Not strictly Australian(this locale anyway)but.......Well this guy came too me as an adult about 3 months ago and I have fallen hook line & sinker for the species! I am currently on the look out for a female Merauke southern scrub,any age considered so if anyone knows of any PLEASE shout me.Anyway here is my Vinny.....
wow terrific pictures and a gorgeous looking snake how big do the scrubs grow to may i ask
Well,depending on locality of sub-species they range in adult size from 5-6ft up to a recorded 27ft.The largest sub being,I beleive,Amethystina Kinghorni(Australian Amethystine or Scrub) My chap however,is a Southern Scrub from Merauke,and will probably end up somewhere between 12-14ft long.He is currently around 9-10ft long(last shed measured 11ft 3")and is as mean and spitefull a snake as I have come across!He is highly aggressive,VERY alert and he learns very quickly,so any little 'tricks' you come up with to move him or clean him out in an easier way only work once,maybe twice before he has them sussed out.He will learn which side of the cage food is to be introduced within 3 feeds,but do you think he'll learn not to bite the hand that feeds him?The only downside to owning him is his temperament I guess,he is a snake that can not be free handled really,it's a hook or stitches with this one I'm afraid,but thats what scrubs are supposed to be like eh?
You must bear in mind that this chap was very probably a wild caught specimen,and I am sure within a few years of CB they will be easier to work with.I cant say I recommend them to any without a good few years experience behind them,but having said that I know a guy whose 1st snakes ever was a pair of CF Afrocks,he's had them 4 years and has and continues to do a fantastic job with them. I can however say I wouldn't suggest anyone keeps scrubs of any locale without going into it 'eyes open' The chances are that you WILL get bitten at somepoint and when working with a species of this size,with some of the largest mandible teeth in the non-venomous world,it can be a little,uncomfortable shall we say? To sum up,think giant ATB thats smarter than you,craps bigger than you and will always have one eye on eating bits of you! lmao
Can not reccomend them enough mate,remember everyone said the same sort of things about Retics not so long ago,Scrubbies are on the up!
the amount of people that still think retics are a huge aggressive snake and that just aint justified. the more an more they have become captive bred the more docile they have cecome, so id agree with Barry, a few more years of captive breeding and they will be a lot more calm, again nice snake barry!
