albino burmese python

[usa1950]

I baught a albino burmese python and i heard albino people can't see as well and die younger. i was wondering if it was the same for snakes

[usa1950]

i was also wondering if the light from the bulb is bad for it like humans with sun light

[Ravnos]

Hope you know what you got yourself into, Burmese pythons can typically hit 15 foot and over 100 pounds... but anyway, to answer your question: Albinos do not have melanin in their bodies, that is the dark pigment in the skin. This typically makes them pretty near sighted and sensitive to changes in lighting, and bright light. They should not be taken out in the sun, as they can burn very easily and the light is very hard on their eyes. Heating for them should be provided with an under tank heat pad, not a bulb.

As far as I have seen, there is no reason why it should affect life span though. Burmese pythons can easily reach 20-30 years old if cared for properly. What does affect life span though is the fact that Burmese pythons have been so badly inbred to maintain the albino gene. This also makes them suseptible to respiratory infections. Overfeeding is also a major factor in Burmese pythons, people tend to feed them way too much because they almost always act like they are hungry - growing too fast can put strain on the internal organs (these snakes can easily hit 7-8 foot in a year if overfed). Plus, bing obese puts extreme demands on the snake's liver, heart and kidneys.

Rav

[snlash]

Ravnos hit the nail on the head in his/her message What she said is exactly right... that being said... I myself would die for a Albino Python of any subspecies!!!! (But such is the life of a poor person that I can't afford one )

[Exotica]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ravnos Overfeeding is also a major factor in Burmese pythons, people tend to feed them way too much because they almost always act like they are hungry - growing too fast can put strain on the internal organs (these snakes can easily hit 7-8 foot in a year if overfed). Plus, bing obese puts extreme demands on the snake's liver, heart and kidneys. Rav

great information Rav, all too often people overfeed for the simple reason of saying that their snake grew xx feet in xx months. I had a kid bring in a beautiful 6ft Albino burm, and I held it, sweet disposition too, the kid kept telling me things like "don't stroke him because you could hurt him, and he'll bite." and "live feeding is best because feeding dead represses the need for the hunt"
I also found out that this snake was 6.5 ft in under a year old. He says he's a big fan of power feeding, because he likes his snakes big. *rolls eyes*
I love when people get animals that grow big *sulcuta tortus, savannah monitor, Retics and Burms* not because they love the herp hobby , but because they want to see how big they can get them to grow.

[Ravnos]

Theres a reason why the average burmese python life span in captivity nowadays is less than 10 years, when they -should- be living upwards of 30 years. Its a horrible problem with the herp community, that will only be fixed with education.

There simply is no logic in feeding live prey. I don't know anyone who feeds live animals to their cats or dogs, why would you do so for other pets? Ok, the exception of insectivores which by in large rely on visual cues for hunting, as well as the lack of a good method to preserve invertebrate prey and not turn them into shrivelled husks of chitin with little nutritional value that isn't added in with powders... but really, theres simply no real good reason to feed live mice, rats, or rabbits to snakes.

Rav