Colourful Critters
Antaresia Care Sheet
General Info
The genus of Antaresia is often referred to collectively as Children’s pythons. This group consists of four recognized species:
· Antaresia maculosa – Spotted python
· Antaresia childreni – Children’s Python
· Antaresia stimsoni – Stimson’s Python
· Antaresia perthensis – Pygmy Python
In terms of size, Spotted pythons are the largest, with some individuals reaching up to 1.5m and averaging around 1.2m. Children’s and Stimson’s pythons typically measure around 90 cm, while the Pygmy Python is the smallest at about 45 cm.
These snakes are nocturnal and terrestrial, native to Australia, and can be found in nearly every state except Tasmania and Victoria. They thrive in a variety of habitats but tend to prefer rocky outcrops, areas with shelter under rocks or bark, ground litter, hollow logs, cave entrances, termite mounds, and sparsely wooded regions.
Antaresia pythons have slender bodies, pear-shaped heads, smooth scales, vertical pupils, and visible heat pits. Both sexes have cloacal spurs. Due to their manageable size, ease of care, and generally pleasant demeanour, Antaresia pythons are often recommended as beginner-level pet reptiles. With proper care, they can make wonderful long-term companions, living for over 30 years.
Enclosure
Adult Antaresia can be easily housed for long-term care in commercially available rack systems, enclosures or glass terrariums. The NSW Code of Practice for the Private Keeping of Reptiles requires a floor area of 0.150m2 for each adult Antaresia 500mm x 300mm x 100mm is ample for an adult (18 months +) Commerical rack tub sizes of 800mm x 450 mm x 200 mm are suitable; however, an enclosure sized 600 mm x 450 mm x 350 mm would provide a better living space and allows for climbing opportunities. These dimensions are intended for individual pythons. Ultimately, larger cages can be used as long as healthy living conditions for Antaresia are maintained.
Due to their small size, Antaresia are prone to escape, especially when they are juveniles. They are slender enough to fit through a 3 mm gap between sliding doors, so hinged doors are preferred when possible or tight lockable lids. Always ensure that your enclosure is securely closed.
Regarding keeping multiple pythons in one enclosure: while cohabitation (keeping multiple pythons of the same species together) is possible, it is generally not recommended. It is best to house them individually, as they have a strong feeding response and can exhibit cannibalistic behaviour, particularly around feeding times. Cohabitation should only be considered for mating purposes during the cooling process.
Quarantine Practices for New Pet Reptiles
When you bring home a new pet reptile it is best practice to quarantine it first, particularly if you already own other reptiles. Quarantine involves isolating animals that have come from other collections or have been exposed to potentially infectious or contagious diseases. Use disposable items where possible to make it easier to maintain hygiene, paper substrate, cardboard hides and disposable plastic water bowls.
Even without other reptiles, quarantine is crucial as it allows you to monitor your snake closely for any signs of illness. You can use your python’s long-term enclosure for the quarantine process or a large plastic tub. Tubs are an inexpensive and easy-to-clean option, which makes them a popular choice.
General Rules for Quarantining Your Python:
- Isolate: Keep the snake in a separate room from other reptiles, if possible.
- Separate care: Always check, clean, and feed your quarantined reptiles on different days or at the end of your routine to minimize the risk of cross-contamination.
- Use different equipment: Use separate equipment for your new python and wash your hands thoroughly after handling different animals.
- Disinfect regularly: Thoroughly disinfect the enclosure frequently; we recommend doing this at least once a week with F10SC, a veterinarian-grade disinfectant.
- Veterinary check: If necessary, take your python to an experienced reptile veterinarian for a health check and potential parasite treatment.
- Monitor closely: Keep a close eye on your new pet for any symptoms of illness or disease.
- Inspect for mites: Regularly check your snake and its water bowl for mites, especially if the snake is soaking. If you discover any, treat them appropriately.
Following these practices will help ensure your new pet stays healthy and safe while also protecting your other reptiles.
Health Concerns for Your Snake
If you observe any of the following symptoms in your snake, it’s important to make an appointment with an experienced reptile veterinarian immediately:
- Noisy breathing
- Mucus discharge from the mouth or nose
- Unexplained weight loss
- Large patches of missing scales
- Discolored belly scales
- Swelling or bumps anywhere on the body
Addressing these symptoms promptly can help ensure your snake receives the necessary care and treatment.
Lighting for Pythons
Normal lighting ?
Do pythons need UVB?
While there are no scientific studies to suggest that UVB lighting is essential for pythons, providing it can have some positive effects. UVB lighting helps establish a clear day/night cycle and ensures your pet gets the vitamin D3 it needs, which can strengthen the immune system and facilitate better digestion. Additionally, UVB can enhance the colour and overall appearance of your snake. It’s recommended to use a low-radiation UVB bulb, around 5%, if possible.
Keep in mind that UVB can be blocked or significantly reduced by glass, plastic, and some small mesh lids. For optimal results, house the UVB bulbs in a reflective fixture. Position the lamp on the same side of the terrarium as the heat source, approximately 20-30 cm or above the basking area. It is also important to provide a UV gradient, allowing for different levels of radiation, from high to none, throughout the enclosure.
Aim to keep the lights on for about 8-10 hours daily to simulate a natural cycle. Adjust this timing for seasonal changes, and make sure all lights are off at night. Don’t forget to replace your UVB bulbs about every 12 months!
Best Temperature
Like all reptiles, pythons are ectothermic, meaning they depend on external temperatures to regulate their body temperature and metabolism. To create a healthy habitat for your Antaresia python, it’s crucial to provide a temperature gradient that allows effective thermoregulation.
For optimal conditions, Antaresia should have a basking or hot spot temperature of 32-34°C. The average ambient temperature in the enclosure should be around 26°C, with a cooler side designated for the water bowl. Each python may have individual preferences, so it’s important to monitor your snake and adjust these temperature ranges as necessary.
To achieve and maintain these temperatures, overhead heating methods like light bulbs can be used (always use a light cage) but heat cords and heat pads are preferred. You can also consider alternatives such as radiant heat panels, deep heat projectors, heat pads, or heat cables. Always read the manufacturer’s recommendations before using any heating equipment.
It’s essential to regulate and monitor the temperature of your heating setup. Using a thermostat to control the heat output is highly recommended. Conducting regular temperature checks will help ensure everything is functioning correctly. An infrared temperature gun is useful for measuring basking and surface temperatures, while a digital thermometer can help you monitor ambient temperatures.
Providing your python with the appropriate temperature range will ensure they remain healthy, comfortable, and able to carry out essential biological processes effectively.
Humidity
Appropriate humidity levels are crucial for your python’s health and well-being. All species of Antaresia thrive in low humidity, ideally ranging between 20-60%. It’s important to ensure that they always have access to fresh, clean water, as this contributes to their hydration and helps maintain proper humidity levels in the enclosure.
To accurately monitor the humidity, we recommend using a digital hygrometer. This device will enable you to keep track of the humidity levels and make any necessary adjustments to ensure your python is in a comfortable and healthy environment.
Be aware that excessively high humidity levels can lead to respiratory issues and increase the risk of skin infections with long-term exposure. Keeping the humidity within the recommended range is essential for your python’s overall health.
Substrate
Naturalistic Options
Choosing a suitable substrate is essential when creating a comfortable and healthy habitat for your Antaresia, whether you are using tubs or cages. A great option is to provide a thick layer of natural substrate or bedding, which offers cushioning, helps maintain humidity levels, enhances the enclosure’s overall appearance, and aids in keeping a clean environment.
Substrate mixes are also an excellent choice. If you opt for a bio setup, you must ensure that the humidity stays low enough to avoid health issues for your python. Mixing several commercial substrates or creating your blend using organic topsoil and sand can work well. There are various self-made mixture options possible, so thorough research is advised before crafting your custom mix.
Ideally, the substrate should be about 50-75 mm deep and fully replaced every 3-4 months. Daily spot cleaning by removing feces and urates, along with any contaminated substrate, is important. Take care to ensure that the python does not ingest any substrate, as it could lead to intestinal blockages and potentially fatal outcomes. It is recommended to move the snake into a feeding box during meals to prevent such incidents. Be sure to treat any items taken from the natural environment, such as sticks, rocks and bark with boiling water and leave in the sun to dry.
Paper Substrates
While various substrate options are available for pythons’ enclosures, some keepers prefer simpler substrates such as paper towels, newspaper, or butcher paper. These can be effective and easy-to-maintain choices for keeping your snake’s enclosure clean, especially during the quarantine period or health monitoring.
However, it’s important to note that using paper towels, newspaper, or butcher’s paper as a substrate requires more frequent replacement than other options. Paper towels can quickly become soiled and may develop mould if not changed regularly. Therefore, it’s recommended to replace the paper substrate frequently to ensure a clean environment and prevent mould growth.
Ultimately, the choice of substrate for your python’s enclosure will depend on your personal preferences and your pet’s needs. Regardless of which substrate you select, proper maintenance is essential to keep your python healthy and comfortable.
Cleaning Your Enclosure
Replacing your python’s substrate is an excellent opportunity to perform a deep clean of the entire enclosure. Follow these general steps for effective cleaning:
- Remove your snake: Place your snake in a temporary, escape-proof holding container that provides a hide, a small water bowl, and a thin layer of the old substrate for comfort.
- Remove all substrate and decor: Clear out all substrate materials and decorations.
- Vacuum and wipe down: Vacuum the enclosure and wipe down surfaces to remove leftover particles.
- Disinfect: Apply a reptile-safe disinfectant to the floor and walls of the enclosure, allowing it to sit for the recommended contact time.
- Soak decor items: While the disinfectant is applied, soak branches, rocks, hides, and other decor items in a disinfectant rated for porous materials for the recommended contact time.
- Rinse (if needed): If necessary, rinse the enclosure and decor items with clean water to eliminate any disinfectant residue. Allow everything to dry completely.
- Add new substrate: Pour new substrate into the enclosure.
- Arrange decor: Set up the decor as desired. If your python is easily stressed by changes, place everything back in its original location.
- Reintroduce your snake: Finally, place your python back into the clean enclosure.
Several veterinary-grade disinfectants are available that are effective for both porous and nonporous materials, such as Chlorhexidine and F10SC. Be sure to follow the instructions on the packaging carefully to ensure safe and proper use. Alternatively, diluted bleach can also be used for disinfecting. Allow all items to dry before replacing them in the enclosure.
Decorating your enclosure can greatly enhance the well-being of your python. Providing environmental enrichment helps keep your pet stimulated and engaged, significantly improving its quality of life. Even if you’re using rack systems, incorporating carefully selected items can encourage natural behaviours, leading to a more active and healthy python.
It’s advisable to provide multiple hides, placing one on the warm side and another on the cool side of the enclosure, if possible. Pythons enjoy climbing, so adding branches is beneficial. Other items, like fake plants, tree branches, or fallen leaves, can create a more naturalistic and stimulating environment. Just be sure to avoid any items with sharp edges for the safety of your pet.
Hatchling Care
When you bring your NEW hatchling python home to its new enclosure it will spend the next 24 hours exploring its new environment and seeing if there is a way to escape. The most important aspect of your new Python is that does not escape, settles in and feeds consistently every week before regular handling commences. Antaresia are small secretive pythons and as hatchlings are very subseptable to become prey for a large variety of other animals and hence act accordingly. They will spend large amounts of time hiding, burrowing, tighly wedged into small areas and often are quick to become defensive when they are exposed or feel insecure. For these reasons small enclosures around 30cms x 20cms x 10 cms are highly recommended for the first 6-12 months to maintain correct hotspot temperatures (32°c), large enclosures will allow the python to stray away from the correct hotspot temperature (32°c) and most often stress and stop feeding. Allow up to 4-6 weeks for your new hatchling python to settle into its new forever home before you start to handle it (some may settle in quicker and some may take longer). The main reason a hatchling python will refuse food is because of STRESS and this is usually caused by two main issues,
1) The enclosure temperatures are incorrect, usually too cold so check your hotspot (32°c)
2) You have already been over-handling the python and it is stressed and it needs to take time to settle in. Allow up to 4-6 weeks for the python to settle in.
We recommend the following, allow the python to settle in with no handling for at least a week or two before attempting to feed, feeding in its cage initially may be required. As hatchling pythons are quite small and naturally prone to succumb to other predators they will be more secretive and feel more secure in small places to ambush their prey. Offer food in the late afternoon or evening as they are typical nocturnal hunters. If the python feels threatened it will often strike at any movement including you, offer more areas to hide in to allow the python to feel comfortable and secure. Feed freshly defrosted prey items NOT live. Either allow the food item to naturally defrost or place the food item in a ziplock bag and placing in tepid water to defrost. Check by gently squeezing the food item to ensure it has defrosted all the way through. Grasping the food item by the scruff of its neck with tweezers, and offer front on to one side of the face of the python. The python may strike quickly and grab the prey or it may take a little time to tongue flicker and accept it. Some pythons may require the food item to be left outside their hide for them to feel secure enough to take the food item( leave overnight and remove if not taken in the morning). As the little pythons grow and feel more confident and secure they will become regular feeding machines and take every advantage to take their next feed. Once they are feeding consistently you can now start to handle them.
We recommend waiting till the snake has defecated before handling and a few days before its next feed, remove the python from its cage utilizing a hook, this prevents any association of hand and food in its enclosure. First encounter you would gently hook the python from its cage any place into an open flat hand and allow the python to crawl freely without grasping the python, one hand in front of the other. Allowing the small python to crawl freely for around 10-15mins, then allow it to crawl off your hand back into the enclosure. Then wait a day or two and offer food as usual, if the python refuses then wait a day or two and offer food again, you may need to wait a week or two before handling it again. If the python takes food freely then continue and slowly increase handling time. Before you know it you will have a great little socialised python.
Feeding
When it comes to feeding your python, it’s important to remember that Antaresia are carnivores and require whole animal prey for proper nutrition. Here’s a basic feeding schedule based on the size and weight of your python.
The size of the prey item should be about 10% of the snake’s weight and no wider than 1.5 times its width at the broadest point. We recommend using frozen/thawed rodents whenever possible, as they are easier to find and store, while also reducing the risk of internal parasites. To thaw frozen prey, either allow to defrost at room temperature or place it in a BPA-free plastic bag submerged in warm tap water; avoid using hot or boiling water, as it may cause the prey to burst. Use a long pair of soft-tipped feeding tweezers to offer the thawed rodent to your snake.
- Hatchlings should be fed every 5-7 days.
- Juveniles should be fed every 7-10 days.
- Adults can be fed every 10-21 days.
As for water, always provide fresh clean water. A large plastic or ceramic water bowl can serve as both a drinking source and a soaking area for your snake during shedding periods. Keep an eye on the humidity levels, change the water as needed, and remember to remove and scrub the bowl with a disinfectant weekly or whenever it becomes soiled.
Handling
Handling your python requires a different approach than you might use with pets like dogs or cats. Pythons tend to tolerate human interactions rather than seek them out, so it’s important to handle them gently. When picking up your python, it’s best to use a hook to safely remove it from its enclosure, as they can be cage-defensive. Aim to lift them from the side or below, ensuring you support as much of their body as possible. Never lift your python by the tail, as this can cause serious injury to its spine.
When it comes to taming your Antaresia, remember that while they are typically gentle, they can be timid and might respond with defensiveness, especially if they have a strong feed response. Building trust takes time, so it’s crucial to create positive associations with you rather than with food. Use a hook to encourage your python to come out of the enclosure on its own rather than grabbing it and pulling it out. Once the python is out, allow it to move through your hands freely rather than constraining it.
Avoid grabbing your python from its hide, as this can make it feel threatened and lead to a defensive reaction. Hand feeding is also discouraged, as it can cause the python to associate your unique smell with food; always use long tweezers when offering food. Supervise your python during exploration outside of the enclosure to ensure their safety.
If you’re concerned about potential bites, you can help your python distinguish between feeding time and handling time. One effective method is to lightly tap on the front of the enclosure with your fingernails before offering food, helping the snake associate the tapping with feeding. When it’s handling time, refrain from tapping. If your python still appears coiled and interested in food, you can gently use your hook to tap its head and redirect its focus or simply wait for another day to handle it.
*This care sheet contains only very basic information. Although it’s a good introduction, please further your research with high-quality sources. The more you know, the better you will be able to care for your pet!
Resources
The Complete Children’s Python
by Dr Justin Julander, Nick Mutton and Peter Birch
Published in 2013 by Eco. Over 250 pp. Hardcover with dust jacket
A Guide to Australian Pythons in Captivity
By Adam Elliott
Published in 2014 by Reptile Publications
Keeping & Breeding Australian Pythons
Edited by Mike Swan
Published in 2007 by Mike Swan Publishing
NSW Code of Practice for the Private Keeping of Reptiles
State of NSW and Office of Environment and Heritage 2013