08/12/2026
Sorry everyone to everyone that reads this it’s going to be a long one! About 20 years ago my father,ethanmoulden, took me over to a friend of his house so that I could see their reptile collection. As many of you know I was not new to reptiles at this point, but what I saw at this collection has stuck with me for the rest of my life. As we were shown around the collection, I was immediately drawn to the big cages at the back of the room inside was the most amazing snake I had ever seen before… a blackhead python! I was simply in awe of this snake and that awe has stuck with me ever since.
Skip forward about 7 years and I attended my first Tinley Park NRABC. I owned a few snakes and geckos, but was still in love with blackhead python. Unfortunately, being a 14 year old with no job, they were definitely out of my price range. However, that didn’t stop me from looking. As my dad and I were walking through the show I found the best table in the joint, Snakes Unlimited by Jason Hood. Jason seemed to have everything on his table that I liked, but his blackheads were the best I had ever seen. I must have spent an hour at Jason’s table looking at those blackheads and asking Jason questions. Which he answered every single one of. Now like I said, there was no way I could afford to buy one of his snakes. That didn’t stop Jason from taking the time to teach me about the amazing animals he worked with. I promised myself that day that if I was ever able to get a blackhead I would buy it from Jason Hood.
Skip forwards again and life has moved on my passion for reptiles and blackheads has continued, but college, sports, and a girl took up more of my focus. Then I talk that girl into getting a gecko, then a tortoise, then a snake, and then into a reptile breeding operation called Bomber Exotics. A year after that we get married and my amazing new wife, sydneymoulden, surprised me with my dream snake a female blackheaded python that we named Rhea. Now this isn’t just any blackhead python. Sydney had been listening to me talk about Jason’s blackheads for years. So she worked with him to get me the best looking blackhead that I had ever seen.
Skip forwards 2 more years and I’m back at Tinley this time with Sydney doing what we all do at Tinley, which is spend to much money and buy to many reptiles. When we find Jason’s table and what does he have on the table, but more of his amazing blackheads. One of which really catches my eye. Before my common sense, my wife, or my bank account can stop me, I’m handing Jason money for a deposit on my new male blackhead python that we named Titan. Sydney and I were definitely not well off at this point and I definitely should not have spent what we didn’t have on a snake, but a few months and a lot of overtime later Titan was ours.
Being the snake breeder I am, clearly I wanted to try and breed Rhea and Titan. I did a deep dive into researching blackheads. I read books, listened to podcasts, and talked with breeders. Trying to absorb everything I possibly could to give me the best possible chance at breeding this amazing species. I am happy to announce that Bomber Exotics has officially produced its second ever python species the BlackHeaded Python!
Now this clutch was far from perfect out of the 10 eggs we got, only 4 were fertile. We managed to hatch 3 of those eggs, but unfortunately 2 of those seem to have eye issues. However, we have learned a lot from this experience and are looking forward to trying again in the future!
Finally, a special thank you to ethanmoulden, major_reptiles, Steve Bostwick, snakesunlimited_jasonhood, and morelia_python_radio for all the help, advise, and information you have given me throughout these years.
