and if so, the prices are not too nice. But who knows, maybe if I'll find one...
Womas seems to be a good try for me... but the feeding response that you all described is a little crazy, and I'm not really sure.
I think its so interesting how the countries vary. In Australia the black headed python is very reasonably priced and in Poland it's difficult to get hands on a bull snake (one of the more popular species here in the US) and then in the US we're killing ourselves for a Black Headed Python.
If you can get your other half to take a look at some of the really prominent red phased bulls I think they might change their mind.
I think its so interesting how the countries vary. In Australia the black headed python is very reasonably priced and in Poland it's difficult to get hands on a bull snake (one of the more popular species here in the US) and then in the US we're killing ourselves for a Black Headed Python.
If you can get your other half to take a look at some of the really prominent red phased bulls I think they might change their mind.
We should create group with shipping species to antoher countries. Here Russian Rats are really cheap and easy to find, but I know that in US they are rather rare. In exchange I would love to get some garters (we are having only t.marcianus on the market), or black/yellow rat snake... I'm lucky to have Czech Republic near me, as they are often having some interesting species that in my country are unreachable. I'm sure that I'll buy my hoggie and tessera corn snake in one of their expos.
Hi Sylphie,
if you are looking for something unusual, you should consider the next Terraristika in Hamm, Germany. It is the largest Expo in Europe (and they claim it to be the largest in the world). It takes place every three month, the last was yesterday and it was great. There were the usual (or maybe even not so usual) morphs of Ball pythons, corn snakes, hognoses, king- and milksnakes as well as a lot of snakes you wont see at many other expos. European coulubrids, womas, bull snakes, I even saw a yellow tail cribo. There were several breeders of Thamnophis with a lot of different (sub-) species.
So if you can arrange it you might consider to visit the next expo in December or in March next year.
Linear Mode
