Chat Week on Kingsnake.com
Thursday, December 12, 2002
Bob Clark
Python Morphs

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PHWyvern: Bob Clark has a Bachelors degree in Biology and a Masters in Herpetology, both from the University of Kansas. He has been breeding pythons since 1973.

PHWyvern: Bob I would like to thank you for being here tonight. Hopefully the IRC system will settle down long enough for us to have some fun :)

BClark: Great, I'm ready

AskBob: hello, my question is , what is your favorite, burms or balls????

PHWyvern: Folks, if you have questions for Bob, please send them to AskBob

BClark: Its hard for me to say which is my favorite, both species have been good to me

AskBob: bennyk what do u feed fluffy?

AskBob: bennyk and how old is she?

AskBob: Bob when you are done with a question please talk next

BClark: Fluffy eats rabbits like most of the big snakes here but she's eaten chickens, goats and a pig or two

BClark: She's 14 years old

AskBob: herper500 At your facility, what method of heating do you use?

BClark: I use Flexwatt heat tape almost exclusively

AskBob: MaNgRoVe What size cage would i need for a dwarf retic or a pair? How big do they get and would would they eat as adults?

AskBob: MaNgRoVe do you think there will ever be a dwarf burm someday?

BClark: I keep my smaller retics (and most of the large ones too) in Neodesha Plastics cages

PHWyvern: For those just joining us. To ask Bob Clark a question, please doubleclick on the name AskBob in the chat room and post your question to him there. For IRCle folks highlight AskBob and click MSG button.

BClark: I feed most of the dwarf type retics rats or small rabbits

BClark: Depending on the type most of the dwarf types seem to stay under 10' or so

AskBob: Masksqueeze When are you expecting a cluth of albino tiger retics?

BClark: I should have some alb ino tigers early this season, I've got a gravid female already

AskBob: odlc whitch would you consider easier, regardless of size???

BClark: I'm sorry, which kind of python is easiest to keep?

AskBob: yes

BClark: Most python species and boa too have basically the same requirements and do well in captivity

AskBob: amazoa Whats the status of that fully striped Boa that Mike form Oklahoma posted on the boa forum...a real looker....

BClark: some are easier to breed than others but I think most of the species commonly kept are easy to keep

BClark: The striated boa was born last april an imported as a wild animal from Colombia

BClark: The snake is a male and is really growing quickly. He's already 4' long!

BClark: I'm hoping to breed him next season although he looks big enough now

BClark: .......so he's in with a female right now!

AskBob: M_surinamensis When you were offered the potential purchase of the first albino burm to hit the US, did you anticipate that it would help foster and create the morph driven

AskBob: mentality which has caused broader public interest in herps that is so prevalent today?

BClark: I think we won' t seen anything until next year but I have to try, some pythons will breed at less than one year old

BClark: I know when I got the first one that people would like it but I until that time I hadn't seen any other color or pattern mutations in pythons and I had no reason to think there would be more coming in the future

AskBob: EricC not specifically a python question but you may be able to answer. When a person finds a new (or different) animal in the wild that looks to be a morph or mutation of the

AskBob: natural species how would one go about differentiating between subspecies and mutant status?

BClark: Subspecies are gregraphic variations with in a species, mutations can occur anywhere with in a species and are totally random in nature

AskBob: Katie_Rothert Can you see yourself doing anything other than breeding snakes, if yes what would it be?

BClark: I'm lucky that I get to do exactly what i want for a living. I'm sure I could do something else but this is the best job in the world and I don't want to!!

AskBob: herper500 So does flex what alone heat your entire facility? or do you have a furnace heater as well

BClark: The rooms are heated by gas furnaces but the individual enclosures are heated my Flexwatt

AskBob: bennyk how big is fluffys enclosure and is it hard to clean her up when she does her business? Also has she ever atacked you? And what kinda glass do you use

BClark: Fluffy lives in a cage that measures only 4' x 8'. She covers half the floor when she's in a flat coil

BClark: She's never showed any inclination to bite

AskBob: Sojourn How much time do you get to devoteto your falconry a week?

BClark: Well, that depends on the time of year. I hunt every day during duck season, so after about 4pm I'll be hard to find at the office

BClark: I'll be at the show in San Antonio this weekend

AskBob: resiak Do you have any tips on raising the humidity in a screened top cage?

BClark: Yes, get rid of the screen top and replace it with something with less ventilation.

AskBob: bob if could end your statements with either 'go' or 'next' it will help me know when you are ready for the next question

BClark: When a cage with a screen top is heated the heat rises and escapes out the top causing more heat to be needed and further drying the cage

BClark: OK, next

AskBob: herper500 Bob: do you have any "normal phase" animals that you breeD?

BClark: Yes, I breed normal looking animals of every species that I have , go

AskBob: MaNgRoVe is it easy to accumliate the jampea Dwarf retics? Also what size cage would you set them up in (demension wise)? How hard is breeding them?

BClark: These snakes seem to acclimate easily, they're generally tame and eat readily, even freshly imported ones.

BClark: The seem to be just as easy to breed as any other retic, go

AskBob: boalover have U ever had the raptors out & had 1 go after a snake ?

BClark: I was hunting rabbits with a redtail hawk once ( in late November!) and she caught a bull snake but that's the only hawk/snake encounter I've had. I commonly see snakes in raptor nests and I think they are a common foot item for some raptor species. next

AskBob: resiak Are you going to The Reptile Extravaganza in NH on Jan. 19?

BClark: I'm not I usually don't travel that far for shows. go

AskBob: boalover what kind of boa projects are you working on ?

BClark: I'm working with albino B. constrictor, salmon, anery, snow, sunglow, argentines, dumeril's, rainbows and some rosy boas. go

AskBob: amazoa What happened to that totally white Burm that I saw about 5 years ago?

BClark: I had a leucistic Burmese that I sold in 1992. I was never able to get her to breed and eventually sold her. There is a picture of her on my website at www.bobclark.com go

AskBob: Masksqueeze Besides size and locale, are there any other differencies between molorus pimbura and TRUE molorus molorus?

BClark: The snakes are similar in appearance and size but the pimbura is more golden with a pinker head and the molurus is paler and more washed out in color. go

AskBob: bennyk i heard that jampea retics get to an average for 16 feet? Is this true? And are they hard to keep?? How much ventalation holes should i put in when im building an enclosure for it?

BClark: I think the Jampeas average under 10' . I hear people saying they get big but it hasn't been my experience. I do have one that is over 10', though. I've had her for 10 years now and I feed her like I feed Fluffy!

BClark: Jampeas are easy to keep, just like mainland type retics

BClark: Cages don't need much ventilation. The more ventilation you have the more difficulty you'll have maintaining humidity. go

AskBob: MsLisa I have a pair of Candoia Aspera (New Guinia Ground Boas/Viper Boas) and I've heard conflicting suggestions on temperatures, any suggestions, and have you had any experience with them?

BClark: I 've never kept the species, sorry

BClark: gp

AskBob: Joe-N-Stephanie Do you believe the labyrinth trait in balls will be proven to be inheritable and if so, what impact do you think this could have on ball morphs? Also, do you have any advice for an amateur breeder working with labs?

BClark: There is only one way to tell if a trait is genetic and that is to breed it and see if the trait shows up inthe offspring.

BClark: Any new trait is interesting in itself and in combination with exisiting traits.

BClark: go

AskBob: Sojourn What is your all-time favorite python species/morph?

BClark: i really like retics, there are so many new traits and geographic variations now, but the albino Burmese really changed my life! go

AskBob: Bubafat Which head takes food with your two headed cali king?

BClark: Both heads eat. go

AskBob: Pilsner Are you working on mixing the pastel ball into any other morphs

BClark: This year I'm breeding the pastel to a ghost and to a couple of other odd looking balls that I haven't proven yet. go

AskBob: peterd hry bob do u see the retic market getting as big as the ball market when all of the dwarf morphs are proven and u get more imported morphs?

BClark: I think retics have a lot of potential and appeal. they've really increased in popularity lately and I expect that to continue. go

AskBob: falconer hi bob, i was wondering if you were selectively breeding the dwarf retics for smaller size, retics that got as big as ball pythons would be awesome, keep up the good work, im trying to become a falconer too!

BClark: Smaller is better for a lot of people and more people can keep a smaller snake than a big one. I have to make sure that I breed and sell what people what (this is how I live). So, I'm always trying to make them smaller.

BClark: This year I've bred a dwarf tiger retic back to a Jampea retic, hopefully this will continue to shrink them. go

AskBob: amazoa What is the best weapon to fight Mites in a collection?

BClark: I've used both Proventamite and Black Knight spray with good results. go

AskBob: herper500 what type of thermostats do you use?

BClark: I'm using old Biostats and Helix go

AskBob: djcboa In your opinion.......are burms or retics becomming more popular???

BClark: Burmese have always been popular but retics are really gaining ground lately. go

AskBob: Masksqueeze Have you ever had a desire to keep and breed venomous snakes?

BClark: I'm interested in a lot of things and I could see myself doing it but venomous species aren't as commercial as the nonvenomous types and I have to pay attention to that sort of thing from a business point of view. go

AskBob: EZwrither What was the most surprising/interesting behaviour you ever encountered (in any sp.)?

BClark: I'm sure I've got a good story but one doesn't come to mind at the moment, I'll think about it. go

AskBob: amazoa Have you had any success getting your Bateatters Burm X Retic to grow up and breed? I saw Skip Livingstons lately and there about 9-10 feet long now and he has them together with fingers and toes crossed.

BClark: The hybrids breed easily to both parent species but fertility is low. go

AskBob: amazoa How can we best derail the out of control National Humane Society. They are I think our worst enemy. Your Thoughts?

BClark: These people have a right to their opinion but it is our job to make sure that our point of view is heard as well. They are well organized and funded. We need to make sure that we fight proposed changes in regulation that hurt our ability to keep, breed and sell animals. These come in the form of local regulations, USFWS laws and regulations, etc.

BClark: Its important that we don't leave this job for others to do. These things affect us and we must be the ones to fight them. go

BClark: That's all for me tonight, guys. I've got to get home. Thanks, I enjoyed it!

AskBob: Bob, we are now coming up on the end of your hour

AskBob: On behalf of JeffB, kingsnake, and the pet hobbyist staff, I would like to thank you for taking the time to be here with us.

BClark: Let's do it again sometime!