Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)

[Team Slytherin]

LOL, that's so funny. Clever little fella!

It is the WEIRDEST thing ever. He did it much more often when he was little...and I guess when I would still warm up his food in the same room. He’s over 6ft now, with a nose like a blood hound. There is no need to coax him out for dinner and, in fact, it’s best to get in done as quickly as possible to avoid a run in with those chompers!

This video is a couple years old, but he does it at :49. It’s precious. It’s not a yawn; he always makes direct and deliberate eye contact, as if to say, “MOM! I’m ready!” And it is only ever in response to food.

https://youtu.be/XrWtcF-ExzA

[Team Slytherin]

Wow, he's awesome!! I assume you got him from a breeder? What kind of personality does he have- he seems active! I have a BP, and I've had cali kings & corn snakes, so I'm just curious how they compare in terms of behavior? great pics by the way!!

Thank you! Honestly, this guy has ruined me. I don’t see myself ever getting another snake that’s not a scrub. I have a Dumeril’s and she’s lovely and calm, but the two don’t even compare (not that they should).

Scrubs are not for everyone and I am crazy lucky that mine has such a great personality. Even so, he is definitely an animal that demands respect. Even though I trust him IMPLICITLY, there are days he simply can’t be handled. Or even touched. They are highly, highly intelligent. Next level from any snake I’ve ever seen. He is particularly quirky and has always had odd personality traits. He learns and remembers. And he hugs with his face, which melts my soul. They are highly arboreal, confident, and curious, so that makes a great display snake for sure. Unlike a GTP or ETB, who will chill on a removable perch and let you remove it...he’s basically a giant, spastic kraken you have to wrestle with every time you pull him out. The species tends to be HIGHLY cage defensive, but often chills out once they’re out. After 2.5 years, he still pretends he’s going to kill me every time I do it, but I’ve learned he’s mostly just a bluffer. And also, I am stupidly reckless. Of the 5 species of scrub pythons, Simalia Nauta is the smallest locality, hailing from the Tanimbar Islands. They have often been referred to as a “dwarf” locality, but I’ve heard of at least 4 keepers who had Nautas in excess of 9 feet. We are honestly still learning, as the first ones bred in captivity in the U.S. came from Nick Mutton in...2005, I think?

But yes, anyway. You can tell I get excited about scrubs cause they are just so killer. As mentioned below, some will definitely musk (as nearly all arboreal snakes do)...but again, I got super lucky and he only did that to me the first 2 weeks I brought him home, then never again. As for your first question...NO! It was the strangest coincidence. I actually found him at a reptile shop in California! At the time, I knew virtually nothing about the species and hadn’t a clue that I’d literally found a needle in a haystack. I walked past his cage, heard a “pssst!” sort of low hiss. I actually doubled back to see who dared to cat call me like that. And there was the cutest, evilest face staring at me. He was labeled “Tanimbar Amethystine Python” and I had JUST been speaking with a man in England on another site, who had acquired a stunning pair of Simalia Amethistina. Otherwise, I’d have had no clue what I was looking at.

I went back to the shop to see him for 3 weeks before pulling the trigger. I asked the owner about the snake. He told me he’d been there nearly a year. I assured him this was impossible, as I came to the store every week for feeders for my Dum. He explained to me that they originally had 4 clutchmates that had been kept in the back, off display. Strange. I was told they were not feeding well and were extremely “bitey.” That, coupled with the fact that the owner told me they “didn’t get much information about these animals when they come in,” and that he was the last of the clutch...meaning they were either sold out of a back room or didn’t make it...led me to assume the snakes were likely wild-caught and going through quarantine/anti-parasitic treatment. That was the last day he didn’t belong to me

So, all in all, I’ve no idea where he came from or if he was produced in the US. I only know he is the best decision I have made in my adult life. Bar none.

[Reinz]

That video is crazy. I would normally understand, but not just after holding him.

[Team Slytherin]

That video is crazy. I would normally understand, but not just after holding him.

I think when he was younger, he quickly learned that a long handling session often meant food after? I don’t know. He acts crazy like that sometimes even right after eating. He’s a weirdo But oddly, as food driven as he is, he knows exactly what is food and what isn’t.

Unless you drop it on the ground. Then, suddenly he doesn’t understand how to find it

[Team Slytherin]

Well, I finally managed to pick up a decent sized arboreal cage to upgrade this boy! Probably a dumb idea since I’m currently living half a country away from home, but whatever. He’s been in a temporary set up long enough and, with COVID wreaking havoc and no exact return date yet, I figured what the hell.
It’s super tough to photograph without reflections, but it’s turned out pretty well so far. I’ll keep adding to it, but for now I think he’s stoked about it. It’s a Vision 433 48”x28”x28”.


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[Team Slytherin]

And, as happy as he is with the new setup...I am SO grateful to be done with a top-opening enclosure. I had major surgery several months ago and having to reach in like that has largely meant he doesn’t get handled, because it’s so exhausting.
He’s exhausting enough as it is! The strength of these animals is unreal (even if you haven’t had a rib and half your neck muscles removed). And, as you will see, they are extra grabby-grabby with those ridiculous prehensile tales!


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[Reptile$ 4 Life]

Great looking cage and set up and an even better looking snake! Scrub pythons are definitely on my bucket list.

[Team Slytherin]

Great looking cage and set up and an even better looking snake! Scrub pythons are definitely on my bucket list.

They are an awesome and rewarding challenge! I’d love to get another locality as well, but I think I need a few more years of navigating this guy before taking the plunge with a snake this athletic that could end up 15 feet long!

[Bogertophis]

It is the WEIRDEST thing ever. He did it much more often when he was little...and I guess when I would still warm up his food in the same room. He’s over 6ft now, with a nose like a blood hound. There is no need to coax him out for dinner and, in fact, it’s best to get in done as quickly as possible to avoid a run in with those chompers!

This video is a couple years old, but he does it at :49. It’s precious. It’s not a yawn; he always makes direct and deliberate eye contact, as if to say, “MOM! I’m ready!” And it is only ever in response to food.

https://youtu.be/XrWtcF-ExzA

Love how he keeps wagging his tail too...caudal luring, I assume?

[Team Slytherin]

Love how he keeps wagging his tail too...caudal luring, I assume?

That’s my assumption, although he has never done it again since then. My Dumeril’s demonstrates caudal luring pretty frequently, but this guy never really has. It often appears that his tail acts independently from the rest of his body. Literally has a mind of its own. It sometimes wraps around his body or face reflexively and scares him