Sumatran or Borneo Short Tail?????

[craigafrechette]

As I have been researching my new snake, I thought I had my mind made up With a Brazilian Rainbow Boa, but......

Borneo and Sumatran short tail pythons have caught my eye.

Anybody have any experience they'd like to share with STPs and/or BRBs?

Anything would be appreciated, thanks in advance...

[DJC Reptiles]

They are pretty similar in terms of care with blood pythons. Medium sized, stocky snakes. As babies they can be very feisty, but tend to grow out of this with frequent handling. These guys draw blood so you should wear thick gloves until you feel really comfortable with them. They have slow metabolisms like blood pythons, so make sure to not overfeed them. They also grow decently large with the big ones getting up to ~six feet, although 4-5 feet is much more common with all three species. Sumatran pythons do stay a little bit smaller then the others though.

[craigafrechette]

Thank you. Trying to stockpile as much personal, hands on info as I can get from keepers with experience.

[Aaron_S]

Borneos and sumatrans aren't for the average keeper. Relatively easy care however not many appreciate handling, even as adults. They are complete ambush predators so you can't predict them with their movements, they are most known to follow you with their eyes and strike when you don't notice.

The best line I ever heard was "Ball pythons are for reptile lovers and blood/borneo/sumatran pythons are for snake lovers".

[craigafrechette]

Well put. Thank you!!

[IDvsEGO]

I have a rainbow hatchling and its a great little snake so far. Beautiful and quickly became my favorite of our bunch. I would like to add a blood to my collection though.

[Tsubaki]

Also be prepared to have a snake that spends 99% of its time in hiding when looking at shorttails sumatrans and bloods. I mostly saw mine during feeding time. The male breiten sometimes roamed around a bit when he was hungry but mostly they were buried completely under their cocohusk. Or would immediatly go into hiding when they noticed me. It's their natural behaviour and forcing them to be out in the open by not offering thick bedding and hides is ill-advised. They're fun to keep but maybe not as fun if you don't have that many other snakes to look at, and don't like the look of an 'empty' enclosure much. I thought it was fascinating, and always looked for their nose that usually stuck out in one place or another :D (Also they strike lightning fast from hiding if they think there's food, no signs, ALWAYS spot that head before grabbing a waterbowl or anything)

[IDvsEGO]

Also be prepared to have a snake that spends 99% of its time in hiding when looking at shorttails sumatrans and bloods. I mostly saw mine during feeding time. The male breiten sometimes roamed around a bit when he was hungry but mostly they were buried completely under their cocohusk. Or would immediatly go into hiding when they noticed me. It's their natural behaviour and forcing them to be out in the open by not offering thick bedding and hides is ill-advised. They're fun to keep but maybe not as fun if you don't have that many other snakes to look at, and don't like the look of an 'empty' enclosure much. I thought it was fascinating, and always looked for their nose that usually stuck out in one place or another :D (Also they strike lightning fast from hiding if they think there's food, no signs, ALWAYS spot that head before grabbing a waterbowl or anything)

Thats funny. One of the reasons I got so into snakes int he first place is because the kids and I love trying to find the creatures in their habitats at the zoo. The reptile house was always out favorite because they were the hardest. We would have a little "race" to see who could find it first.

[Tsubaki]

That's fun to do certainly! Especially in a nice big enclosure at the zoo with well camouflaged animals!! Not all breitens/curtus/brongersmai are the same offcourse. Though most bury themselfs to a degree. Some of mine only buried themselves halfway, or had a tail/nose sticking out. They stayed there for days without moving, not very exciting but I had many other snakes to look at so it was enjoyable enough and feeding them reminded me of the movie tremors haha.
But! I sold my last brongersmai because it literally never surfaced, it would not even come out to eat until I left the room for atleast an hour or so. Had to dig him up every now and then to see if he was ok (Which he did not like and made him quite nippy) , I knew he was alive bc food vanished n poop appeared, every now and then there'd be a shed skin laying about.. in 8 months i caught him drinking once.. He immediatly froze and backed up into the bedding in extreme slowmotion which was hilarious. I had no interest in keeping a box for of bedding that I threw in food every now n then, especially because I had limited myself to 8 snakes and I could have something more interactive.. Was the worst case of never seeing my pet I've ever experienced haha. So yeah, They're definetly fun but they are really for enthusiasts.. You might end up with an 'empty' box.

[craigafrechette]

I ended up going Borneo. He's upstairs in his quarantine enclosure for now, getting acclimated to his new home. So far he's puppy dog tame, and pictures did him no justice. He hisses a bit here and there, but no strikes..yet, hahaha.
Now I just need him to eat. I've had him almost 5 weeks and so far 0-4 feeding. Offered last night and no interest again.

[Aaron_S]

I ended up going Borneo. He's upstairs in his quarantine enclosure for now, getting acclimated to his new home. So far he's puppy dog tame, and pictures did him no justice. He hisses a bit here and there, but no strikes..yet, hahaha.
Now I just need him to eat. I've had him almost 5 weeks and so far 0-4 feeding. Offered last night and no interest again.

How are you keeping him and what are you offering?

[craigafrechette]

He's in a quarantine 20 gallon long. 78 cool side 84 warm, 88 hotspot, UTH and lamp on tstats. Identical proper fitting hides, fresh water.

I've offered a few ways, morning (once) and night. Just gotta find what works for him. I started with what works for all my other snakes, defrosting in warm water, once defrosted heat in water to about 100 and offer. I've tried reheating, zombie dancing, leaving overnight. Nothing yet. I've tried serving dry and heated with a blowdryer. No luck.
I'm not sweating it yet, he doesn't appear to be losing weight. But would sure be nice to get him eating.

I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks

[Aaron_S]

He's in a quarantine 20 gallon long. 78 cool side 84 warm, 88 hotspot, UTH and lamp on tstats. Identical proper fitting hides, fresh water.

I've offered a few ways, morning (once) and night. Just gotta find what works for him. I started with what works for all my other snakes, defrosting in warm water, once defrosted heat in water to about 100 and offer. I've tried reheating, zombie dancing, leaving overnight. Nothing yet. I've tried serving dry and heated with a blowdryer. No luck.
I'm not sweating it yet, he doesn't appear to be losing weight. But would sure be nice to get him eating.

I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks

Sounds like you're on the right track.

How is the humidity and which substrate are you using? Where do you see the snake most often?

I ask because maybe something is a little off for the comfort of this particular animal. I'd personally up the heat element to the low 90's and ensure humidity is around 60% with a loose substrate the snake can burrow into.

Highly ambush predators so it could just need these things to feel secure.

I would then offer live prey in the form of a rat pup with eyes still closed. This will allow you to leave it over night if need be without worrying about it attacking the snake.

[craigafrechette]

Sounds like you're on the right track.

How is the humidity and which substrate are you using? Where do you see the snake most often?

I ask because maybe something is a little off for the comfort of this particular animal. I'd personally up the heat element to the low 90's and ensure humidity is around 60% with a loose substrate the snake can burrow into.

Highly ambush predators so it could just need these things to feel secure.

I would then offer live prey in the form of a rat pup with eyes still closed. This will allow you to leave it over night if need be without worrying about it attacking the snake.


Thanks for the reply.

His humidity lingers in the 60s. He's on an eco earth/repti bark substrate mixture with a little sphangnum moss in a few spots.

He tends to be in his cool side hide most often, probably 80% of the time or more.

I'm going to give it another few attempts, then try live if need be.

Thanks again