Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have been housing 2 yearling(1.1) macklotts together since aquired about 8 months ago. feeding great, housed securely and never a stranger in the house.... one is gone! NO CRACKS, NO LOOSE DOORS, NADA! GONE!!!! they have been fed twice weekly and ample feedings at that!
this morning i was looking across the room commenting to myself how large they seemed to be getting and i noticed...there was only one in the enclosure??? canniblistic? can it be so? i know for sure no one has been near the enclosure and the snakes have been fed on schedule! and i am certain the unit is secure! any input would greatly help!!!

Hi,

young macklots tend to dive in the substrate. Have you checked this?

Good luck!

Cheers,
Wulf
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http://www.leiopython.de ,
http://www.herpers-digest.com

tore up the whole enclosure! substrate and all! i dont know what to make of it. i have been breeding herps since i was about old enuff to read and i never just had an animal vanish! not only do i find it puzzling that the snake cant be found, the size of the animal is about 3.5', i dunno........i am lost for now, i will be checking the stool of the other in the next few days for sure!!!!

Cannibalistic? Maybe you should have been more responsible and housed them individually. But if both the snakes were yearlings then they were near the same size, correct? If so, wouldn't you notice if the lone snake has mysteriously doubled in size? Or had the other's tail sticking out of it's mouth? It's obvious when a snake eats a mouse or rat, I think consuming a snake of similar size would be blatantly obvious. So if your remaining mack is the same size, you have an escapee. When looking for an escapee, I've had 2 experiences where I've looked absolutely everywhere, including the attic one time, and the snake was in the only place I thought it couldn't be. Just never say, "Nawwww it never could have gotten in there", because he probably is in there. Good luck!

>>tore up the whole enclosure! substrate and all! i dont know what to make of it. i have been breeding herps since i was about old enuff to read and i never just had an animal vanish! not only do i find it puzzling that the snake cant be found, the size of the animal is about 3.5', i dunno........i am lost for now, i will be checking the stool of the other in the next few days for sure!!!!

Of your snakes and/or the prey consumed? That should indicate whether one snake ate the other.

-Joan

Of your snakes or the weight of the food consumed?
That should answer the question of whether one snake has eaten the other?

-Joan

>>Of your snakes or the weight of the food consumed?
>>That should answer the question of whether one snake has eaten the other?
>>
>>-Joan

I have heard and seen snakes eat each other
If one moves too quickly and the other mistakes it for prey they will eat the other. Even if they are the same size. I saw a pic of a boa that ate a BP that was larger than it and then regurged it, NASTY!! Now if there is any chance he got out, keep looking and hoping. If he comes back you should probably separate them.
I used to keep my BP's together but I now have them all separate after seeing the regurged snake.

This is the biggest reason I no longer breed Macklotts. They are pure evil. I had some break through a divider in one of my custom enclosures and constrict a gravid gopher snake to death. I do not put anything past these snakes.
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Jeff West