olive and scrub

percey39 · 02-27-10, 06:22 PM

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 · 02-27-10, 09:49 PM

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

marvelfreak · 02-28-10, 05:08 AM

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 · 02-28-10, 08:04 AM

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 · 02-28-10, 07:39 PM

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 · 02-28-10, 08:36 PM

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 · 02-28-10, 08:55 PM

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 · 02-28-10, 08:59 PM

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 · 02-28-10, 09:14 PM

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 · 03-01-10, 07:36 AM

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 · 03-01-10, 09:13 AM

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 · 03-01-10, 05:44 PM

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 · 03-02-10, 01:01 PM

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 · 03-02-10, 07:02 PM

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 · 03-03-10, 08:11 AM

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