Timor python update!

[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?

[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!