Timor python update!

[scales.jp]

This month I finally bought myself a female Timor python, the same one I've had my eye on for the past 12 months. Here are a couple of photos showing how she compares to my male:

Name: Topaz. Purchased October 8th, 2018. Female, wild caught (2017). Weight 350g, length 110cm.

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So far this little girl is a dream to look after. Not overly timid, not at all aggressive and goes for her food as soon as I put it in the tub. A real sweety!


Name: Fractal. Purchased October 1st 2017. Male, farm hatched (June 2016). This photo was taken shortly after I got him. He weighed 530g and measured 120cm at the time. It's good for comparison with the above.

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Fractal is now almost 180cm (6ft) long and weighs just under 1000g. His behaviour has changed a lot recently, too. He's becoming much more defensive of his viv, which makes things a bit more hairy when I have to go in to spot clean or change his water (i.e. he'll coil, hiss and strike, rather than timidly hiding in the corner), but he's fine once I manage to get him out. He's also finally eating from forceps as opposed to me just leaving his food on the viv floor.

[EL Ziggy]

Those Timors are gorgeous. I don't see many people keeping them. Very cool critters.

[scales.jp]

Originally Posted by EL Ziggy

Those Timors are gorgeous. I don't see many people keeping them. Very cool critters.

I've only seen three available in the past year, and I bought two of them!

They've also got a reputation for being a difficult species to look after, but I've found them to be quite easy if you just leave them alone most of the time. They don't come out much during the day, and you'll get peed on and hissed at when you take them out of their vivs from time to time, but they are delightfully inquisitive once they feel safe. They also eat whatever you put in front of them and aren't too fussy about temps and humidity.

[TeamSlitherin]

Man, what a stellar pair! I loveeeeee the look of Timors and don't see them around too often. Do they really have as terrible a reputation for musking as I've heard? Has your male grown out of it at all?

[ClockwerkBonnet]

Those are some really nice snakes!

[scales.jp]

Originally Posted by TeamSlitherin

Do they really have as terrible a reputation for musking as I've heard? Has your male grown out of it at all?

By musking I take it you mean farting hard and spraying pee and urates all over the place. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Just make sure you've got a piece of kitchen towel at the ready if you plan on handling them. Once the initial struggle is over and they calm down, I've found they don't musk again for the rest of the day.

The bottom line is that they are very nervous and scare easily. With my male, I've found that the best way to avoid musking is to pick him up while he's coiled up and half asleep (i.e. first thing in the morning, if he slept somewhere easily within reach). Once he starts moving around I don't even bother trying. It just results in too much stress for both of us. I've learnt not to bother him unless I really need to move him for some reason.

I'm hoping my female will be easier to handle, as I can tell already that she's a much more chilled animal. When I open up her tub to change her water, she seems hardly bothered at all if I have to nudge her out of the way.

Listening to what other people have to say, I get the impression that females are generally calmer. Hopefully if they breed one day, the next generation will take after their mum!

[toddnbecka]

Captive bred snakes usually are a bit calmer than wild caught. Musking is actually different from spraying urates. My 2016 Dominican boas are still prone to do that occasionally when handled, it's a clear thick liquid with a distinct smell. They're more likely to musk if the tail is touched, might be something to watch with your timor pair to see if that's a trigger.

[scales.jp]

Originally Posted by toddnbecka

Musking is actually different from spraying urates..., it's a clear thick liquid with a distinct smell.

When I asked about musking before buying my male last year, everyone's response was along the lines of, "Do you mean urinating?" As far as I can tell, neither of my snakes have ever musked in the true sense of the word. I've been musked by other snakes in the past, particularly Japanese rat snakes, and know the smell well. It's quite different.

My snakes' enclosures have never smelt musky, which leads me to believe that Timor pythons don't actually musk any more than usual. They just get scared easily and pee (a lot!) as they attempt to escape. And yes, it smells absolutely awful!

[scales.jp]

Originally Posted by ClockwerkBonnet

Those are some really nice snakes!

Thanks! They have some pretty incredible iridescence under natural sunlight. I'll try and get some better pictures when my female comes out of quarantine.