Hi all, I was wondering about Stimson’s pythons’ proclivity toward climbing (trees/arboreal or rock ledges). Their range is rather huge and I’ve read that they’ve been found in/on a variety of terrain features, including trees and at various heights of rocks formations/cliffs… I’ve seen less info on Children’s and Spotted pythons being semi-arboreal or climbing but I figured I’d ask anyway.
So, does anyone have experience keeping Stimson’s (or Children’s or Spotted) pythons in a set up with some vertical space and seeing them climb, either in branches or on raised ledges?
I do not know that I would call them semi-arboreal as their body structure is not designed for that lifestyle. That said, I am sure they will climb opportunistically and I would bet they would make use of ledges if they were made available.
You might look into picking up a copy of ‘The Complete Children’s Python’ by Juglander, Mutton, and Birch. If I know Justin and Nick as well as I believe I do, they will almost certainly have looked into this behaviour at some level
I keep and breed children’s and I guarantee they will utilize every inch of space you give them. Horizontal and vertical. But they are not a semi arboreal snake.
Although not considered an arboreal species, they do climb around in the wild hunting in the rocky outcrops and brush. One of my female Stimsons from years past spent as much time coiled up on large perch as she did on the ground. I have climbing perches from Specialty Enclosure Designs in all my Antaresia tubs.
Awesome, thanks… Are they prone to bask? I.e., would you recommend heat lamps on perches? (I know they’re generally considered nocturnal, but they’re also generally considered terrestrial, so I figure it’s worth the question.)
This particular setup was a Neodesha cage that was previously used for GTP’s. I ended up using it to pair my Antaresia up for the breeding season. My standard setup up for Antaresia is a rack \ tub system. My Stimsons seemed to enjoy the climbing perches so much that I would rotate them (individually) in and out of the Neodesha for days at a time. I had a lamp on one side of the cage and used it every now and then. This was mainly because my tubs \ cages were next to a window so there was natural light \ photo period. I did run a large heating pad under one side of the Neodesha (same side as the outside window).
I have a pair of spotted and they are kept in identical naturalistic enclosures with lots of climbing areas with rock ledges as well as logs. I never see the female out climbing but I do see the male climbing and perching.
I myself keep a stimmy and he has always utilized every perch or rock in his enclosure. I have also witnessed a lot of Australian herpers finding them in high rocky out crops and in trees or tall bushes.
Next question: Is anyone aware of breeders in the US who work with Antaresia color morphs other than granite spotteds? (Which, I think, are beautiful.)… I’ve seen pics of albinos, ghosts, lucies, and a few other morphs, but haven’t seen anything like that here on MM and haven’t had any luck searching online.
I believe granites are the only morph we have here in the states sadly. There a few different localities of spotteds though such as the Cape Yorks which are a more yellow phenotype.
The Ant morphs seem to be pretty much restricted to Oz since Oz does not allow for exportation. It is possible that some have made their way through the mystical German portal into Europe but that would still necessitate export from the EU to here which is not a cheap process
I don’t have any if these (yet, my daughter has seen them, it’s only a matter of time). But I recall watching a show about Australian snakes and one of the cool highlights that stuck in my mind was footage of a children’s hanging from the rock at a cave entrance and catching bats! I would bet that they use almost all the space in their territory in the wild to hunt for prey.
