My first Scrub Python question

[perdueb84]

Hi, I have a question about my first Scrub Python. I have a cage that's 6ft tall with plenty of trees for climbing. He of course spends most of his time up there and I've only seen him strike once. Problem is when I try to get him out when he's in his tree he basically climbs to the top and winds himself so tight around a branch, I cannot get him out. I try not to irritate him to much but, I want to handle him as much as possible, to try and get him use to being touched. I can wait until I see him come down to the bottom but, I feel I should be able to get him out when needed. Any suggestions from more experienced Scrb keepers would be greaty appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Torah]

Ive never owned a scrubby but I do know that Untangling snakes can be best done by 2 people . Other Ideas would be- Use a hook to guide his head away while you untangle him . And dont stuff around just get in get him and get out , dont be scared is what Im trying to say ... I will sometimes wait till my bredli isnt on any of the branches in the enclosure , they'll try and get into the branches but I just use the hook to guide their heads away from the branches and my face and then grab them out ...

 

[sookie]

my jungle thinks she is so clever when she grabs a branch with her tail,i just take the branch with us,she usually lets it go pretty quickly,but she and her branches are only small still.

 

[saximus]

How big is it? I personally wouldn't be trying to force an adult scrubby to do anything it didn't want to do. You might be better off making the branches removable so you can remove him along with anything he has wrapped himself around

 

[SamNabz]

How big is s/he?

Nothing is more annoying than when they coil tightly around a branch/perch. I use removable ones as saximus has mentioned, however I usually tickle/touch the tail as it seems to get them moving enough for me to get them out.

 

[abnrmal91]

How big is it? I personally wouldn't be trying to force an adult scrubby to do anything it didn't want to do. You might be better off making the branches removable so you can remove him along with anything he has wrapped himself around

Yer I think a adult scubby would have different ideas from just letting you pull the snake out. Removable branches sounds like your best bet


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How big is s/he?

Nothing is more annoying than when they coil tightly around a branch/perch. I use removable ones as saximus has mentioned, however I usually tickle/touch the tail as it seems to get them moving enough for me to get them out.

Tickling the tails normally freaks any of mine, they go nuts


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[SamNabz]

Tickling the tails normally freaks any of mine, they go nuts

Yeah they don't necessarily like it although it helps me get them out when need be...

 

[Tristan]

when my carpet graps a hold of a branch with its tail i just direct its head in a way that when it wants to move away it has to unwide its self or it cant move, tho when he wound himself in my bikes spokes that was a bit trickier lol

 

[Joemal]

This is the reason i haven't used branches in most of my cages .It makes it too difficult to remove the snake when needed .My scrub is 3.4 mtrs and 10 kgs and she is drama enough getting her out without the problems of wrapping around branches .Her cage is 2.4 long 800 high and 600 wide .There is a large water dish and her hide is a 60 ltr black plastic tub turned upside down with a hole cut in the end for access .She does spend a fair bit of time out on the lawn so getting her out is no problems .One more thing don't think for one minute you can trust a Scrub like other snakes .My girl has a very nasty split personality .She can change from placid to killer in the blink of an eye They are a very smart snake and will watch your routine and work out when to give you trouble .One close call i had with mine was when i was cleaning her cage .I would get her up one end while i did the other end then swap her over .One day while i was halfway in her cage i noticed her pull back into the strike position out the corner of my eye .Within a split second she had launched at me mouth wide open and just pulled up inches from my face and as if to say Ï could have had you if i wanted to ".They are an ureal snake to own but you need to treat them with respect .

 

[imported_Varanus]

You might be better off making the branches removable so you can remove him along with anything he has wrapped himself around

Ditto this! I'm about to become a new owner of a scrubbie and, after having a wild one in care, I've realised how difficult it can be to get them out of elaborate enclosures. It's like getting an octopus out of one of those aquarium castles!

 

[-Peter]

Ditto this! I'm about to become a new owner of a scrubbie and, after having a wild one in care, I've realised how difficult it can be to get them out of elaborate enclosures. It's like getting an octopus out of one of those aquarium castles!

Off topic, I assume this means it is doing ok?

 

[snakeman478]

This is the reason i haven't used branches in most of my cages .It makes it too difficult to remove the snake when needed .My scrub is 3.4 mtrs and 10 kgs and she is drama enough getting her out without the problems of wrapping around branches .Her cage is 2.4 long 800 high and 600 wide .There is a large water dish and her hide is a 60 ltr black plastic tub turned upside down with a hole cut in the end for access .She does spend a fair bit of time out on the lawn so getting her out is no problems .One more thing don't think for one minute you can trust a Scrub like other snakes .My girl has a very nasty split personality .She can change from placid to killer in the blink of an eye They are a very smart snake and will watch your routine and work out when to give you trouble .One close call i had with mine was when i was cleaning her cage .I would get her up one end while i did the other end then swap her over .One day while i was halfway in her cage i noticed her pull back into the strike position out the corner of my eye .Within a split second she had launched at me mouth wide open and just pulled up inches from my face and as if to say Ï could have had you if i wanted to ".They are an ureal snake to own but you need to treat them with respect .

Agree 100% with Joemal. My girl is around the same size as his (ok a touch smaller at 3.25m) but she is psychotic all the time. i do have branches for her but as stated they are removable

 

[SYNeR]

My Jungle is also the same. I find it best in the day time to remove her, because she's coiled up asleep in her hide. I simply lift the hide and quickly wisk her out before she has time to react. Early this morning she was asleep perched on a branch and I found it a bit similar. I was able to grab hold of her, and it took her several seconds to react.

But at night when she's perched and wide awake, it's a pain. If I hesitate a little, she will strike. If I grab on to her and try to lift her out, she just grabs tightly onto the branch with her tail. I'm no expert (far from it.. a beginner at best) when it comes to removing snakes from enclosures, so hopefully others can offer advice.

As mentioned, I've found tail tickling works (and she's not aggravated afterwards when out of her enclosure). Or, my jungle doesn't like it if you grab around her coils with one hand; she'll immediately let go.. then try to coil elsewhere.

 

[Fantazmic]

Hi guys

I just think it is important to mention....there is no way you can compare removing a difficult jungle python with the trnsfer and handling of a scrubbie....main difference....the scrubbie really can kill you a hell of a lot more easily than a jungle.......

 

[imported_Varanus]

Off topic, I assume this means it is doing ok?

So far, so good Peter, thanks for asking! It's in the opaque phase of shedding ATM (not suprising after all the trauma). No sign of RI's and I've caught him drinking on two occasions (it's like a pump siphoning a dam)! I'll post an update soon, hopefully.

 

[user 25905]

my male bredli is the same way most of the time he just raps his tail around a branch (i didn't think about detachable branches...derrr) so sometimes i just open the glass door, sit down and wait for him to come out and see what going on...."then im like hahaha who's the smartass now lmao"
it might work anywayz.

 

[Snakewoman]

I was cleaning out my mother's jungle's click clack one day, he's very snappy but I got him out of there no problems, he doesn't have any branches. I was about to move him into a tub so I could clean his click clack when he wrapped his tail around one of the dining table chairs :x He then sent projectile urine in my direction but missed. He's such a joy I was able to get him off there without getting bitten which was a miracle :lol:

Having a small snake wrap around something is annoying enough, but with a scrubbie I certainly wouldn't be messing around. Like others have said, detachable branches would be best, it'll be much easier to get the snake off the branch in an open space. How big is this scrubbie at the moment? If its 7ft or over I wouldn't be handling it alone.

 

[perdueb84]

Thanks everyone for the advice. Just so everyone knows I did think about removable branches but when I bought the enclosure which is like 6ft by the way, they were in there so nice and secure I figured I'd leave them that way. As you can see in the pic he/she is obviously still very young but things have been going great. I planned on getting a snake hook and will most likely pick one up this weekend but for now a little nudge on the back gets him moving enouch for me to unwrap him. Handling has been going well but I do give him his privacy and plenty of time alone. I try my best not to irritate him while still trying my best to handle him every now and then. I've read some horror stories about these snakes, and it is certainly true from the time I open his enclosure to the time I close it he watches my every move. I just respect him and I know he doesn't trust me anymore than I trust him.