SAVU PYTHON
[liasis mackloti savuensis]
GEOGRAPHY This snake is found on the small Sawu Island.It is in a chain of Islands called the Lesser Sundas.Some I have spoken to have expressed their feelings that if the island is overcollected there will be no more savus in the wild,well that will remain to be seen.
CARE This python in my experience is one of the easiest pythons to acclimate to captivity and keep,as evident by the very quick drop in price!When savus first started to come to the market they costed about $3500 a pair!!This was in 93' by 96' they had fallen to between $200-$300!I think this is due to their hardiness and the amount of specimens that lived as imports.It is a small python only reaching between 3 and 4 ft. Some have eluded to 5 ft. females but I have not seen any this large.They can be kept in sweater and blanket boxes comfortably as adults and a 3' neodesha cage is quite accomadating to Savus.They can be kept on bark mulch,cork bedding,or the like plus newspaper with ease.They really seem to adapt well to any conditions you keep them in.The humidity should be moderate,and should be raised during shedding as they can have really bad sheds if they are kept too dry.I have seen some with respiratory problems however I have never had one come down with one while in my care.They are very shy and need a hide box.They seem to be more active at night than during the day.Day time temps should be kept in the low 80s with a hot spot in the higher 80s.The temps should not reach too high,as I have noticed that these snakes tend to dehydrate faster than most.They should be given a water bowl large enough to soak in.They do not bathe all that often but I have noticed that they like to take to the water during the opaque period before a shed and now and then I guess as they feel fit to.Imports received from june through october will usually not feed this seems to be their fasting season.When they do begin to feed they can be ferocious!Some I have spoken with said their animals have prefered small rats or pink rats to mice.My experience is that they will eat either.Females tend to be darker as adults than males who may have a lot more salmon speckling.They have the interesting habit instead of biting to wrap around your hand or arm and hang on for dear life.To be quite honest with you for a small snake they are pretty strong!They can definately cut off circulation to your hand if not moved and they are extremely difficult to free yourself from .I usually need help when putting them away to get them off of my arm and into the enclosure.They would rather hang on even if the head is placed in a hide box or they are placed on the floor of the enclosure.Well until you experience it you wont beleive it!But they are not dangerous unless I suppose they wrapped around your neck so let that be a warning to you!My savus only strike at me when they are expecting food.I have some great feeders.Imports may need to be fed at night as they are quite shy.A rat or mouse should be left at the hide box entrance overnight,and again do not expect imports to eat during our summer and fall more often than not they will be fasting.They do tend to be very hardy however some may be heavily parasitized with bacteria.I have heard of some imports showing signs of IBD infection so quarantine all specimens for a few months to treat and watch them closely.
FEEDING Adults can be sustained on one or two mice or small rats a week!Juveniles are large enough to eat pinkies and should be fed every three or four days.
BREEDING O.K.I will say it because I rarely get to say this.I was one of the first to hatch out Savu pythons probably being second behind who else the Barkers I say that like Seinfeld says "Newman"!Get it?I had eggs in 94'.They really are not that hard to breed standard python cycling applies.The drop in daylight and temps at night.The newer the import the more likely you will have succes breeding them around June and July with the temp drop in april and may.This seems to be their breeding season in Sawu but again that is my experience.Like most of the indo pythons they probably can be bred year round with the low pressure system causing copulation.Eggs from the snakes are gigantic compared to the female.I could not beleive the first time I saw the female laying near them they were twice her size Any way I have not noticed any coiling around the eggs by the female in fact my female just leaves the eggs!However other breeders have noticed females staying with their eggs but apparently not showing signs of shivering to raise temps.The eggs are around 3 inches long and 2 inches wide very large.My eggs incubated between 88 and 90 hatched within 69 and 73 days,they shed 6 and 9 days later.Oh yea they seem to average 3 or 6 eggs my 94' female laid 5 eggs 2 infertile.I cut open one a few weeks into incubation and to my dismay at the bottom lay a little embryo.I took pics of the hatching and the embryo and if I get a scanner I will post them.I have lots of pics to post!The Barkers eluded to the hatchlings feeding well after hatching however mine were extremely tough to get going.They began feeding a month or two after hatching and this was accomplished by slap feeding.The hatchlings are little monsters and do not hesitate to stand their ground and bite!I would get them to strike a pink and when their teeth caught I would let go and stand very quietly over them.If I moved they would drop the pink and begin looking to strike at me.I would sometimes have to repeat this 4 or 5 times taking up to 1 hour to feed each hatchling a real pain in the butt!They hatch out kind of a dirty orange color and show signs of change at around 6 months.They begin to get dark spots on them which seem to increase every time you look in the enclosure.I have not kept hatchlings to adulthood and do not know when the pattern change is complete.They can easily be kept in plastic shoe boxes,and should be given a hide box and small water dish and be prepared to be bitten.This is a sub species of the Macklotts python whos juveniles are also mean but like the Savus the adults are gentle.There are two more sub species of this python found and will probably be hitting the market in 98' one of which is liasis mackloti dunni the other I am not sure of.I am unsure of pattern on these new specimens.
INDEX:ADULT SIZE-4 HANDLING-3 HOUSING-4 FEEDING-4 TEMPERAMENT-4
NOTESThis is another personal favorite.I do not think they are all that beautiful although they sometimes have a beautiful irridescense.But they are extremly cute with an adorable face!They are small and easily kept.They are good feeders yet do not need large amounts of food.I give a 3 and not a 4 on handling simply for the fact that they are not that easy to handle.Yes they do not bite but putting them back in the enclosure can be a pain.This is a great pet species rivaling the ball python for that honor.
PIC FROM DAVE and TRACY BARKER
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