Glass or melamine enclosure

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
A Kreffts River Turte
Cool.
20150106_092728.jpg
20150106_092753.jpg
 
Make sure it's getting a lot of aquatic plant material. 75% of its diet should be aquatic plants and filamentous algae. :)
 
Heat mats are okay for hatchies but a temperature gradient is harder to maintain in a click-clack. Make sure the water bowl is big enough for the snake to soak in, and is placed down at the cold end. Ideally you should have two or three hides in different locations so the snake can have shelter whereever it decides to thermoregulate, but that would probably be impossible in a clickclack. Try and get the hide in the middle of the heat gradient. You can of course use newspaper as your substrate, but I find baby Ants love burrowing, so I use coco fibre or wood shavings. Another alternative would be shredded paper.

Here you go - some info:

CARE SHEET: ANTARESIA STIMSONI
Housing: A small to medium sized enclosure, tub, rack or a click-clack is ideal for this species. Due to the small size of hatchling Stimsoni, they prefer very small hiding places due to their naturally agoraphobic nature. Burrowing habits are common in the young of this species, and so substrate should be at least an inch deep and of material that they can safely burrow in (not sand or dirt). Stimsoni should feel secure as hatchlings, and so offering multiple hides is often a good idea. However, this may not always be possible, so it is recommended the hide be offered where the temperature is stable and not prone to fluctuations. Although these are terrestrial snakes, they do seem to like to climb occasionally, and in a plastic container holes can be made in the side with a soldering iron or similar, and a dowel fitted through. Air holes will need to be made in a similar manner, both on the top as well as on the side. Hatchlings are often smaller than most enclosures are designed for, and extra care must be made to escape proof the cage. If the snake seems to be able to fit through the air holes, cover them with a fine mesh.

Feeding: Young Stimson's can be finicky with their food when newly hatched, although most breeders will only start selling them once they are established and feeding. For picky feeders, try scenting the prey item with fowl, shed skin of another reptile, and as a last resort, skink tails or innards. Hatchling Stimson's will start out eating pinkies, and larger Stimson's will eventually eat up to medium rats, in my experience. Up until a year and a half of age, upgrade the rodent size every time a packet of ten is finished. Until they are a year old, it is best to feed them every week as it is a crucial stage of growth for them. When you first bring the snake home, wait about a week before offering a food item.

Handling: Young Stimson's can be flighty, and some show almost no hesitation in biting or scenting their keeper. When newly acquired, start handling about 3 or 4 days after it's first feeding. Start with only a minute per session once or twice a day, and as the animal becomes acclimated to handling, the time per session can slowly increase. Some Stimson's take more work to calm down, but in general this is a very mild tempered species.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Heat mats are okay for hatchies but a temperature gradient is harder to maintain in a click-clack. Make sure the water bowl is big enough for the snake to soak in, and is placed down at the cold end. Ideally you should have two or three hides in different locations so the snake can have shelter whereever it decides to thermoregulate, but that would probably be impossible in a clickclack. Try and get the hide in the middle of the heat gradient. You can of course use newspaper as your substrate, but I find baby Ants love burrowing, so I use coco fibre or wood shavings. Another alternative would be shredded paper.
I think I’ll be able to fit at least 2 hides, one in the middle ( maybe more toward the warm side) and one on the cooler side. I was planning on using a thin layer of newspaper with shredded paper ontop - would that be ok?

Here you go - some info:

CARE SHEET: ANTARESIA STIMSONI
Housing: A small to medium sized enclosure, tub, rack or a click-clack is ideal for this species. Due to the small size of hatchling Stimsoni, they prefer very small hiding places due to their naturally agoraphobic nature. Burrowing habits are common in the young of this species, and so substrate should be at least an inch deep and of material that they can safely burrow in (not sand or dirt). Stimsoni should feel secure as hatchlings, and so offering multiple hides is often a good idea. However, this may not always be possible, so it is recommended the hide be offered where the temperature is stable and not prone to fluctuations. Although these are terrestrial snakes, they do seem to like to climb occasionally, and in a plastic container holes can be made in the side with a soldering iron or similar, and a dowel fitted through. Air holes will need to be made in a similar manner, both on the top as well as on the side. Hatchlings are often smaller than most enclosures are designed for, and extra care must be made to escape proof the cage. If the snake seems to be able to fit through the air holes, cover them with a fine mesh.

Feeding: Young Stimson's can be finicky with their food when newly hatched, although most breeders will only start selling them once they are established and feeding. For picky feeders, try scenting the prey item with fowl, shed skin of another reptile, and as a last resort, skink tails or innards. Hatchling Stimson's will start out eating pinkies, and larger Stimson's will eventually eat up to medium rats, in my experience. Up until a year and a half of age, upgrade the rodent size every time a packet of ten is finished. Until they are a year old, it is best to feed them every week as it is a crucial stage of growth for them. When you first bring the snake home, wait about a week before offering a food item.

Handling: Young Stimson's can be flighty, and some show almost no hesitation in biting or scenting their keeper. When newly acquired, start handling about 3 or 4 days after it's first feeding. Start with only a minute per session once or twice a day, and as the animal becomes acclimated to handling, the time per session can slowly increase. Some Stimson's take more work to calm down, but in general this is a very mild tempered species.
Awesome info thanks!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have both a spotted and a stimmie in separate 7 litre click clacks and found the temp gradient a lot easier to create then mentioned above by placing each tub half on and half off a heat tile. 35° at the warm end end 23° at the cool end... the tubs both have identical water bowls and 3 hides (2 small incandescent light bulb boxes and a cardboard roll from an empty paper towel. Both pythons are happy and eager feeders. I only use a paper towel substrate. Click clacks are the simplest and easiest way to keep snakes happy and secure.
 
Glass is great in the sense that water won't hurt it and you can see your decorated enclosure from all sides. It is not so great at insulating. Screen tops can also require some work to hold in humidity.

Melamine is a great insulator and you can adjust vent holes to attain required humidity. Melamine however does not like moisture at all a nd you can't see through it (obviously) so it is not ideal for a display if you want multiple viewing angles.

If ambient temp and humidity is close to what your animal needs, glass is a great option. If not melamine is a good alternative.
 
It's an ideal size for young Antaresia.

VsGGAYn.png
This is the exactly click clack I used to create my sons Coastal Carpet Python's digs. Perfect size, he's always out and about and feels really comfortable in it.
 
Update: went to the pet shop today and picked up a couple of hides. Can fit in 2 - need to find a water bowl still.

3CFC9E5B-E29F-4274-B249-AFE51CF9FC5F.jpeg
 
Save your money, use whatever small dish or bowl that is small enough to fit, but big enough in case the python wants to soak in it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top