Children's Pythons

[Cheesenugget]

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... 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.

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.

[vivi]

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.

[Bogertophis]

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.