Tiny Python! (Anthill - Antaresia Parthensis)

There are a lot of big and beautiful pythons on this site - but I wanted to give some attention to our smaller friends. So here's a snapshot of Cricket, my Anthill Python. He'll be a year old next month and has just graduated to eating large pinky mice. At maturity, he'll be all of 19-20" long, and even though he's tiny, he is a fierce predator who takes his meals very seriously! As is true for the Antaresia in general, he has all of the curiosity, intensity, and intelligence of the larger pythons - just in a miniature python body. I love all of my snakes, but these little guys hold a special place in my heart.
[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ket_may_19.jpg[/IMG]

Such awesome little predators. I share your enthusiasm for these diminutive pythons...I've had my larger version, a Spotted python, for 11+ years now, & recommend
them as pets for all the same traits you mentioned. I've never known an Anthill python but yours looks very similar to mine (mine is a 'granite phase'). None of the fussy
eating habits that BPs have...I don't ever have to warm the mice, lol. (do you?) Mine is about the size of an adult corn snake.

Beautiful animal.

Got to love the big personality in a small package.

Thank you for sharing.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Such awesome little predators. I share your enthusiasm for these diminutive pythons...I've had my larger version, a Spotted python, for 11+ years now, & recommend
them as pets for all the same traits you mentioned. I've never known an Anthill python but yours looks very similar to mine (mine is a 'granite phase'). None of the fussy
eating habits that BPs have...I don't ever have to warm the mice, lol. (do you?) Mine is about the size of an adult corn snake.

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Granite phase Antaresia are very pretty! My three (Stimson's, Children's, and Anthill) are all wild type, and I am sure some of my friends wonder how I can be so enthusiastic about little brown spotted snakes when they're all working with spectacular Ball Python morphs, lol.

But I agree with you - they are fantastic pets. Easy husbandry, not fussy about eating at all, and very nice to handle because of that python tendency to be slow-moving rather than squirmy. They also seem to have real personalities and overall are just charming. And no, I never have to bother with warming mice - that mouse is a done deal as soon as they see it, though my Children's is funny at feeding time: she comes FLYING toward the mouse, all fierce, then suddenly brakes in front of it and takes it very slowly and delicately.

When recommending these guys as pets to new keepers, I hesitate to describe them as 'bulletproof' because I don't want a new keeper to become careless about husbandry as a result. But they are really tough, resilient little snakes.

It's so tiny! They are probably the coolest little snakes on the planet.

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

...And no, I never have to bother with warming mice - that mouse is a done deal as soon as they see it, though my Children's is funny at feeding time: she comes FLYING toward the mouse, all fierce, then suddenly brakes in front of it and takes it very slowly and delicately...

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That's what my Trans Pecos rat snakes often do...they seem to be more aware & deliberate. They are snakes first, of course, but they also exhibit self-control, showing that they remember they don't need to be fierce. :cool: I had one that used to eat from my fingers very carefully. Snakes that react this way seem smarter, or maybe the word is "evolved"? They clearly learn! :snake:

Now all you need is a spotted and you will have all the antaresia! Super cute, yet fierce, thank you for sharing!!

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

There are a lot of big and beautiful pythons on this site - but I wanted to give some attention to our smaller friends. So here's a snapshot of Cricket, my Anthill Python. He'll be a year old next month and has just graduated to eating large pinky mice. At maturity, he'll be all of 19-20" long, and even though he's tiny, he is a fierce predator who takes his meals very seriously! As is true for the Antaresia in general, he has all of the curiosity, intensity, and intelligence of the larger pythons - just in a miniature python body. I love all of my snakes, but these little guys hold a special place in my heart.
[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ket_may_19.jpg[/IMG]

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I love him... I love my retics but he is a beauty also. Do you have a full body photo?

BTW, if your Anthill python is anything like my Spotted (?), he has impressive iridescence too. Good things DO come in small packages...:snake:

They are iridescent for sure, especially in the sun! I am sort of spoiled in the iridescence department thanks to my Brazilian Rainbow Boa, but the Antaresia are really surprising with that quality. I'll get a full-body photo of Cricket next to something that makes for an easy size comparison, though it'll be a few days because today was feeding day. I still laugh about this year-old snake muscling down a large mouse pinky.

And Vivi, the completionist in me considered a Spotted, but I think I am content with these three. If I get another snake at all, it'd likely be a Dumeril's. But aside from occasional twitches because I love all of the Australian pythons and would love a Bredli and a Papuan, I feel like I'm at a good place snakewise. I have the right number to set up a very attractive 'snake wall' of PVC enclosures in my study, I can handle my guys enough to keep them habituated to me without over-handling, and I can provide enrichment to this crew as well. As is true for all of us, I think, there's always a bit of a yearning for 'just one more', but I think I am at a good place as is.

Plus I always keep unexpected rescues in the back of my mind. I have at least one friend with very fragile health, and I know for sure I'd end up with his python if he becomes unable to care for it.

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

And Vivi, the completionist in me considered a Spotted, but I think I am content with these three. If I get another snake at all, it'd likely be a Dumeril's. But aside from occasional twitches because I love all of the Australian pythons and would love a Bredli and a Papuan, I feel like I'm at a good place snakewise. I have the right number to set up a very attractive 'snake wall' of PVC enclosures in my study, I can handle my guys enough to keep them habituated to me without over-handling, and I can provide enrichment to this crew as well. As is true for all of us, I think, there's always a bit of a yearning for 'just one more', but I think I am at a good place as is.

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It's totally up to you. The antaresia seem to have similar personalities and that makes me want to get them even more- and props to you for realizing your situation is ideal. How big is your anthill right now?

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

I love him... I love my retics but he is a beauty also. Do you have a full body photo?

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Here you go. Cricket in all his glory, next to a pen for scale. As mentioned before, he's a year old and won't be getting significantly bigger. He's very easy-going to handle and has a great appetite.

[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...cket_may30.jpg[/IMG]

These are so cool (and cute)! Does their husbandry differ much from bps? I noticed you said they were a little "hardier".

Of all of the snakes in my small collection, I've found the Antaresia (I have a Stimson's, Children's, and the Anthill in this thread) to be the least demanding in terms of husbandry and general care.

They appreciate the same general temperature range as bps but don't require humidity to be as finely-tuned. Probably thanks to their Australian origins, they seem to be less sensitive to fluctuations. I don't need to provide a specific substrate or worry about getting their substrate just so in order to maintain proper humidity; they do fine on aspen. They have fantastic appetites, are out and about more than my bp -- climbing a bit, basking, or hanging out on low branches. They are confident and curious and respond really well to enrichment. They aren't shy, and are very nice to handle.

All in all, they are just a real delight and I can't say enough positive things about them. I think the only caution I'd share is to not take their bulletproof status for granted - give them a good enclosure and stable environment and they'll thrive. And be aware that some Antaresia can develop an overly-enthusiastic feeding response. But as with other snakes, this can be managed with hook training, tap training, or target training to help them understand when it is and isn't feeding time.

And for what it's worth, I have none of those kept by Caitlin & mentioned in above post, but I have a Spotted Aussie python, the largest in this related group, & I'd say
all the same things about her (& I got her as a yearling, & I've had her for 11 years so far). Easy & excellent pet snake, interested in surroundings, easy to feed, easy to
handle, all in a "small package" -about the size of an adult corn snake.