Spotted Python

[Holy Balls]

Hey all, well my 8 yrs old son wants a snake for his B-day. We already have a Ball Python. He said he doesn't want a Ball, because we have one aready. He liked the spotted pythons he see's at the reptile store. My question is how are the spotted pythons to care for? Are the needs the same as a ball Python? How is the Spotted temperment.

[hoo-t]

Care is pretty much the same as for balls. They can be finicky eaters when they first hatch (natural prey is lizards), but once they're started they eat quite well. In fact, their feeding response can be pretty intense as they get older. My female tried to eat my son last year. The snake is only about 3 feet long, and built like a kingnake, so no real damage done. He did have a bruise on the back of his hand that was outlined by a neat little snakemouth shaped dotted line! Ever since she laid eggs this spring, she has been a sweetheart. I am careful to let her know that I'm not food before picking her up though.

Steve

[Skiploder]

Hey all, well my 8 yrs old son wants a snake for his B-day. We already have a Ball Python. He said he doesn't want a Ball, because we have one aready. He liked the spotted pythons he see's at the reptile store. My question is how are the spotted pythons to care for? Are the needs the same as a ball Python? How is the Spotted temperment.

Slightly lower overall temps.

Nippy as babies, for the most part wonderful animals when mature. We have a male and a female and they both eat like clockwork and don't mind handling. My son is 6 years old and handles them regularly without incident.

[jjspirko]

Ditto what skip said with a some additions.

1. I got a pair a while back from Glades, I estimate their age when I got them at about 18 months. Glades is a big opperation and they were probally only handled for shows and the like so they were "snappy". They are bout 30-35 inches and both have tagged me a time or two. The result NO BIG DEAL, just don't recoil if they bite and even those close to an adult size are not a problem if they bite.

2. More often then bite they bluff, several times taking a wack at my forearm with mouth closed, etc. Again by not reacting they are pretty cool.

3. Even with very little handling as babies they are pretty chill now. I did get a bite about a week ago putting one into the viv, he was wrapped around my fingers and I did the finger shuffel to get him off and he tagged my ring finger and even chewed a second or two. Again no big deal and while there was some blood by an hour later there was not even a visable mark.

So like with bitting I would just not worry, start with a baby (make sure it is on mice, they can be picky at first as hatchlings and want lizzards) and if handled I bet you won't even have an issue, the nice thing like I said though is if you don't jerk back even an adult can't really harm you.

Something else I learned here (from skip I believe), they tend to be more snappy if you pull them out of their hides in the day. They are quite active in the evenings and pretty friendly to boot. And consider if you were a small snake and rippped from your safe dark hide you might be on edge too.

The other issue is a feeding response you won't believe. They will eat as much as you will feed them, I have mine big enough for small adult mice now and that helps. You need to use care in picking them up so they don't think they are being fed! When I open the sliding door both come out looking for food, once they realize it is not feeding time they are chill but until then they are ready to rock. For this reason I generally get them out with a hook just until they realize it is not feeding time.

Care is easy I have a very small heating pad for them to keep their temps lower then the rest of my tanks (all on one system) and they still spend most time on the cool side and only warm for about an hour or so after eating. You will love they way they eat! Think mini retic! They about crush an already dead mouse so hard I think they are tenderizing it. In nature they eat lizzards as babies then mosty bats as adults (hence the agressive constrictioin I guess).

A note on my snappy guys, please note I think I have a pair that are on the worst case senario for this species as far as biting and even with that they are very easy to deal with. If you get a hatchling and handle it gently often and perhaps feed in a empty tank to minimize the door open time to eat conditioning you will probally have a snake that acts mostly about like a corn snake. I would go for it, they are different, cool and have enough unique needs to be interesting with out being overwhelming.

Again let me just state they don't like to be ripped out of their hides. Makes em a bit fisty. The other isssue is with cage maintence. When I need to remove poo or something like that I rotate the hide so the opening is AWAY from the view of my hand. Moving just outside a hide is a deffinite way to get tagged! Not out of mallaice it is a clear feeding response, they don't see that well probally and see movement around the hole and think, LUNCH!

So I wanted to let you know the worst end of things, which isn't bad at all. All in all I love my spots, probally more then my Tais, House Snakes and Boa combined, Shhh, don't tell them I have favorites,

[Skiploder]

Ditto what skip said with a some additions.

1. I got a pair a while back from Glades, I estimate their age when I got them at about 18 months. Glades is a big opperation and they were probally only handled for shows and the like so they were "snappy". They are bout 30-35 inches and both have tagged me a time or two. The result NO BIG DEAL, just don't recoil if they bite and even those close to an adult size are not a problem if they bite.

2. More often then bite they bluff, several times taking a wack at my forearm with mouth closed, etc. Again by not reacting they are pretty cool.

3. Even with very little handling as babies they are pretty chill now. I did get a bite about a week ago putting one into the viv, he was wrapped around my fingers and I did the finger shuffel to get him off and he tagged my ring finger and even chewed a second or two. Again no big deal and while there was some blood by an hour later there was not even a visable mark.

So like with bitting I would just not worry, start with a baby (make sure it is on mice, they can be picky at first as hatchlings and want lizzards) and if handled I bet you won't even have an issue, the nice thing like I said though is if you don't jerk back even an adult can't really harm you.

Something else I learned here (from skip I believe), they tend to be more snappy if you pull them out of their hides in the day. They are quite active in the evenings and pretty friendly to boot. And consider if you were a small snake and rippped from your safe dark hide you might be on edge too.

The other issue is a feeding response you won't believe. They will eat as much as you will feed them, I have mine big enough for small adult mice now and that helps. You need to use care in picking them up so they don't think they are being fed! When I open the sliding door both come out looking for food, once they realize it is not feeding time they are chill but until then they are ready to rock. For this reason I generally get them out with a hook just until they realize it is not feeding time.

Care is easy I have a very small heating pad for them to keep their temps lower then the rest of my tanks (all on one system) and they still spend most time on the cool side and only warm for about an hour or so after eating. You will love they way they eat! Think mini retic! They about crush an already dead mouse so hard I think they are tenderizing it. In nature they eat lizzards as babies then mosty bats as adults (hence the agressive constrictioin I guess).

A note on my snappy guys, please note I think I have a pair that are on the worst case senario for this species as far as biting and even with that they are very easy to deal with. If you get a hatchling and handle it gently often and perhaps feed in a empty tank to minimize the door open time to eat conditioning you will probally have a snake that acts mostly about like a corn snake. I would go for it, they are different, cool and have enough unique needs to be interesting with out being overwhelming.

Again let me just state they don't like to be ripped out of their hides. Makes em a bit fisty. The other isssue is with cage maintence. When I need to remove poo or something like that I rotate the hide so the opening is AWAY from the view of my hand. Moving just outside a hide is a deffinite way to get tagged! Not out of mallaice it is a clear feeding response, they don't see that well probally and see movement around the hole and think, LUNCH!

So I wanted to let you know the worst end of things, which isn't bad at all. All in all I love my spots, probally more then my Tais, House Snakes and Boa combined, Shhh, don't tell them I have favorites,

Very nicely put.....

I have a Stimson's who is a doll to handle but the very act of filling his water dish or cleaning out his cage becomes an avoidance excercise.

[chris B]

Spotted/Children/Stimson's are all alike correct? Size being the only reall difference?

[Skiploder]

Spotted/Children/Stimson's are all alike correct? Size being the only reall difference?

Spotted/Children's/Anthill/Stimson's

Size, some small marking differences - mainly localities. It wasn't too long ago when they were all selling under the same name and for all intents and pruposes, the are the same snake.

Spotteds - usually the largest but I've had a few that were relatively small. Blotches are irregular and more ragged than the other species.

Children's - start life with darkish brown blotches on a lighter background. These often fade into maturity. Usually smaller than the Spotteds and Stimson's.

Stimsons - markings are less ragged than the spotteds and contrast between spots and background is more pronounced that the other trhee species. Dark brown to reddish spots on a lighter background. The second largest of the antaresia group.

Anthills - The smallest of the four, the most docile (in my opinion) but the hardest to get feeding. In terms of coloration, I have seen them lool like a mini stimson's and some that look like a smaller childreni.

Again, they are all basically the same snake and I am seeing more and more cases of misidentification and unintentional cross-breeding.

I predict the same thing will eventually happen with the womas. right now, a woma is a woma. I think in the next 5 to 7 years, they will be identified increasingly by locality, Boodarie, Tanami, etc.

[Muffin Top]

I've got an adult male spotted, and I kept a hatchling for awhile too and figured I'd weigh in.

My adult male, Huxley


Came to me as a 5-year-old used for breeding. He hadn't been handled much and he freaked out every time I picked him up. He was genuinely afraid of me and he would flatten out and thrash around to get away. Never bit though. After a few months he learned the routine and he doesn't even fuss when I pick him up anymore. I can lift him up at any moment and put him around my neck. He's calm as any corn snake when you're holding him.
He quickly learned about the feeding container too and he sits and begs for food when I open the top. This is the only time I'm in danger of being bit. If I even get my face too close he'll lunge at me.

He will stop eating during the winter for a few months and it can be hard to get him to start up again. But I found that he can't resist quail chicks.

Here's a little hathling I bought. They don't come out of the egg with manners as you can see.

If she wasn't trying to bite you out of fear, she was trying to eat you. But after a few months she learned better too and became very calm. I sold her though because she didn't keep her nice contrasting pattern. Here she is a little older: