Pappy vs. Bunny

[John1982]

This meal ought to get him through the rest of the winter, no problem.

[Gio]

Nice John!

Olive from where? It is beautiful!

[John1982]

Nice John!

Olive from where? It is beautiful!

He's one of the New Guinea types - papuana. It's not so clear with the flash but the easiest way to tell the difference at first glance is the very distinct color change from dorsal to lateral. You can see it best towards the head on the last picture in this shoot. These also have a wider head and more blunt nose compared to olivaceus.

Better shot showing the two toned coloring on their body as well as head shape.

[John1982]

Here's a fun read from almost 30 years ago concerning papuan olives and their first known captive breeding at the Knoxville Zoo. Bear with me if it doesn't work, first time downloading/uploading/sharing a PDF file.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3t...ew?usp=sharing

Also some interesting stuff regarding feeding habits and stomach contents.

McDowell [1975] found the remains of a wallaby and a bird in the stomachs of examined specimens. O'Shea [1987, 1988] found an Amethystine python (Python amethystinus) in the stomach of a recently drowned L. papuanus in New Guinea, and other snakes have been consumed by captive specimens. While at the San Antonio Zoo, female A killed and consumed two 2 m + anacondas (Eunectes) and killed and partially consumed a reticulated python (Python reticulatus) estimated at 5 m in length (J. Laszlo, personal communication). Laszlo also reported that because specimens of L. papuanus frequently exhibited agonistic behavior when introduced, breeding introductions were discontinued at that institution. This behavior may have resulted from a higher ambient temperature in San Antonio, among other factors, as it has not been noted in these specimens while at the Knoxville Zoo.

[Gio]

I'm going to read that link in the next day or so. You probably have the greatest snake in the world there IMO!

You could call them the KING of snakes in a way as I hear they will eat ANYTHING. Other pythons are on the menu and these guys are big and strong.

I would love to see and here more about this snake Sir John.

I'm blown away and have not communicated with anybody who has one.

How do they compare with the true olives?

[EL-Ziggy]

That's quite the beast you have there John. Very nice animal, I love the iridescence.

[Reinz]

Wow, I didn't know that these guys were such gangsters!

Are they more aggressive towards humans compared to other constrictors?

How are they with handling?

[LittleTreeGuy]

Wow... all I can say is just...wow. I think it's amazing to watch my little BP eat a hopper mouse... I'd probably wet myself if I saw this. LOL

[John1982]

How do they compare with the true olives?

I've never owned olivaceus so couldn't tell you. At least one member here, Marissa, is working with an aussie olive - maybe she'll chime in and tell us about her experiences. I do know that a good many papuans are simply labelled "olive python" and I actually bought my first one, some 13 years ago, under the impression that I was buying olivaceus. I had never even heard of papuana until after I had one. It ended up being a happy mistake though as I've really come to love this species. I'm sure I'd have been very content with their australian cousin but I'm set on my path now and enjoying the journey.

Are they more aggressive towards humans compared to other constrictors?

How are they with handling?

In my limited experience(subadult WC female and farm bred hatchling import) they are very laid back animals. You definitely need to watch out during feeding though. They hit like a ton of bricks and are deceptively, due to their slender build, strong. They are also pretty smart - as far as snakes go - and mine never come at me unless I'm holding a prey item. Even breeding rodents in the same room, with the scent always being there, I've never had a problem with mistaken identity. They seem more aware of what's going on than the average snake, even in feed mode. This current boy will wander like crazy when he's hungry, even so, if I open the enclosure without a rodent he just comes out ready to explore. If I open the enclosure with a prey item in my hand, that's a whole different ballgame and I'm always on my toes until he's securely wrapped. Handling is easy enough but once they break 6 feet you will really start to feel their strength and realize that if things went awry, you'd be hard pressed to maintain control without you and/or the snake being injured. This is definitely a species with which you need to practice good handling positioning at all times unless you have a helping hand nearby. I've never been bit or wrapped but just from normal interaction you can feel the power - it's almost comical. If it weren't for that I'd say they'd make a lovely first snake if considering delving into larger constrictors. They're slow to anger, and when they do get peeved mine have done nothing more than a little talking/hissing to let me know, but you should never wholly trust a snake and this is the last species I'd want to have to try and peel off me should things go south.

Those are my personal experiences/observations. Here's what I've gathered from other folk. Young snakes tend to be nippy but they're a species that seems to grow out of it naturally. Larger WC imports are calm, more often than not, and typically easy to handle with minimal human interaction. Putting them with other snakes usually ends up with one fat, happy, papuan. Other than the PDF I linked, I haven't read a single account of captive breeding in the states.

[Reinz]

Thank you John for the very informative education.

They really sound just pure Awsome.