Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Finally, a long dream comes true! I will be geting my first pair of neonate Scrubs tomorrow - "red phase". I currently keep a colony of Chondros, JCPs, IJs, and one DxJC - amongst other snakes as well.

Any "special" needs w/these gems I need to be aware of? I plan to keep them basically as I would my JCPs but with a more vertically emphasized set-up. What are the "recommended" humidity parameters for these guys? I keep my Carpets a bit drier than my Chondros. I figure a DTH of about 85F down to 78F at night w/one daily spraying. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Bill

Congrats and welcome to the world of scrubs.
A little note, though. Virtually all scrubs are "red phase" when they are born. It's just the default neonate colour. They'll lose that in the first year, though.
Post some pix when you get them and I'm sure someone will be able to give you a better ID.
Have fun (I know you will)
G

after first shed

one year later

Thanks for the reply! yeah, I knew after I posted what would sound like lol! I'm aware of the color changes and am eager to see how she turns out! One thing I'm curious about is the growth rates for these guys. I'm planning on a 10 day feeding regimen and was wondering what the maturity rate is. Is it more of a size or age nature?

Bill

Compared to other pythons (and most boas) most morelia seem to grow at a pretty sedate pace on a reasonable diet. Every ten days seems like a good plan and they'll take pretty huge meals.
As for breeding size, My male barneck bred for me at three years and he was only about six feet long. For a female, five years is more realistic and, while they have produced small clutches at less, I think eight or nine feet is the minimum you should be aiming at. This is the kind of age/size that they seem to slow down their growth in terms of length and start bulking up.
If your animals turn out to be tanimbars you can knock a foot off the male size and two off the female.
Good luck and post some pix when you get the chance.

merauke female

G