Care Sheet for Reticulated PythonsAverage Rating Given To This Care Sheet Is 4.28 (1=lowest, 5=highest) Last Updated: 06/28/2006 |
Main Category: | Snakes |
Sub Category: | Reticulated Pythons |
Care Sheet Submitted By: | RKO |
Years Experience: | 3 to 5 Years |
Species: | Reticulated python |
Other Species or Phases this Care Sheet May Cover: | N/A |
Sexing and Characteristics: | Determining the sex can be attained by probing or popping; both of which should be done by professionals. |
Mostly Active During: | Night |
Substrate and Water Needs: | Newspaper is the cheapest & easiest with regards to cleaning & disinfecting. Cypress mulch is great for controlling humidity. Aspen also works well. Never use any substrate containing cedar, as this is deadly to reptiles!
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Lighting and UVB: | A 12/12 (12 hours on 12 hours off) cycle should be provided.
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Temperatures and Humidity: | Temperature: Provide your retic with a basking spot of 90-95F and an ambient (background) temperature of 78-80 °F. The ambient temperature should not fall below 75. A great way to monitor temps is to use a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer with a probe. Stick the thermometer to the inside of the cage on the cool end and place the probe on the warm end, and you’ll have both sides covered at once.
Humidity: Providing proper humidity for reticulated pythons is important to ensure a healthy environment and aid in shedding, but as stated previously too much humidity can be as problematic as too little. 50%-60% is the right amount. There are a couple ways to maintain humidity. One would be to use cypress mulch. Cypress is good for this as it turns a tan color when dry & a rich brown when wet, giving a visual cue as to when it needs to be dampened again. Another is a humidity box. Get a plastic container with damp sphagnum moss or paper towels, cutting a hole in the top or side & placing it in your python’s enclosure so that it can access the box as it pleases.
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Heating and Equipment: | There are several ways to go about heating the enclosure: under cage heating pads and basking bulbs. Use thermostats, rheostats and/or timers to control your heat source. Do not use hot rocks with as they can seriously burn your snake. |
Caging Provided: | Hatchling reticulated pythons can be kept in a 10 gallon aquarium for a short period of time. Juvenile (4’-8’ in length) reticulated pythons can be kept in a 4’ long X 2’ wide X 18" high enclosure. Adults (10’+) will require a large enclosure. An adult male can fit comfortably in a 6’ long X 3’ wide X 18" high enclosure. While females will require an 8’ long X 3’ wide X 18" high.
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Diet: | Carnivorous |
Description of Diet: | Feed your snake an appropriately sized rodent weekly. Hatchlings can take on an adult mouse or rat pups for a short period of time. At 3’, the snake is large enough for weanling rats. At 4’, it is typically capable of consuming adult rats. Do not handle your snake for at least a day after feeding, as this can lead to regurgitation.
Reticulated pythons have a terrific feeding response and are generally easy to get started on frozen thawed or pre-killed food. Never leave a live rodent unattended with ANY snake! You can feed your hatchling reticulated python every 3-5 days. While decreasing the amount of times fed as it gets older. It is possible to somewhat "stunt" your snakes growth. But this will leave you with a hungry reticulated python that is constantly searching for food. Resulting in a stronger feeding response. However, if feeding twice a week this will result in faster growth. NEVER handle a rodent, then handle your reticulated python; as you may be mistaken for food. Before buying one, you may want to make sure you have a constant food supply to keep this snake from hatchling to adult. Meaning from adult mice-large rabbits (maybe even pigs.) Contact other retic keepers or members of a local herp society to help point you in the right direction |
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage: | |
Maintenance: | Spot-clean you snakes cage when necessary. Clean and disinfect the water bowl on a weekly basis. If you must clean the whole cage use a 5% bleach solution. Rinse the enclosure thoroughly and allow to completely dry before replacing cage furniture and you snake. |
Some Words on this Species: | The largest of the pythons, this is a long and relatively slender snake. Large specimens can attain considerable mass and bulk, specimens over 300 pounds are reported. The record length slightly exceeds 33 feet. Retics or tics (as they are known) have big heads that are distinctly wider than the necks. Most specimens have orange eyes. Most specimens have pale dorsal blotches on the back, and smaller white lateral blotches high on the sides.
Difficulty level: ADVANCED! The keeper of this type of snake should have a lot of experience with other large boids. THESE ARE NOT BEGINNER SNAKES! If properly kept by a knowledgeable owner they behave well and are a spectacular sight as a large, tame python.
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