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PHFaust: On behalf of Jeff Barringer and all of us at kingsnake.com, I'm very pleased to welcome Kara Glasgow to our Ninth Annual Chat Week.

PHFaust: Kara Glasgow of NERD has been into snakes all her life, and a serious breeder for the last decade. "I was a boa snob until I saw the light with bloods," she says, adding, "Still love my boas though." She is currently working with a selection of blood and short-tail color and pattern morphs, with more on the way. /b]

PHFaust: Thank you so much for joining us, Kara, and welcome!

KLG: Thank you thank you!!!!

NickRBReptiles: Hey Kara, Nick here, just wanted to let you know that Sambuca is doing well.

KLG: NICK! I want her back! I have kicked myself every day for parting with her, but I'm glad she's doing well & is in good hands. :)

NickRBReptiles: She is and I will def. send offspring your way.

KLG: Sweet!

snake_gal: Who would you recomend keep bloods? What are their temp requirements?

KLG: SnakeGal - I don't think they're beginner snakes. You need to have some experience and snake sense under your belt before working with them, but they aren't rocket science either. I keep mine at 78-82 ambient with a basking spot of approximately 87 degrees, in Animal Plastics 4' cages. (for adults - younger animals/smaller cages).

snake_gal: Thanks a lot!

loconorc: Do you have any blood morphs like ivory, orange head, or black? I only saw the ones on your site.

KLG: No ivories yet - one of my dream snakes.

KLG: I do have some cool dinking around projects -

loconorc: Do you have any short tails besides bloods? Like borneo.

KLG: I keep all three species, different localities. Sumatrans, Borneos & Bloods.

loconorc: I'm buying from you lol. I'm getting a red blood eventually from NERD.

KLG: They are all so much fun! Such a great group of snakes to work with!

PHFaust: Kara 312Pthyons asked eariler about the difference in Bloods and Shortails... I told him to ask you. Could you explian that?

KLG: Well, in a nutshell, they are three different species. Bloods = Python brongersmai. Sumatran short-tails = Python curtus. Borneo short-tails/Borneo pythons = Python breitensteini.

KLG: In a very small nutshell, they come from different locations & have varied coloration... Bloods are the only red red ones... Sumatrans range - some can look like Borneos, some are extremely dark... Borneos are the *only* ones that come from Borneo...

KLG: How technical do you want me to get here? Borneos & Sumatran ST's usually have small scales under the eyes that bloods don't.

PHFaust: As technical as you want since that is a pretty common question I tend to get..

KLG: Some of the scalation can be hard to describe w/o pics. There will be pics on the new site, which YES!! FINALLY!!! WILL!!! BE!!! DONE!!! SHORTLY!!!!!

KLG: I know I've been saying that for 3 years now but this time it's ready to go!

PHFaust: Are there major care differences between the three since I am looking at expanding my personal collection sometime early next october... ;)

KLG: Does that cover basic basics???

KLG: No.

KLG: I keep all 3 exactly the same w/o issues.

PHFaust: Fabu! Loco your turn

loconorc: Are you gonna have any of your birds on the new site?

KLG: They will be on the Zoo Creatures site, Loco...not on bloodpythons.com. Yet another project!

loconorc: zoo creatures?

KLG: Loco - tomorrow night - bird chat! Zoo Creatures is our retail store.

PHFaust: Kara will be doing a bird chat tomorrow and available to answer all your bird questions....

Matt J: Any hopes of producing some 'Ultra-Breits' this season? (the line you are working with).

KLG: YES! Oh gads yes! I am waiting on ovulations ANY MINUTE - ultrasounded last weekend, HUUUUUGE follicles.

Matt J: Good to hear actually! We can trade.

KLG: Mega breeding...my snakes are getting some more than I am these days!

KLG: (ooops...did I say that out loud?)

KLG: Right on!

snake_gal: lol

KLG: Dont' make me talk about it too much...dont' want to jinx anything!

hedo: Are you working with any double het albino tiger bloods from Cameron and if so when are expecting to produce tiger albino bloods?

jeffb: howdy

KLG: Hedo - yes, and yes. How's that for an answer? Ask me later this summer on results! Wheee!

KLG: I'm excited to see what my adults will do!

KLG: Hey - real quick...Type "me" if you are actually keeping bloods/short-tails at this time!

bmelv24: me

KLG: (mods, hate me later for that)

Slacker6848: me

PHFaust: ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fkdmatt_nr: "me"

Phoenix79: me

snake_gal: I really want to

Matt J: mememememememem

PHAlex: me

bellapython: Do me

NickRBReptiles: me

loconorc: wanna be me

KLG: OK! Just checking pulses. ;)

PHFaust: We are getting there! Maybe they will be the next ball....

KLG: NO NO NO NO NO NO NON ONONOOOOOOOO!

Slacker6848: Hi, last show I went to I saw a lot of new blood morphs I didn't know even existed like the ivory, and is the rarest morph you are messing around with. Also I have a regular blood, is there any nice co-dom morphs that are at a reasonable price and what are they?

KLG: Not the next ball!

Matt J: Never....

KLG: No drama!

PHFaust: lol

KLG: Slacker...whew...

KLG: I don't know about rare, I have a handful of stuff that I think is cool & haven't seen anywhere else (yet), but am not ready to talk about yet. Also I have my Calypso Albino, sexy Borneos, peaches, that kind of stuff. Some weird hypos red bloods as well...

KLG: As far as pricing...I'm a horrible person to ask...I keep almost everything. It pains me to sell snakes & drives my other half nuts!

PHFaust: loco

jeffb: short drive

KLG: Hey now...He's a ball python guy Jeff, what do you expect? And he has NO appreciation for habanero peppers.

loconorc: Do you and kevin do separate animals? does he do just balls and retics and do you just do bloods etc?

KLG: Heh...separate but equal, or something like that.

KLG: We have blood projects together...but I do a lot of that stuff solo.

loconorc: does he have a name?

KLG: Yes - the albino waters are Lindy, Scrappy & Samantha.

loconorc: I'm gonna name one of my snakes Samuel Jackson one day...

loconorc: you have 3 now?

KLG: It's nice to have some separation between what each of us work with, since we spend so much time around each other as it is! ;)

KLG: Yes, 3 & a bunch of hets.

loconorc: Is one a baby ?

bmelv24: Any offspring from Rojo coming up any time soon? (and if so put me on the list!!!!)

KLG: SHHHHH! Yes! I am expecting his firstborn this year.

KLG: Send me an e-mail if you're serious.

KLG: He's already got a fan club. ;)

KLG: And I now have a female that smokes him!

KLG: You know what? He is just the best snake. Friendly, sexy, such a great guy...one of my all time favorites.

KLG: He is in my mind the perfect blood python, mostly due to his sweet personality.

KLG: I know I'm gushing, but I just LOOOOOOVE that snake!

snake_gal: Do you have a favourite type of blood? what do you think about albino bloods?

KLG: http://bloodpythons.com/forumpics/26aug05rolo8.jpg

KLG: That's my favorite type of blood. I do love the Albino bloods & am working with a nice group right now...I think they are just gorgeous snakes! I can't have just a favorite, which is why I'm out of cage space.

Phoenix79: Are you currently working with or do you plan to work with t- albinos?

KLG: Sure, someday - right now I'm focusing on some different projects we have going on here, but I'd love to expand into the T- albinos in the future. They're just amazing!

loconorc: Is rojo a special locality? Or is he just a really pretty one?

KLG: He's a het albino. Just a cool snake.

loconorc: He looks gorgeous O_O

loconorc: /steal him :p

KLG: You don't want to steal him. I would have to feed you to a retic.

Finnigan: Hi Kara. For a 2 month old baby blood, who will be more of a pet then a breeding project, to get him accustomed to handling, and assuming he has been eating regularly. What kind of handling regiment would you employ?

KLG: Finnigan! Hi! Love the username! ;)

KLG: Just gentle interaction, a few minutes each day making friends i.e. convincing the snake that you aren't going to eat him. Get him used to routine maintenance. Then extend to longer periods as he settles down.

Finnigan: Any time of day matter? And what about the old t-shirt in the enclosure trick to get him used to my stink?

KLG: No time of day in particular, I try to accustom my bloods to be messed with at any time, but also respect their space if they're having a bad day - it happens.

KLG: T-shirt -yes, especially if you've done 2 hours of cardio prior to! ;)

Finnigan: lol, ok thanks

KLG: I've actually never done the T-shirt trick

Bloodball_nr: Whens the new complete bp comin out?

KLG: Most bloods will chill out once they've figured out you aren't going to eat them. Some will take weeks, some will take months. But most come around eventually.

fkdmatt_nr: Any chance to see a blood, book or video from you or Tracy?

KLG: I'm pretty sure Tracy's doing both...we have a book in the works as well. :)

KLG: At this point I just want to get the websites finished!

KLG: NERD is 300+ pages right now. yikes!

KLG: And launching shortly!

KLG: Damn ball python morphs!

Bloodball_nr: when do you think your site will be finished

KLG: Before this summer.

KLG: I am finishing up the NERD site now, and will be able to focus on bloodpythons.com after that.

bellapython: What was the 1st snake you owned?

KLG: A rough green snake that I caught on my back porch when I was 10, living in TX. His name was Herc, short for Hercules. Got some boas later on, and the rest was history! I won't say how long ago I caught Herc!

snake_gal: Simple question, but wanted to know for a long time...how long do bloods get? And have you heard of the blood/ball pythons?

KLG: Most average in the 5' range

snake_gal: blood/ball hybrids they look cool

KLG: ...I've seen some that push the upside of that...they're impressive.

KLG: blood/balls...eh

DemonFrog: ?

snake_gal: ur worst nightmare...lol jk

KLG: Kevin has one here...but they don't make bloods any cooler, IMO.

KLG: Some hybrids are mindblowing, but the "super balls" don't do a lot for me. I'd like to breed it to a Retic & see what THAT would make!

snake_gal: Wow! That would be awsome...a 15 foot long blood

beardieboy_nr: Hi, I was wondering if my beardie is supposed tochangecolor alittle bit when he sheds. He also gained spots.

KLG: beardieboy - yes, they will dull out a bit when they shed, dunno about the spots.

DemonFrog: Do you think there is any major advantage to letting a female python incubate the eggs as opposed to artificial means?

KLG: Pythons are usually fabulous mothers!

KLG: I personally prefer artificial incubation but I'm a control freak that way.

DemonFrog: lol aren't most people when it comes to babies

KLG: It takes a lot out of a female to incubate that long. I don't usually rebreed my bloods every year... but it just seems like such an effort for the girls to incubate. I prefer to pull the eggs & pop them in the "oven" here, and tell them not to be influenced by all the ball python eggs around them. ;)

Slacker6848: What temp do you set the incubator at? Also how big would you prefer the female to be "size and weight"?

KLG: Slacker...91/92 is good. Female - 3 yrs, 3.5' feet,

KLG: NOT OBESE

KLG: I don't usually weigh my girls, I go by feel. Bloods should not be fat. Heavy bodied yes, fat no. 8 lbs is probably good for many of them.

Slacker6848: ok thanks, I should be ready next year then.

KLG: Good luck!!! :) Come post pics on kingsnake & bloodpythons.com in the mean time!

maxamillion: Hi Kara, when will you have some red babies ready to go? From that georgeous girl maybe?

Matt J: Have you heard any news from Indo on the overall 'health' of the wild populations? Is the skin trade making a huge dent in the number found these days or is the wild population so large that it's still stable?

KLG: Max - she's breeding still RIGHT NOW...ugh...I dont' want to talk about it! Come up and visit & you'll see her!

PHFaust: Is that my name sake?

KLG: Faust - YES!

KLG: Matt J - I'm not sure... they're supposedly very common in the wild, but how much of that is just fluff & how much is reality? I'd love to make an Indo trip.

KLG: We are doing damage, no doubt. One of my best friends works in fashion, and the amount of snakeskin being used for shoes/bags/belts/etc is STAGGERING!

maxamillion: So I'll eamil you for a time?

KLG: Sure! :)

DemonFrog: What do you use to control the temperatures in your blood tanks/racks? Also how big is your “oven” and what humidity do you keep it at?

KLG: I use Helix & Ranco thermostats for my blood cages/racks. The incubator is BIG! Primary incubator is probably 7' x 3 x 2' and we have some secondary incubators as well. 91-92 degrees high and 88 ish for the low incubators. Everything from Retic to tokay gecko eggs in them!

bmelv24: I know you have other snakes as well, but about how many are bloods and short tails?

KLG: Me personally?

bmelv24: yes

KLG: NERD not withstanding...I keep approximately 200 snakes right now, and all but 20 of those are bloods/short-tails.

KLG: The rest are blackheads, womas, angolans, various antaresia, hog island boas, some select colubrids, and one king cobra.

TESSI_GAL: More of a comment....Max the real snake (lol) is doing great by the way thanks Kara. He is awesome and never bit us once, but everyone keeps asking if we've gotten railed yet. LOL And the dropped off Iguana that we picked up from you finally ate after a 3 and 1/2 week feeding strike. But our son caught her eating today. So every things good and it will be good to see you (and some gorgeous red bloods) again.

KLG: YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TESSI_GAL: Yeah i was getting nervous...

KLG: Thank you - this is why I do this! I am glad you're enjoying your critters!!!!!!!!!!! :D

TESSI_GAL: ...but the borneo is doing great.

KLG: GOOD! :)

TESSI_GAL: cant wait to see your critters again

KLG: Come on up!

PHFaust: And I get the final questions.... One was answered in part... Will you have Faust babies available in fall... ;)

PHFaust: And two when are the T-shirts gojgn on sale

KLG: Heh...that all depends on her. Hang on, pic...

KLG: http://bloodpythons.com/forumpics/psycho.jpg. That is Faust's namesake, for those who are wondering.

PHFaust: LOL psycho?

PHFaust: Gee and I thought you loved me

KLG: She's my BESTEST BESTEST female red.

KLG: I love YOU...but she hates ME!

loconorc: PURDY

PHFaust: and the T-shirts?

KLG: Well, psycho was the most PC name I could comeup with for a KS chat.

KLG: T-shirts, DAYTONA!

PHFaust: Good. Ill swing by!

PHFaust: On behalf of Kingsnake.com, Jeff B, and myself, I want to take a moment to thank Kara for being part of our chat week. Kara, thanks for taking the time out to chat with us on Bloods and Short-tailed Pythons.

RiseAbove: thanks Kara

PHAlex: Thanks Kara I always enjoy blood chat!!

KLG: Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!