Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a macklot's just under 3 foot, using a combination of "jungle earth" and fir bark for substrate, they are supposedly good for keeping a more humid environment (for the macklot's)....works good, looks good but pretty dark.........is there ny other kinds of substrate of a lighter color that would be good for a macklot, just so he doesn't blend in to the environment so well, be nice to see him better in there w/o turning the lights on super bright!!! i have seen some kind of shavings that looked good but is that healthy and good for a snake that likes a bit of humidity?
I will have a pic posted soon, having film developed, only had this guy for 2 weeks!
Thanx!!!

got him out of hiding for a picture........

another ok pic, im not good at this photographer thing

there are no shavings that are 100% safe for our animals. A lot of keepers will use aspen and I think the debate is still out as to whether those release any oils or not (if it is known, please someone correct me).
I use cypress mulch (but you MUST debug it). It's a reddish brown but sometimes, you just can't see the snake. LOL

I have my baby Roti mackies on newspaper for now since I'm still getting them into the regime of eating and making sure everyone is pooping fine and all that jazz.

So newspaper (although not natural looking, is lighter), butchers paper (lighter brown), cypress or what you are doing is best.
Anyone else have suggestions?

Hugs!

Amanda Rose
P.S. beautiful mackie you've got there!!!!!!! What's his name?

name is leviathan..........all pet stores have that green turf-like fit specifically for the size aquariums, darker green, might just get a couple of those, switch them out when i clean...tell u what this guy has no issues eatin, will eat everything u put in front of him....he's a bit snappy but only when i reach in the cage so use a stick at first.....are yours aggressive at all?

You can use that stuff, just be careful that it gets changed immediately when soiled on. Could harbor some nasty bacteria if it stays wet and nasty for too long.

On handling mackies....most are territorial from what I've found. The female I rescued a couple years back was VERY territorial. In fact, that's the reason no one at the store fed her, gave her water OR cleaned out the four piles of poop/urates in her tank! When I first met her, I let her come to me because I got this look from her and a haunting feeling that I should remove my hand when I first attempted the idea of sticking my hand in there. If I let her come to me (which they are very curious and always seem to want out after they get their first taste of adventures in the house, LOL) she was a gentle, perfect lady. After realizing I was the only one that gave her fresh water on my once a week trips, I took her home. She only popped me once, and that was for sticking my hand IN the bag to get her out once home rather than using a hook. Using a hook meant to her that I was not invading her turf but I was going to let her come out for exploring time.
My baby rotis are NOT aggressive at all. Granted, I try not to teach my animals I can stick my hand in their turf and get them out (although, my rainbow boa and my Nyoka have always been taken out by hand since neonatehood) except for the one female who is afraid of the hook. I will see tomorrow upon my first handling session with her if she reacts like her brother and sister and just calmly explores everything. I don't perceive her being an aggressive animal though.
Most mackies as babies pop anything that moves (huh, kinda like my scrubs. LOL!) but I think that's more related to the HUGE feeding response these guys have. Some people call them their garbage cans because they never turn down a free meal. ;D
My little male is the first one after he had his first meal two weeks ago to always greet me in the mornings when I wake up seeing if I'm going to give him some food. hehe
I don't like how most people label baby macks as "aggressive" Far from the truth, they LOVE to eat and once you get them started, they never want to stop. That coupled with what looks like being territorial like retics usually get, is the only reason apparently why they will strike repeatedly. Heck, if I lived only in a small section of my wilderness and some jerk kept sticking their grubby paw in my world uninvited, I might have to bite them to just to get them away. I feel that's their home, their safety zone so no touchy. ;D

Is this your first macklott? Sorry for the long post...got me on a chatty evening. LOL!

Hugs!

Amanda Rose

yes my first one, actually my first snake period...my brother had a large boa for about 10 years growing up so was used to having a snake around...looked around for a snake, was going to fall back on your basic ball python but found this guy at an exotic animal place here in town (which has some crazy snakes i would go nowhere near) and he seemed to have a lot of pattern on him, although more subtle...plus nice to have a snake not everyone has...

Timors like yours are great to start with. I love all three locales but Timors are the easiest to come by. I finally got my trio of beautiful rotis and hopefully someday, I'll get a group of Semau macklotts. ;D

Hugs!

Amanda Rose

one more question, well actually two .....how do you tell the difference between the roti & timor variants? Also, are there any external physical signs for telling the gender of this guy? For some reason i thought i read somewhere that if the tail is slightly darker then it is one or the other, but forget and cannot find that information again. My snake's tail is indeed noticibly darker the last 3-4 inches. Thanks again!!
mike

here is an excellent place to start answering those questions.
VPI is well known for their excellent care. I think you'll like this page.

http://www.vpi.com/8VPICareSheets/Pythons/FreckledPython/FreckledPythonDesc.htm

Beautiful pictures too!
As far as the darker tail meaning a male. I have not read that anywhere but if you do find it, I'd like to hear about it.
Still, probing seems to be the best way.

Hugs!!

Amanda Rose