Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've always admired these snakes for their sheer beauty. I read somewhere that ony GTPs and Emeralds sit in that coiled tree position, but I've seen photos of Timors doing the same thing.
Anyway, I would like to purchase a pair in the future, I mean like 2 years from now...depending on whats happening with them.

First off, the Python book I have says that they have only been bred a couple times, but that no one has really tried much. Is this just a case of unpopularity? Or are they truly hard to breed? They wouldnt seem like a hard species to breed...but you never know. I heard that they are fierce, but I dont care. I want to make the Timor Python popular!!! This is one gorgeous snake that is incredibly underatted, underappreciated, and undersold. Why the neglect? I saw one in person in NY, and man, what a snake.

From the successful breedings so far, there does not appear to be any innovative strategies that were used (typical photoperiod adjustment, slight to no nighttime cool down, 1 male to 1 female, etc.). As far as the popularity, it probably has alot to do with their availability (sheer numbers in the market) and disposition more than anything else. Longterm wildcaught and and captive bred/born captives are generally, for pythons, a bit high strung and deliberate during handling with a few individuals showing tendencies to excrete copiously. However, I have a few that are extremely nice/tame animals and out of all of my Lesser Sundas/Timor pythons, only a few have rarely actually tried to strike. But they are extremely hardy animals that will make use of perch sites when available. I am still working on some egg production and currently work with a dozen of these beautiful animals from VPI. Their coloration is spectacular, feeding response is strong, and care requirements are straightforward. I imagine these will become more popular as more and more become available. Cheers

Now for the final question...where to buy?? Do you know any sites that would sell these wonderful snakes? At VPI, all they really care about for now are Bloods and Ball morphs blah blah blah. Its the latest craze, but I dont really care much for the whole morph thing. I prefer plain snakes. A regular Timor python to me is more beautiful than an albino Retic any day of the week. How long have you had your Timors? Have they succesfully bred yet? I cant imagine their fierce disposition is adding to the lack of numbers you see for sale, because the Reticulated Python is a pretty nasty snake, and they get 3 times the size. Yet, they are still very popular. Any more info on this secretive snake would be helpful. Thanks for the response by the way.

I hope I did not convey that they were fierce by any means, it's just that they are definitely not like a laid back mellow olive python or tame burmese python. They are just very active snakes that on occassion will strike (often with mouth closed) and excrete, but this often diminishes with time and I have quite a few that are handleable without any problems at all. But the majority of them (all of mine) like to move, and fast, once removed from their enclosure. I have 12 (6.6) that I have on research loan from VPI (they own these, so I would say they are still working with these guys) that I have not yet bred successfully, but I am working on it for this coming year. They are extremely beautiful snakes, no doubt about it. As far as sources, I have seen a few pop up for sale occassionally in the classified section and that would be a good place to keep your eyes out for (these are usually subadults/adults). Cheers.

SO Barker cant even breed these things? Sorry to keep bugging you, but you seem like the only one here interested in these pythons.
What makes these snakes so hard to breed? Is it that they wont copulate? Or the eggs are always infertile. It sounds like you havent had much luck in the past with yours, so thats a pretty grim prospect for us all. Im curious about the technial aspects in breeding these snakes/or or lack of. Im curious why they dont pop out usually. I sometimes see adults for $1000. Is that just guys selling there Timors cause they cant breed them themselves?
Thanks

Hi

I keep Timors and have 4.4. 2.1 of which wer CB here in the UK.
The Barkers bred 2 females and successfully hatched some out in 1995, they wrote a paper on the subject and described in detail the breeding process they used.

Timors are great snakes to keep. I personally don't find them to be very arboreal, but they are very shy and need patient handeling.

No, No....I did not say that the Barkers did not breed them, as they have already succcessfully bred them (I believe twice before). I am doing some collaborative work with them, and they have switched their focus to some other species, but by no means are disinterested in the Lesser Sundas Python (P. timoriensis). They definitely are breedable in captivity, but not like a burm or some of the other more prolific species. I guess once I figure out this species, I can give more first hand info on them. Maybe check out www.vpi.com to see if they reference the paper on P. timoriensis (I believe they have a paper). Cheers, Chris