The Snake Guru
02-14-2008, 09:22 PM
Burmese Python Care Sheet
Python molurus bivittatus
First things first:
I personally love burmese pythons. For the love of the snake I ask you, Do you want a monster? So many people get these snakes and abandon them when they get big. So ask yourself if you really want a snake that may grow to be 20 feet, weigh upwards of 200 pounds and will eat rabbits or piglets? Although very rare, the world record holder for a large snake is a burmese named "Baby" that weighs in at 403 pounds. If you think you can get rid of it when it gets big, think again. Would you want a 15 foot snake you know nothing about? Most people don't. Please don't buy a burmese python to be "cool". If it kills one of your friends, roommates, children, etc you won't be cool in prison.(Well, bubba might think you are) I don't say this to turn you away from a burmese python. I say this to let you know what you are getting into. I will give you a quick story from my own experience.. About 12 years ago I had a 15 foot burmese python that lived in its own room. I came home to find my 3 foot niece unattended in the room with the snake. As I approached the room, the snake was in "hunt" mode stalking her. There is no gory end to this story, however, if I had been 5 minutes later this could have turned out very different. So please think about it first. They are very cute when babies but a large burm can hurt you by mistake, even the tamest. When they go into feed mode it is a wild instinct that takes over. Do you want a 12 foot, 100 pound snake mistaking your face for a prey item? If you smell like a rabbit, well you must be a big ass rabbit and I don't care how much you can bench press, you will have a very hard time getting the snake off of you if you get it off at all. Most people get hurt or killed because of stupidity as a family in Colorado found out the hard way. Even the nicest, most tame burms can become killers. This is not a snake for a beginner but a great snake in my opinion.
Natural History:
The Burmese python is native throughout Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Southern China and Indonesia. While the burmese python is breed in the U.S. they are actually considered "threatened" and listed on CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species) They have historically been slaughtered for there skin. If you buy a burmese python, please buy a captive breed burmese python and wild one. Besides, a captive breed burmese python will have a better temperament than a wild caught one. These rainforest dwellers range from areas from lush vegetation along the river bank to forests. Just as at home on the ground and in tree, they are great swimmers, can stay under water for 30 minutes and love to go for a long soak in warm water, especially right before they are ready to shed. Like most diurnal snakes, burmese pythons spend hours in the morning basking in the sun to enable them to begin moving around to look for food. In the wild burmese pythons don't eat every day and don't always catch the prey item they are after. Thus the reason you don't see obese burms in the wild. If they do manage to eat, they will spend the rest of the day and next few days basking in the sun to help digest the prey item. Burmese pythons breed in early spring. Females lay there eggs in March or April. They can lay upwards of 35 eggs in one clutch. Once the female burmese lays her eggs she will coil up around them to keep them warm. She will not leave her eggs to eat. A little known fact about a female burmese python is that she can raise her own body heat by twitching her muscles and by doing this can raise the ambient temperature of her eggs. Once they eggs have hatched the babies will be on there own. A hatch ling burm can eat an adult mouse as soon as it is born.
Selecting a Burmese Python
When choosing your burmese python look for clear skin, a well rounded body, clean vent area, clear eyes and make sure it is flicking its tongue allot when handled. The snake should grip you when being handled, gently but firmly. The burmese python should be alert of its surroundings. A baby burmese might be nippy because it thinks you want to eat it. Remember, a baby snake is food for all kinds of animals and out of instinct it is worried its going to be hurt. On average, males will have larger spurs on either side of the vent. Other than that there isn't much difference in a male and female burmese python as babies. A female burmese, on average, will grow larger than a male.
Housing:
Ok, your burmese is going to grow fast. When I say fast, I mean it. Let one of your friends see your burmese python one day and wait two weeks and let them see it again. You will know what I mean by there reaction. So, when caging a burmese python you need to think BIG. I use 8 foot Animal Plastics cages for my burms. Some people have been known to partition off part of a room for them or even use a large walk in closet. If you have the room, use it. I don't recommend using aquariums for smaller burmese pythons. I don't recommend aquariums for any snake for that matter but if its all you have for now just make sure the top is covered with something to keep humidity in. (we will get to that later). Burmese Pythons are masters at escaping so make sure you have an enclosure that is escape proof. A brick on top of an aquarium lid just isn't going to cut it, even for a baby.We wouldn't want Fluffy to be missing in the morning only to return in a few day as a large dark blob if you know what I mean. You will have to clean the enclose so you will want it to be simple yet effective.
Substrate:
I like to use aspen bedding for my younger burms. However as they get larger this becomes a hassle. I feel that the aspen gives them something to burrow in and makes them feel safer. When they get large, changing aspen every time in a 8 foot cage just isn't practical. News paper is a great substrate and easy to change. You may also consider going to a paper plant and getting a role of paper like they use on the tables in the doctors’ office. You can cut it to fit your enclosure and change it in one fail swoop. After you get the big ass snake off of it of course. Using a substrate that is decorative looks great but makes it a little difficult to see if there is any feces or urate in it. As the snake grows large, it will not be a problem. Aspen, shredded cypress bark (do not use orchard bark) paper towels, newspaper, even AstroTurf and linoleum are all good substrates to use. It just depends on how much work you want to do. Most people start off with the decorative bedding because it looks good but soon change to something easier to clean. Remember, the easier it is to clean, the more you will do it. Keeping the bedding clean is vital to your burmese pythons health.
(Continued)
Python molurus bivittatus
First things first:
I personally love burmese pythons. For the love of the snake I ask you, Do you want a monster? So many people get these snakes and abandon them when they get big. So ask yourself if you really want a snake that may grow to be 20 feet, weigh upwards of 200 pounds and will eat rabbits or piglets? Although very rare, the world record holder for a large snake is a burmese named "Baby" that weighs in at 403 pounds. If you think you can get rid of it when it gets big, think again. Would you want a 15 foot snake you know nothing about? Most people don't. Please don't buy a burmese python to be "cool". If it kills one of your friends, roommates, children, etc you won't be cool in prison.(Well, bubba might think you are) I don't say this to turn you away from a burmese python. I say this to let you know what you are getting into. I will give you a quick story from my own experience.. About 12 years ago I had a 15 foot burmese python that lived in its own room. I came home to find my 3 foot niece unattended in the room with the snake. As I approached the room, the snake was in "hunt" mode stalking her. There is no gory end to this story, however, if I had been 5 minutes later this could have turned out very different. So please think about it first. They are very cute when babies but a large burm can hurt you by mistake, even the tamest. When they go into feed mode it is a wild instinct that takes over. Do you want a 12 foot, 100 pound snake mistaking your face for a prey item? If you smell like a rabbit, well you must be a big ass rabbit and I don't care how much you can bench press, you will have a very hard time getting the snake off of you if you get it off at all. Most people get hurt or killed because of stupidity as a family in Colorado found out the hard way. Even the nicest, most tame burms can become killers. This is not a snake for a beginner but a great snake in my opinion.
Natural History:
The Burmese python is native throughout Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Southern China and Indonesia. While the burmese python is breed in the U.S. they are actually considered "threatened" and listed on CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species) They have historically been slaughtered for there skin. If you buy a burmese python, please buy a captive breed burmese python and wild one. Besides, a captive breed burmese python will have a better temperament than a wild caught one. These rainforest dwellers range from areas from lush vegetation along the river bank to forests. Just as at home on the ground and in tree, they are great swimmers, can stay under water for 30 minutes and love to go for a long soak in warm water, especially right before they are ready to shed. Like most diurnal snakes, burmese pythons spend hours in the morning basking in the sun to enable them to begin moving around to look for food. In the wild burmese pythons don't eat every day and don't always catch the prey item they are after. Thus the reason you don't see obese burms in the wild. If they do manage to eat, they will spend the rest of the day and next few days basking in the sun to help digest the prey item. Burmese pythons breed in early spring. Females lay there eggs in March or April. They can lay upwards of 35 eggs in one clutch. Once the female burmese lays her eggs she will coil up around them to keep them warm. She will not leave her eggs to eat. A little known fact about a female burmese python is that she can raise her own body heat by twitching her muscles and by doing this can raise the ambient temperature of her eggs. Once they eggs have hatched the babies will be on there own. A hatch ling burm can eat an adult mouse as soon as it is born.
Selecting a Burmese Python
When choosing your burmese python look for clear skin, a well rounded body, clean vent area, clear eyes and make sure it is flicking its tongue allot when handled. The snake should grip you when being handled, gently but firmly. The burmese python should be alert of its surroundings. A baby burmese might be nippy because it thinks you want to eat it. Remember, a baby snake is food for all kinds of animals and out of instinct it is worried its going to be hurt. On average, males will have larger spurs on either side of the vent. Other than that there isn't much difference in a male and female burmese python as babies. A female burmese, on average, will grow larger than a male.
Housing:
Ok, your burmese is going to grow fast. When I say fast, I mean it. Let one of your friends see your burmese python one day and wait two weeks and let them see it again. You will know what I mean by there reaction. So, when caging a burmese python you need to think BIG. I use 8 foot Animal Plastics cages for my burms. Some people have been known to partition off part of a room for them or even use a large walk in closet. If you have the room, use it. I don't recommend using aquariums for smaller burmese pythons. I don't recommend aquariums for any snake for that matter but if its all you have for now just make sure the top is covered with something to keep humidity in. (we will get to that later). Burmese Pythons are masters at escaping so make sure you have an enclosure that is escape proof. A brick on top of an aquarium lid just isn't going to cut it, even for a baby.We wouldn't want Fluffy to be missing in the morning only to return in a few day as a large dark blob if you know what I mean. You will have to clean the enclose so you will want it to be simple yet effective.
Substrate:
I like to use aspen bedding for my younger burms. However as they get larger this becomes a hassle. I feel that the aspen gives them something to burrow in and makes them feel safer. When they get large, changing aspen every time in a 8 foot cage just isn't practical. News paper is a great substrate and easy to change. You may also consider going to a paper plant and getting a role of paper like they use on the tables in the doctors’ office. You can cut it to fit your enclosure and change it in one fail swoop. After you get the big ass snake off of it of course. Using a substrate that is decorative looks great but makes it a little difficult to see if there is any feces or urate in it. As the snake grows large, it will not be a problem. Aspen, shredded cypress bark (do not use orchard bark) paper towels, newspaper, even AstroTurf and linoleum are all good substrates to use. It just depends on how much work you want to do. Most people start off with the decorative bedding because it looks good but soon change to something easier to clean. Remember, the easier it is to clean, the more you will do it. Keeping the bedding clean is vital to your burmese pythons health.
(Continued)