Here at Reptiles and Arachnids we love our Scrub Pythons!

Here we provide some information and some pics of our beauties.

Behaviour

The amethystine pythons are typically known for being not very friendly animals. But this habit can be broken easily. Before reaching into the terrarium, we should kindly touch the nose of the animal with any longer object (like a stick or forceps). This will make the animal recoil. (But never do this when feeding!) If this rite is regularly repeated from its infancy, the animal will learn when it can approach. It will not associate the opening of the terrarium with feeding, so we can avoid a lot of bites. (Similar methods are used with other captive animals, too.)

If we have to catch it, we should start taking by the back of the neck. It will cover us with foul discharge, like other snakes do, too. The shocked animal may seize the hand keeping its head, so it is better if we have a help there. The only dangerous situation is the feeding. These snakes are able to keep their elongated bodies in horizontal position while clinging only with their tails. So the animal, excited by the smell of the prey, can attack its victim from a long distance. But just because of the long distance, it may miss the target and bite something else that is moving, our hand, for example. Although they are not able to cause great harm, their bites are quite unpleasant, so we should pay attention and offer the food with long forceps. Moreover, it is better if we keep the animals separated.

The amethystine pythons are not as large and dangerous as they are often said to be, but their care is not always easy. I recommend it only to experienced breeders.

Cage maintenance

For specimens longer than 1.5 meter should be placed to their final cages. I keep the adults in a terrarium of 150x70x80. For the ground I mix black mould and peat in equal proportion. It stays crumbly but does not stick and retains water well. I put branches and artificial plants in the terrarium. My animals have water-bowls which may serve as baths, but the bowls should not be too wide as they do not like floating but prefer baths which are just appropriate for their bodies, so they can feel more secure. If hiding places are ensured, the animals become more relaxed and less ready to bite, so they will be easier to deal with. Make sure that the ground of the rest-, and hiding places remains dry!

Heating

Optimum temps of 28-32 degrees celcius in the middle during the day and 22-24 degrees celcius at night. Exposure to too low temperature and humidity may cause respiratory infections, problems with sloughing or indigestion.

Feeding

In the wild the amethystine pythons feed on smaller mammals and birds, while we can feed them with constantly available mice and rats in captivity. The adult males are given one or two, while females two to four rats every time. I feed them in every 15 days, with already killed rodents. This is a more considerate and practical method compared to giving live animals.

The satisfied animals drink several times and a lot. The amethystine pythons are very greedy, make sure the males are not overweight!

Nutritional supplements like vitamins should not be given to the animals, as this may lead to overdosing of certain vitamins in the case of animals feeding on whole rodents.

Sex determination

Sexual dimorphism is apparent in adult amethystine pythons. Males are with 30% shorter than females, their bodies are slender, their heads are smaller and thinner.

The most accurate method of sex determination is probing. The probe passes to a depth of 3-4 subcaudal scales in a female, while to 10-14 in a male.

Rearing offspring

The neonate amethystine pythons are 60-67 cm long. The first sloughing happens quite late compared to other pythons, only at the age of 1-2 month, and the animals often start feeding before. The just shedded snakes are dark red or orange, and their characteristic collars can already be seen. 

We keep the young snakes individually in 26-28°C in small boxes equipped with water-bowls and with sticks to sit on. Their cages should be humid and clean.

Their feeding is easy. They are usually ready to accept fuzzies. Later on, when they are not so scared they can be fed with forceps, too. We suggest keeping the animals individually. The juveniles have good growing force.

Their colour gradually changes into grey, and the adulthood patter appears. By the age of 1.5-2, their final colour of olive green appears.

The young are quite helpless, but the ones of nearly 2 meters are aware of their force. We should be careful when dealing with them, otherwise they may and very likely will bite us.

They become sexually mature at the age of 3, but they should not be bred before the age of 4.