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jeffb: A man who really needs no introduction here,one of our most requested guests. Bob Clark has been breeding pythons for nearly 25 years. He has originated nearly all of the burmese python color and pattern mutations, and many of the other popular python morphs on the
Taylor: ?

Heterodon62: ?

Thomas j: ?

Maliyum: ?

macaridariTO_nr: ?

thekidgecko: ?

KarlBuckler: ?

giantkeeper: ?

jeffb: market today. He graduated from the University of Kansas in with a
Bachelor's degree in Systematics and Ecology in 1977 and received his
Master's degree in Herpetology in 1979 from the same institution.

jeffb: Bob has operated at the commercial level since 1988 producing pythons for collectors, breeders and institutions both in the United States and abroad.

Thank you so much for joining us, Bob, and welcome

PHFaust: Alright Bob, our first question is from Taylor

jeffb: howdy bob and welcome

Taylor: so bob how long have you been breeding pythons?

bobclark: I bred my first Burmese pythons in 1973 and every year since

Taylor: o cool

Longshanks_nr: ?

PHFaust: Hetero your question

Heterodon62: How long do you think it will take for the ball python morphs to become more affordable?...especially albinos.

Heterodon62: and rectic

B-Turner: I recently purchased a pinstripe from mike where do u see that morph goin

bobclark: Its the same with everything. At first things are new and expensive and later they become more common and less expensive ga

Bud_nr: Anyone know what types of wood are safe for building a habitat for a california kingsnak

SilentViper_nr: ?

PHFaust: Thomas your question

bobclark: Ball pythons, go a little slower because they have fewer eggs than many species

Thomas j: What do you think of the new burm morphs. silver sided and T+ albinos

Basilisks: ?

bobclark: Both are interesting and hopefully both are genetic traits that can be reproduced

ilikesnakes7792: ?

BMX_PYTHON: ?

iLuvRetics: ?

Bob_O_clock_nr: ?

PHFaust: Kid Gecko your turn

bobclark: There hasn't been a new Burmese mutation since the granite and the market can really use something now

thekidgecko: Have you ever bred fluffy? If so how many eggs does she produce per clutch?
bulliwalla: ?

ilikesnakes7792: ?

SilentViper_nr: ?

bobclark: I bred Fluffy every year for almost 10 seasons. Her biggest clutch was 66 eggs. I've got several reticstha tare smaller that have laid more.

thekidgecko: wow thats a lot of eggs lol thanks

GODFATHERBURM: ?

thekidgecko: honor speking to ya btw

Longshanks_nr: ?

BMX_PYTHON: ?

the_keeper_nr: for those of us who don't keep up, who's fluffy?

bobclark: thank you

bobclark: Fluffy is a big reticulate python. She's 17 years old, 310 lbs and around 24' lomg

APYTHON4U: ?

Bob_O_Clark_nr: wow.

PHFlame: Carl, you're up

KarlBuckler: Bob who owns the blue ball python..........the one that looks like a bar of irish spring soap cut down the center? The Big Breeder in Maryland says it exists???

bobclark: I don't know about that one

KarlBuckler: Thanks

PHFlame: Giant Keeper, you're next

electricbluescat: ?

radwigs: ?

giantkeeper: Bob, do you have any new projects that will debut this year?? I currently work with boas but my true love is retics, what can we expect morph wise in the next few years? Lastly what happened with the Striated project?

herper4ever: ?

B-Turner: ?

KarlBuckler: ?

SilentViper_nr: ?

bobclark: I've got several interesting projects that will be availble this year. My longtime friend Jay Brewer and I have just stated working with an incredible new retic this season

Longshanks_nr: ?

bobclark: This snake is patternless white with a pale orange wash over most of the body

PHFlame: bob, if you could type a GA or go ahead when you are ready for the next question, it would be helpful

bobclark: Parts of the head and the belly and sides are pure white

bobclark: The eyes are jet black with deep red pupils GA

giantkeeper: Awesome, thanks for your time!

the_keeper_nr: ?

PHFaust: Mali your turn

Maliyum: is a ball python a good starter for me? I have never owned a snake only a beginner lizard & turtle...

bobclark: We've named the new snake "white flame"

B-Turner: ?

bobclark: Ball pythons are easy to care for and very tolerant of husbandry mistakes. I think they are a good first snake GA

n2snakes2000_nr: ?

PHFaust: Longshanks

Longshanks_nr: How did you breed ball pythons to be white in color? Did someone else generate that color?

bobclark: The white ball pythons, like other genetic traits in pythons, came from snakes born in the wild,

Longshanks_nr: Ok, do you have any other snakes

bobclark: The heterozygous snakes of this trait (fire balls) look different than the normal ball pythons

Oddballpythons:

bobclark: When two of thse were bred a white snake with black eyes was produced GA

PHFaust: ATB

atb: bob, have you ever bred atb's or any boas for that matter

kareo: ?

bobclark: ATB'S?? I've bred Colombian boas and two types of rainbow boas but I'm mostly a python guy! G

Longshanks_nr: Thanks for your time!

B-Turner: ?

atb: amazon tree boas

RePtImAlS: ?

PHFaust: Alrighty then Caimen

Tarentola: ?

caimanSR: working with any new ball morphs? if so what? any pics?

bobclark: I haven't bred them. GA

bobclark: I've got pictures of most of the ball pythons I'm breeding on the website www.bobclark.com

bobclark: It looks good for producing the black eyed leucistic this year GA

caimanSR: thanks

PHFaust: JL exotics your turn please

rmwindsong_nr: ?

JLExotics: Bob what do you think of the T + Albino Burms for sale for $75k? Neat looking animals, but for that kind of money aren't burms past their prime? Thomas kind of stole half my ? When can we expect to see pics of this "white Flame

bobclark: New mutations, especially attractive ones, command very high prices these days. I'm sure even at that price the investment will pay of

bobclark: I think there is a lot of interest in retics these days and that may have taken a little away from the Burmese market but I think there are MANY people interested in Burmese pythons,

bobclark: YOu can see pictures of the white flame retics on my website right after this chat GA

JLExotics: Thank You...sorry for all of the questions lol

JLExotics: Sweet Thanks again!~!!!

PHFaust: Sengoku your turn

SengokuJidai_nr: Bob, when do you expect to have Blonde Burms for sale and how much do you intend to sell them for? And just as a side note, I AM one of those people still interested in Burmese Pythons.

bobclark: The blond project is stalled, unfortunately. I don't even have hets. GA

SengokuJidai_nr: ok thanks

PHFaust: Imride go ahead

imridethelghtng: bob first off im a big fan you do beautiful work second last time you were here you talked maybe about getting back into boelens that still the plan also how is fluffy and what are the secrets we all know your going to drop on us soon and hows your falconry going thanks for being a guest and for your time

B-Turner: ?

bobclark: Thanks. I haven't kept Boelen's pythons for a while and I guess its because I'm waiting for someone else to figure out how to be successful with them,

bobclark: Fluffy is doing well, still growing!

bobclark: I'm having a good falconry season this year. The duck season is over now and the peregrine caught quite a few

bobclark: I've got a new goshawk that's really catching a lot of rabbits. GA

PHFaust: ReptileFreak101 your turn

cornsnake_nr: hey is a pure white morph a really rare and expenseive thing?

reptilefreak101: bob, what is you fav, snake out of retics, ball and burms?, and also why do people think you can breed a ball and a blood together to get the best out of boths worlds? is it possible? thank you bob ~tom~

bobclark: I guess I like everything new. The different albino retics are hard to beat!

bobclark: I think the new White Fire is a type of albino even though it has black irises

bobclark: It is possible to breed balls and bloods together, Steve Roussis in New York has done it already. GA

reptilefreak101: thanks for your time Bob P.S. You Rule!!!!!

imridethelghtng: just hope it doesnt turn brown like the last new albino retic lol

PHFaust: Ilikesnakes7792

ilikesnakes7792: Bob, how can we prevent IBD? And how can we help our snakes if they catch IBD? How did IBD start? (for those of you who don't know what IBD is, it's an airborne disease that effects boas and pythons mostly). I recently lost a Colombian red tail and Ball from it, I think.. It's a great pleasure talking with you, Bob. Thank you for taking your time to talk with us.

bobclark: I don't know of any brown albino retics. Maybe you're thinking of a calico retic

imridethelghtng: talking about your blue albino that turned brow

bobclark: I don't know much about the disease but I think mites are vectors for many diseases and keeping them in control is important. Isolate sick snakes from the rest of your collection also. GA

ilikesnakes7792: thank you bob.

PHFaust: Silent viper your turn

bobclark: OK, I think the blue and yellow retic WAS a calico even though we didn't know it at the time. GA

SilentViper_nr: What is it like being such a successful breede

bobclark: I love what I do and I'm really lucky to be able to support myself and my family this way.

bobclark: I've got the best job in the world! GA

SilentViper_nr: my goal is to be a herpetologist and breeder, and yes you do.

PHFaust: Basilisks

Basilisks: What is the biggest snake u ever owned and what was it? How munch food do u go throw in a week ? What do u keep all this snakes at your home? Have u ever owned and lizards ?

Adam_nr: Anyone keeping savannahs and give me some tips?

bobclark: Fluffy is the biggest snake that I know about

bobclark: I think there may not be any bigger snakes in captivit

Basilisks: how much food fo u go through in a week?

bobclark: I use a lot of food in a week. Its by far my biggest expense.

bobclark: I don't keep any snakes a home any more. I've got a small warehouse, bout 7000sq ft , all the snakes are there

bobclark: g

Basilisks: u ever d own lizards at all?

PHFaust: BMX Your up

bobclark: I've kept a few over the years. Right now I've got a blue tongue skink, shingle back skink and a tegu GA

FkdMatt:

PHFaust: OK Iluveretics...

iLuvRetics: Please clear up the Leucistic Burmese stories. Are there any that actually exist in captivity? I know that you had one that supposedly died a while ago. Thanks

bobclark: I had one that I sold in 1992. There was another one back in the 50's. Neither snake ever bred. GA

PHFaust: BMX

BMX_PYTHON: Aside From the Controversal Nerd Sulawesi Breeding, has there ever been any Sulawesi Retic breedings in captivity and is Your White Flame any similar to NERDS? Also, did the blond burm Pass?

bobclark: I don't know if there have been any captive breedings of the Sulawesi retics. I know there have been a lot of imports but I don't think there should be anything to breeding them.

BMX_PYTHON: ok thanks, did the blond burm pass btw?

bobclark: i have worked mostly with mutations of pythons and not so much with the localities

bobclark: I am working more with some of the dwarf types now, breeding them with the tigers and with the albinos

BMX_PYTHON: cool

bobclark: There's an incredible amount of interest in a retic that stays relatively small. GA

BMX_PYTHON: THANKS FOR YOUR TIME BOB

PHFaust: Silent Vipe

SilentViper_nr: Bob what is your favorite type of morph in pythons?

bobclark: I'm really fired up about retics especially the albinos types, the original strain, the type II albino, the caramel and the white flam

SilentViper_nr: the white flame is a beauty.

bobclark: I know we'll see more of these types and combinations of these types in the near futur

SilentViper_nr: thank you bob.

PHFaust: Godfather your turn

bobclark: I've been successful with the new sunfire type and should have some of these availble this year

GODFATHERBURM: I am supposed to say hello from Mike Cohen, he is supposed to be bringing me down to meet you so I can see some of your beautiful Pied's that is the morph I am really interested in. We now are having pastel babies some time in the next 65 days. So when did you have your first Pied and what is your favorite Ball Morph?

Digby_Rigby_nr: ?

bobclark: Unfortunately I didn't recognize the importance of the pied when the snakes were first imported

bobclark: The trait was so different from the other traits we knew about at the time and I didn't think it was genetic

bobclark: It was a big mistake!! GA

PHFaust: Chrismorasky

GODFATHERBURM: yes they are beautiful, I hope to meet you soon and thanks for your time

electricbluescat:wondering about how to tell when a female ball is ready to breed if at 1500 grams or more

electricbluescat:when not using ultrasound.

bobclark: A snake that size is big enough to breed. Sometimes they may need some age in addition to the size so they won't always breed if they are very young(<18mo)

electricbluescat:but if you have a number of females and one special male, how do you know who to pair the male with?

bobclark: If the snake is getting what it needs as far as nutrition and seasonal cycle she should breed. GA

bobclark: The male knows! Let him choose. GA

electricbluescat:thanks, Bob.

PHFaust: Well gang I do apologize, but that was the final question for Bob Clark this evening...

We would like to thank you all for coming to visit with Bob.

On behalf of Jeff B., myself and kingsnake.com, we thank you Bob for joining us this evening...

electricbluescat: Hey Bob do you have any tips or advice for getting a big time breeding business started? I've already got several pairs of a variety of cali kings, 2 pairs of ball pythons, and a pair of jungle carpet pythons and western hogs. Thanks so much for your time!!!

GODFATHERBURM: thank you sir

radwigs: Great chatting with you Bob.

SilentViper_nr: Thank you for coming Bob!!!

bobclark: Thank you! Be sure to visit the website. It looks like a good season this year. If I can help you give me a call or send me an email!

ilikesnakes7792: Thanks so much Bob, I hope you had as great of a time as I did!

PHFaust: And what is the website Bob?

GODFATHERBURM: www.bobclark.com

ilikesnakes7792: www.bobclark.com

bobclark: www.bobclark.com

PHWyvern: Chat transcripts will be made available once chat week has finished up. Faust will also work at getting Bob to come back soon for another guest chat spot!

PHFaust: Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us tonight!