Wiggles, the Children's Python

[Homebody]

I've offered Reptilinks to snakes that continued to prefer my arm (hand, sweatshirt, snake hook...) over the links. Not kidding.

I wouldn't argue with anyone that said that snakes don't like reptilinks. Children's pythons are as food motivated as they come, yet getting Wiggles to eat them requires some persuasion. That said, he has been eating them for nearly two years, so I'm going to order another batch under the theory that it's my overfeeding and not the links themselves that's the problem. Time will tell.

[Homebody]

So glad you didn't wait for your heart to stop beating- Good call! What a little predator! Can't blame him for preferring fresh over Reptilinks- I guess he thought you were "offering"?

It just occurred to me that I was handling him with my bare hands. I've been handling him with gloves to keep him from biting. It's been working so great that, last night, I decided to try handling him bare handed. Oh, well. At least, he didn't bite.

[Bogertophis]

It just occurred to me that I was handling him with my bare hands. I've been handling him with gloves to keep him from biting. It's been working so great that, last night, I decided to try handling him bare handed. Oh, well. At least, he didn't bite.

Yeah, being gloveless must have confused him. He wasn't taking any chances that this prey was going to get away!

[Homebody]

Yeah, being gloveless must have confused him. He wasn't taking any chances that this prey was going to get away!

This incident demonstrates well one of the reasons that Children's pythons make such great pets. As, Wiggles was doing his level best to crush me to death, he only managed to be amusing. That's an important benefit of keeping the second smallest python in the world. They can't hurt you. To illustrate just how small they are, I decided to use Lord Sorril's trick of adding a quarter for scale.



Imagine how small their teeth must be. I've only taken a feeding bite from him once, and, even when he working his jaws trying to pull me into his mouth, it was never more than mildly irritating. Now, Childrens may be more prone to biting than some other snakes, but you'd be hard pressed to find one that does less damage when it does.

[Bogertophis]

I totally agree, judging from your experience with Wiggles & mine with my very similar spotted python. They are both EXCELLENT pets that stay a safe & pleasantly manageable size, with plenty of personality & skills to never be boring snakes.

[Homebody]

I really like these tubes. I collect them from the recycling bins in the commercial district. They're really thick, like wood. To this one I added dowel rods to make climbing through it more dynamic.
[IMG][/IMG]
Now, I wait to see whether he likes them.

It's been a long wait, but here is a picture of Wiggles using this tube.

Wiggles enters the tube at the lower end and exits at the top. I was considering removing some of the rods to make it easier for him to get through. I had seen him using the tubes without rods. I'm glad I didn't. The whole point, really, was to give him a piece of furniture that requires him to move his body in a different way. Snake's bodies are designed to move through tight spaces. This piece allows him to do that. I'm, now, considering adding dowel rods to his hides so that he has to squeeze into those.

[Bogertophis]

Good idea...an "agility course" for snakes, I like the idea of using dowels- I'm sure he does too- something to grab onto. That might be more than needed though- they look pretty close together?

[Homebody]

Good idea...an "agility course" for snakes, I like the idea of using dowels- I'm sure he does too- something to grab onto. That might be more than needed though- they look pretty close together?

They are an inch apart. The perspective of the picture makes them appear closer together than they really are. That said, when I add dowel rods to his other tubes, I won't add as many, just enough to make it easier for him to wiggle through. I'll keep this tube the way it is to be more of a challenge.

[Homebody]

Wiggles measured 36.75 inches this quarter.





That's almost 3/4 inch more than last quarter. That's really surprising. Wiggles only grew a half inch in the previous three quarters combined. His last measurement 3 months ago had him just over three feet, but I wasn't sure that I could rely on that. Serpwidgets is pretty accurate, when done correctly, the most accurate way of measuring length that I know, but it's still wise to take a second measurement to be sure. This measurement confirms that Wiggles has definitely passed the three foot mark, and shows that he may have more growing to do. The Complete Children's Python says they can get to over three and a half feet.

I'll try to get an updated weight for him at his next feeding. I tried to record his weight at his last feeding, but the reptilink I offered failed to motivate him to climb onto the scale. At least he ate it. I may try a hopper next time to see if he finds that more motivating.

[Homebody]

Wiggles weighed in at a hefty 312g. A substantial weight increase to go along with his substantial length increase.



The Reptilink I offered him yesterday failed to persuade him to cooperate. He actually ran from it. So, tonight I tried using a mouse. That did the trick. Lured him all the way out of his enclosure and onto my scale. So, it's clear he prefers to eat mice. I prefer to feed Reptilinks. The battle of wills has begun.