Irian Jaya Carpet Pythons
Hannibal x GQ
x

Males $400, Females $400

This is a repeat of our 2007 pairing that produced some of the nicest Irian Jayas I've ever seen.  If Hannibal's "platinum" (no black, reminds me of a Platinum ball python) paint job proves to be a simple recessive mutation, all of these snakes would be heterozygous gene carriers for that mutation (aka "hets"). 

About the Pricing
Traditionally, a reptile breeder wouldn't sell anything until a morph is proven, so that they can charge a lot for the babies. That said, we still haven't bred any of Hannibal's offspring (whiffed for 2009) and he's been a VERY prolific breeder for us.  We have over 30 of his offspring already and they're all between 2 and 3 years of age (purposely didn't breed him last season). This means that most of them will be breedable all around the same time...next season and the one after that.  That being the case, it just wouldn't be right to charge $2,500 per pair for hets, even when/if the morph is proven genetic.  If Hannibal's color is genetic, we'll still make a small fortune...anything we get for 2009 babies is gravy.  And honestly, with 28 to sell, that's still a good chunk of change (28 x $400 = $11,200), so don't think I'm selling out the Hannibal project for cheap. I'm not the sneaky breeder who will produce an army of snakes before telling anyone, so this is just what I feel is right in this situation.

As such, we've decided to save ourselves the time of raising them up for another year and start selling them this fall. 

We've always sold out of GQ X GQ babies for $350 to $450 each (usually only as pairs), so this is on par for selectively bred, quality Irian Jayas.  Even in the worst case scenario (Hannibal's color doesn't prove genetic), we can still selectively breed for his appearance.  Bottom line, I'm charging the price of a quality normal Irian Jaya, but it comes with a strong chance of being heterozygous for the next new carpet morph.

The next new carpet morph or an incredibly unique new line of Irian Jayas...either way, this will be an exciting project for many years to come.

Thanks!
Anthony Caponetto

Update 2/15/2010

We're down to a half dozen or so from this clutch.  These snakes have been eating well, growing and have begun their ontogenetic color transformation.  As such, I've taken them down temporarily and I will be re-posting them for sale as they shed and we're able to take new photos.