Children's Pythons

Hi, me again.

I think I've decided I'd like to get a children's python for my first snake. Now, while I am doing research on my own I try to do as much research as POSSIBLE so that I can prevent or be prepared for anything. A few of you have told me about them on my previous thread (thanks again!) and I find that asking people with experience is an awesome way to see what works for the snake.

Now, I want to know EVERYTHING. If i'm gonna get a snake, I gotta know everything about it. (well, not everything, just as much as I feel confident with)
Feeding, husbandry, temperament, housing, shedding, breeders, life in the wild, lighting, etc...

If you have experience with them or other antaresia (even if it's limited) or sources to read up on, do tell me. Thanks!

See my responses in thread: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-or-boas/page3 No time to repeat all info already given. :snake:

Thanks Boger. There's a lot of good info in that thread as well, however this thread is focused on children's pythons.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vivi

Thanks Boger. There's a lot of good info in that thread as well, however this thread is focused on children's pythons.

---

And I made numerous comments about them specifically in that thread, just not going to repeat them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

And I made numerous comments about them specifically in that thread, just not going to repeat them.

---

Good point. :snake:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vivi

Good point. :snake:

---

Not saying you won't get more contributions, I hope you do...but I've pretty much already posted all I can tell you about these & didn't want you to think I'm ignoring you.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Not saying you won't get more contributions, I hope you do...but I've pretty much already posted all I can tell you about these & didn't want you to think I'm ignoring you.

---

I hear ya. Just hearing some other peoples input. :gj:

Well you read my previous post about my Bender. Here goes:

If this is your first snake, I don't recommend them because of their aggressive feeding response and nippy as babies. This is more of a snake you get after you worked with a hungry king or woma, so at least you would know how to read their behavior a little better and know what to do when (Not if) you will be mistaken as food or mistaken as a predator. They are also no pushover and will be quick to let you know about that. When they bite, they break skin. And as babies, they will go for your hand repeatedly even if you had not moved. It is just how it is.

They have a powerful grip for a snake their size. I keep a variety of snakes and lizards, and none of them gripped me as tight as Bender and he was just hanging on to me.

For the reasons above, I do not recommend them for kids. They will bite if they decide too and draw blood, repeatedly, and they can tighten their grip on a small child's arm when frightened rather than letting go. I have small nephews and nieces, they can pet my other snakes but Bender. These are not snakes that will enjoy being taken out for public education. Spotted pythons would be a better choice for that.

With that said, a little blood may not deter you, and I hope you don't give up, because anything with a mouth can potentially bite out of fear, hungry or just being a jerk. It is nothing major though. A quick wash and you barely see the damage. So good thing they are no retics. Using a hook helps though.

Once you can accept the above and determined this is what you want, here is the husbandry info:

88-90F hot side. I use UTH with thermostat.
No cooler than 77-80F preferred. 75F is fine too but try to get around that range.
They live in a low humid areas in Australia. That means glass tank works best or lots of air holes in tub to get a 20-30% humidity. Try not to go higher than 30%.
Aspen is a great starting substrate. Babies prefer to burrow.
They are semi aboreal. Anything they can climb on will be used. A tank with some height is useful for this reason.
I do not recommend tubs for babies due to the high humidity and their ability to escape. Finding a small escaped snake will be troublesome. I recommend starting out with a 5.5 gallon Zilla Critter cage.
Even though they climb, they do use hides. So 2 identical hides will work.
They are more active at night.
Beautiful rainbow sheen reflected in their scales, piercing eyes and looks like a mini brown retic.
Humid hide is optional. If they use it, keep using it

As babies, they are on day old pinkies. The breeder should tell you what they are feeding it.
As adults, they can eat a small mouse.

If you have the money, word from across the pond where some breeders manage to breed some morphs for this species. That is incredibly rare in the States. I don't have a lot of info but worth looking into. A normal CP baby should cost about $75 each.

Lastly, these are very hardy snakes. In light of some minor challenges, Bender is a good snake. They are not mean, and some may be calmer than others. They are like small dogs who thinks they are big dogs lol. And that is what is so great about them in addition to the ease of care. They have a lot of personality and would make a wonderful pet to have.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cheesenugget

Well you read my previous post about my Bender. Here goes:

If this is your first snake, I don't recommend them because of their aggressive feeding response and nippy as babies. This is more of a snake you get after you worked with a hungry king or woma, so at least you would know how to read their behavior a little better and know what to do when (Not if) you will be mistaken as food or mistaken as a predator. They are also no pushover and will be quick to let you know about that. When they bite, they break skin. And as babies, they will go for your hand repeatedly even if you had not moved. It is just how it is.

They have a powerful grip for a snake their size. I keep a variety of snakes and lizards, and none of them gripped me as tight as Bender and he was just hanging on to me.

For the reasons above, I do not recommend them for kids. They will bite if they decide too and draw blood, repeatedly, and they can tighten their grip on a small child's arm when frightened rather than letting go. I have small nephews and nieces, they can pet my other snakes but Bender. These are not snakes that will enjoy being taken out for public education. Spotted pythons would be a better choice for that.

With that said, a little blood may not deter you, and I hope you don't give up, because anything with a mouth can potentially bite out of fear, hungry or just being a jerk. It is nothing major though. A quick wash and you barely see the damage. So good thing they are no retics. Using a hook helps though.

Once you can accept the above and determined this is what you want, here is the husbandry info:

88-90F hot side. I use UTH with thermostat.
No cooler than 77-80F preferred. 75F is fine too but try to get around that range.
They live in a low humid areas in Australia. That means glass tank works best or lots of air holes in tub to get a 20-30% humidity. Try not to go higher than 30%.
Aspen is a great starting substrate. Babies prefer to burrow.
They are semi aboreal. Anything they can climb on will be used. A tank with some height is useful for this reason.
I do not recommend tubs for babies due to the high humidity and their ability to escape. Finding a small escaped snake will be troublesome. I recommend starting out with a 5.5 gallon Zilla Critter cage.
Even though they climb, they do use hides. So 2 identical hides will work.
They are more active at night.
Beautiful rainbow sheen reflected in their scales, piercing eyes and looks like a mini brown retic.
Humid hide is optional. If they use it, keep using it

As babies, they are on day old pinkies. The breeder should tell you what they are feeding it.
As adults, they can eat a small mouse.

If you have the money, word from across the pond where some breeders manage to breed some morphs for this species. That is incredibly rare in the States. I don't have a lot of info but worth looking into. A normal CP baby should cost about $75 each.

Lastly, these are very hardy snakes. In light of some minor challenges, Bender is a good snake. They are not mean, and some may be calmer than others. They are like small dogs who thinks they are big dogs lol. And that is what is so great about them in addition to the ease of care. They have a lot of personality and would make a wonderful pet to have.

---

Awesome information. I am willing to work with defensive snakes and a little blood won't deter me- I'm aware snakes have a stronger grip but I´m drawn blood by my feisty cat on a daily basis, I also volunteer at a cat shelter and have had my share of defensive cats, (one gave me a nasty scar under the eye, had to get 5 stitches... :O Good thing I'm not getting a retic...) I'll get a hook to help limit the feeding response. They seem like very personable snakes, that's kind of what drew me toward them.

That aside, I have some questions. Should I bump up the humidity when they're going into shed? Should I cover any of the tank´s screen lid? I have a 40B tank, the lid has a few holes in it. Should I replace it completely or is there a way to repair it?

Also, I see a lot of variation on the humidity, some sources say as low as possible while I´ve seen some that say 50-60%. Since they´re from Australia i´d suspect they prefer lower humidity...

**ETA** Not super relevant, but one resource said their snake family was Boidae... Can´t believe everything you read.:rofl:

I would make two recommendations in addition to info I have already shared:

1. Learn about target training. I prefer it to hook training for my Antaresia, but either would be fine. Target training has been an absolutely invaluable tool in moderating the formerly T. Rex-like feeding response of my Stimson's Python. Now he is 100% clear that if he sees no target, no food is forthcoming. As a result, I can do whatever I need to in terms of changing water, spot cleaning, or just taking him out to hold without dealing with feeding-driven bites. For target and station-training snakes, I highly recommend the youtube videos by Lori Torrini. Here's a link to her channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp9...PX3n4UgznGnlwg

The only snakes I have that I would really trust with children are my Ball Python and my Children's Python, but we'll see if that changes once she gets older. For now, she still qualifies as the most serene snake I've ever owned.

2. Get "The Complete Children's Python" by Justin Julander, Nick Mutton, and Peter Birch.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Caitlin

I would make two recommendations in addition to info I have already shared:

1. Learn about target training. I prefer it to hook training for my Antaresia, but either would be fine. Target training has been an absolutely invaluable tool in moderating the formerly T. Rex-like feeding response of my Stimson's Python. Now he is 100% clear that if he sees no target, no food is forthcoming. As a result, I can do whatever I need to in terms of changing water, spot cleaning, or just taking him out to hold without dealing with feeding-driven bites. For target and station-training snakes, I highly recommend the youtube videos by Lori Torrini. Here's a link to her channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp9...PX3n4UgznGnlwg

The only snakes I have that I would really trust with children are my Ball Python and my Children's Python, but we'll see if that changes once she gets older. For now, she still qualifies as the most serene snake I've ever owned.

2. Get "The Complete Children's Python" by Justin Julander, Nick Mutton, and Peter Birch.

---

Thank you Caitlin, I´ve never heard of target training and I´ll definitely look into it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vivi

Awesome information. I am willing to work with defensive snakes and a little blood won't deter me- I'm aware snakes have a stronger grip but I´m drawn blood by my feisty cat on a daily basis, I also volunteer at a cat shelter and have had my share of defensive cats, (one gave me a nasty scar under the eye, had to get 5 stitches... :O Good thing I'm not getting a retic...) I'll get a hook to help limit the feeding response. They seem like very personable snakes, that's kind of what drew me toward them.

That aside, I have some questions. Should I bump up the humidity when they're going into shed? Should I cover any of the tank´s screen lid? I have a 40B tank, the lid has a few holes in it. Should I replace it completely or is there a way to repair it?

Also, I see a lot of variation on the humidity, some sources say as low as possible while I´ve seen some that say 50-60%. Since they´re from Australia i´d suspect they prefer lower humidity...

**ETA** Not super relevant, but one resource said their snake family was Boidae... Can´t believe everything you read.:rofl:

---

Cool! I used to work at a rescue and foster kittens as well, so yea, cat scratches are no fun but love is love.

I had seen that info about the humidity. When in doubt, I check the Australian forums and there is a map regarding climate and humidity of Australia where this species live in the wild. The info I received was low humidity, and that never failed for me. For shedding, do not increase humidity of the tank. You don't have to do anything. A humid hide made of a plastic butter bin and wet paper towels or moss works just fine. Give your snake the option to use it. If he does not, oh well, no worries. He should shed just fine. Mine never uses it, he would stay in his hide for 2 weeks and voila, complete shed.

If your snake ends up with stuck shed for some reason, it is a minor problem usually solved with a 10 min warm bath.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cheesenugget

I had seen that info about the humidity. When in doubt, I check the Australian forums and there is a map regarding climate and humidity of Australia where this species live in the wild. The info I received was low humidity, and that never failed for me. For shedding, do not increase humidity of the tank. You don't have to do anything. A humid hide made of a plastic butter bin and wet paper towels or moss works just fine.

If your snake ends up with stuck shed for some reason, it is a minor problem usually solved with a 10 min warm bath.

---

Thanks so much. Is it difficult to keep the humidity low? I´d imagine it being easier than keeping it high.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vivi

Thanks so much. Is it difficult to keep the humidity low? I´d imagine it being easier than keeping it high.

---

When you heat part of a snake's enclosure, it's going to dry it out. And your snake's enclosure is in a heated house, I'd assume, which dries out the surrounding available air too. So unless you really DO "live in a swamp", you don't have to worry about the humidity. ;)

To be honest, I don't monitor humidity for my two Antaresia nearly as closely as I do with my Ball Python, GTP, or Rainbow Boa. I use aspen as a substrate, and when I notice they are going into shed I offer them a humidity hide - but neither has ever opted to use it, and both have had perfect sheds every time so far (Jake the Stimson's is 3 years old; Miso the Children's is just 10 months). Maybe once a week I'll throw a hygrometer in their enclosures and do a quick humidity check. These two and my King snake are the only ones I use aspen with, and since aspen is so drying I do like to check occasionally to be sure I'm not dessicating them, lol.

Just as an FYI, I'm linking below a brief video from Lori Torrini on target training one of her Children's Pythons to moderate a strong feeding response:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DBI_OdNePM

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Caitlin

To be honest, I don't monitor humidity for my two Antaresia nearly as closely as I do with my Ball Python, GTP, or Rainbow Boa. I use aspen as a substrate, and when I notice they are going into shed I offer them a humidity hide - but neither has ever opted to use it, and both have had perfect sheds every time so far (Jake the Stimson's is 3 years old; Miso the Children's is just 10 months). Maybe once a week I'll throw a hygrometer in their enclosures and do a quick humidity check. These two and my King snake are the only ones I use aspen with, and since aspen is so drying I do like to check occasionally to be sure I'm not dessicating them, lol.

Just as an FYI, I'm linking below a brief video from Lori Torrini on target training one of her Children's Pythons to moderate a strong feeding response:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DBI_OdNePM

---

Thanks again Catilin, I'll probably offer a humid hide just in case. Can you elaborate on what target training actually does? Does the target mean that there's food coming?

Yep. Snakes are really good at associative learning. Target training gets them to respond to a target by moving toward it/tongue-flicking it (but not striking it) followed very quickly by the offering of a meal.

It doesn't take long for them to associate the presence of the target with a meal. If I'm doing other stuff in the enclosure, but not showing the target, they understand there is no meal forthcoming so I don't get that intense feeding response. The video's just a few minutes long and illustrates it pretty well. It's a simple but effective training method. I also like it because it's a different form of interaction, and the learning opportunity is just one more little enrichment boost.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Caitlin

Yep. Snakes are really good at associative learning. Target training gets them to respond to a target by moving toward it/tongue-flicking it (but not striking it) followed very quickly by the offering of a meal.

It doesn't take long for them to associate the presence of the target with a meal. If I'm doing other stuff in the enclosure, but not showing the target, they understand there is no meal forthcoming so I don't get that intense feeding response. The video's just a few minutes long and illustrates it pretty well. It's a simple but effective training method. I also like it because it's a different form of interaction, and the learning opportunity is just one more little enrichment boost.

---

Ohh, I get it. That's really cool, I think people underestimate the intelligence of snakes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vivi

Ohh, I get it. That's really cool, I think people underestimate the intelligence of snakes.

---

Snake intelligence is often underestimated, and unfortunately the discussions about this tend to get tangled up with the folks who anthropomorphize their snakes, which doesn't do any of us any favors. I don't expect or want my snakes to be like a dog or cat, but they certainly aren't just instinct-driven tubes. This 2019 literature review ("Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience") is a good overview: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/10/821/htm

Also a good article on target training to teach snakes to voluntarily shift between enclosures:
https://spring2019.iaabcjournal.org/...xzzA1tVZFejMFQ

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Caitlin

Snake intelligence is often underestimated, and unfortunately the discussions about this tend to get tangled up with the folks who anthropomorphize their snakes, which doesn't do any of us any favors. I don't expect or want my snakes to be like a dog or cat, but they certainly aren't just instinct-driven tubes. This 2019 literature review ("Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience") is a good overview: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/10/821/htm

Also a good article on target training to teach snakes to voluntarily shift between enclosures:
https://spring2019.iaabcjournal.org/...xzzA1tVZFejMFQ

---

Anthropomorphism is a bit too far to go for snakes, but you can't say they are stupid. They are do rely on instincts but so does every other animal and that doesn't mean they aren't intelligent. (Lots of people claim that they can LOSE their instincts, that's ridiculous if you ask me.) Those are great articles, by the way. Thanks for the reply.

Caitlin, that's really interesting about target training your Children's python. My spotted python has a very strong food response but I have no trouble with her mistaking
me for food. When I pass by my snakes & they're up, brimming with anticipation, I give them my scent thru the screen top: to be honest I'm talking to them too, usually,
but obviously they don't hear, lol- it's just my way of saying 'hello'. They all back off with my scent, knowing it's "NOT food". Now going thru the room WITH food, they
all pay close attention & are ready to pounce, but my snakes appear to have learned that MY scent alone means no food. Sort of the opposite of target training, but it
works for me.

I got in the habit of identifying myself to snakes many years ago when I often had "temporary house-guests" (snakes removed from property for safety of residents) and
wanted to reduce their terror every time I had to pass by them...you can't blame a wild creature for fearing the unknown. I noticed in no time that they learned to relax
and stop rattling (yes, these were rattlesnakes) and were obviously relieved that the "lurking monster" was just "the same ol' familiar one" as before. For any snakes
that had to remain in captivity, most became quite complacent towards me as something "familiar & harmless" and seldom rattled. Even if my dog ran by and startled
one, I "took credit" with my scent & the snake would quickly relax. This resulted in them being easier to feed also, as stress (fear) is a big appetite-killer for snakes.