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Transcript: Ralph Davis International Reptile Conservation February 28, 2009 PHFaust: On behalf of Jeff Barringer and all of us at kingsnake.com, I am pleased to welcome Ralph Davis to our 11th annual Chat Month.. PHFaust: Kicking off our final night will be none other than Ralph Davis, one of the leading ball python breeders. Since childhood, he has named this species of snake among his favorites. If he only knew what would become of his passion for ball pythons. He deals in high-end morphs and is known for his playful personality both behind the table and keyboard. PHFaust: Thanks to a successful run in the construction field, Ralph is able to invest in some wonderful morphs of both ball pythons and boa constrictors. Ralph loves to play in the "mutations" available in the land of the ball pythons, and he is always on the search for the next great mutation. PHFaust: Tonight Ralph will be talking all about Ball Pythons, from basic husbandry to the world of genetics. PHFaust: Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls I present Ralph Davis! Let's kick the final night off Ralphie Style! SilentHouse: Hey Ralph. I deal with ball pythons on a regular basis, and they seem to be the pickiest eaters ever. Is there any way I could get them to eat what they're given? Ralph Davis: that is the nature of the ball Ralph Davis: as long as the weight is good.... Ralph Davis: just keep tryin' Ralph Davis: or turn it into a dreaded "mouser" Ralph Davis: ha! Ralph Davis: balls like to fast Ralph Davis: especially at the 800 gram yearling age Ralph Davis: they fast just as your about to count some breeding dollars..;) mbavenger_nr: Ralph- when did you start breeding? how much have you invested in racks, ect.. Do you do this more for the hobby or a business. Ralph Davis: Started full bore in the early 90's Ralph Davis: Pete Kahl got me hooked on the albino boas.... Ralph Davis: Racks...... Ralph Davis: about 75k Ralph Davis: give or take Ralph Davis: I do it for the loot!! PHFaust: LOL and he is Honest! ;) Ralph Davis: and of course I love my ball pythons..;) PHFaust: Are you doing anything with Boas these days? Why do you prefer balls to boas? Ralph Davis: I do boas too.... Ralph Davis: Just have to use the "room" wisely Ralph Davis: it's a "space" thing Ralph Davis: I love the centrals....and have much under the hood.....shhhhh...;) mbavenger_nr: what would you say is the hardest part about breeding balls/ Ralph Davis: The hardest part..... Ralph Davis: hmmm.... Ralph Davis: How about the boners who don't claim any income and force the prices down... Ralph Davis: balls are easy boaphile: When breeding Boas, I am never presumptuous to assume one male can breed more than one female. With Ball Pythons, how many females do you feel pretty confident you could get a typical male Ball to breed successfully? Ralph Davis: my balls are on auto pilot Ralph Davis: I think 3 is a good average for me Ralph Davis: I have done 4 times that before.. Ralph Davis: and killed the males Ralph Davis: 3 to 4 is good Ralph Davis: I like doing boas one on one Bezel_nr: What hooked you on balls? I personally love their gentle nature Ralph Davis: saliva ladies and gents!! Ralph Davis: My petshop hooked me on the balls... Ralph Davis: Then I saw Clark's albino bp's Ralph Davis: I wanted to be Bob Clark..... Ralph Davis: Then a vpi axanthic....a pied.... Ralph Davis: and the rest is history Ralph Davis: I started diggin' around in Africa. 250rider_nr: about how many animals do you think you'll produce this year? Ralph Davis: not telling.... Ralph Davis: new game plan at RDR Kerry_nr: What is the deal with the wobble? Ralph Davis: the wobble Ralph Davis: spiders Ralph Davis: nuff said Ralph Davis: it's just part of the trait....so we gotta deal Ralph Davis: the moprh is one of my favs. Ralph Davis: I have some pretty retarded spiders here. Ralph Davis: it's in the gentic code of a spider Zimdeballpython: how long should you keep bps together when breeding Ralph Davis: I do it for six months Ralph Davis: sept to march Ralph Davis: most are prego by late jan Ralph Davis: some breeders breed all year long Ralph Davis: not my gig. boaphile: With Boas, I tend to have more difficulty sometimes breeding older and more experienced females. Is the same true of Ball Pythons? Also, how long is the longest you have owned any of your Balls? Ralph Davis: honker gals.... Ralph Davis: they can be tricky for sure..... boaphile: I cheated with 2 questions... hehe Ralph Davis: BUT....an experienced male usually get's the job done. Ralph Davis: Younger males don't stand a chance against a big honker usually. Ralph Davis: 88' Ralph Davis: 21 years old boaphile: 21 years old? Ralph Davis: platty daddy is 10!! boaphile: WOw! THanks! Ralph Davis: The freak boa is 10 SilentHouse: What is your favorite morph to play with, breeding-wise? Ralph Davis: kick me hot stuff Ralph Davis: pieds PHLdyPayne: What is your view on feeding ball pythons African Soft Furs instead of regular rats? These seem to be the 'big thing' for balls lately yet there is concern ball pythons will imprint on ASF's and not eat anything else. Have you used ASF's at all? Ralph Davis: I think it's stupid Ralph Davis: the average joe wants a snake that is well started on reg. rats Ralph Davis: never used one Ralph Davis: well...maybe one..;) astaley: speaking of the wobble, have you seen this in other morphs other than the spider? Ralph Davis: a little in the genetic stripes Ralph Davis: the homos Ralph Davis: oh.....and the super cinny FredT_nr: how do you get a reluctant male that is big enough and old enough to breed?... tricks tips...JayP: ? astaley: ? Ralph Davis: long story fred Ralph Davis: you need to read all the tips on the web..... Ralph Davis: give me a call one day... Ralph Davis: for now.... Ralph Davis: dampen a fresh female shed, and try some female poop..... OldWorldPythons: Hey Ralph...What is your best recommendation in regards to dealing with all the goof balls in this industry!?!? Ralph Davis: kick them in the nuts! Ralph Davis: CLOWNS Ralph Davis: love to see their tax returns Ralph Davis: yeah I'm a tool.... grunt_11b: Do you think the mystic is another form of phantom?? And do you think the price of the mystic is going to hurt your phantoms??? Ralph Davis: yes it has to be Ralph Davis: I already did a phantom x what could be a phantom or a mystic or a mojave female Ralph Davis: got similar results Ralph Davis: whats the price??? Ralph Davis: I've made a small fortune already...;) grunt_11b: 2500 Ralph Davis: multiply that x 200 for me...;) Ralph Davis: Im RICH! Ralph Davis: Thanks Anthony! Herptile_nr: In one of the videos you made that I saw, you cleaned a bunch of ball python cages. When you got to one tub, you said "oh no..don't let anyone see this...this is the big secret!" Care to shed some light on the matter? Pretty please?!?!? Ralph Davis: nope Ralph Davis: GA Herptile_nr: OH darn! Ralph Davis: I got a few secrets...... Ralph Davis: notice the BR page gettin' smaller don't ya..;) JayP: when you said about the spider wobble will that be passed to the offspring and what is the size of you biggest ball python Ralph Davis: yep....spiders pass it on....not all have it I guess. Ralph Davis: I can see it in "ANY" spider...... Ralph Davis: I'm good like that Ralph Davis: Biggest ball.... Ralph Davis: 5 footer I guess.... astaley: what are you calling the cinny het red axanthics? I know the balck pastel het reds are gargoyles. Ralph Davis: cinny/het reds PHLdyPayne: Any good tips on feeding stubborn feeders? I have a female whos about 5 years old now...she was a great eater till she reaches about 1300g then she became finiky. For a long time she didn't eat...though I realize it was because the heat pad stopped working (lights were on, no heat produced) and she started eating after I replaced the faulty pad but now she's not eating much. Her weight is holding..at 14oog...but she maybe eats a med. rat once every 3-5 months. I have offered live, frozen, fresh killed rats, but no go. Tried a mouse but that didn't interest her either. Ralph Davis: african soft fur...lol Ralph Davis: some bp's are just that way..... Ralph Davis: assuming the health is perfect. Ralph Davis: just be patient.....I have several like that PHLdyPayne: She seems healthy...when I take her out she is responsive, explores..has no sign of IR or any other problems I can tell Ralph Davis: switching substarte is a good trigger to get feeding going again.. Ralph Davis: as is two hide boxes.....try burrying one SoLA: When you see people telling other people they can't offer their ball python prey variety, what do you tell them to help them understand that concept makes no evolutionary sense for an opportunistic ambush predator? Ralph Davis: huh sola???? Ralph Davis: I feed rats and mice.... boaphile: Ralph, is it true that Weebles wobble but they don't fall down? boaphile: After watching all the fasting and such from Ball Pythons, even with the steady offering of food, how much faster do you think a captive Ball grows up compared to a Ball in the wild? Ralph Davis: you had a fuzzy pumper barber shop didn't ya Jeff? Ralph Davis: I think a captive grows much faster Ralph Davis: because captives have dollar signs pushin the food their way every two days Ralph Davis: lol Ralph Davis: captives do better Ralph Davis: in my opinion anyway..... kareo: Ralph, what has been your largest clutch to date? Did all hatch out? Ralph Davis: I'm not sure I can tell ya..... Ralph Davis: It was at least 11 Ralph Davis: may be an "x clutch"....shhhhhh Ralph Davis: all did hatch yes Ralph Davis: man I suck.... PHLdyPayne: Have you heard of the derma ball? It showed up several years ago in the forums, owner took alot of slack...it was basically a near scaleless mutation of ball python...rather neat looking...any thoughts about this sort of mutation? Ralph Davis: yeah...that was Justin Ralph Davis: it was offered around....and to me Ralph Davis: wasn't that hip on it....still ain't Ralph Davis: was cool looking though Ralph Davis: Eugene Bisset has one........ mpenny: What is your faverite morph? Why? Ralph Davis: "Purple Haze".......wayyy cool Bezel_nr: How has the economy affected you? I noticed you werent at Daytona this year? Was it that or the ROC that held you back? I missed buying my shirt! Ralph Davis: the economy is flat Ralph Davis: construction is slow......but we are working Ralph Davis: as far as the shows.... Ralph Davis: Just don't feel the need to be around all the flea market mentality anymore... Ralph Davis: I don't do 2/3's of my bizzz at Daytona like the rest do Ralph Davis: I'm a true Internet ball breeder... kareo: Did you ever eat the poop when you lost the "bet" that the goblin super wouldn't produce "another white snake"? LOL Ralph Davis: I did not eat the poop Ralph Davis: I should be eating a lot of poop these days..... SoLA: I kind of what to offer a little change from the ball python questions for a second. What is the coolest snake you have ever found outside? Ralph Davis: a morph of a copper head Ralph Davis: I think it was axanthic SoLA: cool Ralph Davis: yepper...was very cool JayP: when was the first albino clown produced and by who. any idea of the number of super pastel clowns that have been produced just a guess is fine Ralph Davis: BHB did the albino clown Ralph Davis: 3 years ago maybe? JayP: thanks Ralph Davis: super pastel clowns......I hope less than a dozen anthony james mc: ralph if you did a similiar breeding as I then that means that is not a phantom but a mojave otherwise you'd have just made more super phantoms that were darker, agree???? Ralph Davis: not sure anthony.... Ralph Davis: don't know what the momma is anthony james mc: one I asked you about on an email , one you bought as a possible phantom from a guy? Ralph Davis: yes her Anthony......and two others Ralph Davis: the first female kept giving me duds... anthony james mc: thought as much!!! Ralph Davis: I'll tell you all about it when we chat Ralph Davis: Jim Piron was his name bamasmith_nr: Have you ever lost an expensive snake,like dieing as a result of shipping conditions?If so what did you do? Ralph Davis: nope Ralph Davis: never lost a single snake shipping it bamasmith_nr: Awesome Ralph Davis: Platty Daddy was a cool pop when he showed up.....and he thawed out Ralph Davis: I'm a PRO gixxerrobballs: do you ever think we'll see a true red ball or is there pigment different Ralph Davis: I don't see how... Ralph Davis: but when I say that, my phone rings and they have a "red ball" Ralph Davis: bring ME the red ball!! gixxerrobballs: lol Ralph Davis: to go with my red rats! MRIunlimited_nr: Roughly, how many ball pythons do you have? Ralph Davis: 1800 or so Ralph Davis: drop in the bucket....I'm small time NewVisionDragonZ: Are you going to lower some of your prices on your snakes or do you feel that you will have to.. due to the economy and where it is? Ralph Davis: I don't lower....I'm the LEADER NewVisionDragonZ: lol Ralph Davis: Only very lucky people "get to buy" from Ralphie...;) boaphile: You never answered the question about the Weebles Ralph……. hehe boaphile: Are all of the racks you use for Balls the open type using whitish or light colored tubs? Do you have any, or have you used any closed in racks at all with your Balls? If so, did you notice any differences in the Balls? Ralph Davis: they never fall down Jeff Ralph Davis: I had the little construction worked weeble set Ralph Davis: loved it boaphile: Are all of the racks you use for Balls the open type using whitish or light colored tubs? Do you have any, or have you used any closed in racks at all with your Balls? If so, did you notice any differences in the Balls? Ralph Davis: ARS and Freedom breeder cb-70 racks for all adults Ralph Davis: Balls like to be cooped up Ralph Davis: semi-trans tubs Jeff MRIunlimited_nr: What have you found is the best bedding? Ralph Davis: unprinted news-paper Ralph Davis: PERIOD bamasmith_nr: What's going to happen to the ball market? Is the end near? Ralph Davis: the end? bamasmith_nr: Prices crashing Ralph Davis: people will be breeding and selling balls for the next thousand years Ralph Davis: as long as we stay on top of our RIGHTS to do so bamasmith_nr: AMEN! gixxerrobballs: what the highest $ amout morph you have Ralph Davis: highest in "my mind" Ralph Davis: 50k gixxerrobballs: what is it Ralph Davis: and a little "specail something" I got on the back burner for when the market comes back.....LOL Herptile_nr: that special something.... bamasmith_nr: tHAT WAS AIMED AT ME PHFaust: Ralph would you like to toss anything out on HR669 before we close? Ralph Davis: Yeah... Ralph Davis: That was one hell of a PT boat back in Nam Ralph Davis: gonna miss the heck outa that boat.... Ralph Davis: simple... Ralph Davis: don't look STUPID boaphile: Your wierd Ralph. Ralph Davis: support without looking like a BONER Ralph Davis: Jeff handles all that....I just make us look snazzy......USARK PHFaust: On behalf of Jeff Barringer and all of us here at kingsnake.com, Thank You for taking your time to chat with us. Transcripts will be posted with in a few days. Once again, Thank you Ralph! PHFaust: Please visit Ralph's website at http://www.ralphdavisreptiles.com/ boaphile: Thanks Mr Davis
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