This “little project,” or more accurately long term fact-finding mission, started out years ago after several seasons of seeing my diamond pythons breed but not having my females ovulate. Why was this happening? What was I doing incorrectly? Well, I still don’t have the answer to these two questions, but while I was meditating on them I started the current project.

Diamonds are the southeastern most race of carpet pythons or, more correctly, carpets are more northerly and westerly races of the diamond python. It is well documented that diamond pythons at the northerly end of their range intergrade with the southernmost coastal carpet pythons. And, unlike the difficult diamond pythons, the southern carpets are easily bred. How about the diamond-coastal intergrades? Time to find out.

Pure diamond male


So I enlisted the help of Will Bird, owner and cage slave to a wonderfully varied collection of herps at Extraordinary Ectotherms. Will bred diamond and carpet pythons of varying lineages. To give the project a head start I borrowed a couple of first generation diamond-carpet babies and we were on our way.

Female 75 percent pure diamond


The babies matured and were successfully bred to one of my full blooded diamond males. She laid a few eggs amd voila, I had babies that carried 75 percent diamond genes. They matured and were bred to another diamond male and this year I have hatchlings with 87.5 percent diamond genes.

Newly hatched 87.5 percent diamonds, 2013


If continued, when these babies mature, the project will produce snakes having 93.75 percent diamond genes followed next generation by babies that are 96.865 percent diamonds. I’m hoping that these higher percentage diamonds remain easily bred, and I know they will look like pure diamonds. Ease of breeding added to the beauty of the diamond python should interest many hobbyists, old and new alike.