We own a pair of Australian Spotted Pythons (Antaresia maculosa). The male is about 5 years old and the female 18 months. As children my brother and I kept snakes and lizards; we have always been fascinated by reptiles and i have been lucky enough to work with a number of species. Earlier this year my brother produced a lovely litter of Boa Constrictors - some albino and some normal phase. We aim to breed our Spotted Pythons next year when the female is properly mature.
I was 6 when i had my first snake, a Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), so yet again my children got in that bit earlier. They love having the pythons in their room and are very keen to show friends and family. My brother has a much larger collection and at one time housed around ten different species - Uncle Paul's house remains a wonder emporium for the children.
One of my friends keeps Reticulated Pythons, the longest species of snake in the world, and a female in his collection is absolutely enormous. See some pics at http://www.imperialretics.co.uk/. He does fantastically well with their husbandry and has enjoyed many breeding successes but we are only interested in small, easily housed, species. This allows us to focus on the aesthetics of their terrarium and one master stroke involved connection of a moonlight strip to the roof of the tank.
With the light turned on it is easy to view the pythons, who are nocturnal, and it also doubles as a reassuring night light for the kids. The effect is truly magical and the wood chippings are bathed in a silver/blue glow like the brightest of moons.
If i need to sit with the kids, because one of them can't fall asleep, it is very relaxing listening to the trickle of the waterfall as the pythons begin foraging in the lunar ambience.
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