Abbreviations for Reptiles

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This page is a quick reference guide for common abbreviations used in Ball Python and reptile keeping. Use it to decode shorthand you’ll see in forums, care guides, and genetics discussions so you can better understand animal descriptions and make informed choices. Tip: Bookmark this page so you can quickly look up abbreviations anytime you’re reading or shopping for reptiles.

Abbreviation Ball Python Snakes

• 1.2.3 (or any similar group of numbers & decimal points) – a way of representing the number of males (first number) and females (second number) and unsexed animals (third number, if there is a third) in a group. 1.2.3 means 1 male, 2 females, 3 unsexed. 4.2 means 4 males and 2 females.

• Afrock - african rock python

• amel - short for amelanistic (lack of black pigment)

• anery - short for anerythristic (lack of red pigment)

• ASF or ASFR - African soft furred rat

• ATB – amazon tree boa

• BCC - Boa Constrictor constrictor - red tailed boa

• BCI - Boa Constrictor imperator - common boa, although also sometimes called a red tailed boa

• BCL - Boa Constrictor Longicauda - Commonly refered to as Peruvian Long-tailed Boa or "Longi"

• BCO - Boa Constrictor occidenalis - Argentine boa

• beardie - bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps)

• BEL - black eyed leucistic or blue eyed leucistic

• BHB - Brian Barczyk - Large breeder based in Michigan

• BOI - Board of Inquiry - A board for researching, and posting experiences with, different people in the herping buisiness. Unfortunately, it is no linger in use.

• BP - ball python

• BRB - Brazilian rainbow boa

• BTS - blue tongued skink

• BWT - Black & White Tegu

• CBB - captive bred & born

• CH - captive hatched, from eggs that were either collected in the wild or from eggs from a WC female who was gravid when captured

• co-dom - short for co-dominant, a genetic term meaning a trait which is the result of 2 equally dominant traits both being visible. A popular example is roan cattle which have a red gene and a white gene and have both red & white hairs. Curiously, most of the BP traits which are commonly referred to as co-dom are technically incomplete dominant traits, which is when 2 equally dominant traits blend together, such as pink flowers which have red gene and a white gene

• CHE - ceramic heat emitter

• Cloaca - The rear opening in which waste is passed and breeding is conducted - aka "vent"

• dinker - Something of interest, to breed and prove out

• DIY - Do It Yourself

• Dum's - Dumeril's Boa (Acrantophis Dumerili) One of the ground dwelling boas from Madagascar.

• DUW - Dial-Up Warning...referring to a thread with lots of pictures that may be slow to load

• ETB – emerald tree boa

• fauna - faunaclassifieds.com

• f/t - frozen/thawed - refers to rodents or other prey items which are humanely killed, then frozen for storage, then thawed and warmed up to body temperature before feeding

• FWC - False Water Cobra

• GMHS-Giant Malagasy Hognose Snake

• GTP - green tree python

• het - short for heterozygous, a genetic term meaning having 1 each of 2 different genes. Often used to refer to an animal that is known to carry a recessive gene but does not display the recessive trait

• IBD - inclusion body disease - untreatable disease which can affect boids (boas and pythons)

• JCP - jungle carpet python

• KS or KS.com - Refers to the classifieds section of Kingsnake.com

• KSB - kenyan sand boa

• Leo - Leopard Gecko

• LFS – local fish store

• LPS – local pet store

• LTC - long term captive

• Lucy - short for leucistic

• MBD - metabolic bone disease - usually in the context of lizards or turtles, and usually caused by calcium deficiency or lack of UV light exposure

• MBK - mexican black king snake

• Mojo - short for mojave, a BP morph

• NERD - New England Reptile Distributor, a major snake breeding facility, owned & operated by Kevin McCurley. Also used to refer to a particular strain developed at NERD, such as NERD pastels

• OP - "Original poster" - The writer of the first post of a new thread

• PAM - Provent-A-Mite - a brand name of mite treatment which is widely recommended as being the most effective and safest way to treat snake mites.

• PEW - pink eyed white - in rodents, your typical albino with pinkish eyes. See also REW, sometimes used interchangeably

• pied - short for piebald, a ball python morph with patches of white scales

• p/k - pre-killed - refers to rodents or any prey item that has been killed before offering it to the snake, most often it refers to a freshly killed prey item to distinguish from f/t

• POG - pastel orange ghost, a BP combo morph

• RBI - Reptile Basics, Inc

• RDR - Ralph Davis Reptiles

• RES - red eared slider (turtle)

• RETF - red eyed tree frog

• REW - ruby eyed white or red eyed white - in rodents, an albino with reddish eyes. See also PEW, sometimes used interchangeably

• RHP – radiant heat panel

• RI - respiratory infection

• RTB - red tailed boa

• SPOG - super-pastel orange ghost, a BP combo morph

• STP - Short Tailed Python

• SVL - snout-to-vent length

• T - Tarantula

• t-stat - Thermostat - a device to automatically regulate the temperature of a heating unit

• tic - short for Reticulated Python - aka "retic"

• TSK – The Snake Keeper, a major snake breeding facility, owned & operated by Dan and Colette Sutherland. Also used to refer to a particular strain developed at TSK, such as TSK axanthics

• URI - upper respiratory infection

• USARK - United States Association of Reptile Keepers - very influential association in the politics of keeping our reptiles

• UTH - under tank heater or under tub heater

• UV - short for ultraviolet; spectrum of light required for vitamin D production in diurnal lizards and turtles

• VBB - Vietnamese Blue Beauty ratsnake

• vent - The rear opening in which waste is passed and breeding is conducted - aka "cloaca"

• VPI - Vida Preciosa International, a major snake breeding facility, owned & operated by Dave & Tracy Barker. Also used to refer to a particular strain developed at VPI, such as VPI axanthics

• WC - wild caught

• WHS-Western Hognose Snake

• WLP White Lipped Python

We really hope that you find this helpful.

Grazie,

Living Art Reptiles™

Source Information: kc261 (BP.net).

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