Jagpondros and Carpondros

My Jagpondro project started during the 2018 season. I initially wasn’t planning on breeding my green tree python female that year because my male green tree went on hunger strike. It was late in the season, and I noticed my green tree female building follicles. I decided to throw in Max, one of my coastal jaguar carpet pythons. This was a last-minute decision of mine. I didn’t go into that season with the idea of attempting to make hybrids. Sometimes during a season you have to change you plans. This is why it is important to have backup males, in any project.

I only had these two together for three days for the first introduction. Then after a week, I put them together for another 3-4 days. I never saw a confirmed lock, but I did get a prelay shed about a month after the introductions ended. I ended up with 16 eggs. When I took the eggs from the female, all the eggs did not adhere to each other. Fertility is a topic that comes up in hybrid project. But when I candled the clutch, veins were present.

I incubated the clutch just as I would any carpet python clutch. I used vermiculite as my incubation medium. I incubated the eggs at 87-88 degrees, and they hatched at about 57-60 days. I ended up with thirteen live babies and three fully formed dead in the egg. I was honestly pleasantly surprised with my results. Hybrid pairings are known for fertility and viability problems. I do think there is an aspect of compatibility between the two animals being used for the project. That could be why some pairings don’t work out. We see that sometimes with pairings of the same species, so it makes perfect sense to me for this to be the case with a hybrid pairing.

I have my own opinions whether or not hybrids are fertile or not. But I have decided to use the ones I have held back to see for myself. I want to attempt test breedings by breeding 50/50 animals back to each other and breed them back to green trees. I have put a rule on myself in this project that I don’t want any hybrid I make to have any more than 50% carpet python blood. I have noticed in my research that carpondros and jagpondros with 75% or more carpet blood just look too much like carpet pythons in my opinion. To me, the whole point of making hybrids is to make something that is different visually from both parent species.

My future plans for this project are to attempt the test breedings and I also would like to add carpet mutations into the mix. Whether or not you agree with hybrids, they are interesting animals. That makes me want to see how far I can take the project. I very well could have just gotten lucky and never produce any ever again. Or I could further the project and see if they are fertile or not. And inject different carpet mutations into the mix. The future for this project is exciting and I’m eagerly waiting to see what we can produce next.