care sheets for womas

[sid94]

hi all does anyone have any care sheets on womas looked around and cant find any thing good on them if you have any email me at [email protected] thanks in advants

 

[bredli84]

you dont need one, just treat them like most other pythons. they are mostly terrestrial so need more ground room.
a word of warning, if u feed them as often as they want. you will very quickly run out of food.

 

[grimbeny]

isnt that the same with all pythons bredli?

 

[bredli84]

my woma is in a class of his own, Grim.
i feed him and he will tour his enclosure for 2 days looking for more, sleep for about 12 hours, crap. then he is off looking for food and will continue to until i feed him again.

 

[Fester]

Yep, they sure like their food! With their wagging tails and bobbing heads, they are funny to watch (gotta watch your hands, fingers and anything else that gets in their way!)

 

[Robbo]

try and get the latest issue of reptiles australia mag. it has a great article in it about keeping womas

 

[slacker]

Yep, they sure like their food! With their wagging tails and bobbing heads, they are funny to watch (gotta watch your hands, fingers and anything else that gets in their way!)

lol the bobbing head thing is classic. Woe is the man who sticks his hand in the enclosure when they're doing that!

As for care sheets, I don't know of any. They're easy to keep though. Mine have a hot spot of about 32c, which is provided by way of a heat mat (they're still small, so the heat mat works well with their little plastic enclosures).

Keep 'em warm, give 'em food and an appropriately sized enclosure and you shouldn't have any worries!

 

[Auzlizardking]

The Woma is a relatively large robust python with a narrow,somewhat pointed head which is broader then the neck. Like the Black headed python, it lacks heat sensing pits on its lips.The head and the body range from pale yellow through yellowish reddish brown to pale olive. The body has numerous irregular dark or reddish brown stripes of varying width. In some snakes these bands join together on the dorsal surface to form a darker vertabrle area. Juveniles are paler then adults, with a more contrasting pattern and in older snakes the pattern becomes extremely obscure, sometimes to the point of being entirely absent. Womas inhabit the least populated parts of Australia and relatively little is known about there natural history. Populations out in the south west of Australia are under threat and may be extinct with land clearing and feral predators probably responsible for the large decline. They are nocturnal although they are observed during the day and they are largely if not wholly terrestrial.

 

[Auzlizardking]

Womas are a medium sized python species native to central and northeastern Australia, although another population exists in the southwestern portion of Western Australia. They are a rather unique taxa of python that seem to have many characteristics of colubrid snakes, such as lacking the heat-sensitive pits along the upper jawline that most other pythons have (the other species to lack heat pits is the Blackhead python, Aspidites melanocephalus). They are nevertheless, active predators of small mammals and other snakes, and often "crush" their prey against the burrow's walls as a means of subduing them. Womas have also been known to exhibit caudal luring, which is unlike most other species of python .

Size: Womas range from 4 to 6 feet (48-72 inches). Females are typically larger than males.



Enclosure: The enclosure you choose must be secure to prevent the escape of the inhabitant and provide adequate ventilation. Although glass terrariums with screen tops can be used, I personally prefer plastic and PVC enclosures with sliding or swing-down acrylic doors on the front of the cage (there are several brands commercially available). This is due to the increased security the enclosures provide for snakes within them and simply because space can be better utilized with them (they can be stacked). A 4' X 2' enclosure is more than adequate for an adult woma. Larger numbers of womas can be housed in commercially available racks consisting of appropriately sized plastic containers that have holes melted along the sides with a soldering iron. A hide-box for allowing the snake to retreat from view is recommended as part of any setup.
The water dish should also be provided within the enclosure and be changed at least once weekly or sooner if fouled. The dish should heavy enough so that it isn't easily tipped over (plastic or ceramic crock dishes work well).

Temperature and Heating: Be sure to provide womas with a thermal gradient, in which a warm side can be created with an under tank heat heater (UTH), Flexwatt heat tape, or a radiant heat panel. Some commercially available plastic and PVC enclosures come with their own heating elements. It is important to disallow the snake to come into direct contact with any heating element, as thermal burns can result. The temperature within the enclosure should be 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit. This can be set and monitored with a quality thermostat designed for reptile enclosures or by using a handheld Proexotics Tempgun, which can be used to quickly spot check the temperature of a desired spot within the enclosure. Additional lighting other than the room's for photoperiods is not required for most species of snakes including womas. However, a fluorescent light mounted on the ceiling of the enclosure can be done if you wish to.

Substrate: Newspaper or aspen shavings are acceptable substrates for womas. Avoid pine and cedar shavings, as these substrates are toxic to snakes. Substrate should be kept dry and be spot cleaned when needed to reduce the likelihood of bacterial outbreaks.

Feeding: Womas normally possess aggressive feeding responses, so some care should be taken if working around them during feeding. Neonates can be started off on rat pinkies or hopper mice weekly, with the size of the prey being increased accordingly. Adults can be offered adult rats weekly. Frozen, thawed rodents can easily be offered with the appropriate tongs or hemostats and do not pose the risk of inflicting injury to the snake. Care should also be taken to prevent ingestion of substrate during feeding, which may lead to impaction.

Reproduction: Womas are oviparous, with females laying 5-19 eggs per clutch depending on the age and size of the snake. Female womas reach sexual maturity at around 2 or 3 years

 

[reptalica]

Great last couple of posts Darren. I thought rather then starting another thread re: finding out more info on keeping womas etc I would seek responses or advice from any of the members that keep them.

In a nutshell for those that have them, or even those that dont for that matter what would be the best size enclosure to run with or if someone could post pics of their enclosures or a diagram of how best to set up the enclosure and what is the ideal light to use? 1 or 2 globes (blue/red?).....oh and I live in Melbourne so go figure (temps all over the shop here)


I am also toying with the idea of whether to go a hatchy or a yearling and even location. My reptile experience thus far is a 15 month old beardy which i have raised from a young age so one success thus far.


Thank u all kindly.......

 

[bredli84]

a 4X2X2ft enclosure is fine for most localities of woma as adults, some of the big SA animals wil need more room.
i dont think the type of lighting really matters, just as long as it maintains a suitable hotspot and a good gradient. blue/red globes should be fine.
womas do like to burrow but i dont think it is necessary to provide them with loose substrate, but treat it on an individual basis. if your animal keeps trying to push his way into the corners or something then maybe u should provide it. they just need similar conditions to just about all other aussie pythons, though humidity can be quite low.
as for the age of the animal you get, that is entirely up to you. there should be a few hatchies still available at the moment but if u want to go for an older animal then do so.

i have only been keeping the one woma for about 6 months, so am far from an expert on the matter, but so far everything has been problem free. good luck, and the best advice i can give u is to make sure you have the enclosure set up and functioning properly before u bring a snake home.

 

[reptalica]

"make sure you have the enclosure set up and functioning properly before u bring a snake home"

Absolutely. This is what I believe is the most imperative aspect of bringing home a snake for the first time and I will be giving this the utmost attention. Once the enclosure is set up, I will ensure gradients / humidity / basking temps are all satisfactory so that it makes the transition all the more smoother.

I am pedantic and cautious when it comes to my herps/pets whatever the case may be but I prefer to err on the side of caution.