Spotted Python Care Sheet

From Exotic Pet Wiki Pedia

Contents 1 General 1.1 Latin Name: 1.2 Size: 1.3 Longevity: 1.4 Active during: 1.5 Behaviour: 1.6 Temperament 1.7 Ease of care 2 Housing 2.1 Vivarium: 2.2 Accessories: 2.3 Humidity 2.4 Heating 2.5 Light 2.6 Substrate 3 Diet: 3.1 Food 3.2 Water 3.3 Frequency 3.4 Supplements 4 Breeding 4.1 Requirements 4.2 Seasons 4.3 Incubation 5 Further information or considerations:

General

Latin Name:

Antaresia maculosa

Size:

The largest of the antaresia genera,the Spotted Python is capable of reaching lengths of almost 5 foot.

Longevity:

Captive lifespan is estimated at 15-20 years.

Active during:

Although can be seen during the day they are primarily nocturnal snakes and are most active after lights out.

Behaviour:

During daylight hours they will usually be hidden away. After lights out they are usually very active snakes, utilising every inch of space you can provide for them. They are good climbers and will appreciate branches etc that you can provide for them.

Temperament

Spotted Pythons have a reputation of being snappy pythons and generally are as babies. However, with regular and sensible handling techniques they can grow into snakes tolerant of handling although can be very enthusiastic at feeding time and care should be taken when feeding.

Ease of care

I would class Spotted Pythons as easy to care for. They grow to a manageable size and have no special lighting or humidity requirements.

Housing

Vivarium:

Hatchlings are very small so can be kept in tubs for the first few months of their life. I found the hatchlings to be very active at night and made full use of space in their tubs so moved them into vivariums 12 inches square from about six months old. As adults they can require a four foot vivarium with as much height as you can spare as they will use it if you can provide it! They can be kept succesfully in tubs their whole lifes as they are a small python species but will make use of a large naturalistic vivarium if you can afford the space.

Accessories:

Like tight fitting hides spaced around the vivarium. Also, provide climbing branches etc as they will be used.

Humidity

Require low humidity but can raise slightly during sloughing process.

Heating

A Spotted Python requires an ambient temperature of around 80F with a warm spot of around 88-90F. This can be achieved in numerous ways also depending on the type of set-up you are using. Heat mats are ideal for smaller vivariums and for the larger vivs I have found ceramic bulbs (with thermostat) are ideal. Keeping an eye on your Spotted Python and observing where it spends most of its time can be a guide to your temps. If it is spending alot of the time in the cool end, it could be that your warm area is too hot and vice versa. It is imperative you measure your temps with a reliable thermometre as excess heat and cold can quickly kill a Spotted Python.

Light

There is no specific requirements for UV lighting for this species. A day night cycle can be used but is not really neccessary.

Substrate

I prefer to use aspen but any of the readily available snake substrates are acceptable.

Diet:

Food

Generally as hatchlings they will readily take frozen thawed pinky mice once started. As adults they usually have great appetites and will take mice or small rats for their lifetime.

Water

Clean, fresh water should be available at all times.

Frequency

Hatchlings should be offered food once a week and then the frequency can be reduced as the python ages. Adults can be fed one appropriately sized prey item every 10-12 days. Some Spotted Pythons may go off food for a period of time as breeding season approaches and should not be a worry unless the snake is loosing weight.

Supplements

If feeding good quality rodents no supplements are necessary although some people advocate the use of supplements on hatchlings food.

Breeding

Requirements

For breeding Spotted Pythons you require a male of at least 18 months old and a female of at least 36 months. Both need to be in the best possible health as the whole breeding process can be very hard on them especially the female who will go a long time without feeding. Most breeders will feed their females heavily in the late summer/early autumn to make sure they have the best possible weight ready for the breeding season.

Seasons

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Incubation

There are two methods used to incubate eggs from Spotted Pythons. Firstly you have maternal incubation. This is where the female will coil tightly around her eggs and regulate the temperature herself. This method is probably not the most succesful as it can be hard to get the humidity levels correct. Another consideration is that the female will not eat during incubation so it can be an extra strain on her. The second method is artificial incubation. There are many different types of incubator that can be used and the homemade types can be just as succesfull as the shop bought ones. The eggs should be placed into the incubator as found in the nest box. The temperature in the incubator should be kept at around 88-90 degrees with a a humidity of around 90-100 percent. Eggs should start to pip at around 42 days and all should have left the egg at 45 days.

Further information or considerations:

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