more pics...

[Grant vg]

Along with there assertiveness, i think the FREAKY eyes, There colour, there slow but direct movemnets, and the fact that they can be very vocal....has lead to the misconception that these guys are nasty......

However,
There are some pretty nasty ones out there.....and they're bad,....lol

As for the local identification......i really couldn't tell ya.....I havn't heard of any research or ways that have been able to identify who comes from where....

It would be nice to know though....if i could, i would breed local specific.

As i said , theres been talk about adult colours being put to locals, but for me that is definatly not a reason to put any colour of each side in there respected local. theres always an exception.....and in this instance i think the exception is large.

I know of some papers on brongersmai as well as the other two ssp.....im havn't a hard time geting into the site right now, but will send them on to u when i can, because it is very interesting reading if u can understand it.

u will need acrobat reader to read em....

Grant vg

[sophia]

Sounds great Grant, We've got everything Adobe so that's no problem. Whenever you get the free minute we'd be glad to have them. Hard to find anything besides basic care sheets on the net.

I wonder if the nastyness of some individual snakes of this species could be attributed to poor habitat/husbandry more than the species itself? There was a subadult Sumatran from a different breeder than we bought from that had it housed in what looked to be an acrylic enclosure that couldn't have been more than a square foot in dimension - we inquired about him and were told that he was too nasty to handle. If this is his permanent enclosure I could see why! Poor guy looked miserable. Needless to say we just walked off. Maybe he didn't know, maybe he didn't care. But, I wonder if these are the folks that are saying they are nasty as they DO have more requirements than a simple heat light and a ceramic bowl with water.

Ours ate again last night, just single, small hoppers for now. They are taking some coaxing, but they do take the thawed better than I expected. I suppose now we'll have to look into breeding some rats...

We're looking to Amazon for some more 'in-depth' herp books... maybe we'll find some more info there.

Take care!

Jon

[Grant vg]

As far as i know, there has been nothing published on this species, meaning a complete book for them.....if the barkers dont come out with one, ill do...lol

Some bloods can be tricky eaters....and for one that i have, i leave a f/t in there and if he doesn't eat it then ow well, im not gonna try the next day with a f/k.....

They'll just get bothered with all the offerings....
They'll learn to eat when they get offered F/t sooner or later....

Most snakes can be tamed, i have a borneo that was the craziest thing when i got him as a LTC,....
He has calmed down so much and never strikes, although he continues to display like hes a bad boy.

heres a pic of a big male not the prettiest guy but hes about 5 feet or so.

Enjoy,

Grant

[sophia]

He's a healthy one! Ya should come out with a book. The species is getting more and more popular - at least from what we saw this past weekend.

Jon

[Grant vg]

I would, but i am not even close to habving all the knowledge i would need for a book....i like em, well....love em....but Dave Barkers the one who's payed his dues and done all the reasearch, so if he came out with one.....i would buy an autographed copy....lol

[SilverTongue]

That is a beaut of a snake!

[sophia]

Grant, I think that boy is absolutely beautiful actually, love the pic! I don't think you give yourself enough credit here, what I've seen from you has helped us a great deal.

One thing on my mind though, since these guys are said to be a semi-aquatic species and the humidity requirement in an enclosure is so high.... Since I've noticed that by keeping two pools in there that they swim a great deal, should I worry all that much about maintaining humidity levels? They swim all the time when they haven't just fed, it's like 12 to 15 times daily, so I'm wondering if I have to be all that concerned??? Just a thought.

Tay

[Murray]

Awesome looking snake Sophia! I want to eventually get a blood python!

[sophia]

Thank you and you should go for it Murray, they are beautiful, sweet babies and I don't know how we ever got along without them! I think I'm in love!

Tay

[Grant vg]

its hard to say guys....

Many different things work for different ppl which work differently for different snakes....Wow!...lol
do u get what im sayin there?.:P

I've always stuck to the book, and did what i was told, and so far have had no problems....so theres no reason why i would change....

It could very well be fine for u guys to keep em at 50% ambient humidity and have a damp hide and good amounts of water.....
i think anything lower then 50% is pushing it though.....

I have my hydrometer controls to alarm when humidity reaches below 50% and above 85%.....i dont like it crossing either side for large amounts of times.....
and i have alarms for temps as well....

What do u have them at now?
Does multiple sprayings throughout the day not work as well in that enclosure?

And for the multiple trips to the water container.....that is sometimes a clue to some husbandry faults, although not always....

I'm not questioning ur practices...but just for heads up's....
Im sure u know...mites...
also, lack of humidity,
and also, they feel secure in the water and invisible kinda thing.....
So it might be there hides aren't dark enough....

New arrivals sometimes do that....so not to worry....if it continues.....they might be trying to tell u something....
But again, thats not always true.
That guy in the pic....absolutely loves to soak, as do some others....

But if ur temps, humidity and hides are in check, then no worries.....
they are fine.

Gvg

[sophia]

Thanks Grant, honestly I can't say, humdity ranges usually between 50% and 60% but I think the hydrometer/thermometer combination may be bad, so I'm going to pick up a hydrometer tomorrow with 'no bells or whistles' because according to the doors, it's humid in there, I'd say between 70 to 80% according to the fogging that occurs with in an hour of spraying and yet the probe will read 51%! I've even directly sprayed the probe and awaited a change only to get "NONE"! It's highly frustrating.

Now today with them has been a different story, they've been burrowing in the paper all day quite happily. I don't know what to make of it, but like you mentioned, I have been checking closely for mites because until I read that they were a semi-aquatic species, thier swimming habit worried me a bit and since the temps weren't ever about 88.9 and the cage shows a good gradient range of about 5 degrees here and there, then I knew it couldn't be heat causing them to swim.

What can I say, they're new babies and I'm a complete control freak, worry wort, anal retentive, deviate! LOL But I can't help it if I want everything to be absolutely perfect. And btw, that's a nice baby in the shot above (G), you took it to heart when I said 'more please' (G). Perhaps the hides should be darker, I may work on that one tomorrow night. I'm just rambling....

Thanks Grant!

Tay

[paul_le_snake]

a little tip on hightening the humidity, just use a potting soil / melaleauca mulch mix substrate. my borneo loves it to dig into to it, just leaving his head above ground, waiting for a unsuspecting rodent to come across!!!!! i'll hopefully have some pics soon!
paul

[sophia]

We finally got it straightened out. I put in one of those little cheap air pumps and added a little extra airline tubing to make it really bubble up and throw a good spray, plus some phiolodendron in a large pot with good sterile soil and now it's staying about 60% to 70% without misting! FINALLY! But yes, I do think they're going to like the potting soil and plants a great deal, they love to hide!

Thanks!

Tay

shes huge lol