Spotted Pythons (Antaresia maculosa) are a species of pythons native to Northern Australia. They are often recommended as good first, or beginner, snakes as they stay relatively small (usually only growing to 4-5 feet in length), don't tend to be fussy eaters, and have easy going temperaments.
Enclosure:
Spotted Pythons may feel insecure and exposed if kept in an aquarium so it is encouraged to keep them in either a vivarium with mostly solid sides (such as a Boaphile style cage) or they can be kept in bins similar to Ball Pythons. Baby Spotted Pythons can be housed in an enclosure measuring 15”x12”x12” and sub-adults to adults needing a larger space measuring 36”x18”x15” which is a comparable size to a 30 gallon breeder.
Inside the enclosure there should be two hides, one on the warm side and one on the cool side. There should also be a sturdy bowl (to prevent tipping) of clean water big enough for the snake to curl into available at all times.
A branch or limb can be offered for climbing but it needs to be secured within the enclosure so it will not fall over and injure the snake.
The enclosure should be cleaned once a week and spot cleaned as needed when the animal defecates or creates a mess within its home.
Substrate:
A variety of substrates are suitable for Spotted Pythons including newspaper, aspen shavings, tissues, or bark chips. Babies and juveniles should not be housed on loose substrates for fear of impaction but if you choose a loose substrate such as aspen for an adult Spotted Python you should feed the snake outside of its enclosure so it doesn't accidentally ingest any as it eats its prey.
Temps:
As mentioned in the Enclosure section, Spotted Pythons should have a warm and cool side within their enclosure. The warm side should be between 88-90 degrees and the cool side can be around 75 degrees. You can achieve the warm side temps by utilizing a UTH or a CHE either of which should be paired with a thermostat to ensure the temps don't fluctuate to dangerous levels. Temps can drop a few degrees at night.
Humidity:
Humidity levels should stay between 50-60% for Spotted Pythons. When you notice your snake is going into shed the humidity can be upped 10-20% to assist with the process.
Feeding:
Like many captive kept snakes, Spotted Pythons do well on a diet of rodents starting with mice as babies and moving up to rats once at an appropriate size. The rule of thumb on feeding is to not feed anything larger than 1.5x the width of the snake's body at its widest point. Babies can be started on pinkie mice and eat larger prey as they get older.
The schedule of feeding depends on the snake's age. Babies should be offered food every 5 days, juveniles/sub-adults once a week, and well established adults every 10 days.
Enclosure:
Spotted Pythons may feel insecure and exposed if kept in an aquarium so it is encouraged to keep them in either a vivarium with mostly solid sides (such as a Boaphile style cage) or they can be kept in bins similar to Ball Pythons. Baby Spotted Pythons can be housed in an enclosure measuring 15”x12”x12” and sub-adults to adults needing a larger space measuring 36”x18”x15” which is a comparable size to a 30 gallon breeder.
Inside the enclosure there should be two hides, one on the warm side and one on the cool side. There should also be a sturdy bowl (to prevent tipping) of clean water big enough for the snake to curl into available at all times.
A branch or limb can be offered for climbing but it needs to be secured within the enclosure so it will not fall over and injure the snake.
The enclosure should be cleaned once a week and spot cleaned as needed when the animal defecates or creates a mess within its home.
Substrate:
A variety of substrates are suitable for Spotted Pythons including newspaper, aspen shavings, tissues, or bark chips. Babies and juveniles should not be housed on loose substrates for fear of impaction but if you choose a loose substrate such as aspen for an adult Spotted Python you should feed the snake outside of its enclosure so it doesn't accidentally ingest any as it eats its prey.
Temps:
As mentioned in the Enclosure section, Spotted Pythons should have a warm and cool side within their enclosure. The warm side should be between 88-90 degrees and the cool side can be around 75 degrees. You can achieve the warm side temps by utilizing a UTH or a CHE either of which should be paired with a thermostat to ensure the temps don't fluctuate to dangerous levels. Temps can drop a few degrees at night.
Humidity:
Humidity levels should stay between 50-60% for Spotted Pythons. When you notice your snake is going into shed the humidity can be upped 10-20% to assist with the process.
Feeding:
Like many captive kept snakes, Spotted Pythons do well on a diet of rodents starting with mice as babies and moving up to rats once at an appropriate size. The rule of thumb on feeding is to not feed anything larger than 1.5x the width of the snake's body at its widest point. Babies can be started on pinkie mice and eat larger prey as they get older.
The schedule of feeding depends on the snake's age. Babies should be offered food every 5 days, juveniles/sub-adults once a week, and well established adults every 10 days.