First Blood

I am thinking of getting myself my first blood python in the next few months, but had a few general questions about them. I have owned many snakes in the past, and currently own a good number between mine and my wife's collections. For comparison reasons, how would a blood and a royal python relate? What is their temperament like compared to that of a royal? Do they have roughly the same enclosure requirements? Anything in specific I should before purchasing one?

Look at this recent thread:
Big momma's house..

You'll see the size of a full grown blood python

I don't have any experience with them, but I think they are a little more "active" than royals, and have a stronger feeding urge

I've heard the same from a few other people around, but not from anyone who has owned one. I'm really drawn to them, but I wanted to get a bit more info before making a dedication.

Are you looking at the P. brongersmai (Blood Pythons), P. curtus (Sumatran STPs), or P. breitensteini (Borneo STPs)?

I can only speak of the Sumatran Short Tailed pythons (P. curtus) as I have two, but the major difference for me is adult size: short tails get bigger than most ball pythons and are much stronger IMO too.

Their feeding responses are overall better than my balls (I've yet to have my girls refuse a meal) but they do like cooler temps over my balls: they are more sensitive to hotter temperatures. I have a mild hot spot of them but I don't keep them as warm as my other pythons.

For activity my two seem more bump on a log than my balls, but I'm sure this depends on the individual (like any animal).

Temperament varies on the individual as well: my T+ girl has always been very manageable and my black girl did go through a "acting out" period when she got to about sub adult age. She's calmed down super nice though with regularly handling: I recommend starting with a baby so you can grow with them. These guys can be just as docile as a ball python.

I have bloods. One is around four years old and the other three are around a year and a half. My big female is about 5.5 ft and between 20 to 30 pounds. The others are about two feet and at last weigh in 900 grams.

My big girl is in a pvc cage 4ft by 2 ft and 15 inches tall. She is on newspaper and uses cat litter boxes as hides which she can no longer actually fit under. It has become a hat. She likes 80 ambient temps and her hotspot is around 83-85. She is so heavy she has split the weld on the cage and I had to get supports to put under the cage floor to keep the welds together.

All of my bloods are very vocal. They hiss, huff, and puff. They are not afraid to disagree with you and let you know what they think. My big girl has never struck or even tried but she can get pissy. The other three I got much younger and they would tag me often the first few weeks I had them. They are much better now but still able to get an attitude. My male well actually come at you instead of backing down, he is ballsy. My profile has some pics on their bites. They are really not bad though.

I love my bloods but they are much different than my ball and the other balls I have held. Just be very sure you are able to care for a snake that gets large quick and requires a good amount of space. They are amazingly strong and that paired with their ability to be pig headed can make for a good fight getting them in or out of a cage when they don't want to do as you want. Don't think that they are always that way. The majority of the time they give no fuss and my big girl is my sweetest in my collection. She well lay with me for hours.

what do these guys eat when full grown?

I probably keep mine more on the leaner side. Large or jumbo rats are usually sufficient - they don't need to eat as much as their size would suggest, since they generally aren't that active. My biggest red bloods (~6 ft) eat one every week or so. Occasionally I'll skip weeks, and occasionally they get extra because the balls weren't hungry. Bigger or more meals could be done before breeding though. My 4-5 footers eat about the same - they seem to need more for their size since they are still growing.

Our bloods like higher humidity and heat around 80 - 83 degrees. I had to custom build him a hide due to his size, he is quite large. Anyway, he eats one jumbo rat per week. And yes he can be more "vocal", but has never bit or struck at us. However, when he was little, he was a little more aggressive but soon calmed down. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by aahmn

I probably keep mine more on the leaner side. Large or jumbo rats are usually sufficient - they don't need to eat as much as their size would suggest, since they generally aren't that active. My biggest red bloods (~6 ft) eat one every week or so. Occasionally I'll skip weeks, and occasionally they get extra because the balls weren't hungry. Bigger or more meals could be done before breeding though. My 4-5 footers eat about the same - they seem to need more for their size since they are still growing.

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Wow, thats cool, I figured for sure you were going to say a rabbit or something because of how thick they are...I love looking at these guys, but have to admit I'm still a little scared of owning something that big...

I feed my big girl biweekly XL and XXL rats. Every once in awhile I will let her skip a feeding but she also gets all refused rodents so it all works out. My young ones are on weekly small rats.