 Common name: Burmese Python Scientific name: Python Molurus Bivittatus Homeland:Burma, China, Indonesia, Thailand, and SE Asia Size: Friggin' huge! Can get over 20 feet long and 150 pounds. And boy, do they grow fast. In 2 years they could be 6 feet long. Lifespan: 25 years if not longer when properly cared for. Housing: I hope you have a lot of room and lots of money cause you got a biggie! Cage: When they reach about 4 feet I believe that it is best to get a cage that will last them their entire life. That's 25 years my fellow Snakelings be prepared. My first Burm that I hatched from an egg is 12 feet now and to heavy to lift unless you're a bodybuilder, then you are invited to come by and clean my cage anytime. Anyway, her cage is 6 feet wide and 8 feet deep and 5 feet high. That's an apartment-sized bathroom. It was custom built at a cost of over $2,000.00. I did get a discount by giving the carpenter some free photos of me. He still has a hard time explaining to his wife that those photos are "job related". Moving along, this cage has two levels in it along with Infrared heating panels to keep its temperature perfect 24 hours a day year round. Burms DO need a lot of room to move around and climb although not too often for the really big guys but often enough that you will be depriving them if you don't. This allows for good muscle tone to develop. This is important, a costly cage is part of python ownership. If you don't have the money don't get the pet. It is not recommended to let them roam you house unless you keep your home hot and humid and it's escape proof.
Temperature: Daytime temps range on one side of their cage starting at 80 degrees to 92 on the far end. Nighttime drop on the cool side so the cage gets no lower that 78. Now I keep it that way year round. This gets expensive on the ol' electric bill. Keeping a cage that big is easy with my SnakeBabe panel heaters. Click here to learn about them.
Shedding: My kids do every 4-5 weeks. Do not handle them during this time. Make sure water is available for soaking. This and That: SnakeBabe's Pet Rating: Poor Due to size. |
Substrate: I have found that Drydeck (the rubber mats used behind most Bars and in kitchens at restaurants or in shower stalls) work great. They are raised off the ground so the pee runs under and your pet is not always walking or slithering through it and it hoses off easily for disinfecting. Wood chips can hold mites. Bark also. Newspaper leaves ink especially visible on my beautiful albinos. The rubber mats have lasted me over 10 years now. You can get similar mats fairly inexpensive at Wal-mart or Costco. You can also order them from me but I will charge you twice as much due to the weight in shipping. Save the money get them local and use the left over cash to buy my pictures. That sounds like a good deal now doesn't it? Hmmm?
Behavior: They call them the gentile giant. "They" never saw them at feeding time! They are very gentile but due to the incredible size they can also be dangerous. Some are just sweet as can be and a few somehow end up being nasty as their closely related in size buddies the Reticulated Python. You must handle these guys often to keep them gentile or one day you will have 20 feet of unhappy animal to pry off your leg. It will be your fault if the only time you handle them is feeding time. Most act kind of floppy in handling and will even fall out of your hands if you don't hold them up. Constant interaction is a must. Don't you have better things to do?
Humidity: I have an inexpensive vaporizer blowing in steam 8 hours a night, every night. The humidity is good for boids but tuff to clean. It makes a great place for mold and bacteria to grow. Daily cleaning is a must. If you do not like that idea don't get the pet. Another way not so troublesome but better than nothing is to get a plastic shoe or sweater box at K-mart or such and fill the bottom with vermiculite. (Find it in the gardening section.) Add enough water so that when you squeeze a handful it clumps up and breaks apart if you poke it with one finger. You'll get the idea when you try it. Then cut a hole in the lid big enough for your snake to climb through and he will hopefully go in there for his humidity. Not to good for big snakes but sufficient for the little guys like ball pythons and especially rainbow boas. It also acts as a great shelter for the smaller snakes too. One last thing here, pick up a hygrometer to keep track of the humidity. I have the digital thermometer/hygrometer combos but you can pick up inexpensive ones at Walmart or Radio Shack.
Feeding: As babies it is easy but they grow fast. They will over eat if you let them, which can lead to vomiting. Snake vomit smells kind of like HELL. Have I made myself clear on not over feeding? All my snakes are offered food every 10-14 days, except hatchlings of course. Feed rodents or rats of appropriate size. Look at the roundest part of the snakes body and give them food that will fit in there without a lump. It's better for their digestion to feed two smaller food items over a 4-day period than one large meal. Do not handle after they eat for at least 4 days. 7 is better. Never feed live food. Many of my kids have got to the point where I just leave a food item on the floor of the feeding box and they casually move up to it and start to eat. No attempt to strangle at all. But wait! This is a new term, a feed box? Yes, I said feed box. I never feed the snakes in their own cage. I do not want them to get the idea that when I go near the cage its feeding time, so to lower the chance of getting bit (notice I said lower not guarantee) I feed in a large cardboard box. This also allows for a clean feeding area if they squeeze any stuff out of their food you just throw the box away and get another. Keep a feeding chart. This will be helpful to your Veterinarian if problems arise. This is difficult with a large snake so I use an aluminum water trough. As soon as they're in it they go nuts looking for food. One of the very few signs of any intelligence I get from them.