Wiggles, the Children's Python

[Homebody]

Wiggles and I had a fun time today. It's the last weekend of the month, so I decided to clean his enclosure. Usually I put him on/in an activity station while I clean both his upper terrarium and lower tub. I decided on a different strategy this time. To make it easier on Wiggles and me, I decided to just clean the half he wasn't using. Later, I would clean the other half. He was in the terrarium, so I decided to clean the tub. Unfortunately, Wiggles found my activity very interesting and he came out to investigate. Since, I couldn't supervise him while I was cleaning, I put him in his pet tent, and, since he was out of the enclosure anyway, I decided to clean the whole thing.

Once I was finished, I decided to put him back. First I spent some time, watching him as he explored his tent and the various recycled containers I had filled it with. I really enjoy watching him go in and out and though all the boxes and bags. Then, I unzipped the flap to let him out. I put my hands in front of the enclosure such that he had to cross them to get out. I'm been trying to teach Wiggles to trust me enough to climb onto my bare hands. He's done it before, but he's still pretty reluctant. He took a while to think it over. He tried to get around them, but, when he saw that he couldn't, he took the chance and climbed out onto me. Once he was out, I put my hand in front of him again, and he climbed on my hand again. At this point, he had been out of his enclosure for quite a while, so I put him back. Seeing Wiggles's trust in me growing is very fulfilling.

I think a lot about what I would say to anyone considering a Children's python as a pet. What is it about these snakes that makes them special? I've decided that, in short, I would say this, "If you're looking for a small, easy to care for, and fun to interact with snake, they're tough to beat."