Tiny Python! (Anthill - Antaresia Parthensis)

Quote:

---

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.

---

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?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skyrivers

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

---

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.