Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...that is the question.

I almost posted something two days ago when I realized this opportunity, but I thought it better to wait and collect my thoughts before doing or saying anything rash.

I live in the boonies of TN where the only place to purchase snake food is one of the two local pet stores, both almost 30 minutes from each other -- both stores suffer (or, more accurately, their animals and their clients suffer by consequence) from the lack of competition in the area. The store owners are sloppy and careless, they keep awful business hours (open til 3 pm on Wed? really?), take days off at random, have phone numbers that don't work, etc. If I were staying in the area longer I would switch to RodentPro in a heartbeat, it just hasn't been cost effective to do so yet.

To get to the point... one of said stores has had an olive python for almost a year now. It appears to be a young adult. Maybe 5-6 feet? It has scars on the back which appear to be old rodent bite wounds -- the store owner thinks they're old burns. I asked where he got it. He said, "from some guy who couldn't keep it anymore."

This is the type of person I hate to support and hate to do business with. This is the type of establishment from which I would never normally purchase a reptile. Here, however, is the kicker. The guy doesn't seem to have any idea what kind of an animal he has! Although it's in rough shape, it's an otherwise beautiful olive that would really come into its own in a better environment with better lighting, the proper temp/humidity... and a hide box(!). Not only do I feel like I'd be doing a great thing by providing this snake -- a female, I think -- with a better home. At somewhere between $150-200 I'd say the price is right, no?

I've always loved the subtle beauty of olives, the elegant cream color on their bellies, the striking iridescence in the light. What would you pay for an olive? They get large, up to 12 feet in some cases, but they tend to be fairly docile snakes, no? Anyone here had experiences with them? What would you do?

Thanks for any comments or insight. I'll update this thread with the outcome of my decision.

Best,

Brad
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1.0 ball python (Python regius)
1.1 hypo apricot pueblan milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum campbelli)
1.0 hypo tangerine honduran milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis)
0.1 montane egg eater (Dasypeltis atra)
0.1 woma (Aspidites ramsayi)
1.1 calabar python (Charina reinhardtii)
0.1 hog island boa (Boa constrictor imperator)

I'd be all over that.

My olive is my absolute favorite in my collection, and paid $500 for him as a lone male.

I'd also check around for other feeder suppliers- rodentpro absolutely JACKS you on shipping!

Make sure you post lots of pics when you get her home!!!

//Todd

i hate doin g buisness with most pet stores as well, i do not ever find adiquate conditions in any of them, but there are those times. obviously this is a great situation for you, you can get a beautiful and fairly expensive snake for next to nothing. in the case like this, as long as the animals eating, id go for it. it can only improve from being in the pet store, and underthe proper care, a lot of the scarring will fade out. as for the scars themselves, if theyre small, like a puncture hole, theyre rodent bites, if theyre long and thin, or have odd patterns along weith them, then theyre burns best of luck to you

I think..? I've never seen one in person, but this one's a little different than the typical olives I've seen in pictures. For one, the snake is not as uniformly colored as most. There is no pattern in the scales, but there's a lot of flecked variation in the greens and browns (see pictures below). He does GLOW iridescent though -- I couldn't believe it once I got some light on him. Lookout Epicrates... His belly also threw me a little bit; it's not a solid cream color as I expected, but rather mottled with more of the green and brown scales, almost as if the dorsal scale coloration doesn't quite stop at that lateral line. Anyone else seen this? I haven't probed him yet, but I think he's male based on the presence of spurs and a moderately long tail. He has a vet appointment on Friday so we'll see how he checks out.

He does have burn scars on his back, not bite marks --turns out it's from when he was dropped and tried to hide in the hot engine block of a car... (?!) He's almost 7 feet now though, and despite his previously traumatic life, he's puppy dog docile. I paid $150 on the spot and talked the pet store owner into throwing in his 75 gal aquarium with all its fixins. I set him up this afternoon after sterilizing everything and he fed immediately on a F/T small adult rat and a FK adult mouse. I look forward to your comments.

Best,

Brad

Pictures here: http://gallery.me.com/bradleyjwaffa/100134
Link

that would be a Macklotts.

Thats kinda what I was thiking too.
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--SneakySnakesINC--

1.0 Sonoran Gopher Snake(Oshy)
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python (Calypso)
1.0 Macklot's Python (Pixel)
0.1 Ball Python (Nagini)
0.1 Yellow Rat Snake (Ember)
1.0 Albino Black Rat Snake (Vegas)
1.0 Smooth Earth Snake (Little Zuni)
1.0 Citrus X red phase bearded dragon (Twyman)
1.1 Oriental Fire Bellied Toads (Spott and Dott)
0.2 American Toads (Bertha and Ethel)
1.0 SE Fine Lined Skink (BeBo)
0.1 American Bullfrog (Tootsie)
2.0 Equines (Sherlock the draft and Cleatis the donkey)
4.0 Felines (Caesar Ray, Pharoh, Phoenix, Boomer)
1.0 WC boyfriend (Ryan)

Liasis macklotti I believe.

Yeah.. you're both right. It's a Macklot's python. I should have researched other Liasis species a little more closely before I dove headfirst into this "opportunity," believing, of course, everything this wretch of a business owner told me...

Oh well -- live and learn. At least he's handsome and friendly. I'm still naming him Olive

Macklot's are great snakes, especially when they are friendly! You'll really enjoy him!
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--SneakySnakesINC--

1.0 Sonoran Gopher Snake(Oshy)
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python (Calypso)
1.0 Macklot's Python (Pixel)
0.1 Ball Python (Nagini)
0.1 Yellow Rat Snake (Ember)
1.0 Albino Black Rat Snake (Vegas)
1.0 Smooth Earth Snake (Little Zuni)
1.0 Citrus X red phase bearded dragon (Twyman)
1.1 Oriental Fire Bellied Toads (Spott and Dott)
0.2 American Toads (Bertha and Ethel)
1.0 SE Fine Lined Skink (BeBo)
0.1 American Bullfrog (Tootsie)
2.0 Equines (Sherlock the draft and Cleatis the donkey)
4.0 Felines (Caesar Ray, Pharoh, Phoenix, Boomer)
1.0 WC boyfriend (Ryan)

Thanks for the feedback -- that's definitely the impression I'm getting.

Question: are Macklot's pythons (L. macklotti) morphologically distinguishable from the Savu (or Sawu, if you prefer -- L. m. savuensis)? I'm just trying to rule out any other potential lookalikes...

Brad

They are in my opinion...thats definitely a Macklot's you've got. Most of the Macklot's look identical to one another, when I saw the pics of yours I knew what you had, because he looks identical to mine.
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--SneakySnakesINC--

1.0 Sonoran Gopher Snake(Oshy)
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python (Calypso)
1.0 Macklot's Python (Pixel)
0.1 Ball Python (Nagini)
0.1 Yellow Rat Snake (Ember)
1.0 Albino Black Rat Snake (Vegas)
1.0 Smooth Earth Snake (Little Zuni)
1.0 Citrus X red phase bearded dragon (Twyman)
1.1 Oriental Fire Bellied Toads (Spott and Dott)
0.2 American Toads (Bertha and Ethel)
1.0 SE Fine Lined Skink (BeBo)
0.1 American Bullfrog (Tootsie)
2.0 Equines (Sherlock the draft and Cleatis the donkey)
4.0 Felines (Caesar Ray, Pharoh, Phoenix, Boomer)
1.0 WC boyfriend (Ryan)

savus tend not to have any pattern on them, except for the occasional speckling of their juvie colors, as for how it got the burn, reptiles magazine posted a story years ago where one got out in the back seat of a car, and ended up killing itself when the owner started the car. sad story, but it can all happen. its definately a good burn though!
best of luck with him!

Savu's are also mutch smaller, and have those weird eyes.
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1.1 Blackheaded pythons
2.3 Woma
4.2 Aussie Olives
1.1 Timors
1.1 Bloods
1.1 Balls
2.2 IJ Carpets
1.0 Coastal Carpets
1.2 Macklotts
1.2 F2 Carpondros
2.0 Jungle Carpet
0.1 Carpondro
0.1 Jungle/Diamond cross
.1 Brazilian Rainbow boas
0.1 child, CB
0.1 wife, WC

Well, I took Oliver to the vet today -- the vet is an avid, experienced breeder whom you'll all recognize at Daytona, but I won't say his name here =P -- he was thrilled to see my OLIVE python. He too had to refer to "the book" before he was convinced that it was, indeed, macklotti. This made me feel a little better.

At any rate, at almost 7 feet long with a doglike personality (he didn't even protest over the worming) and sunbeam iridescence, I still feel like I got a great deal. All's well that ends well.

See you in 13 days 17 hours and 28 minutes! (but who's counting?)

Brad

WaffaHouseReptiles.com
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1.0 ball python (Python regius)
1.1 hypo apricot pueblan milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum campbelli)
1.0 hypo tangerine honduran milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis)
0.1 montane egg eater (Dasypeltis atra)
0.1 woma (Aspidites ramsayi)
1.1 calabar python (Charina reinhardtii)
0.1 hog island boa (Boa constrictor imperator)

Cool, man. I have a female mack that I got as a hatchling, she is absolutely my favorite snake in my collection. She is super active and inquisitive, always comes to the top of the cage when she sees me. She has an amazing feeding response but is also super super tame once you let her know she isn't being fed. One suggestion I can give you... get a cage with some height to it, these guys love to climb.

Here is Brownie right after I got her... she is about 4 feet now.

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1.0 Spotted Python
1.0 IJ Carpet Python
0.1.1 Ball Pythons
0.1 Macklot's Python
1.0 Variable Kingsnake