olive and scrub

[percey39]

just thought i would put some pics up of my young olive and scrub pythons will get some pictures of my adults up soon. these pics are from a couple of months ago. The olive would be around 1.8m and the scrub is 2m now, both are in shed at the moment when they are finished i will add more shots.

[Hillsberry]

Wow!! Both are so beautiful. Cant wait to see those new pictures. Your a lucky guy to have such nice snakes! :P

[marvelfreak]

Nice! What the temperment like on the scrubs? I always thought scrubs are a really cool snake. Kind of under rated. There the only one of the big boy i never seen in person. Oh and nice olive you got there to.

[shaunyboy]

imo.scrubby's are very inteligent snakes,ive heard cases of them grabing your wrist with their prehensile tails then striking at you as you only have one hand left to defend yourself.they are australia's largest python.there are reports of this species attaining 7 metres in legnth but specimens over 6 metres are questionable.5 metres snakes are not uncommen.from what ive heard,they seem to have an agressive nature.ive seen adults up for sale with the owners claiming their scrubby is puppy dog tame.just the sheer size of them would have me on my guard,even if i'd raised it from a hatchling.i wouldnt think you would want to get nipped by an adult scrubby.having never worked with scrubby's this is all just stuff ive read or heard.i'd love to know what your scrubby's temprements like percey and how they are to work with.i would love to have one but my wife wont allow me to have anything bigger than a carpet in the house.thanks for sharing the pic's mate cant wait to see your adults.their head shape is nothing short of amazing.
cheers shaun

[percey39]

Thanks guys. Scrubs typically have a bad name for being quite nasty, but i have found with mine that constant handling while they were young have got them very tame. They are extremely intellegent and those big eye's do not miss much. When these guys are full size they have the ability to strike and hit from 3m away.
I have had no dramas with my guys (big or small) but in saying that i always have a few close mates around when getting out my female whose is only 4 years old and is just under 5m. I good bite from her near the hands or face would need stiches as they have some pretty big teeth.
I love these snakes to death but i will never completely trust as they have killed before and im sure inexperience may lead to another, they are like any big snake and should always be treated with the upmost respesct.
They are great snake to keep as they are very active, they like to make full use of their enclosure. The only problem some people have is keeping the temps up at the hot around 36-40 degrees celcius and humidity from 70 - 90%. With my tank being 2m Hx2m L x 1.4m D you have to have a large bird bath or bowl and heat tape all over the floor, and plenty of lights.
Sorry about the rant i just love scrubbies

[emseeKAY]

haha no problem on the rant we all do it, one question though? how heavy do these guys get? and also what substrate do you use? for my BRB where humidity needs to be high i use a mix of moss and repti bark, it seems to work quite nicely keeping the humidity up without having to mist too often. anyways nice snakes! first ive heard of em

Cheers!

[percey39]

I have heard of scrubs getting to 50kg which is pretty rare. My girl is weighs 26kg and is just under 5m, they are a more slender build compared to the other big snakes out there. The olive on the hand is a heavier bodied snake but max's out 4.5m i have heard some stories of the pilbara species over reaching 6m which is a big olive.
On the substrate is use the recycled paper cat litter and news paper for both species, both like to make a huge mess when they go to the toilet. I dont mist that often as i just turn on the foutain in the bird bath which keeps the humidity well up around 85%, but im thinking of doing a floor to ceiling waterfall feature in the big enclosure.

[emseeKAY]

wow those are some preetty big snakes lol if you do make the waterfall you have to post some pics! ive been looking everywhere for diy waterfalls in snake enclosures! something conventional as well as aesthetically pleasing to the eye lol

[percey39]

I will do, i was looking for a diy myself. I seen a friends and it works well. All i will be doing is having a sump as well as a small bucket hidden behind a fake rock water fall. He used a aquarium pump and hose and the water slowly trickles down the rock background and into the pond/sump. It works well cost around 150 australian and keeps humidity around 80-90% all day and night as its on a timer.

[shaunyboy]

strike from 9 feet away.....!!! that commands a lot of respect,especially when theres 5 metres of snake behind that strike.i could listen to you rant all day on the scrubby subject.hope you get your water fall up and running mate.
cheers shaun

[Will0W783]

I love scrubs too. There's a gorgeous Amethystine at a local pet store that specializes in reptiles. They've had it for over a year, and I feel so bad for it, as about a year ago when I was in there I saw the kids working in the reptile room holding it and waving inflated plastic bags in front of its face so it would strike at the bag and it would pop in the poor snake's face. The thing got so upset it ended up just latching onto the wrist of the guy who was holding it (served him right!). Every time I'm in there I want to buy that snake to get it to a nice home. It's so beautiful but I couldn't handle it full grown if it was still nasty. And it has become very very aggressive because of those kids. I called the manager and complained and I think I got them fired because I've never seen them there again.

[percey39]

Yeah they command a lot of respect, especially if you managed to get a real nasty one. Some have called the australian scrub a heat seeking missile with teeth lol, but they are easily handled if you know what you are doing. I would strongly recommend this species to anyone with big snake experience who plans to get one of the larger species.
I hate how people feel the need to torment this species and many others just because they are very easy to fire up. If you do the sort of things kimberly is talking about, you are not fit to work with any animal yet alone snakes. I would like to these sort of people do this with a taipan or mamba.
If you take the time with this species especially, you will find them to be a truely facinating species to keep. The glow they get just after they shed is like nothing you have ever seen before, its an amazing purple glow.

[shaunyboy]

i forgot to ask in my last post did you breed these guys yourself mate ?
also i got that caught up with the scrubby i forgot to complment you on your olive.they are both nice snakes,cant wait to see them all grown up.
cheers shaun

[percey39]

Yes i do breed the scrubs but not the olives. I will hopefully be breeding olives in the next couple of years, as both the adults are puppy dog tame. I am hoping to produce some red scrubs in a few years as i am purchasing a young red male this coming season. I had heard about this colouration in a specific locale but could not believe my eyes when i finally seen one in person, they look amazing.

[shaunyboy]

red scrubb's sound amazing,until now i didnt know they existed.i had the privillage of seeing a full grown barneck scrub (i'm sure that was what the guy called it)at a snake show.he took the top off the container it was in and it sat there quite chilled out letting folk look at it.when it spotted my 9 year old son it raised up out its tub about 3 feet and looked right at my son.that was the owners que to put the lid back on.i'm sure it fancied my son as its next meal.it was one of the most beautifull snakes ive ever seen.cant wait to see pic's of your red one when it arrives mate.
cheers shaun

[percey39]

a couple more shots of these 2. Sorry shauny i couldnt get the bigger scrubbies out as i was by myself and all they wanted to do today was chew my face off :Wow: Next time i will get those two out and hope they are in a better mood.

[Will0W783]

Oh wow, I am in awe of your scrub- sooo beautiful! I love their head scalation- the way the scales are so clearly defined with black between them. I would love to have one someday but they get too large for my current situation.

[percey39]

Yeah they are very unique in their scales, i love the huge plates. Im sure one day you will have a couple of square meters you could fill with one of these guys. As i said these guys are far outnumbering me at home and i still have a another couple on the way lol. i will buy them their own house soon enough with the family they have proberly need 5 bedrooms haha

[Raycarpetpython]

I love scrubs too. There's a gorgeous Amethystine at a local pet store that specializes in reptiles. They've had it for over a year, and I feel so bad for it, as about a year ago when I was in there I saw the kids working in the reptile room holding it and waving inflated plastic bags in front of its face so it would strike at the bag and it would pop in the poor snake's face. The thing got so upset it ended up just latching onto the wrist of the guy who was holding it (served him right!). Every time I'm in there I want to buy that snake to get it to a nice home. It's so beautiful but I couldn't handle it full grown if it was still nasty. And it has become very very aggressive because of those kids. I called the manager and complained and I think I got them fired because I've never seen them there again.

Thats terrible! Imho anyone who is cruel to any animal and is caught, should serve jail time/huge fines or community service. I see it on tv all the time, the rspca shows where people neglect animals or don't look after them properly. People who cut ears and tails off dogs to make them look tougher (and moreso for dog fighting). I would like to see those people put in jail for a few years. Instead, most of the time they seem to get a slap on the wrist and sometimes a fine.
Sorry for the rant just venting

Cheers

[=Carinata=]

I had a hatching scrubby. It died, I overfeed it. I gave it a large adult mouse one night and the next day i had one left over so i througt in the its rack. It might of got a bit cold that night because he was dead the next day. It looked like an earthworm had swallowed a tennis ball.
They are one of australia's more primative python species. I'll get another one, one day.
here he was
YouTube - morelia amethistina (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjnWm6qts_k)

[shaunyboy]

thanks for the pictures percey.i can wait to see the big ones,dont want you getting tagged by them.your olives coming along nicely.just got to love the scrubbys head scales mate.imo they look like armour plated dragon heads (if that makes any sense to you).definatley the best shaped heads of the entire snake world.
cheers shaun
p.s.any news on your red scrubs arrival ?

[percey39]

I have never heard of over feeding a scrub all the ones i know are just eating machines. I feed my young one two sub adult rats a week and im possitive she would ten if offered them to her. Im sorry to hear about your loss though.
Haha i understand what you are saying shaun, they have huge plate scales and look extremely primitive compared to others. I am still waiting for the breeding season to come round for the red one. I am very excited for him to come to me but still have around 8-10 months for it to arrive unfortunately. You will be the first to know when it arrives.
Cheers Aaron

[shaunyboy]

cant wait to see it mate.at the moment i'm trying to scrape some cash together as a 5 year old female & 3 year old male pure diamonds have been put up for sale.this is almost unheard of over here.i think i might be able to afford the male,with a bit of luck and some borrowing off my oldest son.i will have to sell some of my other carpets to pay the loan back.it will be a bit of a pain as i had future projects in mind for all my carpets.but it would be worth it as i have a young female diamond. i hope to make diamonds the main snake that i work with.2 year ago i could have bought them both,but this bl**dy credit crunch our countrys having has blew all my rainy day funds.its a pity as the age of them theres a chance of breeding them in the 2011 season.i'm gutted,but at least ive still got my diamond female to cheer me up.imo the diamond is one of the worlds most beautifull and exceptional snakes.i live in hope...!!
cheers shaun

[percey39]

I have heard that its nearly impossible to get pure diamonds over in the uk and usa. I would imagine they would then warrant a fair price tag for a purist like yourself. I wish you all the best with the diamonds. I used to own some a while ago now and absolutely loved them as they are very docile and dont require extreme husbandry requirements for people with weather like you and i. It is a shame to have to sell off others to obtain more, im glad i have never had to do this yet but im sure at the rate im going it will happen. Post pictures as soon as you get them i would love to see them. Are they black and white or black and yellow? I really love the high yellow ones.

[Will0W783]

You can get pure diamonds here in the USA- they just cost around $700-1000 apiece.

[percey39]

Thanks for clearing that up kim, i wasnt too sure as i have always seen 75% diamond crosses and never pure diamonds. How much do the high yellow's go for over there?

[shaunyboy]

in the states theres a guy called josh of captive bred reptiles who works with diamonds.he's meticulous in keeping records of his diamond blood lines.he has a lot of them from san diego zoo blood lines.over here its mostly high yellows you get.the black and white seems to be the most sought after at the minute though.over here you usually only get females sold in pairs.pairs cost between £2000 to £2500.ive even heard of guys having to buy 3.1 just to get a female.there are so few pure diamond clutches hatched,that if they are male heavy then you start getting either single males for a slightly cheaper than normal price or more likely you have to buy more than 1 male with every female.some years there are no females available at all.i was very,very lucky to get a single female for £750,she was worth £1000 all day long.for once i just happened to be in the right place at the right time.the diamond is the only carpet over here to hold their price.its because the pure ones are so rare.you can sometimes get single males over in europe for around £550.its a big breeder that sells them.what i am about to say is nothing more than my own personal opinion.i feel the diamonds in europe i'm talking about are not the best examples of the diamond.i personally would'nt put one of those males with my female.on a cheerier note,there is a very private and reclusive guy in the uk who has a very large adult breeding group of high quality non locale specific pure diamond pythons.i'm lucky enough to have a friend that knows the one guy this breeder allows to sell all his hatchlings,so i have access to them in a round about way.the friend i'm talking about also has a pair of diamonds.his male prooved himself this breeding season with a high yellow jungle.the hatchlings were quite nice.his female diamond might be up to size for next year.so i plan on getting some from him if he's successfull in breeding them.his friend also has a pair the same age,so i expect the number of diamonds available to increase quite a bit next year.both the pairs i just spoke about are very high quality high yellow non locale specific.they sell the diamonds straight from the egg,so you take a risk on them not eating,etc.one guy produced 6 diamonds this year and only the closest people to him had a chance to buy them.he sold the 6 straight from the egg before their first shed for £1000 each no problem.percey mate,i have a third grandchild due next month so it might take me a while to fullfill my diamond dream,but i will keep you informed mate.once ive gave my female a few weeks to build up after her cooling cycle i'll grab a few pictures for you.but my cameras not the greatest.
cheers shaun

[percey39]

Wow that is a bit higher than i expected but they are deffinetely worth it to own. Im sure yu will get your pair very soon, if your like me and you want a snake you find any way you can to get it. I would love to see your diamond shaun post pics asap. Im currently trying to convince my other half to let me get some inland taipans and some dajarra death adders, but im not having too much luck at the moment lol

[shaunyboy]

http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/qq17/spilota01/diamond1007.jpg

http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/qq17/spilota01/diamond1006.jpg

http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/qq17/spilota01/newdiamond018.jpg

she was 6 months in the last picture.shes now 18 month,the first 2 pic's were taken just last week.i'll try get some better pic's soon.shes about to shed her eyes are blue at the minute.
cheers shaun

[Will0W783]

Oh wow, wow, wow, Shaunyboy. I am sooo very jealous. I LOVE diamonds...that is a GORGEOUS snake!!

[percey39]

thats is a sweet diamond shaun almost full stripes down the sides. It looks to be going pretty yellow already which is awesome the yellow is my favourite.