road testing lr

7/25/2019 Road Testing Lr

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ROAD TESTING AUSSIE PYTHONS

A short guide to snake selection.

Text & images (except where indicated): Doc RockSouthern Cross Reptiles

Introduction

Since I can remember, the late

summer and early autumn months

have been traditionally the busiest

time for python sales in Australia. It

is a period when young newly-bred

pythons are starting to feed and

breeders are keen to reduce theircleaning and husbandry responsibili-

ties by selling the fruits of the last 12

months labour.

The aim of this article is to provide

a timely and brief overview of the

traits, husbandry quirks and person-

alities of the various types of python

as a quick matchmaking guide when

faced with the onslaught of options

which are presented to the reptile

shopper these days.

Types of Pythons

Australian pythons can be split

into a number of groups. The larg-

est group is the genus

Morelia which includes

the carpet pythons, the

green tree pythons,

rough-scales, the Oen-

pelli python and Aus-

tralias largest snake the

scrub python. Carpet

pythons are the mostpopular captive snakes

in Australia (see Rep-

tiles Australia Vol 3:2).

They include the coast-

al, jungle, diamond, in-

land, south-western and

north-western forms,

as well as the centralian

carpet which is a differ-

ent species and often

just called by its scien-

tic name of Bredli.

The second most

popular type of captive python be-

longs to the Childrens group which

includes the spotted python or

maculosus, the large-blotched py-

thon or stimsoni and the Childrens

python or childreni.The taxonomy

of these snakes has been in perpet-

ual change for decades with variousauthors placing them in the genus

Antaresia, Bothrochilus and Liasis, so

dont be confused if you see any of

these names used as the snakes are

still the same. These pythons are not

large animals and include the worlds

smallest python the ant-hill or pygmy

python (also called perthensis) which

is currently uncommon in captivity.

The third group of snakes belong

to the genus Liasis which contains

the popular olive and water pythons.

These quite large and robust snakes

are closely related to the Childrens

group (they used to belong to the

same genus).

The fourth and nal group occu-

pies the genus Aspidites. This genus

includes the spectacular black-head-

ed python, often called BHPs for

short, and the woma. They used to

be uncommon in captivity because

of the difculties in keeping wildcaught animals and then in getting

them to breed. Today, having passed

through a number of captive genera-

tions, they are being bred in increas-

ing numbers and their popularity is

rapidly growing.

Scorecard Explained

The score given for each species is

an overall average from all the various

individual animals and forms the authorhas encountered over many years.

The higher the rating the better the

performance of the species, except for

cost where a low rating indicates a low

cost.

Handling: Considered over the

life cycle of the species from hatchling

to adult and also incorporates size,

reaction to being approached and

touched and attitude to being held.

Feeding:Considers the life cycle

from hatchling to adult and tendency

to switch off if conditions are notright.

Temperament: Rating is for

adult animals only and their attitude

to disturbance by their keeper for

whatever reason.

Hardiness: Rates the species

tolerance to a broad range of cage and

environmental parameters.

Breeding: Incorporates the

degrees of difculty in achieving mating,egg laying and hatching. A low rating

indicates a difcult species.

Cost: Is a relative scale comparing

the cost of an average individual of

each species. A low rating equates to

the least expensive.


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When considering how best to summarise the various forms of carpet python for this article, I decided to start with

the ones that we have found the easiest to keep and then to work through to the ones that can be more challenging to

maintain and breed.

Inland Carpet Python Morelia spilota metcalfei

Without a doubt and by almost any yardstick, the inland carpet python(Morelia spilota metcalfei to some) is a stand out captive python. Typically

found along the inland river systems and surrounds over the eastern half

of inland Australia, they are a medium sized carpet which has a lovely placid

nature once adult size and is extremely hardy in captivity. I have captured nu-

merous inland carpets through my involvement in various research projects

and am always amazed at how placid they are as wild caught adult animals.

We have kept the Murray-Darling form of inland carpet for the last two

decades and have found nothing

easier to keep and to breed. They

handle cold well, not minding if theirenvironment gets down at night to

a few degrees in winter as long as they have somewhere to bask for an hour or

two during the day. If their cage gets a bit hot, they dont seem to mind either.

They are not very sensitive to humidity and providing they have something to

drink and the cage is not soaking wet they seem to thrive.

Inlands are also excellent subjects when learning to breed snakes. They will

mate with minimal fuss, their eggs are extremely resilient to ignorant abuse and their babies are generally quick to start

feeding. About the only thing negative I could nd to say is that they are snappy as babies (like most pythons), but they

quickly settle down.

Coastal Carpet Python Morelia spilota mcdowelli

For many years, the most numerousMoreliain captivity were the

coastal form of carpet python (Morelia spilota mcdowelli to some).

This is probably because they are the most common non-venomous

snakes encountered in the wild around densely populated areas and

so were easy to source for captivity. Coastals live along the central

to northern coast of Australia and can vary markedly in colour and

size, but generally they are one of the largest carpets with animals in

excess of nine feet not uncommon. In March of 2002, a coastal car-

pet was collected from the mid-north coast of NSW that had a total

length of 3.47 metres (nearly 11.5 feet) and weighed in at 22.3 kilo

making it the third heaviest

snake caught in Australia!

We have kept many

coastals and if I was to try and sum them up, I would have to say highly vari -

able. I have known some placid, beautiful giants and some unattractive, weedy

little so-and-sos. While some feed happily in captivity, I have known far too

many that are patience-testing nightmares when it comes to being nicky. We

have also found that they are less tolerant to extremes of temperature and

humidity than their inland compatriots. Similarly, while temperament is highly individual, as a general rule they are alsoa more nervy and irritable snake. From a breeding perspective, they are not difcult and their eggs are fairly forgiving.

One strong point in their favour is that they are about the least expensive pythons on the market.

Handling

Feeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost

Handling

Feeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost


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Centralian Carpet PythonMorelia bredli

A close second to the inland carpet for suitability in captivity would

have to be the Centralian python Morelia bredli. These carpets tend to

grow larger and to be a bit more irritable than the inlands, but on the

whole they are a hardy, tolerant species. They can be a bit trickier than in-

lands to breed too, but still are by

no means difcult and their eggs

can survive quite a bit of misman-

agement. I must confess that they

are probably my favourite carpets

not only because of their pleasant

nature, but also because of their

striking appearance with all the earthy colours which mimic their habitat in the

red centre around Alice Springs and the MacDonnell Ranges.

Darwin Carpet PythonMorelia spilota variegata

The north-western or sometimes NT or Darwin carpetMorelia spilotavariegatais a medium to small member of the group that is quite slender

to suit its arboreal nature. They have a reputation for being an aggressive

snake and like many northern species they certainly are inclined to be

quite highly strung and assertive in nature. We have kept numerous coast-

als and most have been willing to bite when given any provocation. The ip

side to this coin, however, is that they are generally great feeders and are

not terribly difcult to breed.

Darwin carpets like warm humid conditions and will not tolerate pro-

longed cold. One annoying habit

shared by most is their love of

soaking in their water bowl so that water is spilt everywhere and the cage is

constantly wet. However, they do not handle low humidity and will have trouble

shedding if their cage becomes too dry. Some NT carpets can be very attrac-

tive with their bright orangey markings. Recently, we developed the albino form

of this carpet which displays bright yellow/gold and white banding. For a rea-

son completely unknown to me, these albino carpets generally have extremely

placid natures, even more so than the inlands and Bredli.

Jungle Carpet Python Morelia spilota cheynei

When it comes to an irritable nature, few snakes can top a narky junglepython (Morelia spilota cheyneito some). While it is hard to beat a bright

black and gold jungle for natural good looks, they can be both the beauty

and the beast all wrapped into one. We have been breeding jungles for 15

years now and have been selecting them for colour, pattern and tempera-

ment. While the strain has denitely got more placid over time, it seems

that the better looking the snake the greater the tendency for them to be

stroppy with their keeper.

Like the NT carpets, jungles

require a cage with reasonable

humidity to do well. Unlike the

NTs, they do not like their cages kept too warm and can become tempera-

mental if not kept in conditions that allow them to escape the heat sometimes.

For this reason, we keep all our jungles in the lowest and coolest cages in our

main breeding room. To nish on a positive note, jungles are generally good

feeders, quick growers and will breed readily in captivity.

Handling

Feeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost

Handling

Feeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost

Handling

Feeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost


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Olive Python Liasis olivaceus

Before describing Olive Pythons Liasis olivaceusin captivity, I

must declare a possible conict of interest and confess that myfavourite pet snake in all the world is my male olive called Bru-

tus. He is big, powerful, alert, inquisitive and as gentle as a snake

of his size can be. In my view, a large placid olive python is very

difcult to beat as a scaly companion.

However, anyone contemplating buying an olive must allow

for the fact that they grow very quickly (still a youngster at 2

metres) and that they can easily reach three to four metres

and weigh over 15 kilo in captivity. My wife, Diane, is also fond

of Brutus, but will not handle him unless I am within screaming

distance just in case he makes a mistake and thinks she is foodinstead of friend. Although he is yet to make that mistake, he can get very excited when hungry and he would be a

handful if ever he wrapped around a human neck with thoughts of juicy rats on the mind.

Not all olive pythons are gentle giants either. We have kept a number and one of them in particular considered that its

role in life was to rip the face off anyone that came near its cage and thats a lot of face ripping snake to control. So to

some extent, it is a bit of a lottery when you buy a baby olive. Although by far the majority turn out to be gentle giants,

the odd one that doesnt will be a snake to remember.

Unless you live in a place like Darwin, olives can be very challenging to

breed, especially if you live in the southern half of Australia like we do. It took

us many attempts before we were able to breed them consistently in Adelaide.

When we questioned some of the most successful breeders of olives about

how they did it, there seemed to be no commonly agreed method and most

had little idea why individual snakes bred some years and not others. While I

just love olives, they are not an ideal snake for the rst time keeper, for a child,

for a home without the room for a decent cage or for someone to learn how

to breed snakes.

Water and Olive Pythons

Diamond PythonMorelia spilota spilota

The last of the carpets I will cover is the Diamond PythonMorelia spilota

spilotawhich is kept in large numbers in Australia. Diamonds are a medium

to large carpet. They are a challenge to maintain indoors in captivity and

keep healthy and even more of a challenge to breed indoors. Because of

this, the majority of diamonds are kept and bred in outside aviaries, or at

least in cages that have access to an outside enclosure. When kept inside

they tend to suffer from a condition which has become known as Diamond

Syndrome. This syndrome can express itself as problems with feeding and/

or shedding, a reduced immune system and in extreme cases neurological

and muscular disorders which invariably result in death.

Many years ago we kept diamonds in our main breeding room only to watch them die one by one. Since then, and

after much research and experimentation, we learnt that they cannot handle constant warm conditions. You may hear

that they need UV light or that they must live outside, but this is not our ex-

perience. As long as you keep them cool most of the time and only provide

basking temperatures for short periods during the day they can thrive. We

have kept them for nearly 20 years and they now ourish indoors, although

we have been selectively breeding our stock from animals that tolerate the

indoor life best. Currently, we have a beautiful female that is 10 years old andbreeds regularly indoors (we have a clutch of eggs in the incubator as I write).

Needless to say, breeding diamonds regularly indoors is not an activity for the

novice though.

Handling

Feeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost

Handling

Feeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost


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Water Python Liasis fuscus

I must also confess that I am rather fond of water pythons Liasis

fuscustoo, although we dont keep any these days. Compared to other

pythons, they are a medium length, heavy bodied snake and are often

called rainbow pythons because their skin is highly reective and has

a prismatic effect on light. The rst species we ever bred was a water

python and that is a testament to just how easy they are to breed. We

knew nothing at the time about any aspect of breeding and I shudder at

the way we incubated the eggs, but in the end half the clutch hatched

and we manage to raise a whole lot of baby waters.

Back in this dim, dark past, we leant that there are two distinct types

of water and that they are like chalk and cheese to keep. Firstly, there

are the water pythons with a sort of grey coloured dorsal surface and a

lovely bright yellow belly which come from Queensland. Then, there are the more brownie coloured ones with white

bellies from the Northern Territory. The Queensland ones are usually quite well mannered. In contrast, our experience

is that the NT waters are generally the spawn of Satin and will bite and scent their keeper (i.e. smear foul smelling tail

secretions on you) at the drop of a hat.

Often, Im asked about python bites and which ones I think are the worst.

Putting aside scrub pythons, I would say that for power and determination its

hard to beat a big BHP and for razor sharp teeth and deep penetration its hard

to beat a large GTP. However for all round deep penetrating power and tenac-

ity, there is nothing worse than a large NT water python. I have caught many

bites in my life, but remember my few big water python bites above all others.

I do not want to put the reader off this species by talking about bites.

Water pythons can be beautiful, well-handling snakes which some argue are

much more interesting and active than theMoreliagroup. However, blood line

is important when buying a L. fuscus, because as the advert goes waters aint waters.

Spotted PythonAntaresia maculosus

When it comes to describing the Childrens group of pythons in

captivity it is probably best to discuss the spotted pythons (maculo-

sus,or sometimes just maccies) separately from the Childrens and

Stimsons pythons which are both very similar to keep and to breed.

Macciesare found in the wild from north-eastern NSW to the tip

of Cape York Peninsula. Although relatively small compared to other

pythons, they are the largest of this group and average about 75 to

90 cm with the biggest reaching well over one metre. On the positive

side, spotted pythons are generally good feeders, breed easily, maintain

their bold markings throughout their life, are hardy and can thrive in

most cage setups. On the negative side, they are generally the feistiest

members of the group and often can take quite a bit of work to quieten

down sufciently to stop them constantly snapping and scenting their

keepers. However, once settled into their captive home, they can be an ex-

cellent snake for responsible keepers of any age or skill level to keep.

Handling

Feeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost

Handling

Feeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost

image: John Deutscher


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Childrens PythonAntaresia childreni

Childrens pythons are found along

the top part of Australia from the

Gulf of Carpentaria though to the

Kimberly district of Western Austra-

lia. Stimsons pythons are found from

the West Coast of WA through cen-

tral Australia to the area east of the

Great Dividing Range. They are both

small pythons with childreni averaging

a slightly larger size than the stimsoni,

but with neither exceeding one metre

often. The colourful patterns on chil-

drenitend to fade more with age than

those on stimsoni, so that as adults

stimsoni are usually the more attrac-

tive snakes.

Both these snakes, and particularlythe Stimsons pythons, are more chal-

lenging pets to keep and to breed than

their maculosuscousins. Many variet-

ies are extremely difcult to establish

as feeders when babies. We have force fed non-feeding Stimsons for three years before nally giving up. If they are sold

when too young and before they are feeding well, they can go off their feed and be almost impossible to start again. If

they get a little too cool in their cage environment (because of the cage itself, or the place they choose to hide), they

can stop eating too. So, vital prerequisites when buying a young Stimsons or Childrens python, are rstly to make sure

your object of desire is feeding and growing well and secondly to take careful note of the cage conditions and tempera-

ture regime it is being kept under successfully. Providing this advice is taken, then these snakes are a joy to keep. Oncegrown up, they rarely bite and can become very relaxed even with frequent handling.

The Childrens group do not like to bask in the open, but prefer to position themselves in a tight warm hideaway. For

this reason, their cages are extremely easy to setup and all they need is thermostatically controlled heat tape, a water bowl

and something to hide under which is warm at one end and cool at the other. A plastic tub with heat tape under it and

newspaper inside as a substrate and for hiding under is all they require to thrive.

One of the other great advantages of the Childrens group is that, because they are small and thrive in compact vivaria,

you can have lots and lots of them in a small area! These days there is an enormous variety of forms in captivity and a keen

collector can have a dozen different forms from a range of habitats on a few shelves instead of the half a house that larger

species would require.

Stimsons PythonAntaresia stimsonsi

Handling

Feeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost

Handling

Feeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost

image:JohnDeutscher


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Black-headed Python Aspidites melanocephalus

Black-headed pythonsAspidites melanocephalusare found across the north-

ern third of Australia and would have to be one of the most impressive looking

pythons that our country has to offer. Their large size, shiny jet back heads

and striped bodies look very imposing and to the average, snake-uneducated

member of the general public they are a very scary looking animal. But as the

saying goes, you cant judge a snake by its cover. BHPs are nowhere near as

ornery as their appearance would indicate. Once they are in the hands of their

keeper and know they are safe, or that there is no food on offer, then they are

generally pussycats.

However, the trick with BHPs is getting them into your hands without mis-

takes. One of their quirks is that they love to sleep on their basking site. When

they are touched in this state, they almost jump out of their skin and can go immediately into a full defensive threat

display. Once picked up they will usually calm down straight away. Alternatively, sometimes when they are touched, they

assume food is on offering - and a hungry snapping BHP is a site to behold. One day I opened the cage of a very large

female BHP and upon being woken from a sound sleep she decided that I was food and, rushing out of her cage at headheight, she proceeded to try and grab me. She succeeded in forcing me back into to the cages behind where upon she

nailed my hand (which was protecting my face) and then set about hauling me back into her cage for digestive purposes

and without me having a say in the matter. Diane, #$%@# .. Help me, %$#@!

Research has shown that in the wild BHP prey consists of a high proportion of reptiles. Probably for this reason,

frequently they can be nightmares to start feeding as babies. Like the Stimson pythons, my strong advice when buying

a BHP is to make sure it has been feeding well and consistently for some time. We wont sell ours until they have been

feeding well for at least two months and have shed a couple of times.

Summing up BHPs, while they are beautiful snakes and will handle well, they

are not for the faint hearted and not to be taken lightly when approaching

them in their cages. Once feeding well on rodents, they are easy to maintain incaptivity, although they are one of the harder snakes to breed consistently. Also,

being natural reptile feeders, they are not a snake you should keep with others

of their kind if you wish to avoid accidents.

Woma z

The nal species in this short guide to snake selection is the Woma Aspidites ramsayi. My partner, Diane, adores

womas. We have ended up with so many types and forms

now that by number they are the most numerous type

of snake we keep after carpet pythons.

Womas are found all over central Australia and the

coastal region of the Pilbara in WA. They are wonder-ful captive snakes for many reasons; they are a stocky

and compact terrestrial python with very simple cage

needs; feeding problems are rare; they are not difcult to

breed; they are inquisitive animals and put on great feed-

ing displays with frantic caudal luring and head bobbing

behaviours and; they redene the concept of being laid

back. Once they are more than six months old, womas

become completely relaxed about captive life. They are a

joy to handle and as long as they know there is no food

on offer, they are safe in the hands of the whole family.

Diane loves them as babies because they are so feisty with great threatening displays but dont bite and only head butt

you to say stay away. Since Di does 90% of the husbandry care these days, she also likes them because they are amongst

the most trouble free of captives.

An ordinary run-of-the-mill woma used to cost about $2,000, but recently they have dropped in price to some-

Handling

Feeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost


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where between a half and two thirds of this price. This trend is opening up the

species for more people to enjoy. The majority of State Authorities (not SA)

classify them as specialist animals and place all sorts of restrictions on keeping

them. This is understandable given that there were very few in captivity until

eight or so years ago and their needs were poorly understood. However, to-

day with 3rd and 4th generation captives readily available, they are one of the

easiest and most enjoyable pythons

to keep and are less of a specialist

animal than BHPs, certainly less than

many of the Childrens group, and

less than some of theMoreliaspecies

too. Hopefully, the authorities will catch up with advances in the hobby soon

and let them take their rightful place in Australian herp society.

The Wont Bite & Cuddly Group

Snakes are predators and obligate carnivores. They dont live in a complex social structure and have had no need to

develop affectionate behaviour. As babies most things eat them and so being handled by a human 3.2 million times their

weight is not an experience they seek out. With careful attention and patience some pythons can become quite relaxed

with captivity. However, there are no snakes that wont bite on occasion and certainly there are none that like to cuddletheir keeper. At best, they become indifferent to their handler and enjoy the stimulation of removal from their normal

cage surroundings and exposure to new stimuli.

It is not uncommon for us to receive emails at Southern Cross Reptiles asking which snakes wont bite and would

make a lovely pet. Recently a person told us that they had to sell their baby maculosusbecause it was too aggressive and

scared them. They wanted to know if we thought their buying a young olive python was a good idea!!

Hells, bells if you want to buy a snake, but you want it to act like a cat on valium, then be honest with yourself and ask

why do I really want to take on custodial responsibility for this animal. If you want a snake to be a cuddly little pet rather

than enjoy it as the magnicent predator that it has evolved into over the last tens of millions of years, then I recommend

you would be better off keeping earthworms or sticking with the non-biting and cuddly type pot plants.

Summary

Pythons can be fascinating and wonderful creatures to care for and observe in captivity. Each species has its own

quirks and characteristics and each snake its own unique personality. When buying a new snake you should think care-

fully about your objectives and be honest about your skills and abilities too. I suggest you spend time doing research

about a species or form of interest so that you know what you are getting into. Many folk that contact us are in a blis-

tering hurry to buy a snake. Dont be. Part of the unique attributes of snakes is their slow metabolism and the very

frugal way they approach life. If you want to experience the full benet of owning them, you too need to slow down

when dealing with them and take the time to enjoy the acquisition and keeping process.

HandlingFeeding

Temperament

Hardiness

Breeding

Cost

Simon Stone (alias Doc Rock) began keeping reptiles when he was 8 years

old. His nickname originated from Uni when he got his PhD in Biology. Simon

and his wife, Diane, have worked together breeding pythons and goannas for

the last couple of decades. Together, they now run Southern Cross Reptiles

in Adelaide which specializes in breeding top end reptiles like the albino

carpet pythons. Docs two greatest passions these days are developing

spectacular new python variants and collecting books on reptiles.

road testing lr

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