In 2023, a snake dubbed the "Snake Goddess Lin Chi-ling" caused a sensation on Taiwanese social media.
Reportedly, a young person stumbled upon a unique green snake on the roadside, its color extremely rare! Rather than calling it green, it's more aptly described as Tiffany Blue.
In our conventional perception, snakes are typically black, brown, or yellow, adorned with various dark patterns on their backs, presenting a cold-blooded and ferocious image, especially when devouring prey.
However, this snake exudes an aura of grace, beauty, and elegance.
Especially with its blue dorsal surface, white patterns on the ventral side and sides, and occasional white scales interspersed among the blue on its back, it gives off a sensation akin to having diamonds embedded on its body, shimmering and sparkling.
Taiwanese netizens couldn't help but exclaim, "What a beautiful snake, worthy of being called the 'Snake Goddess Lin Chi-ling'!"
Some netizens also felt that the man was incredibly lucky: "He must have saved the galaxy in his past life to have such luck."
Due to its rarity, the blue snake is revered as a "divine object" by villagers in a village in Thailand.
In 2022, villagers in a village in northeastern Thailand discovered a blue snake, a color they had never seen before, and they didn't know what species it was.
At first, they thought it was a toy snake until it moved, and they realized the blue snake was real.
Because it's so rare, one villager regarded it as a heavenly gift, lighting incense and praying to it, hoping the blue snake would bring them good luck and perhaps "indicate" which lottery numbers to play.
After their prayers, the villagers ultimately released the blue snake back into the wild.
"Variant" Snakes: Valued Up to $3.23 Million
For those interested in reptiles, snakes come in a variety of colors when kept as pets. For instance, there's the golden Burmese python, the completely white albino python, and the red-and-white pied ball python.
While there's a rainbow of colors out there, blue snakes are relatively rare.
Currently, there are three species known as blue snakes: the green tree python (non-venomous), the king snake (non-venomous), and the Javan beauty rat snake (venomous).
From photos online, the Tiffany-blue snake appears to be a blue variation of the green tree python.
As is well-known, the green tree python is already highly sought after in the pet market due to its attractive coloration.
The green tree python, commonly seen among pet enthusiasts, typically has a green body with some white spots. A rarer variation is the "canary" green tree python, which has a light yellow body.
Even rarer is the blue morph of the green tree python, which is graded based on the intensity of its blue coloration.
The black morph, with a hint of blue, is the most common among the blue morphs.
The green base with a secondary blue coloration is considered superior in quality.
Generally, the higher the proportion of blue, the better the quality. When the blue coverage exceeds 70%, it's classified as a top-tier specimen, known as the high blue green tree python.
The pinnacle of rarity is the super blue green tree python, with prices reaching unimaginable heights!
In 2019, a super blue green tree python reportedly sold for a staggering 1.8 million Malaysian Ringgit, approximately 2.73 million Chinese Yuan.
In 2023, another super blue green tree python was priced at a whopping $445,800, roughly 3.23 million Chinese Yuan.
Why are blue-green tree pythons so expensive?
Expensive because they're rare, and rare because they're difficult to breed!
Firstly, blue in green tree pythons usually occurs for two reasons:
One is a temporary blue phase during breeding season, where female snakes, influenced by hormones, turn blue; once breeding season ends, the blue fades away, returning to their original color.
The other is a genetic mutation in green tree pythons, resulting in a permanent blue coloration.
Currently, the pricey super blue or high blue-green tree pythons on the market come with pedigrees, mainly bred through selective inbreeding to maximize the retention of the blue color. However, it's hard to determine how much blue will be retained and what color will ultimately be displayed.
Based on breeding records of blue-green tree pythons, even with inbreeding, the probability of blue offspring is quite low.
Sometimes, out of a large clutch of eggs, none hatch blue; if lucky, one might, but it's uncertain how much blue it will display.
In essence, this genetic trait is unstable, making mass production through artificial breeding impossible.
Furthermore, during the juvenile stage, the coloration of green tree pythons differs from their final color. They're usually yellow or orange as juveniles and only change color as adults.
To confirm if it's a blue variant, one must raise it to maturity, increasing breeding costs.
However, based on existing breeding experiences, most extremely rare super blue-green tree pythons are male and start off red when young, transitioning directly from red to blue as they mature.
In conclusion, the ultra blue-green tree python is expensive due to its rarity, with top-tier individuals valued at the equivalent of a "Ferrari."
Such a pet is beyond the reach of most people, but if you're incredibly lucky, there's still a chance you might encounter this rare species in the wild.
Green tree pythons are more commonly found in places like New Guinea, some islands of Indonesia, the York Peninsula in Australia, and Taiwan, and this snake is non-venomous, posing no lethal risk at close range.
Brave souls might say, "Then I'll go catch one in the wild, isn't that like earning a sports car!"
A word of advice, those with such thoughts should dispel them early.
In our country, it's not allowed to privately purchase and keep wild green tree pythons, nor is it abroad. They are listed as protected species under international trade regulations for endangered species, prohibiting their import and export as well as trade (except for those bred in captivity).
So, for something so beautiful and rare, it's best to leave it be and let it remain beautiful all on its own!
