The Snake Guru
10-18-2007, 04:18 AM
Scrub Pythons “look into their eyes”
I only be touching on one particular local that I have found of interest, and this is the Bar-neck Scrub Python. These are fantastically wondrous snakes, but not for the feint of heart. The beauty of this snake is about as great as their attitude! If they weren’t so damn pretty I don’t think anyone would keep them at all. But as it is I have found them to be of particular interest and keep them as kind of a side line project.
Scrub Pythons are still classified as “big boy” snakes, Bar-necks in particular will still reach lengths in the high teens and possibly low 20s. However even at these sizes they not attain the weights of burms and, retics, or anacondas. Which basically makes them a big python hopped on speed, these are large, sleek snakes that are built for a semi-arboreal lifestyle and are quick as all get out. It is interesting to note however that the males in this species attain greater sizes than females which is ass backwards from most other snakes.
Caging:
Caging should be setup for the snakes lifestyle, with that in mind a cage that not only has a large floor surface area but also a good amount of height will be needed. Climbing branches and crossed perches should definitely be provided; my scrubs will spend a fair amount of time coiled up in the highest point they can get at in the cage.
Temperatures should be in the range of low 80s through out most of the cage, with a hot spot of 88 to 90 (no higher). Heating can present a unique challenge in most normal room setups, scrubs are highly sensitive to infrared heating….it doesn’t bother them in a relaxed state but once they get riled up they strike at just about any heat source in range, which would present a problem if it happened to be an unprotected bulb or heat emitter. Best advice install a completely shielded heat source through some sort of shrouding system, look into a heat panel source, or if you already have a room that stays in the 80s simply add a heat mat to for the hotspot, which is what I’ve done.
Humidity should be kept around 60% range for most of the time, I raise the humidity to 75% during the shed cycle….this system seems to work fairly well and I haven’t had any issues with incomplete sheds.
If at all possible caging should enclosed on all sides except for the viewing part of the enclosure, seems to calm them down quite a bit quicker than having see through walls. Preference for the front viewing area would Plexi-glass, Lexon, or Lucite type material, this material will give a little bit if your snake strikes at the “glass” which mine does repeatedly when bothered. The flex in the material will save on the python messing up his nose from the blow. Glass does not give, and may break in the case of larger scrubs.
Feeding:
I have found no feeding issues with this species, mice, rats, never seemed to matter and they are usually right at the door of cage waiting for you at feeding time.
Temperament:
As I already alluded too this most likely is not going to be a “nice” snake. They are bound and determined to get you in fact, and rarely give up. That coupled with 3/4 length body strike range makes for some VERY interesting handling sessions, usually consisting of a lot of ducking, dodging and weaving. However the temperament of this species may be directly related to being imported or captive bred. I currently have a captive bred hatchling female that has shown no aggression issues towards me what so ever. Weather or not this will last into adult hood is only a guess at this point, but so far so good. When possible of course captive bred is always preferred over imports, however this species is only bred with regularity by a few individuals so getting captive bred specimens may take some work, but well worth it in my opinion.
On an interesting side note hatchlings of this species are usually dark maroon to deep red color, taking up to 4 years to complete the color change to what an adult will look like.
Overall I find this a fantastic species to work with and definitely in my top 5 of favorite snakes, though I also classify them in the advanced keeper section just because of the shear size of the snake coupled with the attitude you may have to deal with.
~Brad
2007
I only be touching on one particular local that I have found of interest, and this is the Bar-neck Scrub Python. These are fantastically wondrous snakes, but not for the feint of heart. The beauty of this snake is about as great as their attitude! If they weren’t so damn pretty I don’t think anyone would keep them at all. But as it is I have found them to be of particular interest and keep them as kind of a side line project.
Scrub Pythons are still classified as “big boy” snakes, Bar-necks in particular will still reach lengths in the high teens and possibly low 20s. However even at these sizes they not attain the weights of burms and, retics, or anacondas. Which basically makes them a big python hopped on speed, these are large, sleek snakes that are built for a semi-arboreal lifestyle and are quick as all get out. It is interesting to note however that the males in this species attain greater sizes than females which is ass backwards from most other snakes.
Caging:
Caging should be setup for the snakes lifestyle, with that in mind a cage that not only has a large floor surface area but also a good amount of height will be needed. Climbing branches and crossed perches should definitely be provided; my scrubs will spend a fair amount of time coiled up in the highest point they can get at in the cage.
Temperatures should be in the range of low 80s through out most of the cage, with a hot spot of 88 to 90 (no higher). Heating can present a unique challenge in most normal room setups, scrubs are highly sensitive to infrared heating….it doesn’t bother them in a relaxed state but once they get riled up they strike at just about any heat source in range, which would present a problem if it happened to be an unprotected bulb or heat emitter. Best advice install a completely shielded heat source through some sort of shrouding system, look into a heat panel source, or if you already have a room that stays in the 80s simply add a heat mat to for the hotspot, which is what I’ve done.
Humidity should be kept around 60% range for most of the time, I raise the humidity to 75% during the shed cycle….this system seems to work fairly well and I haven’t had any issues with incomplete sheds.
If at all possible caging should enclosed on all sides except for the viewing part of the enclosure, seems to calm them down quite a bit quicker than having see through walls. Preference for the front viewing area would Plexi-glass, Lexon, or Lucite type material, this material will give a little bit if your snake strikes at the “glass” which mine does repeatedly when bothered. The flex in the material will save on the python messing up his nose from the blow. Glass does not give, and may break in the case of larger scrubs.
Feeding:
I have found no feeding issues with this species, mice, rats, never seemed to matter and they are usually right at the door of cage waiting for you at feeding time.
Temperament:
As I already alluded too this most likely is not going to be a “nice” snake. They are bound and determined to get you in fact, and rarely give up. That coupled with 3/4 length body strike range makes for some VERY interesting handling sessions, usually consisting of a lot of ducking, dodging and weaving. However the temperament of this species may be directly related to being imported or captive bred. I currently have a captive bred hatchling female that has shown no aggression issues towards me what so ever. Weather or not this will last into adult hood is only a guess at this point, but so far so good. When possible of course captive bred is always preferred over imports, however this species is only bred with regularity by a few individuals so getting captive bred specimens may take some work, but well worth it in my opinion.
On an interesting side note hatchlings of this species are usually dark maroon to deep red color, taking up to 4 years to complete the color change to what an adult will look like.
Overall I find this a fantastic species to work with and definitely in my top 5 of favorite snakes, though I also classify them in the advanced keeper section just because of the shear size of the snake coupled with the attitude you may have to deal with.
~Brad
2007