# Olive Python or Water Python ?



## mje772003 (Mar 24, 2011)

What are peoples thoughts on one breed over another?

In other words the pros and cons of Olive Python's v's Water Pythons?

Cheers Matt


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## matt123 (Mar 24, 2011)

you want big snakes or medium snakes waters get 6-10 ft, olive get 10-15ft, both are easy to keep waters love their humidity and olive need massive cages, ive had placid water and olive and grumpy of both,


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## saximus (Mar 24, 2011)

Entirely different animals. Not that many people would be capable of responsibly keeping full grown olives. Waters however are as easy as any carpet


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## AshMan (Mar 24, 2011)

Why wouldnt many people be capable of keeping rully grown Olives well saximus? Im hopefully getting one later on this year so just enquiring lol


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## saximus (Mar 24, 2011)

Just the size of enclosure and food required. Plus if you get a grumpy one you wouldn't be able to go into the enclosure alone. Even if it's placid it's probably not a good idea. If you're prepared it'd probably be fine but compared to a Water it's totally different.


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## matt123 (Mar 24, 2011)

because some can get to the size of 4m+ urs in adelaide had one that was 5.5m so meaning need a very large enclosure to keep then of a spare room

keep them or a spare room*


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## AshMan (Mar 24, 2011)

Ahh, ok. makes sense lol. Im pretty sure id manage but it would be difficult for some less experienced lol. And a quick question. Are water pythons arboreal at all? or would they be ok with a long, not so tall enclousre? and do they need significant water space? whenever i think of what a water pythons enclosure should look like i get the image of a magnificent, natural enclosure with a huge pool of water at the bottom lol, the kind of thing stein would build. Is all that necessary for a water python?


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## saximus (Mar 24, 2011)

Haha I thought the same thing but a bit of reading revealed that they don't need water at all. They aren't really arboreal either so don't need a really high enclosure but like anything if you get them something to climb on they'll use it


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## matt123 (Mar 24, 2011)

yes my waters used to climb all the time when i had in tall cages, experienced or not a guy in sa who had a big scrub had it for years got complacent and it kill him within couple of minute, if your by yourself and have a snake of 10ft to 20ft ya wont get it off ya

yea they just need a normal sized water bowl i had one big enough where they can full submerge and that was enough


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## Jdsixtyone (Mar 24, 2011)

Keep them in a 4 foot long and keep them like any other carpet.


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## AshMan (Mar 24, 2011)

Ahh cool, so a good 7 foot enclousre would house a water python fairly well? i dont have LOADS of room but at the same time id hate to purposly give one of my animals the bare minimum requirement for the sake of my own needs. the animals come first lol


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## Jdsixtyone (Mar 24, 2011)

They are pretty active so a 6 foot long would be better.


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## MathewB (Mar 24, 2011)

I love water pythons
When you get this snake/enclosure you should upload some pics!


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## AshMan (Mar 24, 2011)

Ahh cool. Yeah, i really do like Olives but i think for the sake of room and feeding ect a water python might be easier lol. i just want something larger then what i have now and i dont really want a coastal lol.


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## saximus (Mar 24, 2011)

What do you have now? The Bredli in your avatar? They get pretty big. There's a couple of pics of mine here: http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-reptile-discussion-42/babies-pic-heavy-157558/
She's a little bitch right now but she's beautiful


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## AshMan (Mar 24, 2011)

saximus said:


> What do you have now? The Bredli in your avatar? They get pretty big. There's a couple of pics of mine here: http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-reptile-discussion-42/babies-pic-heavy-157558/
> She's a little bitch right now but she's beautiful



At the moment i only have one jungle and one Bredli, also two blueys. I have been keeping herps for 8 years though, i recently moved over from England and had to leave my entire collection there so i have had many more. the largest snake iv had was a very large california king snake, she was un-usually large for her species and soo placid, bit of a problem feeder though. was very sad to see her go when we left


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## sweetangel (Mar 24, 2011)

i have 1 of each at the moment. my water python is my little baby! she is such nice natured, the olive on the other hand is mental and she is a little nuts!. I personally like the water python the best. they are very underrated snake. their skin colour is just so beautiful, a pretty olive green colour that gets covered in the coolest rainbow sheen. they alse have a bright yellow belly. much prettier compared to olives in my opinion. but all have different personalities. waters also dont get as big therefore arent as expensive to feed, keep, heat etc.
so i would say water python!!!!


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## AshMan (Mar 24, 2011)

Also, nice bredl saximus, and i like the water python. definatly considering one now lol. And nice dread locks  i have long hair and have thought about dreads a few times but have never had the guts lol


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## saximus (Mar 24, 2011)

Haha thanks man I definitely love my babies. All I need is an Aspidites and I'll have a complete set of Aussie species . 
Yeah the dreads take either a lot of money or a very patient girlfriend to keep them maintained and you get the typical stereotypes (I fly between Sydney and Qld every week and get stopped for the drug/explosive test every time) but it's worth it .


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## SteveNT (Mar 24, 2011)

I've never kept either in captivity but I used to meet both on a regular basis.

I was Resident Naturalist at Australia's first Eco-tourism Resort, Seven Spirit Bay at Coral Bay, Cobourg Peninsular, NW Arnhem Land, 
1989-1993. The swimming pool was the closest water for a km or so during the Dry, snakes (and other things) appreciated a dip as much as anyone else. 

I quickly learned the difference in the nature of the two- gentle handling with water ps and they just went with the flow, sat on the car seat, looked out the window and slid on out when the door was opened a km away.

The olives just bit you no matter what, in the end I used to hang them out the window on a loop pole and drop them off without making contact. I'll have a water python any day.

Used to get woken up at 3 am to remove giant tarantulas from (mainly American's) "habitats" haha and they were always grasshoppers.


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## AshMan (Mar 24, 2011)

saximus said:


> Haha thanks man I definitely love my babies. All I need is an Aspidites and I'll have a complete set of Aussie species .
> Yeah the dreads take either a lot of money or a very patient girlfriend to keep them maintained and you get the typical stereotypes (I fly between Sydney and Qld every week and get stopped for the drug/explosive test every time) but it's worth it .



haha, atleast you can say you stand out lol. and im hoping to go Aspidites next but at the moment my moneys going towards a custom enclousure for my jungle and my bredli (2 in one, stacked) to save space


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## blakehose (Mar 24, 2011)

Olive python everyday of the week.


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## shortstuff61 (Mar 25, 2011)

blakehose said:


> Olive python everyday of the week.



Yep.


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## SteveNT (Mar 25, 2011)

blakehose said:


> Olive python everyday of the week.



Dont get me wrong blakehose, I love olives in the bush, I just dont play with them unless necessary. I'll still take a close encounter with a wild wp when I meet them in a waterhole. They dont mind contact if it's gentle but if you startle them they have the same set of recurved teeth as the olive and they're just as difficult to dislodge.

Ever met one?


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## saximus (Mar 25, 2011)

I've heard when you get a cranky Liasis it's one of the worst bites. Is that why - the teeth shape?


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## AshMan (Mar 25, 2011)

So water pythons are known for better temperment? i had it in my head it was the other way round. im not sure where i got that from though.


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## saximus (Mar 25, 2011)

I've heard NT Waters are the bad tempered ones but like everything it's probably more down to the individual snake. Mine is fine if it's just me but if someone else is even in the room she's terrible


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## matt123 (Mar 25, 2011)

depends on locality of waters, all the NT waters i have had are nutters and all the Qld waters i have had are placid


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## AshMan (Mar 25, 2011)

Ahh ok, do the NT's and QLDs look particularly diffrent? being a patternless snake i find this hard to imagine lol


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## saximus (Mar 25, 2011)

I think the Qld ones have brown/cream or yellow bellies but NT is only yellow


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## matt123 (Mar 25, 2011)

NT have lighter bellies and Qld have more yellow/apricot coloured belly


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## AshMan (Mar 25, 2011)

Ahh, ok. Cool


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## Dannyboi (Mar 25, 2011)

Why bother trying to choose I say get them both hehehe he.


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## matt123 (Mar 25, 2011)

agreed thats what ive done


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## SteveNT (Mar 25, 2011)

matt123 said:


> depends on locality of waters, all the NT waters i have had are nutters and all the Qld waters i have had are placid



Any NT snake would be unhappy in SA lol


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## matt123 (Mar 25, 2011)

my darwin carpets are fine lol and bredlis, well one bredli ;p


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## mje772003 (Mar 25, 2011)

Thanks guys for the replies as i do want a large snake and its hard to decide which one as i have heard olives are more docile than water pythons but one concern was about the SA guy as mentioned earlier on the thread but i do have a housemate around. I would like to get one and then eventually prepare everything and get the other

will be buying small freezer from the good guys to keep food in as other freezer has not enough space in it

Cheers Matt


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## -Katana- (Mar 25, 2011)

I was seriously considering getting into Olives (granites) but now I'm having to do a rethink. I'm only a small petite woman and Olives are huge (they are Australia's second largest python)..If I got wrapped up I'm toast.
Nothing..and I do mean NOTHING could convince me that getting a scrub python would be a good idea. No, sorry my sense of self preservation is far too high.


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## Snakewoman (Mar 25, 2011)

I have both, they're young at the moment so they're not very big. I'd put off on getting a water python because I'd heard many people say they're psychotic, but I held one in a shop once, and she had a good nature so she came home with me. Not sure how old she is, but must be young, very small. My Olive has a placid nature, which I'll appreciate more when he's an adult  Maybe starting with a water python and then getting an olive later if you'd still like to do so would be an idea?


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## blakehose (Mar 25, 2011)

SteveNT said:


> Dont get me wrong blakehose, I love olives in the bush, I just dont play with them unless necessary. I'll still take a close encounter with a wild wp when I meet them in a waterhole. They dont mind contact if it's gentle but if you startle them they have the same set of recurved teeth as the olive and they're just as difficult to dislodge.
> 
> Ever met one?



Can't say I have, but I know that the temperement of wild animals is very variable. I still really like Water pythons, though having owned Olives, I can vouch for the fact that they are simply awesome animals to own. I intend to get another very soon!


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## sacred_DUC (Mar 25, 2011)

AshMan said:


> Why wouldnt many people be capable of keeping rully grown Olives well saximus? Im hopefully getting one later on this year so just enquiring lol



full grown olives, are very impressive but never be misled by their placid nature at 3m+ their base musclle power is unbelievable.
i keep 3 olives all over 7ft including a 10ft female beast that is bit grouchy and when she is in bad mood i have no chance at all of even getting near the cage. Feeding a olive at this size can have it moments very food orientated single wiff of food and they turn into cruise missiles i keep olives in cages that are 6ft X 2ft X 2ft and during feeding i seen then cover 2mtres in mere secs to smash the rabbits that i throw in. ( defrosted i might wanna add).

I never handle adult olives with out having some one home to back up in case of the what if, even though i;ve had the olives from hatchy's and think i know thier nature they can turn and cause a lot of grief and pain


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## mje772003 (Mar 25, 2011)

Would it be best to say when an adult Olive is a decent size to have someone around ( like housemate or friend) for back up if handling outside of enclosure for long periods. Would i have to take the same measures with a water python?

As i intent to get Olive first then later eventually get a water python. For some reason i like the Liasis species as other than the green tree pythons the others don't give me that fascination as i do like the smooth scales of the liasis and i'm not worried about a big snake or being bitten not that i expect to be but thats just life if i do. When i was a child i have handled Diamonds.

By the way guys in comparison what at the minimum storage enclosure requirements sizes for adults for both Olive's and Water's?


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## sacred_DUC (Mar 25, 2011)

mje772003 said:


> Would it be best to say when an adult Olive is a decent size to have someone around ( like housemate or friend) for back up if handling outside of enclosure for long periods. Would i have to take the same measures with a water python?
> 
> As i intent to get Olive first then later eventually get a water python. For some reason i like the Liasis species as other than the green tree pythons the others don't give me that fascination as i do like the smooth scales of the liasis and i'm not worried about a big snake or being bitten not that i expect to be but thats just life if i do. When i was a child i have handled Diamonds.
> 
> By the way guys in comparison what at the minimum storage enclosure requirements sizes for adults for both Olive's and Water's?


 
yes but with any python 7ft+ it's best advice to have some one on hand to be able to help if things get out of hand. 

i haven't kept waters yet seen too many nut jobs to consider keeping them, but if they are the same as olives then a large floor space is required over height, all 3 my olives will cruise their cages and found the more ground space the better as they can be little clumsy and a rather large thud can be heard when they fall.

minimum cage space would be how much space are you gonna allocate as you can get away with 4ft enclosure for about few years then go larger as i said my enclosures are 6ft x 2ft x 2ft and thats pretty decent cages when u look at them.


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## matt123 (Mar 25, 2011)

sacred_DUC said:


> yes but with any python 7ft+ it's best advice to have some one on hand to be able to help if things get out of hand.
> 
> i haven't kept waters yet seen too many nut jobs to consider keeping them, but if they are the same as olives then a large floor space is required over height, all 3 my olives will cruise their cages and found the more ground space the better as they can be little clumsy and a rather large thud can be heard when they fall.
> 
> minimum cage space would be how much space are you gonna allocate as you can get away with 4ft enclosure for about few years then go larger as i said my enclosures are 6ft x 2ft x 2ft and thats pretty decent cages when u look at them.




waters are actually very good climbers as i used to house mine in 4ft tall enclosures and my carpets seems to be clumsy and fall more then my waters ever did, and keeping water a 4x2x2 would be a minimum for an adult water python but if you only have couple snakes and room a 6x2x2 would be great or even bigger high and depth, and as for olives mine is in a 4x2x2 but once out grown is going into two 4x2x2 cages put together with hole in middle so making it a 8ft enclosure and if she turns out being a monster add another 4ft cage onto it


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## SteveNT (Mar 25, 2011)

Back in the eighties they found a guy at a place called Robin Falls, south of Darwin. He was wrapped by a monster olive that had immobilised him and was chewing on his shoulder. Obviously it couldn't eat him but apparently it didn't want to let him go either.

He'd been there 2 hours when some tourists found him and managed to get the beastie off. The bloke wasn't badly damaged but I would think an underpants change would have been in order


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## -Katana- (Mar 25, 2011)

I had a hold and a pat of a 6 foot + male Olive Python this morning.

Stunning python in the flesh and he was very placid...but his sheer strength was staggering.


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## SteveNT (Mar 25, 2011)

Last year I was helping our resident Herp relocation lady to patch up a big olive that had been chewed on by a rotweiler in Batchelor. Apparently the dog didn't come out of it well either but the snake had some serious punctures.

My job was to apply some sort of ointment and push it into the holes. I assumed she had the head under control but immediately it was an inch from my hands watching my husbandry techniques. A bit nerve racking with a fist sized head full of teeth watching what must have been a painful process.

Anyway, she stayed calm and recovered fully and I was at her release 3 months later. Alls well.....


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