Irian Jaya Carpet Pythons
Hannibal x Spitfire

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This is the Motley repeat pairing - No motleys, so we have to assume the pattern on those was due to incubation stress (temps, etc.).  Fortunately, the motleys have great color and we expect these to be the same.   Again, if Hannibal's color proves genetic, these will be "het" carriers for that mutation.  I can't imagine his color not proving out, but if not they'll still be some of the nicest normal IJ's on the planet.

About the Pricing ($400 each)
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.