murray darling python

just wanting some experiences that people have had with murray darlings as i am looking for one as a first snake.

Murray Darlings are beautiful snakes and most of the time are rather placid but I have had one that was rather aggressive, she would bite quite a bit and it would hurt as she was full grown and roughly 7-8 feet long, where on the other hand I have had a little boy that was extremely friendly! I believe that snakes have different attitudes just like people- some can be grumpy, some can be loving.

I would also recommend a Bredli Carpet Python as they are very placid and are hardy. I have had both Murray Darlings and Bredli, and can say they are both good choices for beginner people


also one last thing if you are going to get them from a shop, hold a few of them, get a feel for their attitudes and choose the one that you think is better for you Good luck any way

jello158 said:

also one last thing if you are going to get them from a shop, hold a few of them, get a feel for their attitudes and choose the one that you think is better for you Good luck any way

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thanks but i haven't found any stores around me that sell anything but the Antaresia species so i think i will have to go through a breeder

Which state are you in?

MD's are a very special snake IMHO. They seem to have a very calm and placid demeanour compared to many other Morelia. Even those serious herpers who have encountered them in the wild have commented that they have had a calm nature - in some cases actually climbing up over outstretched arms etc....

I have a relatively large collection and my 3 MD's are among my favourites....Whilst individuals of all species can be 'quiet' or 'aggressive', my general experience has been that I have seen fewer agro or nasty MD's than any other commonly kept species. I am awaiting one of my girls laying at the moment which will be my first MD clutch and am very much looking forward to my experience with raising MD hatchies.

I can only go by my limited experience as an owner, but my first snake was (and still is) a MD. I got him as a 4yo adult snake, and knowing basically nothing about snakes except what I'd read up about,and read on this forum, well...he taught me quite a bit. Placid, easy to handle, easy to feed, he gave me my confidence as a total newbie. He's still with me, still as placid and easy to look after as ever.

I'd recommend maybe going with an older snake, rather than a hatchie (whatever species you get) because the temperament is usually established by then and you pretty much know what you are getting. Most hatchies seem to be snappy, which is understandable. lol

jello158 said:

Which state are you in?

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i live in south east queensland

Fair enough. I know of people here in Adelaide that breed them, both are reptile shops and I'm not sure if they freight but its worth a shot- one is Gully Reptiles (which is where I've gotten mine from, and they do freight) and Reptile City which are pretty good as well, I think they usually sell them for about $100-$200. Sorry I'm not that much of help....
good luck anyway.

Like others have said, they're generally placid, my MD boy is my favourite of my 4 snakes and he's managed to change some people's minds about snakes in general because he's so calm. I also owned a MD that was nasty, but unfortunately she passed away. I agree with others about getting an older snake if you feel comfortable with it as their temperament should be established. Little ones can be snappy although mine wasn't. I got my first MD when he was 7 months old and he was just as calm then as he is now, plus he was inquisitive. I've found that inquisitive snakes are usually a bit more placid but this may not be the case with all of them.

My boy is about 5 1/2 years old now and I can count on one hand the amount of times he's bitten me and all of those incidents were my fault anyway. The last time was when he made a very half-hearted attempt at a feeding response bite. I'd been handling ferrets earlier in the day and hadn't washed my hands thoroughly enough. I usually use Aquim hand gel before handling to help with getting rid of the scent on other animals but that day I didn't.

I wasn't even looking at him when it happened, I felt something on my hand and looked down to see him biting into me. He let go very quickly and although snakes don't have facial expressions he pulled back and looked at my hand and did appear to be a little confused lol. As long as you be careful with things like that and handling your snake gently and not making fast movements near them you should be ok. You will likely cop a bite at some point while owning a snake but it's not the end of the world, make sure you keep you tentanus shot up to date.